The overall goal of the Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE) Equity Audit has been to assess CAISE as an organization, and its operations and products through a racial equity lens. In this report, CAISE provides insights on how to better serve our audiences, identify potential resource gaps, and to expand the reach and value of our work to other communities and individuals.
This study collected data from seven planetarium email lists (one per planetarium regional organization in the United States), as well as online survey panel data from residents in each area, to describe and compare those who do and do not visit planetariums.
This Informal Learning Review article briefly recounts the activities of Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education's (CAISE) over three award periods, from 2007 through 2022. It includes links to key CAISE resources and event documentation. CAISE sunsetted its activities in early 2022 and passed the baton of leadership of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program resource center to REVISE- the Reimagining Equity and Values in Informal STEM Education center.
Inverness Research and Oregon State University, with support and input from CAISE, conducted an evaluation of the 2021 NSF AISL Awardee Meeting which was held virtually October 19-21, 2021. The evaluation effort included observing the meeting, participating in debriefing the meeting with CAISE co-PIs, the CAISE equity audit committee, and NSF Program Officers; developing and administering a post-event survey; and analyzing data collected through both the survey and Pathable, the virtual platform.
The meeting specifically focused on inviting and including community partners, and on creating
The fields of science education and science communication are said to have developed as disparate fields of research and practice, operating based on somewhat different logics and premises about their audiences. As the two fields share many of the same goals, arguments have been made for a rapprochement between the two. Drawing inspiration from a historical debate between the scholars John Dewey and Walter Lippmann, the present article is a case-oriented theoretical contribution applying models from science education and science communication in relation to a current socio-scientific issue
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Erik Fooladi
resourceevaluationProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
The Center for the Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE) is mid-way through year five of a five-year cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation. The NSF funded CAISE in 2007 in order to serve as a resource center to the informal science education (ISE) program, its grantees, and the larger ISE field. Inverness Research has served as the external evaluator for the past five years, documenting the development of CAISE, and the quality and value of its work to key audiences and stakeholders.
This report is a reflection on the progress of CAISE that draws upon our
Individuals do not all come to tasks, activities, or assignments with the same readiness to engage. Differences in the ability to focus, comprehend, or problem-solve can lead to inequalities of outcome and make learners less likely to realize their potential. Given that interest development supports persistence, conscientiousness, and the ability to work with negative feedback, educators and policymakers could help to increase educational opportunity for all by promoting the development of interest. Interest is a cognitive and motivational variable that describes (a) engagement, or
In recent years, transmedia has come into the spotlight among those creating and using media and technology for children. We believe that transmedia has the potential to be a valuable tool for expanded learning that addresses some of the challenges facing children growing up in the digital age. Produced by the USC Annenberg Innovation Lab and the Joan Ganz Cooney Center, this paper provides a much-needed guidebook to transmedia in the lives of children age 5-11 and its applications to storytelling, play, and learning. Building off of a review of the existing popular and scholarly literature
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Becky Herr-StephensonMeryl AlperErin Reilly
BACKGROUND: Environmental health risks are disproportionately colocated with communities in poverty and communities of color. In some cases, participatory research projects have effectively addressed structural causes of health risk in environmental justice (EJ) communities. However, many such projects fail to catalyze change at a structural level.
OBJECTIVES: This review employs Critical Interpretive Synthesis (CIS) to theorize specific elements of participatory research for environmental health that effectively prompt structural change in EJ communities.
METHODS: Academic database search
Through desk-based research and expert interviews, this study set out to investigate how funders and policy makers could drive coordination and improvements in the evaluation of youth engagement with STEM. The study explored the current landscape of evaluating youth engagement with STEM, gaps and challenges and key learnings from the evaluation practice in other sectors and key initiatives. Between February and March 2022, 18 project and programme evaluation reports and papers were reviewed, approximately 40 academic papers were analysed and synthesised, and 14 experts were interviewed.
This summary brief captures highlights from the evaluation report for the first year of the NSF-funded WaterMarks project (also available on this page). The purpose of this document is to communicate key updates from evaluation in a less technical way with the many different audiences who have an interest in keeping up with WaterMarks.
This is the evaluation report for the first year of the NSF-funded WaterMarks project. It reflects an initial summary of available evidence about the intended outcomes of program activities to date, as well as commentary on how the project is using (or could use) this information moving forward. This report contains descriptions of embedded measures (i.e. anonymized drawings and reflections captured on a thematic postcard) included in community walks and analyses of secondary data (i.e., interviews conducted by other members of hte project team), as well as reflections emerging from the