As part of the Oakland Museum of California’s (OMCA) Hotspot California project funded by NSF, Garibay Group conducted research investigating whether habitat dioramas contribute to visitors’ development of Sense of Place. The main research question for the study was: What role does sense of place play in visitors’ experiences with habitat dioramas?
This final report summarizes the findings from three summative evaluation activities conducted by Serrell & Associates and the Oakland Museum of California with visitors to the newly renovated, reinstalled, and reinterpreted Gallery of California Natural Sciences in April and July 2014: the stay-time study, the cued questionnaire study, and the personal connections study.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Serrell & AssociatesBeverly SerrellMary T. Faria
This presentation about the Online Project Monitoring System (OPMS) was given as part of the "Mining the Field: What Are We Learning?" Diving Deeper session at the 2014 AISL PI Meeting in Washington, DC.
SRI’s Afterschool Science Networks (ASN) study provides new insights and empirical findings regarding the offering of science learning opportunities at scale. Four meetings of afterschool and informal science stakeholders were held in March and April 2014 to discuss the ASN findings generated from 5 years of research (see research summary on page 12). These stakeholders helped SRI Education researchers generate a vision of science in afterschool settings, as well as recommendations for strengthening the field. This document presents this vision of powerful afterschool science and provides a
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Ann HouseCarlin LlorenteTiffany Leones
These are samples of observation/interview testing instruments that were used in front end studies with recruited visitors to experience habitat case "interventions" such as guide cards and question prompts; and understanding concepts for a digital interactive.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Oakland Museum of CaliforniaMary T. Faria
resourceresearchProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
The NSF/IES Common Guidelines for Education Research and Development suggest that external feedback is appropriate for each of the different types of research described. What exactly does that mean? How does a project effectively engage an advisory board in the evaluation process? This session will provide suggestions for how the external feedback function can be undertaken by an advisory board with clearly defined roles and expectations that correspond to the type of research and the purpose of the feedback.
This presentation by Sue Ellen McCann opened the "Building New Audiences with Technology" Diving Deeper session at the 2014 AISL PI Meeting in Washington, DC. It frames the discussion by asking how people learn about and choose to use new technologies, and then uses KQED's e-book strategy as an example.
This poster was presented at the 2014 AISL PI Meeting held in Washington, DC. It presents the programs in production for Season Three of SciGirls, a series of six episodes following groups of girls and their mentors as they take part in citizen science projects. Season Three is produced in collaboration with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Girls Collaborative Project.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
TPT Twin Cities Public TelevisionRichard Hudson
This report summarizes findings from an evaluation of the NSF-funded project: Two Eyes, 3D. Through collaborations with two museums, the project sought to develop and test learning outcomes for stereoscopic (3D) resources. More specifically, the external evaluation—conducted by Rockman Et Al—sought to determine the perceived value of using stereoscopic technology within museums and planetariums, uncover best practices for implementation of stereoscopic resources, and further explore best practices for research partnerships within museum settings.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
American Association of Variable Star ObservrsJennifer Borland
This poster was presented at the 2014 AISL PI Meeting held in Washington, DC. The project creates a STEM ecosystem in a severely under-resourced urban community. The Chicago Zoological Society, which operates Brookfield Zoo, is expanding a community partnership with Eden Place Nature Center in Chicago’s Fuller Park Neighborhood and offering a full suite of environmental science learning opportunities for teachers, youth, families, and adults. A research component is led by the University of Illinois at Chicago.
This poster was presented at the 2014 AISL PI Meeting held in Washington, DC. It describes a project that uses museum-based exhibits, girls' activity groups, and social media to enhance participants' engineering-related interests and identities.
Creating Museum Media for Everyone (CMME), a National Science Foundation (NSF) Enhanced Pathways Grant, held a five-day workshop in May 2012 that brought together 55 museum professionals and accessibility experts in fields such as formal science and special education, technology product development, gaming, accessible technologies, and universal design and Universal Design for Learning. The overarching purpose was to help launch the work of the core team from the Museum of Science (MOS), the WGBH National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM), Ideum, and Audience Viewpoints in developing the next