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In this article, Kristine Westerberg discusses the Shedd Aquarium's new initiative for audience research and development and shares some preliminary findings from their initial efforts....

Since 2010, partners at the University of Pittsburgh Center for Learning in Out of School Environments (UPCLOSE), Science Museum of Minnesota, and Visitor Studies Association, with support from the National Science Foundation, have been collaborating on the Building Informal Science Education (BISE) project. The team aims to review existing evaluation reports catalogued on informalscience.org to ... Read more

MIT Press recently published a new book on assessment in informal learning environments. Produced with support from the MacArthur Foundation, Documenting and Assessing Learning in Informal & Media-Rich Environments provides a new model called the Outcomes-by-Levels Model for Documentation and Assessment. The model identifies as least ten types of outcomes that can be assessed at ... Read more

The Citizen Science Association has launched a new open-access, peer-reviewed journal published by Ubiquity Press. Citizen Science: Theory and Practice focuses on advancing the field of citizen science by providing a venue for citizen science practitioners and researchers to share best practices in conceiving, developing, implementing, evaluating, and sustaining projects that facilitate public participation in ... Read more

Nearly two-thirds of the adult population in the United States own a smartphone (Pew Research, 2015) and three-quarters of smartphone owners regularly use location-based apps on their devices (Pew Research, 2013). Given the ubiquity of smartphones and how familiar it is to use location-based apps, it is not surprising that museums would be eager to ... Read more

The InformalScience.org calendar lists conferences, workshops, meetings, and other professional development opportunities in the informal science education field. Some conferences added this month include: World Congress of Science and Factual Producers (WCSFP) Annual Conference in Montreal, Quebec Euroscience Open Forum in Copenhagen, Denmark 2014 Cyberlearning Summit in Madison, Wisconsin STEM Education and Our Planet: Making ... Read more

The U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has announced a new opportunity for library students, as well as those already in the profession. The Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program provides opportunities for early career research in libraries, as well as the professional development of librarians and library staff. Applications are due September ... Read more

In this report, noted scholar James Paul Gee discusses the evolution of digital media and learning (DMAL) from its infancy as an ""academic area"" into a more organized field or coherent discipline. Distinguishing among academic areas, fields, disciplinary specializations, and thematic disciplines, Gee describes other academic areas that have fallen into these categories or developed into established disciplines. He argues...

This book describes the process of retrofitting a diorama exhibit, using principles of universal design and engaging people of all ages, with various disabilities to assist in the project....

A new editorial board is guiding JCOM through a period of change and here opens out the discussion on what JCOM has become and what it could or should become in the future. The journal's readers are invited to make their contributions....

The New Directions in Audience Research Initiative, initially funded by IMLS in 2009, is a special initiative of the University of Washington Museology Graduate Program. New Directions aims to train graduate students in Audience Research & Evaluation within informal learning settings through laboratory style coursework that integrates the strengths of professional and peer mentoring, fieldwork, academics and client-centered experiences. Audience...

This project launches the creation of a new class of playground apparatus based on an emerging understanding of how students learn mathematics and science concepts. The equipment will be highly interactive and instrumented, providing opportunities for thoughtful, planned actions that children can evaluate with the aid of instrumentation. The design principles used are applicable to many mathematics and science topics,...

The Twenty-first Century Learning in Natural History Settings Conference at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. (2012) has been more influential than similar conferences, resulting in new work streams and international collaborations for the Learning Research and Evaluation team at the Natural History Museum, London ( NHM). The conference offered a rare opportunity to discuss issues relevant to our unique workplace...

The University of Washington’s Museology Program, in partnership with the Woodland Park Zoo and the Learning in Informal and Formal Environments Research Center is developing a model of university-community collaboration where students work with client museums, zoos and aquaria to evaluate exhibits and programs under the guidance of a research mentor. Students will gain experience in audience research and evaluation,...

This special issue of the Lusophone Journal of Cultural Studies (LJCS) highlights the consolidation of the “citizen science” movement, which stems from different forms of direct participation of citizens in scientific projects. This issue also features contributions to the debate on the “open science” movement. ...

This planning grant is for developing a PBS television series focusing on dramatic but little-known geologic stories tied to world-famous cultural and historic sites in places such as Greece and Rome. The full project would consist of four broadcast television programs, an interactive web site, DVD's and outreach activities. The planning grant would support preparation of television program treatments, front...

Goodman Research Group, Inc. (GRG) conducted front-end evaluation of New Earth Explorers, a four-part science documentary series developed by Earth Images Foundation. The project's goal was to create a series that would target prime time PBS viewers with an aim to present information about earth science and relevant current research in a way that is engaging for viewers. In addition...

The New Ecological Paradigm Scale-Revised (NEP-R) is an updated version of the 1978 New Ecological Paradigm Survey. This updated version reflects current environmental terminology, as well as tests a single construct. The NEP-R is suitable for use in the general adult population....

The New Ecological Paradigm for Children is modeled after the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) and the New Ecological Paradigm-Revised (NEP-Revised) for adults. The survey contains 10 questions assessing three subscales that contribute to one’s “environmental world view” including “rights of nature,” “eco-crisis,” and “human exceptionalism.”...

The New England Aquarium will create Conservation STEM — an online curriculum that features engaging videos and hands-on activities aligned with state and national standards that are easily accessible for teachers to use in the classroom. The project responds to a need that the aquarium’s Teacher Advisory Council — composed of Pre-K through 12 teachers from the greater Boston area...

Developing an evaluation report can be challenging. Happily, there are dedicated evaluation professionals who use their expertise to help the community produce the best reporting that they can. EvaluATE is the evaluation support center for the National Science Foundation’s Advanced Technological Education program. The center produces tools for the ATE community to help guide people through ... Read more

InformalScience.org recently launched a newly updated evaluation page designed to make evaluation resources more accessible to informal STEM learning professionals. The new page visually highlights resources to help both veterans and those new to the community develop evaluation plans and proposals, iteratively inform projects, and disseminate evaluation findings. The new evaluation tab will help you: ... Read more

This paper examines "New Faces, New Places: An Introduction to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math," a program designed to promote the formation of 4-H STEM programs to engage urban youth in science learning....

The National Center for Science and Civic Engagement (NCSCE) is requesting proposals for Partnership Champions: SENCER-ISE and Professional Development Through Mentoring to Enhance Learning Environments. Partnership Champions is funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS; MG-10-15-0071-15) and is an extension of the existing SENCER-ISE (Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities- Informal Science Education) project, which ... Read more

Whether the goal is to identify and describe trends and variation in populations, create new measures of key phenomena, or describe samples in studies aimed at identifying causal effects, description plays a critical role in the scientific process, particularly in education research. Descriptive analysis identifies patterns in data to answer questions about who, what, where, ... Read more