Assessing science learning in informal environments involves a series of challenges that are difficult to address using traditional assessment practices (National Research Council, 2009). Some of the assessment challenges inherent in informal and afterschool environments include: (a) interactions in these environments are diverse in terms of duration, type of activity, number of people involved; (b) they usually include emerging behavior due to unpredictable interactions with other participants (e.g., peers, family members, and facilitators); and (c) these environments are characterized by a
Cross-national assessments of student learning in mathematics, science, reading, computer technology, and civics have been successfully conducted since the 1960’s. Each subject required professional researchers and educators from different cultural backgrounds to reach agreement on a common definition of the content areas and measurement techniques for formal schooling. Two international organizations, the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) and the Organization for Economic and Cooperation and Development (OECD) are now continuously conducting
This background paper is intended to support consideration of assessments "in improving program quality and student learning outcomes in the field of informal science education." This includes three questions: (a) What definitions of engagement, interest, curiosity, and motivation might be used in evaluations of informal and after-school science learning programs and activities? (b) Given the diversity of learning experiences, what are the prospects for developing common definitions of engagement, interest, curiosity, and motivation? And, (c) Given the diversity of types of informal and after
The NRC Framework for K – 12 Science Education (2012) lists five major ideas that are essential to the design of assessments and learning environments: 1) limited number of core ideas of science, 2) cross-cutting concepts, 3) engaging students in scientific and engineering practices, 4) building integrated understanding as a developmental process, and 5) the coupling of scientific ideas and scientific and engineering practices to develop integrated understanding. What implications do these major ideas have for assessment in informal science setting? This paper will discuss each of these ideas
Observational instruments are receiving broad attention as measures of gauging the quality of interactions within formal educational settings (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, 2012). Scores from observations are used as critical pieces of information in the evaluation of teachers for purposes of making employment-related decisions and supporting professional development. Given the potential high-stakes use, a large body of research is emerging to address the validity of observation instruments as assessments of quality (Gitomer & Bell, in press). Using this research base, this paper focuses
The practice and use of assessments in the informal science education (ISE) realm is highly diverse and inconsistent, with differing stakeholders having dramatically different attitudes towards which assessments (if any) they value. This essay reviews the landscape of attitudes and uses of assessment on the part of informal science education stakeholders beyond the research community.
The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Committee on STEM Education (CoSTEM) was created to coordinate federal programs and activities that support STEM education pursuant to the requirements of Sec. 101 of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010. The CoSTEM addresses a wide range of education and workforce policy issues including: research and development efforts that focus on STEM education at the PreK-12, undergraduate, graduate, and lifelong learning levels; and current and projected STEM workforce needs, trends, and issues. This paper describes the role of assessment
With increased resources and professionalism come increased expectations for the evaluation of individual projects to also provide field-wide evidence for the impact of ISE. But there has not been a significant growth in the use of psychometric measures that are validated to support field-wide assessments and norm-referenced tests for the field. This essay argues that expectations for the field to adopt normed assessments need to be contextualized in the practice and realities of ISE evaluation. While at the same time, evaluators of ISE projects need to build upon stepping stones such as
The Universally Designed Museum Programming project was envisioned as a way to create public programs that are more inclusive of people with disabilities. We used the concepts of universal design and Universal Design for Learning as well as our prior experiences with these topics in exhibition design and nanotechnology programming as a foundation for our work. Through this project, we gained insight into building a community of interest, facilitating a charrette in an inclusive way, using universal design guidelines to develop programs, and measuring the effectiveness of our process.
Learning involves change in knowledge and understanding; capabilities and skills; ways of thinking–-values, feelings and attitudes; and/or ways of acting-–behaviors. It is a lifelong process that occurs in many different environments. Learning is often described as formal learning (such as that occurring in schools, colleges, and universities) and informal learning (that occurs everywhere else). Although the learning process is the same, there are qualitative differences between formal and informal learning contexts that hinge on the degree of choice participants have to engage in learning
Over the past 50 years, women in the United States have made great strides in education and entry into the work force in this country. However, despite these advances, women continue to be underrepresented in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math, collectively referred to as “STEM.” Women’s representation is low at all levels of the STEM career “pipeline,” from interest and intent to majoring in a STEM field in college to having a career in a STEM field in adulthood. Studies show that girls lose interest in math and science during middle school, and STEM interest for girls
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Kamla ModiJudy SchoenbergKimberlee Salmond