ISE PI Summit 2008 - Discussion Groups
The ISE PI Summit 2008 gathered some of the top leaders and thinkers in the U.S., representing the diversity of informal science education. To leverage this opportunity, time for discussion group sessions were provided such that Summit participants could discuss, share, and innovate with others about (1) current and upcoming projects, as well as (2) how to move the field of informal science education forward. The list of discussion group topics were chosen based on the number of respondents on the 2008 ISE PI Survey (n=108) who offered to lead them.
More Time, More Money, More Freedom: The Three Secrets to Successful Collaboration Across Institutions and Industries
Building on an informal presentation of case studies from outreach efforts, this session explores the obstacles to successful collaboration between television producers and science museums, as well as the benefits to each organization when these obstacles are overcome. Join this frank discussion about what works, what doesn’t, and what we can all do better.
Integrating Traditional Ways of Knowing with Western Science
In this roundtable, we discuss best practices for integrating traditional ways of knowing with Western science in informal science education programs.
Public Engagement with Science: An Emerging Role for ISE?
How are ISE projects stepping beyond the traditional goals of increasing public understanding of the natural and humanmade worlds as well as beyond traditional approaches of one-way communication and discovery learning? In this discussion, we identify the goals and techniques that drive "public understanding of science" (PUS) and those that drive "public engagement with science" (PES). Participants from all sectors of ISE are invited to share experiences and brainstorm ideas about ISE projects that facilitate more open exchanges between science and society.
This discussion informs a CAISE Inquiry Group on PES that will lead to several products, including a white paper and recommendations to funders.
Environmental Literacy: Taking Action through ISE
Climate changes, air and water concerns, and other environmental challenges are pressing and complex issues. Our leaders and residents face the challenge of balancing the economies within which we thrive, the communities where we reside, and the natural resources on which we depend. What roles can ISE play in addressing environmental literacy?
Come to an experimental session at the 2008 ASTC Conference in Philadelphia to discuss this topic with experts who have relevant information to share. The Sunday, Oct. 19, keynote will be a panel discussion, moderated by NPR science correspondent Joe Palca, followed by small group give-and-take with the panelists and ASTC colleagues. The panelists are Anthony Leiserowitz, director of the Yale Project on Climate Change and an expert on worldwide public attitudes toward environmental messages; Lynne Cherry, author of award-winning books for children that teach repsect for the earth and launch conservation campaigns; and Phil Myrick, urban planner with Project for Public Spaces, who writes about the relationship between public insitutions and their communities. The panel, and the attendees, will address the question: how can science cneters catalyze public Understanding and action on sustainability in their communities? See the Conference program for the location in the Pennsylvania Conference Center.
- Comment by Sheila Grinnell on August 3rd, 2008
Religion and Science: Beyond the Evolution-Creationism Wars
How do these two cultural forces—religion and science—coexist, collide, and cooperate?
Public Participation in Research: Citizen Science and Beyond
Laypeople have been collecting scientific information for decades. However, data collection projects that allow participants to learn science content and processes while helping to generate scientific knowledge is more recent. Such efforts include citizen science, community science, civic science, and participatory action research. How can these and related projects involve the public in comprehensive investigations that include all of the steps in the scientific process—not just collecting data, but also analyzing and interpreting it, discussing results, drawing conclusions, and asking new questions? Bring your ideas to help shape a CAISE Inquiry Group that will lead to several products, including a white paper and recommendations to funders.
Portraying Science as a Human Endeavor
Sharing science can include more than “science content.” It can focus on processes and passions that drive scientists. For three years the pulse of the planet radio series has equipped scientists to record audio diaries and write logs. Both of these techniques provide an insider’s view of the scientific endeavor. Through television, Freshwaters Illustrated has explored ways scientists can share their passion for science, while remaining cognizant of their credibility and reputation. Join PIs from these two NSF funded ISE projects to explore lessons learned and future possibilities.
Learning Across Formal and Informal Settings: How Do We Connect?
Science is perceived by many as a set of facts and procedures that requires prodigious memorization skills and shirts that carry pocket pens. This conception of science is developed, in large part, by the way science is taught and experienced in schools. People who come to our institutions might have other ideas about science, but what about those that don’t? How can informal science institutions contribute to the reshaping of science education in school and afterschool settings so that it becomes more meaningful, relevant, and engaging for more people, particularly those who are under-represented in the sciences?
A CAISE Inquiry Group is forming to develop a white paper, with recommendations for funders, that will explore how informal science institutions and schools can work together to transform how science is experienced and learned by children in the nation’s classrooms and afterschool programs. Help us shape this paper by joining us to identify the important questions, conflicts, and opportunities that need to be considered.
Discussion Group Notes
Click on the image below to view the flipchart paper.
Sustaining Access to ISE for People with Disabilities
A number of NSF-funded ISE projects have made efforts to increase access to ISE for people with disabilities. What are the features of successful projects, and what conditions make it likelier that these efforts will be sustained? Come connect with others working in this arena, share your experiences, and contribute to the work of a CAISE Inquiry Group on accessibility. The group will report findings and recommendations later this year.
Bringing New Visualization Technologies into ISE Institutions
Remote sensing devices (from seismometers to satellites) now collect gigantic streams of data that monitor the daily status of our planet. Communication/computer systems and networks translate these data into visual representations. Scientific visualizations are powerful tools for aiding researchers in increasing scientific understanding our world. How might these tools (e.g., Science on a Sphere™, Rain Table, Geowall, Corewall) be used to translate large datasets into ISE experiences that are compelling and meaningful to our audiences? Can the inherent digital nature of this technology reduce upfront production costs and shorten the time needed to produce new science content while also enabling wider and faster distribution? What roles might the ISE community play in ensuring that large datasets and scientific visualizations benefit large public audiences?
Knowing When and How to Scaffold Learning: A Dialogue about Teaching and Learning Using Digital Data
We ask one of the central questions in learning and teaching in informal settings: How can we help ISE educators to know how and when to scaffold social activity of groups and individuals during their activities in places like museums, gardens, zoos, and aquariums? This discussion group will explore the following questions using video and audio data gathered at the Museum of Science and Industry at the kids in charge exhibition.
- Noticing family dynamics—how to “read” social activity
- Knowing when to interact—how to understand when to interact based on a preliminary read
- Knowing how to interact—how to know when it is appropriate to guide families to specific content or when to help them problem solve.
Taking ISE to the Next Level: What Happens After the Sound Bite?
After your grant is over and the excitement begins to diminish, how do you keep the science fresh and exciting for both the staff delivering the message and the public who receives it? What works? What doesn’t? Come share both your successes and your challenges.
Assessing the Impacts of Online Professional Communities for Informal Science Education
Do online communities aimed at professional audiences have field-changing effects? In May, the University of Pittsburgh Center for Learning in Out of School Environments (UPCLOSE) hosted a two-day CAISE Inquiry Group on the topic of assessing the impacts of online professional communities for informal science education. In this discussion group, we will share our findings and continue the conversation about the potential value and impact of online communities. What would you consider evidence of success for an online community and how we can measure it? What are the right units of analysis to consider when measuring the impacts of online communities—the individual, the group, or the field? Do the impact categories described in the new Framework for Evaluating Impacts of Informal Science Education projects capture the collective efficacy, participatory, and social capital aspects of what online communities might offer?
Working with Your Program Officer
Are you new to NSF ISE awards? Do you have questions about annual reports or working with your program officer? Drop by for informal conversation.