Web-based information and communication systems extend access for scientific communities to information such as publications or research data and provide the opportunity to collaborate with other scientists. Our comment gives a short sketch of the Information Service Sociology (short: FID Sociology), in which we aim at designing and developing such an information and communication infrastructure within the field of Sociology. To this end, it comprises (i) an approach for simplified publishing of open access publications, (ii) an integrated search across multiple sociological databases, and
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Johanne SchaibleSonja StrunkDavid Brodesser
Science permeates nearly every facet of human life and civilization. However, in an age of media oversaturation, it has been increasingly easier for pseudoscientific information to be disseminated among the masses, especially by those with a political agenda. In his book, ‘Not a Scientist: How Politicians Mistake, Misrepresent, and Utterly Mangle Science’, author Dave Levitan creates a guidebook for spotting and debunking unscientific ideas in the political sphere, a vital tool in the Information Age.
If Truth Be Told is a collection of essays on the politics of public ethnography and focuses on seasoned anthropologists' reflexive and critical engagement with public responses to their monographs. Fassin's primary purpose is to provide an ethnography of publicization. The book illuminates how public responses reflect and are affected by hegemonic sociopolitical realities and sociocultural practices and impact on the life and work of anthropologists. Of special interest is to what effect contributors take up different roles such as the role of expert to advocate for a more nuanced, non
This project will produce a four-part mini-series on African American Language (AAL) designed for television broadcast as well as for formal and informal public educational distribution. This mini-series addresses the social, cultural, and educational issues related to the most prominent, the most controversial, and the most misunderstood dialect in the history of American English--African American Language. Dialect prejudice, linguistic profiling, and language-based discrimination continue to be "so commonly accepted, so widely perceived as appropriate, that it must be seen as the last back door to discrimination. And the door is still wide open" (Lippi-Green 2012:73). By presenting the history, development, diversity, and symbolic role of language in the lives of African Americans, this documentary series helps to counteract the persistent misinformation and misinterpretation circulated about the language of African Americans. The series builds on the popular public reception to the one-hour documentary, Talking Black in America: The Story of African American Language, and includes the following episodes: 1) the historical and contemporary development of African American Language; 2) the diversity of language use among African Americans based on region, age, status, education, and style; 3) the use of language in expressive performance, including preaching, comedy, music, hip hop, spoken word, and other expressive genres; and 4) the role of language differences in educational achievement. A website accompanying the series will include a variety of educational resources, including streaming, discursive chapters with integrated vignettes from the episodes, additional commentary and background, activities, and discussion questions for each episode, with further online materials for education. The documentary and accompanying activities constitute an important milestone in the effort to educate the public about language diversity in American society.
No dialect in the history of American English has been more prominent, more controversial, and more misunderstood than African American Language, and dialect prejudice, linguistic profiling, and language discrimination still intensely affect speakers of this variety. By presenting the history, development, diversity, and symbolic role of language in the lives of African Americans, this documentary series will help to counteract the persistent misinformation circulated about African American Language. This series and the accompanying online materials offer an important milestone in the effort to educate the public about language diversity that can help to reduce linguistic discrimination in American society.
This project is funded by the National Science Foundation's (NSF's) Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, which supports innovative research, approaches, and resources for use in a variety of learning settings.
Museums, science centers, zoos and other informal science education (ISE) institutions often focus on the idea of "authenticity" to engage the public. Authenticity includes providing something real, original, or even awe-inspiring to the visitor or learner--be it an object, a context, or an experience. While those educators, exhibit designers, and program developers who work in ISE settings often recognize authenticity as an important part of many informal learning experiences, this may be simply be an assumption driven by tradition in practice versus a strategy supported by evidence. This project seeks to better understand how and/or why "the real thing" may (or may not be) important for supporting informal science learning. By examining what is already known about authenticity and learning, the project will inform best practices in ISE as well as point to gaps in knowledge that might need further research. It is funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, which seeks to advance new approaches to, and evidence-based understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments. This includes providing multiple pathways for broadening access to and engagement in STEM learning experiences, advancing innovative research on and assessment of STEM learning in informal environments, and developing understandings of deeper learning by participants.
This research synthesis takes a systematic approach to identify and compile both theoretical and empirical literature to better understand the role authenticity may play in supporting informal science learning. This project will gather ISE literature related to the effects of "authenticity" on learner outcomes, and will look to neighboring disciplines such as psychology, anthropology, media studies, linguistics, marketing and others to seek relevant theoretical perspectives and empirical work that might further understanding of the potential role of authenticity in ISE. The initial phase of the project will focus on gathering theoretical perspectives and positions that help explain the value or importance (or perhaps non-importance) of "realness" as it relates to learning, interest, and experience. A panel of experts from multiple disciplines will convene to help identify key perspectives and frameworks that may clarify the role or impacts of authenticity. A second phase focuses on gathering and assessing empirical studies that support (or refute) the relevant perspectives and theories identified from the initial multi-disciplinary foray into authenticity. To ensure breadth and depth of review, the PIs, research librarians, graduate students, and special topics classes will engage in identifying, evaluating, summarizing, and synthesizing the relevant research (including gray literature) to produce an initial synthesis report that will be reviewed by select experts from the earlier panel. A second convening of practitioners (exhibit developers, educators, program designers, etc.) will be used to further contextualize the findings in ways that may better inform current practices in providing effective ISE. The resulting products include a peer-reviewed research synthesis and a practitioner handbook.
The proposed project's Broader Impacts lie in the potential to inform ISE practice in exhibit and program design and in the delivery of ISE-related experiences. Although the importance of the authenticity of an object or experience may ultimately be determined by the individual, this study will be able to provide guidance to help practitioners and scholars in making sometimes difficult design choices. Such insights may also inform other learning environments (e.g. the classroom) as well as other disciplinary areas (e.g. history, anthropology, art).
This project is funded by the National Science Foundation's (NSF's) Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, which supports innovative research, approaches, and resources for use in a variety of learning settings.
This poster was presented at the 2019 AISL PI Meeting, and describes the the ongoing research questions and goals of the Ute STEM Project, which explores the integration of the traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) of the Ute Indians of Colorado and Utah and Western science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
A group of 12 researchers gathered at MSI to discuss issues surrounding the critical but challenging area of how to measure the long-term effects or impacts of ISE experiences, chaired by Dr. John Falk, Oregon State University and Institute for Learning Innovation, and hosted by Aaron Price, Museum of Science & Industry, Chicago, (MSI) on July 18, 2018. All the invitees had expertise and experience in this area, resulting in a rich conversation based equally in theory and practice. The goal of the discussion was to build on the collective experience of the group to identify and address key
This project creates interactive experiences about the social sciences in the middle of San Francisco's Civic Center open space. How do we design this to work for all walks of life?
This project creates "data-catcher" exhibits that allow museum visitors to participate in scientific research, contributing data from their interactions while engaged in compelling learning experiences.
Poster shared at the 2019 AISL PI Meeting to share our key question: as we work with various theories, models, and practices, how can these be made most useful to possible users of the information?
While there is extensive evidence that STEM careers can be important pathways for augmenting social mobility and for increasing individual prestige, many youth perceive a STEM trajectory as an unattractive option. In the US, women and members of historically marginalized racial and ethnic groups, continue to be underrepresented across STEM disciplines. One vehicle for generating and sustaining interest in STEM is providing youth long-term access to informal science education (ISE) institutions. Here, we incorporate triangulation methods, collecting and synthesizing both qualitative and
This award was provided as part of NSF's Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowships (SPRF) program and is supported by SBE's Developmental Sciences program and the Directorate for Education and Human Resources' (EHR) Advancing Informal STEM Learning program. The goal of the SPRF program is to prepare promising, early career doctoral-level scientists for scientific careers in academia, industry or private sector, and government. SPRF awards involve two years of training under the sponsorship of established scientists and encourage Postdoctoral Fellows to perform independent research. NSF seeks to promote the participation of scientists from all segments of the scientific community, including those from underrepresented groups, in its research programs and activities; the postdoctoral period is considered to be an important level of professional development in attaining this goal. Each Postdoctoral Fellow must address important scientific questions that advance their respective disciplinary fields. Under the sponsorship of Dr. Sandra D. Simpkins at the University of California, Irvine, this postdoctoral fellowship award supports an early career scientist exploring high-quality and culturally responsive, math afterschool program (ASP) practices for under-represented minority (URM) youth. Mathematical proficiency is the foundation of youth's STEM pursuits. Yet today, far too many youth do not pursue STEM based on a perception that they are "not good at math". Students need to engage in contexts that spark their interest and their continued mastery and growth. ASPs are settings for such dynamic opportunities, particularly for URM students such as Latinos who attend lower quality schools and do not feel supported. In college, URM students often struggle with uninspiring and culturally incongruent STEM learning environments. The intergenerational nature of university-based STEM ASPs, whereby younger students are paired with undergraduate (UG) mentors, are opportunities to support both K-12 and UG students' motivational beliefs in math and STEM more broadly. This project will examine these intergenerational developmental processes in the context of a math enrichment ASP located at a Hispanic-Serving Institution. By studying how ASPs can serve as an important lever for promoting URM students' access and success in STEM, this project seeks to meaningfully inform efforts to broaden the participation of underrepresented groups in these fields.
This project seeks to understand how participating in a math enrichment ASP supports both youth participants' and UG mentors' motivational beliefs in math; to describe high-quality and culturally responsive practices; and to understand how to support the effectiveness of youth-staff relationships. To accomplish these research objectives, data will be collected from both youth participants and UG mentors through multiple methods including surveys, in-depth interviews, participant-observations, and video observations of youth-staff interactions. This project will add to our understanding of university-ASP partnerships. Further, the knowledge gained from this study will impact the larger landscape of practice and research on STEM ASPs by 1) addressing critical gaps in the current literature on high-quality and culturally responsive STEM ASP practices and 2) informing ASP staff development training. Overall, this mixed methods project will provide critical and rich information on the ways that ASPs can effectively deliver on its promise of promoting positive development for all youth, especially URM youth who may need and benefit from these spaces the most. The invaluable insight garnered from this study will be disseminated to traditional academic audiences to advance knowledge, as well as to local, state, and national organizations to inform the larger landscape of practice in STEM ASPs.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.