caise

The Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE) works to strengthen and connect the informal science education (ISE) community by catalyzing conversation and collaboration across the sectors of the ISE field—including film and broadcast media, science centers and museums, zoos and aquariums, botanical gardens and nature centers, digital media and gaming, science journalism, and youth, community, and after-school programs. CAISE focuses its work on supporting current and future Principal Investigators of National Science Foundation-funded projects in the interest of improving practice, documenting impact and communicating the contributions of informal science education.

In cooperation with NSF, CAISE has designed a suite of initiatives that are currently under development.  The Initiatives include:

The Informal Commons: allows users to search resources across a set of complimentary ISE websites including: Assessment Tools in Informal Science (ATIS), CAISE, Exhibit Files, InformalScience.org, National Association for Museum Exhibition (NAME), Open Exhibits, Visitor Studies Association (VSA), and HowToSmile.

An Entree Initative to increase awareness of ISE to a variety of professional audiences including science researchers and individuals working with ISE organizations.

A Media Initiative that convened a working group of PIs to consider how to build the collective efficacy of producers of ISE-funded science media projects.

The PIs Guide to Managing Evaluation in Informal Science Education Projects is being written for potential and current PIs of ISE projects that are primarily working with external evaluators The focus is on understanding the use and application of evaluation in informal science education environment projects.

An ISE Evidence Wiki is being developed as an online, dynamic resource that provides evidence about the impact of informal learning experiences.

ISE Evaluation Framework Public Review: the goal of this public review is to (1) provide data to NSF for the updating of the NSF ISE Evaluation Framework, (2) position VSA to help NSF update the Framework, and (3) to inform an eventual framing document that VSA will produce about the Framework and Learning Science in Informal Environments reports.

CAISE hosts online discussions with a focus on topics investigated by NSF-sponsored informal science education workshps and conferences. Join the CAISE Forum to participate. (Use the word "informal" as an enrollment key.)

The Center for the Advancement of Informal Science Education organizes ISE Summits and PI Meetings in Washington, D.C., for principal investigators of projects supported by the NSF Informal Science Education (ISE) program and others who take an active interest in broad strategic issues that cut across the informal science education field. ISE Summits and PI Meetings offer an opportunity to discuss trends and issues in the field and to get updates on the latest directions in federal funding.

The ISE PI Meeting 2012: CAISE will be convening the bi-annual National Science Foundation (NSF) Informal Science Education (ISE) Program Principal Investigator Meeting, March 14-16, 2012, at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. The gathering will be an opportunity for NSF ISE projects to come together to network with each other and their program officers, receive technical assistance, have access to new knowledge and tools, and be inspired by leaders in the field.

CAISE held ISE Summits in 2008 and 2010.  Documentation of those meetings may be found here.