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.
This resource presents a catalog of 25 unique projects, with short descriptions and details about how each project integrates imagination. To support practitioner use, the projects are indexed by title, contributor, project context and format, project audiences, and imaginative ways of thinking. Projects in this resource were selected from works shared by Unpacking the STEM Imagination Convening participants, and works reviewed as part of a comprehensive literature review on imagination in STEM.
This resource presents a one-page summary of the methods, results, and conclusions from a comprehensive literature review of 137 pieces of literature addressing the intersections of imagination and STEM. The research questions guiding this comprehensive literature review were: (a) What types of literature address imagination in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education and practice? (b) How does the literature define imagination? (c) How does the literature position the role of imagination in STEM? Details of the literature review results can be found summarized in other
A brief summary of the results of an analysis of 137 pieces of literature reviewed as part of the project’s comprehensive literature review, focusing specifically on the range of ways imagination is positioned in relation to STEM (as a trait or capability, an outcome, a process, a theoretical framework, or as valuable).
This resource presents a list of categories of “imaginative ways of thinking” as well as word clouds illustrating the huge range of ways imagination is described in literature at the intersections of imagination and STEM. This resource reflects results from a comprehensive review of 137 pieces of literature addressing the intersections of imagination and STEM.
This report describes results of a professional impacts evaluation to understand the impact of the Unpacking the Imagination Convening on its participants. Evaluation Questions were: (1) What, if any, new perspectives on imagination, STEM, and learning did participants gain through the pre conference activities and/or the convening? (2) How, if at all, did participation in the convening impact participants’ awareness of current and recent ISE initiatives in which imagination is a thread? (d) How, if at all, did participation in the convening impact participants’ interest in positioning
This report presents results of a survey of 101 professionals' perspectives on imagination in STEM, describing the survey’s methods and results. The goal of the survey was to describe the landscape of beliefs about and understandings of imagination in the context of STEM practice and STEM education. Findings suggest that professionals (representing various sectors within or adjacent to STEM education and practice) believe in the power of imagination in STEM; there is an appetite - and need - for more imagination-infused work; and definitions of imagination varied, offering an expansive range
This document categorizes several strategies for fostering imaginative thinking, emergent from our review of literature. Strategies are organized by high-level categories, sub-categories, and specific actions educators or experience designers can take to foster imagination in a range of contexts. The resource also includes relevant citations for further exploration of these strategies. This resource reflects results from a comprehensive review of 137 pieces of literature addressing the intersections of imagination and STEM.
This resource briefly summarizes the work of the Unpacking the STEM Imagination Convening and associated project research activities, and posits several "imagination problems" emergent from this work: 1) Defining Imagination; 2) Intentionally Addressing Imagination; 3) Fostering Imagination; 4) Addressing The Myth that STEM is Not Imaginative; 5) Buying-in to Imagination in STEM; 6) Un-Privileging Certain Imaginative Ways of Thinking; and 7) Inclusion and Imagination. This resource suggests areas for future research and development in the context of imagination in informal STEM learning
The National Science Foundation’s Division of Research and Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL) has invested in several resource centers and networks in the past several years. In 2010, The National Science Foundation awarded a small Early Concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) grant to bring together the Principal Investigators (PIs) and evaluators of these resource centers to collaborate and share ideas and lessons learned. As part of that EAGER grant, and our participation in the evaluation group, Inverness Research agreed to undertake a very small and limited exploration
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;1 and analyzing data collected through both the survey2 and Pathable, the virtual platform.
The meeting specifically focused on inviting and including community partners, and on
This white paper describes outcomes from a conference about using non-science art in science education. Art and science are often combined for entertainment, education (STEAM) and inspirational value. However, in almost all cases the art is science-themed (scientific visualizations, science-inspired art, art about scientific topics, etc.). This conference asks the question “what about art for arts-sake?”. That is, what is the impact of non-scientific art in science education? Can non-science themed art be used to broaden perspectives about science? Can it cue people to think about science more