We collected data from middle school science fairs held in schools across the country to understand:
What are the basic models and elements of middle school science fairs;
If and how science fairs increase students’ interest in science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) and/or STEM careers
If and how participation in select models of middle school science fairs enhance students’ mastery of the science and engineering practices; and
What costs and resources are required to implement an effective middle school science fair?
In this article we explore how activity design and learning contexts can influence youth failure mindsets through a case study of five youth who described failure as sometimes a good thing and sometimes a bad thing (a perspective we characterize as Failure as Mosaic, described in the article). These youth and their descriptions of failure-positive and failure-negative experiences offer a unique opportunity to identify how experiences can be designed to support learning and persistence. In order to understand differing views of failure among youth, we researched the following questions:
The independent evaluation firm Knight Williams, Inc. conducted a formative evaluation during Year 2 of the SciGirls CONNECT2 program in order to gather information about the partner educators’ use of, reflections on, and recommendations relating to the draft updated SciGirls Strategies. The evaluation aimed for two educators from each of 14 partner organizations – specifically the program leader and one educator who was familiar with the original SciGirls Seven – to provide reflections on their use of the draft SciGirls Strategies in their programs through an online survey and follow-up
The goal for this research study was to determine the role of the SciGirls gender-equitable strategies on participating youths’ STEM identity changes in 16 participating SciGirls’ programs across the nation. The definition of STEM identity was based on Eccles (2007), Carlone and Johnson (2007) and Calabrese Barton and colleagues (2013). According to these researchers, individuals must have a positive STEM identity in order to persist in STEM careers. This positive STEM identity is affected by an individual’s expectations of success in STEM and the value they see in STEM and STEM careers
Knight Williams, Inc. completed a summative evaluation report that addresses: (i) the reach and breadth of the Latina SciGirls broadcast program and online components compared to project expectations; (ii) the impact of the Family Fiesta events that incorporated use of SciGirls videos, in-person role models, and hands-on activities as experienced by the girls, family members, and role models that participated in the events; and (iii) the partners’ Latina SciGirls programs and how they used and reflected on the value of the SciGirls resources.
How can creators of STEM learning media reach underserved parents and children, and support the kinds of playful STEM interactions that are foundational for future STEM learning?
This research report summarizes findings from a pilot study of Cyberchase: Mobile Adventures in STEM, a program that uses mobile text messaging and short videos to encourage hands-on family learning among low-income Latino families.
In the study, 95 mostly Latino families received weekly text messages with video clips from the popular children's series Cyberchase, and fun activities to do with their
Growing Beyond Earth (GBE) is Fairchild’s NASA-funded classroom science project designed to advance research on growing plants aboard spacecraft. As NASA looks toward a long term human presence beyond Earth orbit, there are specific science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) challenges related to food production. GBE is addressing those challenges by expanding the diversity and quality of edible plants that can be grown in space. On Earth, GBE is also improving technologies for gardening in urban, indoor, and other resource-limited settings.
GBE is unique in its focus on real
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Marion LitzingerCatherine RaymondCarl LewisAmy Padolf
This zine summarizes the book "Equity, Exclusion and Everyday Science Learning." It provides an accessible graphic introduction to how inequalities in everyday science learning happen, so that we can get to a place where everyday science learning practices could disrupt and transform social inequities rather than reproducing them.
This handout was prepared for the Climate Change Showcase at the 2019 ASTC Conference in Toronto, Ontario. It highlights resources available on InformalScience.org related to the topic of climate change.
In this poster, the Center for Research on Lifelong STEM Learning shared lessons learned from a study that used audio and video data from GoPros to investigate the entry characteristics of zoo and aquarium visitors and how those characteristics played out in terms of decision-making behaviors and meaning-making talk during a visit.
The poster presents information about a research study where we used video-based data collection to investigate how framing of interpretive signage influences visitors’ talk and behaviors at exhibits. The poster shared details of our methods as well as lessons learned from using cameras for capturing video of visiting groups.