Principal Investigator’s Guide: Managing Evaluation in Informal STEM Education Projects

Publications

An initiative of the Visitor Studies Association, produced in partnership with the Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE).This Guide is designed to help principal investigators and other leaders of informal STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education projects integrate evaluation into all phases of project design, development, and implementation. Such projects include exhibits, media projects, websites, community science projects, afterschool programs, festivals, family activities, online games, citizen science projects, and other efforts to help people

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ITEST Data Brief: ITEST Projects Funded in 2015

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Image of Data Brief

ITEST Data Brief Volume 3, Issue 2, July 2016In 2015, 30 ITEST projects were awarded funding. STELAR surveyed these projects as part of the the Fall 2015 Management Information System (MIS) Survey and received a 97% completion rate. This data brief presents information from the 29 responding projects around the following questions: Which of the 7 ITEST Guiding Questions do projects choose to address?In what settings projects plan to conduct their work?What grade levels do projects serve?Who are included as project participants?In what locales do projects coduct their work? In what states are

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Students on STEM: More Hands-on, Real-world experiences

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A new survey of American teenagers from the Amgen Foundation and Change the Equation offers real cause for optimism about the future of high school science and biology education in the United States. Teens generally like science—and biology in particular—and they grasp the importance of the field to people’s lives. They know good biology teaching when they see it, and they would like the opportunity to do more engaging, hands-on science in school.

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Next Generation STEM Learning for All: Envisioning Advances Based on NSF Supported Research

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Next Generation STEM Learning for All: Envisioning Advances Based on NSF Supported Research Report Cover

This report presents important takeaways from a one-day National Science Foundation (NSF)-supported Forum, “Next Generation STEM Learning for All,” organized by Education Development Center (EDC) and SRI International through the STEM Learning and Research Center (STELAR) at EDC, the Community for Advancing Discovery Research in Education (CADRE) at EDC, and the Center for Innovative Research in Cyberlearning (CIRCL), working in close collaboration with NSF and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.The Forum engaged prominent scientists in STEM learning research and school

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ITEST Data Brief: ITEST in Action

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Image of the ITEST in Action Data Brief

ITEST Data Brief Volume 3, Issue 1, March 2016 This data brief provides information on the composition of ITEST project participants, what activities they engage in, in what settings, and what projects feel contributes to their project's success based on projects submissions to the 2014-2015 ITEST Management Information System (MIS) Annual Survey.

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GLOBE and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

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To support U.S. schools, districts, and states in the adoption of the new national science standards, the GLOBE U.S. Partner Community developed "A Guide to Connections between The GLOBE Program and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)" through the support of a grant from the National Science Foundation. This guide connects GLOBE protocols and resources to the NGSS Framework and can be used as a resource for digital curriculum platforms.

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WaterBotics: A Novel Engineering Design Curriculum for Formal and Informal Educational Settings

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WaterBotics has been implemented with thousands of middle and high school youths in five U.S. geographic regions.The underwater environment presents novel challenges that can facilitate unique learning experiences for students engaged in robotics programs. WaterBotics® is an underwater robotics curriculum using LEGO® MINDSTORMS®components and related materials. It has undergone an extensive, eight-year research and development phase. WaterBotics can be used effectively in a variety of formal and informal educational settings, such as school-based classrooms, summer camps, and after-school

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