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How do we know that informal STEM learning happens? Where’s the evidence to support our impact? What are the design principles underlying effective practice? What’s the best way to conceptualize, support, and measure learning in different learning environments and with different audiences? Most informal science learning projects funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) are ... Read more

The CADRE Learning Series includes webinars with people sharing experience and expertise combined with opportunities for dialog during consultations.  In Part 1 of this Learning Series, attendees heard from researchers who have used or designed observational tools in their DRK-12 research. Participants learned about a range of tools, their various uses and limitations, in the hopes ... Read more

CAISE was one of the resource centers funded by the NSF’s Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL) within the Education and Human Resources (EHR) directorate that support and connect principal investigators and their projects. The AISL resource center, which became known as CAISE, was initially established in 2007. In August ... Read more

On August 23 and 24, 2018, the Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE) Evaluation and Measurement Task Force brought together a small group of informal STEM education (ISE) and science communication (SciComm) professionals. Generously hosted by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Chevy Chase, Maryland, the convening was designed to open up the ... Read more

The Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE) will host the 2016 Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) Principal Investigator (PI) Meeting, as part of our cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF). We ask that AISL PIs save the date for this year’s meeting, to be held February 29th – March 2nd, 2016, ... Read more

The Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE) will convene an engaging Edit-a-Thon session at the 2015 Association of Science-Technology Centers Annual Conference in Montréal, Canada. The session will take place on Monday, October 19 at 2:30 PM-5:30 PM in Symphonie 3 at the Hyatt Regency Montréal. Participants will be invited to collaboratively create ... Read more

Are you currently developing a project with a goal of broadening participation in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) among traditionally underrepresented groups? The Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE) and the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC) conducted a digital resource curation workshop to identify relevant funded projects from the InformalScience.org repository. A ... Read more

The Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education is dedicated to strengthening the field of informal STEM education (ISE) by supporting and building on the rich diversity of projects supported by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program of the National Science Foundation (NSF). Under a cooperative agreement with NSF, the Center provides resources and ... Read more

From June 20-21, CAISE held a convening on evaluation in informal science education as a part of our Evaluation Capacity Building Initiative. This convening was one in a series of activities that CAISE is undertaking to provide opportunities and resources to enhance understanding of the role of evaluation in ISE, and to improve practices and ... Read more

Over the past few years a growing number of projects and organizations have aimed to develop research agendas for different sectors in informal science education. Research agendas—when developed with input from a variety of stakeholders—can help frame the questions and topics that matter most to both practitioners and researchers in the ISE field. Last month, ... Read more

The EBSCO Education Research Complete database is now available to users of InformalScience.org. The database makes available abstracts for more than 2,400 journals and full-text access for over 1,000 journals. The database also includes full text for hundreds of books and monographs, and full text for numerous education-related conference papers. Topics include education, social science ... Read more

Further thoughts on actions, reflections or insights from the CAISE Media Convening in July 2011. Participants were asked: As a result of this experience, do you think differently about being in media? In way way(s)? Ari Epstein, MIT: The variety in this field (STEM media) is very great, not only in the varieties of media ... Read more

2021-2022 funding opportunities, key events and new publications

September and October were busy months. CAISE staff, co-PIs and task forces, presented at and participated in several conferences and meetings relevant to informal STEM education. Keep reading for our quick summaries of those events, and links to publicly-available resources posted by conference organizers.  CAISE also participated in two National Science Foundation (NSF) funded conferences, ... Read more

      Members of CAISE team and External Review Board           The Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE) has received a new five-year award from the National Science Foundation Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program to serve as a resource center for informal STEM education and to explore common challenges ... Read more

The Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE), a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded center that works with programs that develop science education experiences and conduct research on science learning that takes place outside of traditional K-12 classroom settings seeks a Digital and Research intern at our downtown Washington, D.C. location to support the growth ... Read more

The Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE) is dedicated to advancing the fields of informal science education (ISE) and science communication by supporting and building on the rich diversity of projects supported by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program of the National Science Foundation (NSF). Under a cooperative agreement with the NSF, ... Read more

Position Announcement Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education Digital Librarian / Collection Analyst The Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE) works to support and connect the informal science education (ISE) field by building on the rich diversity of projects funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program of the National Science ... Read more

Through our Broader Impacts & Informal Science Education (BI-ISE) Initiative, CAISE has been exploring opportunities for research scientists and their education/public outreach staff to conduct “broader impacts” activities in informal learning settings. However, informal settings aren’t only effective and engaging places for researchers to share their work with the public — they can also be ... Read more

Looking for resources to help develop an evaluation plan, reference what others have learned, or better navigate the evaluation process in informal STEM learning settings? This webinar, a collaboration between the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA) and the Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE), will introduce zoo and aquarium educators and other ... Read more

Please join CAISE in welcoming the Association of Science-Technology Centers’ (ASTC) new President and CEO, Cristin Dorgelo. Cristin has worked to advance science, technology, and innovation throughout her career, including during her service through January 2017 as Chief of Staff at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) in the Obama Administration. ... Read more

CAISE is excited to welcome two new members to our team: Dr. Rabiah Mayas and Aya Rothwell, MS. Dr. Rabiah Mayas is the Ruth D. and Ken M. Davee Vice President at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago (MSI). Dr. Mayas participated in CAISE’s Research and Practice & Broadening Participation Task Forces and now joins us ... Read more

On November 17-18, 2011, the Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE) convened nine projects from the National Science Foundation (NSF) ISE Program portfolio to discuss and explore their efforts to form, sustain, nourish, and grow organizational networks of partners and collaborators who work together towards common ISE goals. The participating networks involved science ... Read more

The Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE) convened two workshops in February 2012, on Professional Development (PD) and Sustainability Science in Informal Science Education (ISE). The workshops are part of an ongoing series of gatherings to explore topics and themes that have broad representation and cross-sector relevance in the National Science Foundation (NSF) ... Read more

The California Tinkering Afterschool Network (CTAN) is a research-practice partnership bringing together expertise from afterschool directors, facilitators, and researchers across the Community Science Workshop Network (Fresno and Watsonville), Discovery Cube (Santa Ana), Exploratorium (San Francisco), and Techbridge (Oakland). The network studies teaching and learning in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math-rich (STEM-rich) afterschool tinkering programs that ... Read more