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Background Mentorship has been well-established in the literature as fostering scientific identity and career pathways for underrepresented minority students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Mentorship is prioritized by programs that aim to increase diversity and support future leadership in STEM fields, but in-depth understanding of mentorship in these contexts remains limited. Drawing on qualitative interview data, we sought...

This Knowledge Base article was written collaboratively with contributions from Rachel Bonnette and Christina Restrepo Nazar. This article was migrated from a previous version of the Knowledge Base. The date stamp does not reflect the original publication date.   Overview What does equity in making mean and for whom it is equitable?   The maker movement ... Read more

This study was a longitudinal summative evaluation of repeat visitors’ experiences in four Math Moves! exhibitions that were developed as part of a large collaborative exhibition development project called Math Core for Museums, and mounted at four museums around the country: Museum of Science (Boston); Museum of Life & Science (Durham, NC); Explora (Albuquerque); and Science Museum of Minnesota (St....

Governmental and institutional policy making in a number of countries has embedded public engagement strategies as a primary channel to connect citizens with scientific and technological innovation. Robotics is emerging as a key site for such new technological activity and its applications are likely to be increasingly notable in our lives in coming years. Robotics researchers are investing considerable time...

This commentary considers the topics of humour and online settings. Both have received increasing attention amongst researchers and practitioners of science communication, and both raise numerous questions around the role of informality and enjoyment in the spread of information. However, online settings also provide a great range of data with which to address these questions. Here I suggest that close...

Communication about technology has long been neglected within the field of science and technology communication. This visual exploratory study focuses on how users can communicate with and about technology in public places through warning signs posted on technological devices. Three broad categories of messages have been identified: bad design, malfunctioning and disciplining users. By analyzing examples within each category, we...

Calabrese Barton and colleagues examine the beliefs and science practices of two students in a two-year study across settings. The study seeks to answer the question, “What do girls from non-dominant populations do to author themselves into or out of science, in spite of – or because of – their grades?” The study also examines how structures such as teacher...

This report evaluates the program entitled “Treating Tumors with Gold” by looking at visitor feedback in an attempt to assess the success with which the presentation was able to educate the public on a particular study using nanotechnology. The exit survey instrument is included in the appendix of this report....

‘Escape rooms’ are a recent cultural phenomena, whereby a group of ‘players’, often friends or colleagues, are ‘locked’ in a room and must solve a series of clues, puzzles, or mysteries in order to ‘escape’. Escape rooms are increasingly appearing in a range of settings, including science centres and museums, libraries and university programmes, but what role can an escape...

The use and availability of digital media is changing researchers' roles and simultaneously providing a route for a more engaging relationship with stakeholders throughout the research process. Although the digital realm has a profound influence on people's day-to-day lives, some researchers have not yet professionally embraced digital technologies. This paper arises from one aspect of a project exploring how university...

Determined to learn the extent to which a local contaminated site was impacting community health, the Native American community of Akwesasne reached out to a research university, eventually partnering on the first large-scale environmental health community based participatory research project (CBPR). Based on interviews with scientists, community fieldworkers, and study participants, this article examines the ways in which collaborating on...

Researchers Jurow, Hall, and Ma examined how conversations and interactions between students and STEM professionals expanded students’ understanding of math modeling....

College students associated with the American Chemical Society and Alpha Chi Sigma student/collegiate chapters reach almost 1 million people every year through their informal chemistry education events (chemistry outreach). Previous work has characterized their goals for chemistry outreach, with the most prevalent goal being audience learning. With such large audiences being impacted every year and the goal of audience learning,...

Background: Capturing measures of students’ attitudes toward science has long been a focus within the field of science education. The resulting interest has led to the development of many instruments over the years. There is considerable disagreement about how attitudes should be measured, and especially whether students’ attitudes toward science can or should be measured unidimensionally, or whether separate attitude...

Background Capturing measures of students’ attitudes toward science has long been a focus within the field of science education. The resulting interest has led to the development of many instruments over the years. There is considerable disagreement about how attitudes should be measured, and especially whether students’ attitudes toward science can or should be measured unidimensionally, or whether separate attitude dimensions...

This project will develop standardized, exportable and comparable assessment instruments and models for Women In Engineering (WIE) programs nationwide, thus allowing them to assess their program's activities and ultimately provide data for making well-informed evaluations. To accomplish this goal, the principal investigators at the University of Missouri and Penn State University will work over a three-year period with their institutions'...

By Sunshine Menezes, Executive Director of the Metcalf Institute for Marine & Environmental Reporting at the University of Rhode Island It’s no secret that practitioners and scholars often view their disciplines differently. Scholars worry that their research is not being applied by practitioners, while those in the field may struggle to apply research findings within the specific logistical ... Read more

Texas Tech University’s STEM CORE presents the #WhyNotMeSTEM Conference on May 22-24, 2022 in Lubbock, TX. The event is an interactive conference with the goal of identifying and executing actionable steps to make STEM more inclusive. Register by April 15 here. This conference will be a mix of small group sessions, speakers, and roundtables to ... Read more

Explora Science Center and Children's Museum of Albuquerque will conduct “Roots: supporting Black scholars in STEAM,” a project to increase Explora’s relationships with and relevance to Albuquerque’s Black communities and increase opportunities for Black students in Albuquerque to pursue STEAM. The project is designed to foster a holistic, place-based approach to K–16 STEAM learning that incorporates a growth mindset and...

This report presents the findings from a front-end evaluation of 1, 2, 3 Ready? Set. Go!, conducted by Randi Korn & Associates (RK&A) for the Minnesota Children's Museum. 1, 2, 3 Ready? Set. Go! is a traveling exhibition that will visit both libraries and children's museums across the country. The exhibition is being developed by the Minnesota Children's Museum in...

The Minnesota Children's Museum, in collaboration with the American Library Association will develop a project to engage children ages two through seven years old and their parents in exploring mathematics through hands-on, book-based math activities in libraries and children's museums across the country. The main elements of the project are: 1. A 1200 square foot exhibit at the Minnesota Children's...

The Inclusion Collaborative Department at the Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE) builds a culture that promotes equity and values everyone by strengthening, sustaining, and ensuring inclusive practices. We believe every individual regardless of abilities and disabilities has the right to equitable access to quality inclusive learning and community environments. The 10th Annual Inclusion Collaborative State ... Read more

​This study was performed and written by Gil G. Noam, Patricia J. Allen, and Bailey Triggs, The PEAR Institute: Partnerships in Education and Resilience. To read the full evaluation, visit: https://www.thepearinstitute.org/afterschool-stem-evaluation-2016   To instill in youth an interest in STEM, an ongoing love and engagement with learning, and to prepare them for an increasingly STEM-focused workforce, ... Read more

  This article was written by Sue Allen & the Afterschool Coaching for Rural Educators in STEM (ACRES) project team, Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance.   Recently, an advisor on our Transforming Rural Communities: Virtual Instructional Coaching in Afterschool and Library Programs project (NSF Award #1713134) project advisory committee told us that our in-person kick-off meeting was the ... Read more

Do the exhibits, programs, and other activities you develop, implement, or evaluate have science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) identity as a learning goal or desired outcome? If so, are you taking into account the concept of identity in its full complexity? The Evaluation and Measurement Task Force of the Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education ... Read more