This is a compilation of front-end, formative, and a partial summative evaluations, and an exploratory study using the xMacroscope, a data visualization technology developed for generating data from an exhibit using data captured from visitor actions.
Based on the number of visitors annually, zoos and aquariums are among the most popular venues for informal STEM learning in the United States and the United Kingdom. Most research into the impacts of informal STEM learning experiences at zoos and aquariums has focused on short-term changes in knowledge, attitudes and behaviors. This Science Learning+ project will identify the opportunities for and barriers to researching the long-term impacts of informal STEM learning experiences at zoos and aquariums. The project will address the following overarching research question: What are and how do we measure the long-term impacts of an informal STEM learning experience at a zoo and aquarium? While previous research has documented notable results, understanding the long-term impacts of zoo and aquarium learning experiences will provide a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the impact of these programs on STEM knowledge, skills and application. This study will use a participatory process to identify: (1) the range of potential long-term impacts of informal science learning experiences at zoos and aquariums; (2) particular activities that foster these impacts; and (3) opportunities for and barriers to measuring those impacts. First, an in-depth literature review will document previous research efforts to date within the zoo and aquarium community. Second, a series of consultative workshops (both in-person and online) will gather ideas and input from practitioners, researchers, and other stakeholders in zoo and aquarium education. The consultative workshops will focus on two questions in particular: (1) What are the different types and characteristics of informal science learning experiences that take place at zoos and aquariums? and (2) What are the long-term impacts zoos and aquariums are aiming to have on visitors in relation to knowledge, attitudes, skills and behaviors/actions? Finally, visitor surveys at zoos and aquariums in the US and UK will be conducted to gather input on what visitors believe are the long-term impacts of an informal STEM learning opportunity at a zoo or aquarium. The data gathered through all of these activities will inform the design of a five-year, mixed-methods study to investigate long-term impacts and associated indicators of an informal STEM learning experience at a zoo or aquarium. One of the aims of the five-year study will be to test instruments that could eventually be used by the global zoo and aquarium community to measure the long-term impacts of informal STEM learning programs. Designing tools to better understand the long-term impacts of informal STEM learning at zoos and aquariums will contribute to our ability to measure STEM learning outcomes. Additional benefits include improved science literacy and STEM skills amongst visitors over time and an understanding of how education programs contribute to wildlife conservation worldwide.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Brian JohnsonStanford UniversityLancaster UniversitySarah ThomasNicole ArdoinMurray Saunders
This 2006 paper reviews the ways in which structured informal learning programs for youth have been characterized in the research literature. The paper synthesizes opportunities for and challenges to research in this domain; it categorizes programs and gives concrete examples of various program types. A proposed Vygotskian research framework is organized around key dimensions of the informal learning context, including location, relationships, content, pedagogy, and assessment.
There is a movement afoot to turn the acronym STEM—which stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics—into STEAM by adding the arts. Science educators have finally begun to realize that the skills required by innovative STEM professionals include arts and crafts thinking. Visual thinking; recognizing and forming patterns; modeling; getting a "feel" for systems; and the manipulative skills learned by using tools, pens, and brushes are all demonstrably valuable for developing STEM abilities. And the National Science Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts have gotten
The Queens Borough Public Library (QBPL) will develop "Science in the Stacks," an integrated, multi-sensory, self-paced informal learning environment within its forthcoming Children's Library Discovery Center. It will include 36 Discovery Exhibits developed by the Exploratorium, three Learning Carts for scripted activities by librarians, six Information Plazas, a Discovery Teens program, a web site and supporting educational activities. The theme will be multiple pathways to the world of information. QBPL will be collaborating locally with the New York Hall of Science and the Brooklyn Children's Museum. Overall, QBPL receives some 16 million visits per year; the target audience for this project is children ages 3 to 12. In addition to its public impact, "Science in the Stacks" will have professional impact on both the science center and library fields, showing how it is possible to combine their different modes of STEM learning in complementary ways. Although library-museum colaaborations are not new, this one is the first attempt to combine their respective learning resources on a large scale. It offers the potential to serve as a new model for both fields, enabling visitor (patron) entry into self-directed STEM learning through books, media, programs or hands-on activities.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Nick BuronLorna Rudder-KilkennyThomas RockwellMarcia Rudy