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Introducing young children to STEM is critical for cultivating early interests and understanding that ultimately contribute to broader participation in the STEM fields. However, while there is substantial research around early childhood mathematics and a growing body of literature related to early childhood science, early childhood engineering continues to be the focus of only a few studies. To address this...

An afterschool program struggles to foster kindness and civility among youngsters whose environment too often fails to promote such values....

Most accounts of an ideal scientific discourse proscribe ad hominem appeals as one way to distinguish it from public discourse. Because of their frequent use of ad hominem attacks, the Climategate email messages provoked strong criticisms of climate scientists and climate science. This study asks whether the distinction between public and scientific discourse holds in this case and thus whether...

In this article, Janice Klein, Director of the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian, describes how she and her staff reevaluated the museum collection and audience needs during a reinstallation process in 1999. The methods they used helped the team complete the renovation and opening on time as well as made it possible to pursue an active exhibits program for...

This paper seeks to illustrate the first steps in a process of adapting an existing, valid, and reliable spatial ability instrument – the Mental Cutting Test (MCT) – to assess spatial ability among blind and low vision (BLV) populations. To adapt the instrument, the team is developing three-dimensional (3-D) models of existing MCT questions such that a BLV population may...

You can improve your InformalScience.org presence by adding a picture to your profile. Profile pictures appear next to your name on resource pages and in the member directory. To add a profile picture, log in to InformalScience.org. If you are already logged in, you can select “My Account” in the top right corner of the ... Read more

Adding Families to the Equation in Appalachia is a multi-state collaborative effort to improve parental involvement in science, mathematics, and technology education in a region of Central Appalachia noted for its persistent poverty and isolation from opportunities. During the planning grant period, project staff and consultants will use key stakeholder groups to generate and test preliminary project ideas and will...

This study explores how activities developed by science experts in partnership with middle school teachers were employed and interpreted. The goals of this partnership were to (a) help the science teacher meet earth science content standards in new ways, (b) expose students to 'real world' experiences outside their school setting, and (c) positively impact teacher practice by providing a program...

The Addressing Gender Barriers in STEM through Theatre of Social Engagement project responds to the need to educate the public about the careers in computer and information science and engineering (CISE) fields by educating high school students, parents, teachers and counselors about the barriers to participation that confront women and other underrepresented groups. In this Communicating Research to Public Audiences...

Improving diversity in STEM fields is key to addressing the critical and complex issues faced by society in the 21st century. Research shows that only 17% of American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN) students continue their education after high school versus 60% of the U.S. population. AIAN communities experience some of the greatest educational disparities of any racial/ethnic group in STEM subjects...

Addressing Societal Challenges through STEM (ASCs) received NSF AISL funding to conduct a Literature Review and Synthesis to answer the question: How are informal learning institutions advancing the use of STEM knowledge and scientific reasoning in the ways that individuals, families, and communities understand what they can do, and apply their learning to solving the societal challenges of our time? Using...

Poster presentation from the 2020 Association of Science and Technology Centers Annual Conference. This poster presented preliminary findings from a configurative literature synthesis on how the literature posted on the InformalScience.org website, in peer-reviewed journals, and in the ProQuest archive of Theses and Dissertations report about how informal learning institutions are advancing the use of STEM knowledge and scientific reasoning in the...

From 2019 to 2021, Knology undertook a project called Addressing Societal Challenges through STEM, which investigated how informal learning institutions are advancing the use of STEM knowledge and scientific reasoning to enable individuals, families, and communities to understand what they can do, and apply their learning to solving critical societal challenges. The literature reviewed (237 studies and articles) documented an emerging...

This is a conference review of the 2nd Commemoration of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, which had the theme Gender, Science and Sustainable Development: The Impact of Media. It was held in United Nations Headquarters, New York City, U.S.A., and a parallel event was held simultaneously in Valetta, Malta. There were 45 listed speakers from 24...

The Adirondack All-Taxa Biodiversity Inventory is a biological information-gathering process dependent upon and supported by the citizens of the Adirondacks. It acknowledges the interdependence between stakeholders and the biological community within which they live, work, and recreate. Citizens and scientists from the Adirondacks and elsewhere are working together to learn about the biodiversity found in the largest wilderness in the...

This is an abstract of Marilyn G. Hood's 1981 Ph.D. dissertation at Ohio State University. Hood researched the relationship between critical attributes of leisure choices and audience preferences for selected activities, such as museum participation. The research was carried out at the Toledo Museum of Art....

This policy recommendations report is intended to provide guidance for policy-makers on maximizing the beneficial impact of digital technologies on adult informal learning. It provides a concise summary of the main challenges facing policy-makers, shows where there may be gaps in current policy, and highlights areas of concern and need in relation to adult informal learning and technology....

This article was migrated from a previous version of the Knowledge Base. The date stamp does not reflect the original publication date. Overview  There are a variety of informal science education programs that target adult learners. These programs exist along a continuum from casual drop-in programs (e.g., 1-2 hour workshops or lectures on scientific topics ... Read more

This document is aimed primarily at Informal Learning (IFL) educators working with adult learners from disadvantaged and underserved communities, who wish to:   exploit the inclusive nature of Tinkering to create engaging and relevant STEM learning experiences for adult learners and their families  better understand how and why collaboration and co-design with community organisations can help develop more inclusive programming in STEM learning for...

This assessment is based on the three vertices of a triangle composed of cognition, observation, and interpretation, all of which converge on the nature of science, the relevance of science to everyday life, and decision-making behaviors. We chose one measure from Conley, Pintrich, Vekiri, & Harrison (2004).  This measure encompasses four dimensions about scientific knowledge -- source, certainty, development and justification --...

The Institute for Learning Innovation, Inc., requests $264,904 to pilot a project for establishing a national program to provide parents and significant other adults with support, training and materials. Also, the project goals will enable parents and other adults to become actively engaged in local science education reform and science literacy for their children. The duration of this project is...

On February 2, 2015, the National Science Board (NSB) convened to discuss priorities and policies for the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). The NSB, along with the NSF Director, pursues the goals and functions of the Foundation, as well as establishes policy for the NSF and serves as an independent body of advisors to the ... Read more

This paper, a product of Roads Taken describes the components needing consideration for conducting a long-term follow-up study of Intensive youth STEM programs such as those that serve high school students in informal learning spaces such as museums and community centers. These programs engage participants over weeks, months, or years, focusing on long-term STEM out- comes, especially for populations...