Informal Learning and Afterschool

National Informal STEM Education Workshop: Creating Relevant and Meaningful STEM Experiences

Sarah MacGillivray — Mon, 31 Mar 2025 19:03:47 +0000

National Informal STEM Education Workshop: Creating Relevant and Meaningful STEM Experiences

Sarah MacGillivray Mon, 03/31/2025 - 15:03

National Informal STEM Education Workshop: Creating Relevant and Meaningful STEM Experiences

Tuesday, Apr 15, 2025

DESCRIPTION

Join the National Informal STEM Education Network (NISE) as they explore the importance of relevance in STEM learning experiences. This workshop will start with an introduction to the principles of relevance, sharing strategies found to be successful during a study of place-based learning in the NISE Network's STEM Learning Ecosystems project. NISE will then talk about the process of how to approach your community and find out what is truly relevant to your audiences. Participants will also hear from NISE Network partners already co-creating with their communities to engage audiences more meaningfully in STEM. Whether you are already involved in a STEM ecosystem, looking for ways to get more involved, or simply want to create stronger partnerships within your community, don't miss this opportunity to learn how to take the first steps towards creating more relevant and meaningful STEM experiences.

Tuesday, April 15, 2025; 2pm - 3pm Eastern / 11am - 12pm Pacific

Register here for this NISE online workshop

ALL EVENTS

Event Type

Public Event

EVENT DETAILS

Start date

Tuesday, 15 April, 2025 02:00 PM

End date

Tuesday, 15 April, 2025 03:00 PM

Timezone

Eastern

Link

Learn more and register

Topic(s)

Informal Learning and Afterschool

Location

Online

Textured Tactile 3D Prints of Astronomical Data for the Career Exploration Lab and Other Applications

Carol Christian — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 16:24:08 +0000

Textured Tactile 3D Prints of Astronomical Data for the Career Exploration Lab and Other Applications

Carol Christian Thu, 04/25/2024 - 12:24

Textured Tactile 3D Prints of Astronomical Data for the Career Exploration Lab and Other Applications

Description

Astronomy has been a fascinating subject for the public for centuries and can stimulate deep questions not only on our own origin but subtly the richness of science and mathematics. It also is a science that is associated with engineering and technology to probe the universe.Typically, astronomical data is translated into visual representations for analysis and general public communication. Unfortunately, this practice is problematic for individuals with blindness or visual impairment (B/VI). In response, we transformed astronomical research data and models into textured 3D prints for tactile exploration of imagery. These materials were thoroughly tested, step by step throughout development, over many years, utilizing standard usability testing commonly used in industry and elsewhere. We further pilot tested the 3D prints in a variety of forums, workshops, conferences, and STEM camps for students with B/VI.

These materials are used in the Career Exploration Lab, funded by ITEST, as well as other environments. The 3D prints are available through a custom website, with descriptions of the testing, print techniques, and documentation. These prints are also available through the NASA 3D website, under Contributions - via a search for either Christian or Madura. One of many outcomes of our projects is that 3D printing has been quite useful in showcasing scientific data (largely from Hubble Space Telescope and James Webb Telescope) to the general public for understanding and appreciation of science. Holding a galaxy, a star cluster, or a model of the Sun resonates well with even the most casual interest in astronomy.

Resources submitted by ITEST projects may be hosted on third-party sites or require a fee or membership for access. Permission to use these materials must be obtained from the publisher or the author listed on each resource.

Project Curricula Details

Topic(s)

Accessibility

Informal Learning and Afterschool

STEM Career Opportunities and Workforce Development

Youth Motivation and Interests in STEM

Website

3D Astronomy

Target Setting(s)

Middle school (6-8)

High school (9-12)

Other

Discipline(s)

Physics and astronomy

Using Informed Design in Informal Computer Science Programs to Increase Youths’ Interest, Self-efficacy, and Perceptions of Parental Support

Kissy Canela — Fri, 15 Jul 2022 16:38:42 +0000

Using Informed Design in Informal Computer Science Programs to Increase Youths’ Interest, Self-efficacy, and Perceptions of Parental Support

Kissy Canela Fri, 07/15/2022 - 12:38

Using Informed Design in Informal Computer Science Programs to Increase Youths’ Interest, Self-efficacy, and Perceptions of Parental Support

Description

Our work is situated in research on Computer Science (CS) learning in informal learning environments and literature on the factors that influence girls to enter CS. In this article, we outline design choices around the creation of a summer programming camp for middle school youth. In addition, we describe a near-peer mentoring model we used that was influenced by Bandura's self-efficacy theory. The purpose of this article, apart from promoting transparency of program design, was to evaluate the effectiveness of our camp design in terms of increasing youths’ interest, self-efficacy beliefs, and perceptions of parental support. We found significant gains for all three of these concepts. Additionally, we make connections between our design choices (e.g., videos, peer support, mentor support) and the affective gains by thematically analyzing interview data concerning the outcomes found in our camps.

PUBLICATION DETAILS

Type

Article

Author

J. Clarke-Midura

C. Sun

K. Pantic

F. Poole

V. Allan

Publisher

ACM Digital Library

Publication Website URL

https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3319445

Topic(s)

Informal Learning and Afterschool

File Attachment(s)

Article

Publication Year

2019

Discipline(s)

Computer and informational technology science

2021 ITEST Solicitation Webinar: Solicitation Overview

Kissy Canela — Wed, 30 Jun 2021 18:06:24 +0000

2021 ITEST Solicitation Webinar: Solicitation Overview

Kissy Canela Wed, 06/30/2021 - 14:06

2021 ITEST Solicitation Webinar: Solicitation Overview

Description

On June 30, STELAR hosted National Science Foundation Program Officers for an informative webinar on the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) Program’s Solicitation (NSF 19-583). During this webinar NSF Program Officers Bob Russell, Alicia Santiago, and Gavin Fulmer reviewed the goals of the ITEST program, highlighted key aspects of the solicitation, and provided guidance on developing a competitive proposal.

Download the 2021 Solicitation Webinar Slides

A second NSF webinar "How to Submit a Competivite ITEST Proposal" was held July 7 with additional tips from NSF.

Be sure to also visit STELAR's proposal development resources, including information about the new Research.gov requirements.

Click the fullscreen icon in the video for better viewing Expand

All resources

Topic(s)

Informal Learning and Afterschool

STEM Content and Standards

Teacher Professional Development and Pedagogy

Youth Motivation and Interests in STEM

Integrating Science Into Afterschool: A Three-Dimensional Approach To Engaging Underserved Populations In Science - Final Report

Sarah MacGillivray — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 20:52:52 +0000

Integrating Science Into Afterschool: A Three-Dimensional Approach To Engaging Underserved Populations In Science - Final Report

Sarah MacGillivray Mon, 12/16/2019 - 15:52

Integrating Science Into Afterschool: A Three-Dimensional Approach To Engaging Underserved Populations In Science - Final Report

Description

The initiative called Integrating Science Into Afterschool: A Three-Dimensional Approach to Engaging Underserved Populations in Science set out to promote science learning in three out-ofschool settings (afterschool programs, home, and community), to promote rich and varied science experiences to underserved Philadelphia communities, and to assess the value of this model for the broader field of out-of-school time and informal learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The project was funded through the National Science Foundation’s Innovative Technology Experiences for Student and Teachers (ITEST) program, and one of its intended contributions was developing a model to enhance STEM career readiness among elementary school children from communities underrepresented in STEM fields. The project’s framework was articulated in the following way in the initial funding proposal to the National Science Foundation: By offering science program experiences and support structures for those facilitating children’s science learning in out-of-school programs for Philadelphia youth and engaging families and the community in extensions of these science experiences, science will eventually become an integral part of numerous communities throughout the Philadelphia area. As described in the funding proposal, this initiative had five major goals:

Goal 1: Embed project-based science learning into the program offerings of five afterschool sites serving children grades 3-5, with approximately 50 children at each site.
Goal 2: Create a rich and comprehensive professional development program that will be offered to afterschool facilitators at the five sites.
Goal 3: Establish family programs that support engagement with science and accessing scientists and their careers in relevant and meaningful ways, across the contexts of afterschool, home, and community.
Goal 4: Develop home-based science activities that continue children’s science learning initiated in the afterschool setting into the home setting with families.
Goal 5: Evaluate the effectiveness of this 3-D approach in engaging children, families, afterschool facilitators, and community-based organizations in science learning and the promotion of STEM professions.

These goals and associated objectives draw on The Franklin Institute science museum’s extensive history of implementing evidence-based science curricula and on the Principal Investigator’s strength in developing and researching informal science opportunities that emphasize the social nature of science learning and professional development. The three dimensions of this initiative – afterschool, home, and community – are designed to create strong STEM career pathways for children in underserved communities by:

Leveraging and supporting informal learning opportunities in out-of-school settings.
Engaging parents as critical adults in children’s science learning.
Providing children concrete examples of meaningful engagement with science and with scientists with whom they can identify.

In order to accomplish these goals, The Franklin Institute partnered with Philadelphia’s Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC), a nonprofit public health institute that aims to build healthier communities through partnerships with government, foundations, businesses, and community-based organizations. PHMC is the city’s intermediary for contracting, managing, supporting, and monitoring more than 100 community-based out-of-school time (OST) programs. It also facilitates and coordinates professional development about project-based learning to OST program facilitators.

In this report, we demonstrate that although specific activities of the project (whose name we shorten as STEM 3D) have evolved from the original plan, the overall vision has provided a powerful impetus for change in participating individuals and OST sites and has provided valuable resources to the larger informal STEM ecosystem of Philadelphia.

Authors: Creative Research and Evaluation, LLC. Philadelphia, PA, The Discovery Center, Murfreesboro. TN , The Franklin Institute, Philadelphia. PA

PUBLICATION DETAILS

Type

Report

Author

S. Blanc

Publisher

Creative Research & Evaluations

Publication Website URL

https://www.informalscience.org/sites/default/files/2017.%20INTEGRATING%20SCIEN…

Topic(s)

Informal Learning and Afterschool

Participant Recruitment and Retention

Youth Motivation and Interests in STEM

File Attachment(s)

2017. INTEGRATING SCIENCE INTO AFTERSCHOOL. FINAL EVAL REPORT .pdf

Publication Year

2017

Additional Disciplines

Engineering - design

Integrating STEM Into Afterschool: Lessons Learned for Educators In and Out of School

Sarah MacGillivray — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 20:26:10 +0000

Integrating STEM Into Afterschool: Lessons Learned for Educators In and Out of School

Sarah MacGillivray Mon, 12/16/2019 - 15:26

Integrating STEM Into Afterschool: Lessons Learned for Educators In and Out of School

Description

In 2013 The Franklin Institute, a leading science museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, received a grant from the National Science Foundation (#1138911) to reach under-resourced urban communities by strengthening the capacity of afterschool centers to offer STEM programming. Integrating Science Into Afterschool: A Three-Dimensional Approach to Engaging Underserved Populations In Science, or “STEM 3D,” was a five-year project that aspired to integrate STEM learning across afterschool, home, and community as a strategy for building positive science identities and creating viable STEM pathways for Philadelphia children who might otherwise be disconnected from the city’s STEM-rich institutions and opportunities. The initiative had three major goals: first, to increase engagement in hands-on, inquiry-based science projects among upper elementary–age youth; second, to cultivate intergenerational support for science learning; and third, to evaluate the effectiveness of this 3D (afterschool, home, and community) approach in engaging children, families, afterschool educators, and community-based organizations in science learning and the project’s promotion of STEM professions. This article focuses on the professional development for implementing STEM activities that emerged as a result of the STEM 3D project and examines its impacts on educators and their students. STEM 3D worked on building educators’ skills and confidence in developing and implementing high-quality project-based STEM units that can help children see STEM learning as something embedded in their homes and neighborhoods. The article will discuss STEM 3D’s professional development approach for facilitating afterschool, project-based learning in STEM. An additional focus of this article is how STEM 3D ultimately shaped the strategies that the Franklin Institute now incorporates into its professional development initiatives with both formal and informal educators.

This article is collaboratively written by the STEM 3D team (Clark, Cox, and McCreedy [PI]) and the external evaluator (Blanc). Additional information about STEM 3D and the STEM 3D evaluation is available online at InformalScience.org and Creative-Evaluations.com.

PUBLICATION DETAILS

Type

Article

Author

S. Blanc

T. Cox

D. McCreedy

and A. Lee Clark

Publisher

Connected Science Learning

Publication Website URL

http://csl.nsta.org/2018/12/integrating-stem-into-afterschool/

Topic(s)

Informal Learning and Afterschool

File Attachment(s)

csl.nsta_.org-Connected Science Learning.pdf

Publication Year

2018

Discipline(s)

Engineering

Additional Disciplines

Engineering - design

Using Robotics and Game Design to Promote Pathways to STEM

Becca Schillaci — Wed, 27 Feb 2019 18:25:10 +0000

Using Robotics and Game Design to Promote Pathways to STEM

Becca Schillaci Wed, 02/27/2019 - 13:25

Using Robotics and Game Design to Promote Pathways to STEM

Description

This research report presents the results of a STEM summer program on robotics and game design. The program was part of a three-year study funded by the National Science Foundation. Children in grades four through six participated in a two-week summer camp in 2015 to learn STEM by engaging in LEGO® EV3 robotics and computer-based games using Scalable Game Design. Twenty-eight students participated in the study that took place in a small urban community in the Rocky Mountain West. This paper reports on the results of this part of the study, specifically, how children’s computational thinking skills developed and how their self-efficacy in technology, attitude toward engineering and technology, and 21st century skills changed as a result of their participation.

Citation: Leonard, J., Buss, A., Unertl, A., & Mitchell, M. (2016, November). Using robotics and game design to promote pathways to STEM. Proceedings of the 39th annual meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education. University of Arizona: Tucson, Arizona.

PUBLICATION DETAILS

Type

Conference proceeding

Author

Jacqueline Leonard

Alan Buss

Adrienne Unertl

Monica Mitchell

Publisher

North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education

Topic(s)

Computational Thinking

Informal Learning and Afterschool

File Attachment(s)

Leonard et al 2016 - Conference Proceeding.pdf

Publication Year

2016

Discipline(s)

Computer and informational technology science

Engineering

Youth’s Engagement as Scientists and Engineers in an Afterschool Making and Tinkering Program

Anonymous — Sun, 03 Feb 2019 03:32:50 +0000

Youth’s Engagement as Scientists and Engineers in an Afterschool Making and Tinkering Program

Anonymous (not verified) Sat, 02/02/2019 - 22:32

Youth’s Engagement as Scientists and Engineers in an Afterschool Making and Tinkering Program

Description

Making and tinkering is currently gaining traction as an interdisciplinary approach to education. However, little is known about how these activities and explorations in formal and informal learning spaces address the content and skills common to professionals across science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. As such, the purpose of this qualitative study was to examine how youth were engaged in the eight science and engineering practice outlined within the US Next Generation Science Standards within an informal learnin environment utilizing principles of tinkering within the daily activities. Findings highligh how youth and facilitators engaged and enacted in practices common to scientists an engineers. Yet, in this study, enactment of these practices Blooked^ differently than might be expected in a formal learning environment such as a laboratory setting. For example, in this setting, students were observed carrying out trials on their design as opposed to carrying out a formal scientific investigation. Results also highlight instances of doing science and engineering not explicitly stated within parameters of formal education documents in the USA, such as experiences with failure.

PUBLICATION DETAILS

Type

Article

Author

A. Simpson

A. Burris

A. Maltese

Publisher

Research in Science Education

Publication Website URL

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-017-9678-3

Topic(s)

Maker

Informal Learning and Afterschool

File Attachment(s)

Youth’s Engagement as Scientists and Engineers in an Afterschool Making and Tinkering Program

Publication Year

2017

Mathematics in Informal Learning Environments: A Summary of the Literature

Anonymous — Fri, 01 Feb 2019 20:07:20 +0000

Mathematics in Informal Learning Environments: A Summary of the Literature

Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 02/01/2019 - 15:07

Mathematics in Informal Learning Environments: A Summary of the Literature

Description

Research on mathematical reasoning and learning has long been a central part of the classroom and formal education literature (e.g., National Research Council, 2001, 2005). However, much less attention has been paid to how children and adults engage with and learn about math outside of school, including everyday settings and designed informal learning environments, such as interactive math exhibits in science centers. With the growing recognition of the importance of informal STEM education (National Research Council, 2009, 2015), researchers, educators, and policymakers are paying more attention to how these experiences might support mathematical thinking and learning and contribute to the broader goal of ensuring healthy, sustainable, economically vibrant communities in this increasingly STEM-rich world.

To support these efforts, we conducted a literature review of research on mathematical thinking and learning outside the classroom, in everyday settings and designed informal learning environments. This work was part of the NSF-funded Math in the Making project, led by TERC and the Institute for Learning Innovation and designed to advance researchers’ and educators’ understanding of how to highlight and enhance the mathematics in making experiences.1 Recognizing that the successful integration of mathematics and making requires an understanding of how individuals engage with math in these informal learning environments, we gathered and synthesized the informal mathematics education literature, with the hope that findings would support the Math in the Making project and inform the work of mathematics researchers and educators more broadly.

Although this was not a formal synthesis, we collected literature systematically, with a focus primarily on studies since 2000. As appropriate, we reviewed seminal studies prior to this time period, such as Nunes and colleagues’ groundbreaking work on everyday mathematics (Nunes, Schliemann, & Carraher, 1993; Nunes et al., 1993). Sources were identified through conversations with math education experts and systematic literature searches using PsycInfo, ERIC, Google Scholar, and informascience.org. Because there was a particular lack of research on mathematics in designed informal learning environments, we also drew from the “grey literature” in this area, including summative evaluations of museum programs and exhibits. We did not systematically review literature from the fields of adult math learning and education, although this research also offers insights into the nature of mathematics outside of school (e.g., Schmitt & Safford-Ramus, 2000; Seabright & Seabright, 2008). After reviewing identified studies, the Math in the Making team drafted themes and discussed these with the project advisory committee, which included experts in making, tinkering, and informal math learning.

Below we summarize findings from the review, beginning with research on everyday mathematics and followed by research and evaluation studies on math learning and thinking in designed informal learning environments. We conclude with a summary of key themes and a call to action in the hopes that this work will motivate ongoing research to understand and support how adults and children learn about and engage with mathematics outside the classroom and the important role these experiences can play in lifelong STEM learning.

PUBLICATION DETAILS

Type

White paper

Author

Scott Pattison

Andee Rubin

Tracey Wright

Topic(s)

Maker

Informal Learning and Afterschool

File Attachment(s)

MATHEMATICS IN INFORMAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS.pdf

Publication Year

2017

Additional Disciplines

Mathematics - general

OERL ITEST Instrument

Anonymous — Thu, 26 Jul 2018 02:25:56 +0000

OERL ITEST Instrument

Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 07/25/2018 - 22:25

OERL ITEST Instrument

Description

This instrument collects data about the attitudes of students toward science, mathematics and technology, in particular robotics. It can be administered to youth aged 12-15 who participated in a 4-H project (informal learning environment) focused on robotics, GPS/GIS, and natural resource/precision agriculture concepts.

INSTRUMENT DETAILS

Topic(s)

Informal Learning and Afterschool

Youth Motivation and Interests in STEM

Target Gradespan(s)

Middle school (6-8)

High school (9-12)

Additional Disciplines

Bioscience - general

Computer Science - general

Engineering - general

Engineering - robotics

Environmental Science - climate modeling

Environmental Science - GIS/GPS

Environmental Science - remote sensing technology

Mathematics - general

Relevant Website(s)

Instrument