Building upon extensive prior work, the Institute of Learning Innovation is developing and implementing a conference to bring together media professionals, researchers, and policymakers that work in ISE to reflect upon recent research and develop frameworks for future practice and evaluation. Various media-related groups (print, broadcast, electronic gaming, etc,) usually have professional conferences in isolation from each other with little sharing of information and research findings. Despite the rapid blurring of boundaries between various media types in the marketplace, researchers and practitioners remain within traditional silos. This conference will bring together 80 media practitioners and researchers for a two-day national conference in order to consolidate and synthesize the research-based theories presented in a pre-conference publication. A series of 3 post-web conferences will build on the momentum generated during the initial conference and generate broader participation within the science learning media community. Rockman et al will evaluate the conference and post conference web community.
The Lawrence Hall of Science will host a follow-up conference to the January, 2004 conference of the National Coalition for Science in After-school. The goal of this 2nd conference is to take the emerging National Coalition for Science in After-school further, bringing in additional organizations and points of view, to take the vision the next step into action plans that will establish an infrastructure, a research agenda and framework, an advocacy campaign and a plan for sustainability that will include further networking among participants. The conference will contribute to the enhancement of science education for the more than ten percent of the Nation's youth who currently participate in after-school programs, many of whom are least well served in the formal educational system. The conference will bring together leaders in science education and after-school programs to combine their best thinking about ways to share current ideas and to create new partnerships, models, research initiatives and organizational structures to advance their work. The conference will allow current and potential leaders in STEM and after-school organizations to inform one another, share best practices and form strategic alliances. In addition to traditional dissemination mechanisms (website, listserv, conference report), the conference will result in an action plan that includes extending membership in the Coalition to additional organizations and its messages to new audiences, including those who work with students with disabilities, community organizations and parent advocates. In addition to Lawrence Hall, the lead organizations in the Coalition are the Exploratorium, TERC, the Children's Aid Society, the National Afterschool Association and The After School Corporation.
The following is one of three focus point presentations delivered as part of the session titled “Citizen Science Project Design” on day two of the Citizen Science Toolkit Conference at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca, New York on June 20-23, 2007. Wilderman discusses different models for community science and the pros/cons of each model.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Candie C. Wilderman
resourceresearchProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
The following is one of three focus point presentations delivered as part of the session titled “Citizen Science Project Design” on day two of the Citizen Science Toolkit Conference at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca, New York on June 20-23, 2007. Sandra Henderson, UCAR Citizen Science Programs Manager, discusses two citizen science campaigns, GLOBE at Night and Project BudBurst. Henderson reviews some concerns about data quality and lessons learned on data verification. Henderson also introduces a new project called Great World Side Star Count.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Sandra Henderson
resourceresearchProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
This recap poses provocations or questions in response to four presentations delivered as part of the session titled “Citizen Science Project Design” on day two of the Citizen Science Toolkit Conference at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca, New York on June 20-23, 2007. Martin Storksdieck, Director of Project Development at the Institute for Learning Innovation, summarizes the key elements of citizen science projects and poses questions for the field.
This is one of three focus point presentations delivered as part of the session titled "Technology and Cyberinfrastructure," delivered on day two of the Citizen Science Toolkit Conference at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca, New York on June 20-23, 2007. Sarah Kirn, Vital Signs Program Manager at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, discusses the cyberstructure-enabled citizen signs project called VitalSigns. Kirn explains how the program works, what they've learned, and how the program will grow and improve in the future.
This is one of three focus point presentations delivered as part of the session titled "Technology and Cyberinfrastructure," delivered on day two of the Citizen Science Toolkit Conference at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca, New York on June 20-23, 2007. Dave Lemberg, Director of the Michigan Heritage Water Trails and Associate Professor in the Department of Geography at Western Michigan University, discusses Michigan area citizen science projects related to geography and the issues associated with this type of data.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Dave Lemberg
resourceresearchProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
This set of panel presentations and group discussion were part of the session titled "Impacts of Citizen Science," delivered on day two of the Citizen Science Toolkit Conference at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca, New York on June 20-23, 2007. The panel presentations provide a wide spectrum of examples of the impact of citizen science in a range of disciplines, projects, and settings.
The Franklin Institute (TFI), in collaboration with the Institute for Learning Innovation (ILI), will conduct a research effort that explores the role that informal science learning plays in supporting girls' long-term interest, engagement and participation in science communities, hobbies and careers. Five longstanding programs for girls, begun 5-20+ years ago, will be the focus of the proposed study and include the National Science Partnership (NSP), Girls at the Center (GAC), Wonderwise, and Women in Natural Sciences (WINS). The selected study projects have access to girl participants who are high-school aged or older and represent diverse race, ethnicity and SES. A national Research Advisory Council will ground the investigation and review the findings at each stage of the research. The Community of Practice (CoP) literature (Lave and Wenger, 1991) will provide the theoretical frame for the overarching research question. Findings will document long-term impacts of girls' participation in identified informal science programs, determine how informal contexts in general contribute to girls' science learning and achievement, and develop a model for understanding the impact of informal science learning initiatives. Deliverables will include specific examples of informal learning experiences that support girls' long-term participation in science and evidence of the types of influences, including significant adults and particular activities, that contribute to girls' trajectories of participation. Dissemination tools will be a national conference, a research monograph and a series of workshops conducted in conjunction with professional conferences for informal science educators. By better understanding the impact of informal programs in science, specifically and more generally, and by developing and demonstrating an effective model for understanding such impact across projects, the proposed research stands to inform the field and provide a base for future project development and research efforts. The research results will improve the understanding of practice in these arenas and will document the significant role that informal programs place in influencing girls' vocational and avocational choices and participation in STEM fields. The study will also demonstrate the applicability of the CoP research model and its lessons to other informal science programs.