CAISE Initiatives
In cooperation with NSF, CAISE has designed a suite of initiatives that are currently under development and which constitute the core work of Years 4 and 5 of the project. Below are brief descriptions of the initiatives, along with contact information for the leaders of each.
I. The PIs Guide to Managing Evaluation in Informal Science Education Projects
The PIs Guide to Managing Evaluation in Informal Science Education Projects (the Guide) is being developed 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 environment projects. The Guide will ultimately be an online publication, capable of being adapted to changes in the NSF ISE request for proposals and the naturally evolving nature of federal programs. The Guide will build in explicit discussion about and links to key documents identified in the NSF ISE request for proposals, such as the Framework for Evaluating Impacts of Informal Science Education Projects, the National Research Council report Learning Science in Informal Environments, and practitioners’ volume Surrounded by Science. The Guide will also make connections with NSF’s Online Project Monitoring System as well as resources on informalscience.org.
For more information about the Guide, contact , VSA.
II. The ISE Evidence Wiki
An ISE Evidence Wiki is being developed as an online, dynamic resource that provides evidence about the impact of informal learning experiences. The primary audience is potential and current PIs of ISE projects, and by extension the ISE field, particularly proposal writers, project developers, evaluators, researchers, program officers, policymakers, or anybody who is in a position to provide evidence for the impact of informal learning environment experiences. The wiki will consist of brief evidence summaries, allowing easy creation and editing of interlinked web pages toward a common goal of providing evidence for the impact of informal learning environment experiences. A pilot of the Wiki will be launched during Year 4 of CAISE.
For more information about the ISE Evidence Wiki, contact , VSA.
III. ISE Evaluation Framework Study
The Evaluation Framework Study is providing data for NSF to use in updating their ISE Evaluation Framework. The study begins with a national survey about the Evaluation Framework among current and potential PIs, as well as evaluators engaged in NSF ISE projects. The survey will be followed by a series of focus groups. Questions addressed in the survey and focus groups include: Are ISE professionals using the Framework and the National Research Council volumes and if so, how, why, and for what purpose? The survey is also designed to elicit questions that arise in the reading of and use of these two documents.
For more information about the ISE Evaluation Framework Study, contact , VSA.
IV. Media Initiative
CAISE has launched a media initiative that brings together a working group to examine the ISE solicitation requirements with the concerns of film, broadcast and online media professionals in mind. The goal of the Summer 2011 convening is to consider how to build the collective efficacy of producers of ISE-funded science media projects (e.g. television, radio, IMAX, web and social media formats) to develop innovative research and evaluation collaborations that measure and describe the impacts of media-based projects on science interest, learning, and engagement for diverse learners and networked users. CAISE seeks to help producers and researchers identify mechanisms to support professional activities and practices which utilize those findings to inform the design of future science media projects.
This initiative brings together field leaders in science media production, informal learning research, science communication, and media evaluation to think strategically about how to better define audience impacts, measure learning outcomes and communicate the value of transmedia projects to a diverse set of constituents. The activities and provocations for this two-day workshop and its outputs are being developed through a planning process with CAISE senior advisers, a steering team and NSF input.
For more information about the Media initiative, contact or , UPCLOSE.
V. Interactive ISE timeline
CAISE is developing an interactive timeline about informal science education to help promote a stronger sense of professional identity by documenting and displaying accomplishments, issues, and perspectives from the ISE field. The timeline includes information derived from key projects and people that have shaped the current landscape of educational programs, policies, and infrastructure. It will ultimately serve as a professional development resource for newcomers and others not already familiar with ISE by sharing knowledge and promoting discussion of past innovations and practices. The timeline will also allow current ISE professionals to contribute their working knowledge and perspectives on key controversies and best practices, helping to build a collective understanding of the values, achievements, and aims of the field.
The Interactive ISE Timeline is being built upon a paper timeline prototyping activity that was designed by the Lawrence Hall of Science, tested by a CAISE Learning Inquiry Group, and prototyped at the 2010 CAISE Summit. This collective timeline building activity is now being extended into a living interactive media object that invites participation and contribution from the wider ISE community.
For more information about the Interactive Timeline, contact , Lawrence Hall of Science, and , UPCLOSE.
VI. Informal Commons
CAISE is developing an “Informal Commons” web infrastructure that will provide a service layer and cross-connections to allow enhanced use across a suite of informal science education web sites. This infrastructure includes a shared social media widget that collects data about use from multiple sites and makes it available for analysis for any site in the Informal Commons. The Informal Commons site will aggregate the data collected and this information will be available as separate (and shareable) widgets that make up a dashboard display.
A universal search engine will produce faceted results across a suite of ISE sites, and users will be able to set up individual email alerts based on custom keywords and/or specific sites through an “agent” and alert system. In addition, the Commons will ultimately include an iPhone application will allow users to integrate content from the full set of collaborating ISE sites using a mobile devise.
Version 1.0 of the Informal Commons, available by summer, 2011, will be a dashboard/aggregator site that will enable ISE professionals to connect with popular content across the suite of ISE sites. The site will allow users to see articles or documents from the ISE sites that their colleagues access and use.
For more information about the Informal Commons, contact , Ideum, and , UPCLOSE.
VII. Entrée Program
The Entrée Program will increase awareness of CAISE and the broader informal science education (ISE) field to a variety of audiences, including those from current and future National Science Foundation-funded programs, the science research community, and ISE organizations. Through a number of strategies, including live presentations, direct contact, and web tools, Entrée will communicate to its audiences about points of access to the resources of CAISE, the NSF ISE portfolio, and the general ISE field. The program particularly seeks to serve historically under-served/under-represented audiences, connecting them to professional resources and career opportunities within the ISE field.
In Year 4, Entrée has initiated a dialogue with all current NSF ISE Principal Investigators, collecting input about project reach and disseminating information about new tools, web-based or otherwise, including a dynamic live presentation that outlines and describes the various sectors of the ISE field.
For more information about the Entrée Program, contact , and at Oregon State University.