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This discussion will reflect on the collaborative work between the Museum of Science, Boston, Rochester Museum & Science Center, and Edtogther, and share insights on the methods and instruments used from working with youth ages 10-17 with learning disabilities to inform exhibit design....

This longitudinal study examined factors that contribute to the persistence of underrepresented racial minority (URM) undergraduates in STEM fields. The primary source of data came from the Cooperative Institutional Research Program’s 2004 The Freshman Survey (TFS) and 2008 College Senior Survey (CSS). The sample included 3,670 students at 217 institutions who indicated on the TFS that they intended to major...

Informal science programs have potential for engaging audiences from non-dominant communities in unique ways. This article investigates specific elements of programs that African American mothers participating in this study preferred for their elementary-aged girls. For ISE educators, this research points out several elements to address when planning programs for African American audiences, including practical issues and content delivery methods, many...

Previous research has identified parental involvement—the ways parents and other caring adults interact with children in and outside of the home, and the kinds of learning materials with which parents surround children—as key to helping children develop knowledge and skills in literacy and math (Bassok, Finch, Lee, Reardon, & Waldfogel, 2016; Burgess, Hecht, & Lonigan, 2002; Niklas, Nguyen, Cloney, Tayler,...

This study, conducted in New Zealand, is an analysis of the questions that students in their final year of high school were anticipated asking, and asked, during a visit to a biomedical research institute. The analysis highlights, along with the interview findings, the ways in which students developed an understanding of biomedical research, saw science as a process, and acknowledged...

This research brief has been made available by Relating Research to Practice (RR2P). RR2P provides short synopses of current peer-reviewed research relevant to informal science education (ISE). This study, conducted in New Zealand, is an analysis of the questions that students in their final year of school were anticipated to ask, and actually asked, during ... Read more

This essay discusses how gender-focused culture change initiatives developed for science (like Athena SWAN) might offer models for science communication. Such initiatives can seek to mobilise change amongst university departments and practices, but there are also potential pitfalls in such approaches. Using experiences in a department at UWE Bristol as a basis, the article will consider whether such schemes in...

ISE professionals should find this paper useful in understanding how scientists view the nature of science (NOS). Through interviews, the researchers have enabled a view of science as a flexible, creative and continually developing knowledge enterprise, in contrast to the regimented, experiment-driven scientific method that is most often taught in schools. The authors believe that teaching authentic NOS will certainly...

In this commissioned paper from the Climate Change Education Roundtable, Heidi Cullen offers strategies for mainstream media to engage the public around the topic of climate. She offers key strategies such as focusing on storytelling, paying attention to the changing media landscape, and being aware of audience needs....

In this paper, researcher Adrian F. Aveni of Jacksonville State University presents a variety of concepts, models and theories of sociology potentially relevant to the field of visitor studies. Aveni also warns of the dangers from the misuse of procedures, misinterpretations of results, poorly framed questions or problems, and faulty assumptions and goals....

In this article, Gary T. Johnson, President of the Chicago History Museum, discusses the Spanish-language initiative at his museum. Johnson describes how Spanish exhibit labels were received , lessons learned about preparing Spanish labels, and additional ways the museum attempts to reach out to Chicago's diverse community. ...

Lobato, Rhodehamel, and Hohensee investigated how learners “transferred” knowledge from one situation to another. They found that both individual cognition and the social organization of the class drove the learners’ process of selecting, interpreting, and working with particular features of mathematical information. They also found the social arrangements of the class influenced what pieces of information students noticed and focused...

This research examined and evaluated visitor comments at The National Museum of Ireland - Country Life, recorded in comment books over a period of 10 years since the Musuem opened to the public in 2001. The aim was to establish reoccuring patterns of comments and determine what these told us about how the public related to the exhibitions and objects...

In this article, three museum professionals explain the meaning and importance of experience design. The authors include Dan Spock, Head of Exhibitions at the Minnesota Historical Society in St. Paul, Donna Braden, Lead Experience Developer at The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan, and Ellen Rosenthal, Executive Director at Conner Prairie in Fishers, Indiana. ...

This essay examines the question of how museum professionals select research methods for summative exhibit evaluation. It explores the ways in which this question historically has been answered in the United States, and it argues that selecting appropriate research methods depends upon understanding the interrelationship between research theories, methods, and designs. It also characterizes this interconnection in relation to different...

If we wish to attempt an initial analysis of the inquiry on the communication of science in Brazil, India and China that JCOM proposed in its three most recent issues, we should paraphrase Chinese science and science-fiction writer, Yan Wu: even though these three countries are emerging in the fields of economy and science, and are now part of a...

In this paper we articulate an alternative approach to look at video games and learning to become a creator and contributor in the digital culture. Previous discussions have focused mostly on playing games and learning. Here, we discuss game making approaches and their benefits for illuminating game preferences and learning both software design and other academic content. We report on...

Developmental perspectives on prejudice provide a fundamental and important key to the puzzle for determining how to address prejudice. Research with historically disadvantaged and advantaged groups in childhood and adolescence reveals the complexity of social cognitive and moral judgments about prejudice, discrimination, bias, and exclusion. Children are aware of status and hierarchies, and often reject the status quo. Intervention, to...

In this article, Eugene Dillenburg, Assistant Professor of Museum Studies and Scholar at Michigan State University, seeks a universal definition for a museum, noting that the term nowadays describes institutions representing a broad range of sizes and disciplines. Dillenburg provides examples from museum literature and deconstructs these definitions to conclude that exhibits are the defining feature of the museum. He...

In this article, Jeff Hayward, Director of People, Places & Design Research, defines the role of museum evaluators by explaining what they do, who they do it for and why, the skills they have, and how they see themselves in relation to other exhibit-related professionals. With input from colleagues, Hayward also describes issues associated with the profession, like the question...

Recent years have seen growing interest in modeling visitor engagement in museums with multimodal learning analytics. In parallel, there has also been growing concern about issues of fairness and encoded bias in machine learning models. In this paper, we investigate bias detection and mitigation techniques to address issues of algorithmic fairness in multimodal models of museum visitor visual attention. We...

In this article, Ohio State University's John L. Heywood discusses the study of outdoor recreation and the challenges of the emerging field. Heywood also describes some of the factors and conditions that influence behavior in outdoor recreation....

In this article, Ohio State University's John L. Heywood shares a selected bibliography of books for professionals interested in learning more about leisure studies....

In this article, Marilyn Hood, Ph.D. of Hood Associates investigates the public's perception of museums. Hood examines about 200 clippings that mention the word "museum" and sorts these clippings under four main topics: (1) something is deficient/unworthy/to be avoided because it is a museum; (2) something is positive/worthwhile/beneficial because it is not a museum; (3) generally uncomplimentary references; and (4)...

In this article, Lynda Kelly, Evaluation Coordinator at the Australian Museum, discusses the importance of titles in developing exhibitions in museums. Kelly cites evaluation studies at the Australian Museum for five exhibitions and key findings from these efforts....