RISES (Re-energize and Invigorate Student Engagement through Science) is a coordinated suite of resources including 42 interactive English and Spanish STEM videos produced by Children's Museum Houston in coordination with the science curriculum department at Houston ISD. The videos are aligned to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills standards, and each come with a bilingual Activity Guide and Parent Prompt sheet, which includes guiding questions and other extension activities.
The Children's Museum at La Habra's Lil' Innovators Early Childhood STEM project will increase STEM skill and engagement among early childhood preschool teachers, disadvantaged preschoolers, and their parents. Delivered in partnership with three of La Habra's Head Start and California State Preschool program schools, the project will provide 224 preschoolers and 20 teachers with a year-long program offering increased developmental skills in STEM for underserved, low-income Hispanic students who are primarily English Language Learners. Teacher outcomes will include improved strategies for teaching STEM and increased teaching quality of STEM subjects. Parent outcomes include increased belief in the importance of STEM and increased ability to support their child's STEM learning. The standards-based education project will improve the museum's ability to serve its public by creating a community of practice consisting of a network of administrators, educators, and evaluators who will work together to improve the quality of STEM education for the youngest learners in this academically-challenged community.
This report introduces a framework to support learning in library and museum makerspaces. The framework demonstrates how we can create the conditions for ambitious learning experiences to unfold within the making experience.
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Children's Museum of PittsburghInstitute of Museum and Library ServicesPeter Wardrip
Poster for 2014 AISL PI Meeting. The State University of New York (SUNY) and the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS) are collaborating to implement the SUNY/NYAS STEM Mentoring Program, a full scale development project designed to improve the science and math literacy of middle school youth.
Funded jointly by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and the MacArthur Foundation, in partnership with the and Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC) and Urban Libraries Council (ULC), Learning Labs in Libraries and Museums supports the planning and design of 24 learning labs in libraries and museums nationwide. The inaugural cohort of 12 sites ran from January 2012 to June 2013, and a second cohort of 12 additional sites began in January 2013 and will extend through June 2014. In addition to the primary awardees, most grants included additional institutional partners, resulting in a rich community including over 100 professionals from approximately 50 participating organizations (libraries, museums, universities, and community-based organizations). The labs are intended to engage middle- and high-school youth in mentor-led, interest-based, youth-centered, collaborative learning using digital and traditional media. Inspired by YOUmedia, an innovative digital space for teens at the Chicago Public Library, as well as innovations in science and technology centers, projects participating in Learning Labs are expected to provide prototypes for the field based on current research about digital media and youth learning, and build a "community of practice" among the grantee institutions and practitioners interested in developing similar spaces.
Florida State University and partner University of Alabama will collect and analyze data on how STEM teachers can most effectively collaborate with librarians. The data will be collected at focus groups held at four national conferences: the American Association of School Librarians, the Public Library Association, the National Science Teachers Association, and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. This variety of participants at these conferences will allow for diverse opinions, thoughts, and ideas to be compiled, supporting the analysis of how the collaboration between STEM teacher and librarian is working today and providing recommendations on how it could be improved. The overall goal of this planning grant is to assess what is happening in the field so the information can then be shared with the educational and library communities for greater impact.
This report describes key findings from the Chicago Public Library (CPL) Maker Lab, a hands-on collaborative learning environment for residents of Chicago to create and design items while enhancing their 21st century skills. The key outcomes of the Maker Lab are building basic literacy; building digital, information, and cultural literacy; advancing critical thinking and problem solving; advancing creativity and innovation; and fostering communication and collaboration.
Westport Library, with its partners, Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) and Connecticut State Library - Division of Library Development (CSL-DLD), and with SPARK! Consulting, will introduce a new model of maker space in libraries and a way to systematically integrate the culture of interactive "making" into the library profession. Westport will introduce a culture of innovation, while honoring the needs of more traditional libraries. There will be self-directed, hands-on maker experiences; maker workshops; and makers-in-residence who will support workshops and innovation labs on topics such as robotics, LED quilt creations, and tinkering with home electronics repairs. The library will also create Interactive Innovation Stations (iStations) to introduce people to the concepts and techniques of innovative thinking. It will be an environment where people can experiment, take calculated risks, and work collaboratively.
The Howard County Library System (HCLS), in partnership with the University of Maryland Baltimore County, will use this grant to enhance the teen digital media lab at the Savage Branch Library by adding science, technology, engineering, and math projects and implementing that same STEM-focused model in three other libraries. The "Hi Tech Academy: The Road to a STEM Career" project will address the increasing demand for workers with STEM-related skills as the number of college graduates in these fields decreases. This program will create a model to be replicated at other libraries, bring awareness of how to best teach these skills, increase interest in STEM for youth, and address the demand for these skills in the community.