This project will bring STEM content knowledge to visitors to Cuyahoga Valley National Park via mobile device applications. Visitors will be able to use their mobile phones to access details about Park features (such as where they are in the park, what they are looking at, and where are related features), supporting just-in-time STEM learning. Cuyahoga Valley National Park receives around 2.5 million visitors every year and experiences multitudes of inquiries. Until this project, visitors were subjected to less than optimum signage for information and background about a given feature that may or may not be of interest to them. In this project, knowledge building information will be selected by the visitors and delivered to them with convenience and speed. The data base supporting this effort will provide the visitor with identification and the history of park features as well as more in depth knowledge building information while they are in the park and after the leave, providing a more holistic experience than is currently available. The investigators will build the system in parts, testing the feasibility at each stage and evaluating affective and cognitive outcomes of each portion. Research questions that will be addressed in the course of this project include: (1) What outcomes associated with use of this GPS-base system could inform future development and implementation? and (2) What contributions do these GPS-based mobile learning applications have on informal science learning as understood within the Six Strands of Informal Science Learning? It is expected knowledge generated in this project will stimulate additional programing for increasing efficacy and use in other widely ranging venues. If successful, it is easy to imagine how this STEM knowledge-building application could be extended for use in other venues across the country.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Richard FerdigRuoming JinPatrick LorchAnnette Kratcoski
This project will bring STEM education to rural communities through local public libraries. Museum quality exhibits labelled as "Discover Earth", "Discover Technology", and "Discover Space" will spend 3 months at a series of locations around the Nation. Twenty four medium sized libraries will be chosen for the large exhibits and forty small libraries will be chosen for scaled down versions. The project's intent is to provide exhibits in every state and to reach as many under-represented individuals as possible. The significance of this project is that rural areas of this country are underserved regarding STEM education and since this segment of society is represented by 50-60 million residents, it is important to reach out to them. There is a significant segment of the Nation's population (50-60 million) that is underserved by out-of-school learning venues such as museums and science centers. An earlier phase 1 project demonstrated at 18 sites that rural libraries and librarians could provide STEM education to community members ranging in age from adults to children using these hands-on exhibits. Each exhibit (earth, space or technology) includes information about the topic and technologically enabled models to provide interesting and fun discovery mechanisms. They use common layman friendly language that highlights the most recent discoveries in each area. Each exhibit will be placed in the selected library for 3 months during which the library will organize events to feature and advertise the STEM learning opportunities. Another feature of this project will be to determine the models of learning in library settings and as a function of the demographics. The partners in this project that bring the necessary expertise are the American Library Association, the Afterschool Alliance, the Association of Rural and Small Libraries, the University of Colorado Museum, Datum Advisors, LLC, Evaluation and Research Associates, the Lunar and Planetary Institute, the American Geophysical Union, and the Space Science Institute.
This paper examines how students, teachers, and parents evaluate residential fieldwork courses. As in prior research, findings from questionnaire data indicate that fieldwork effects social, affective, and behavioural learning. More surprisingly, focus group interviews captured increases in cognitive learning as well. This paper underscores the value of out-of-school experiences, particularly for students from under-resourced backgrounds.
Drawing on a survey of 454 teachers, Penuel, Fishman, Yamaguchi, and Gallagher found several components of professional development (PD) that predicted implementation of an earth science curriculum. They determined that the coherence of the PD effort and the provision of content instruction were the most important factors determining whether or not teachers implemented the new curriculum.
NOVA Labs (www.pbs.org/nova/labs) is a web-based platform designed for use by educators, students, and teens to engage learners with authentic data, processes, and tools of working scientists. The present evaluation study sought to investigate the outcomes achieved by users of the third NOVA Labs platform developed: Cloud Lab. The intended outcomes identified for student users were that they would: • Be able to successfully work with the real data provided in the Cloud Lab; • Demonstrate ability to interpret and use scientific data and tools; • Engage with real scientific data through the
This poster was presented at the 2014 AISL PI Meeting in Washington, DC. Through sustained collaborations that unite research, design, and professional development, members of the InforMath Collaborative are conducting design-based research on exhibits and programs that integrate art and science content from participating museums with the mathematics of topology and projective geometry.
This poster was presented at the 2014 AISL PI Meeting in Washington, DC. The project seeks to develop and study a model that would integrate the science research on urban systems into science museum exhibits and programs, starting in this phase in a new "City Science" exhibit space at the EcoTarium. The goal is to learn how to assist citizens in decision-making and shaping a sustainable future for their communities.
This poster was presented at the 2014 AISL PI Meeting in Washington, DC. The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow (CoCoRaHS) network is an existing backyard citizen science project that is enhancing the research efforts of scientists and promoting climate literacy among the public by engaging volunteers in precipitation-monitoring activities.
The mission of the New Mexico Informal Science Education Network (NM ISE Net) is to provide opportunities and resources for informal educators to work together to impact science teaching, science learning, and science awareness throughout the state of New Mexico. The NM Museum of Natural History and Science leads NM ISE Net with support from NM EPSCoR.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
New Mexico Museum of Natural HistorySelena ConnealyCharlie Walter
This poster was presented at the 2014 AISL PI Meeting in Washington, DC. It describes a project that will expand the functions and applications of FieldScope, a web-based science information portal currently supported by the National Geographic Society (NGS). The goal is to create a single, powerful infrastructure for Public Participation in Science Research (PPSR) projects that any organization can use to create their own project and support their own community of participants.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
National Geographic SocietyMary Ford
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 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.