The impact of educators in informal science learning sites (ISLS) remains
understudied from the perspective of youth visitors. Less is known
about whether engagement with educators differs based on the age
and gender of both visitor and educator. Here, visitors (5–17 years old)
to six ISLS in the United States and United Kingdom (n¼488, female
n¼244) were surveyed following an interaction with either a youth
(14–18 -years old) or adult educator (19þ years old). For participants
who reported lower interest in the exhibit, more educator engagement
was related to greater self-reported learning. Younger children and adolescents
reported more engagement with an adult educator, whereas
engagement in middle childhood did not differ based on educator age.
Participants in middle childhood showed a trend toward answering
more conceptual knowledge questions correctly following an interaction
with a youth educator. Together, these findings emphasize the
promise of tailoring educator experiences to visitor demographics.
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Expanding Informal Maker-Based Learning Programs for Urban Youth
This Research Full Paper contributes to research on creating maker-based learning experiences for youth in diverse informal learning settings. A key research question in this space is how to efficiently and effectively setup maker learning spaces and train educators to deliver high-quality maker curriculum in diverse sites. To study this question, we developed and deployed a multi-phase maker educator training program that included makerspace setup, educator training, and youth program deployment. We deployed three models of the program at three participating sites over roughly nine months. We analyzed data from educator pre- and post- interviews and found that the programs generated considerable interest in the youth and resulted in positive shifts in career aspirations and social and technical skills. Participants emphasized the importance of creating hybrid online and offline resources and training materials. Our participants also identified logistical challenges related to recruiting educators and youth attendance. Finally, participants described possibilities for content localization and the inclusion of participatory approaches to keep youth and educators engaged.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1723610
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10202305
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Proceedings Frontiers in Education Conference
- ISSN:
- 0190-5848
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Abstract Little research has examined the associations between perceived inclusivity within informal science learning sites, youth program belonging and perceptions of program career preparation. This study explored relations between these factors at three timepoints (T1 = start of program, T2 = 3 months and T3 = 12 months after start). Participants were a diverse sample of 209 adolescents participating in STEM youth programs within informal science learning sites situated in the United States and United Kingdom (70% females: M age = 15.27, SD age = 1.60), with 53.1% British and 64.1% non-White. Path analysis revealed that only perceptions of inclusivity for own social identity group (i.e., gender, ethnicity) at T1 were associated with T2 STEM youth program belonging. There was a significant indirect effect of T1 perceptions of inclusivity for one’s own social identity groups on T3 perceptions of program career preparation via T2 program belonging. This study highlights that, over time, perceptions of inclusivity around youth’s own social identity groups (i.e., gender and ethnicity/culture) are related to a sense of youth program belonging, which in turn is later associated with perceptions of program career preparation.more » « less
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null (Ed.)As the number of afterschool technology-rich maker learning programs for youth increases, it is important to investigate effective assessment tools that can be used to assess program impact at scale. We studied results from a series of surveys using two deployment modes with 94 youth who participated in programs at an afterschool maker learning center. We found that retrospective surveys that ask youth to reflect on shifts in their attitudes after completing a program are more effective than the same surveys deployed twice, pre- and post- a program. These results confirm input from youth interviews in which they expressed dislike of repeating the same surveys before and after a program and difficulty with answering self-assessment questions without a point of reference.more » « less
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Community and citizen science on climate change-influenced topics offers a way for participants to actively engage in understanding the changes and documenting the impacts. As in broader climate change education, a focus on the negative impacts can often leave participants feeling a sense of powerlessness. In large scale projects where participation is primarily limited to data collection, it is often difficult for volunteers to see how the data can inform decision making that can help create a positive future. In this paper, we propose and test a method of linking community and citizen science engagement to thinking about and planning for the future through scenarios story development using the data collected by the volunteers. We used a youth focused wild berry monitoring program that spanned urban and rural Alaska to test this method across diverse age levels and learning settings. Using qualitative analysis of educator interviews and youth work samples, we found that using a scenario stories development mini-workshop allowed the youth to use their own data and the data from other sites to imagine the future and possible actions to sustain berry resources for their communities. This process allowed youth to exercise key cognitive skills for sustainability, including systems thinking, futures thinking, and strategic thinking. The analysis suggested that youth would benefit from further practicing the skill of envisioning oneself as an agent of change in the environment. Educators valued working with lead scientists on the project and the experience for youth to participate in the interdisciplinary program. They also identified the combination of the berry data collection, analysis and scenarios stories activities as a teaching practice that allowed the youth to situate their citizen science participation in a personal, local and cultural context. The majority of the youth groups pursued some level of stewardship action following the activity. The most common actions included collecting additional years of berry data, communicating results to a broader community, and joining other community and citizen science projects. A few groups actually pursued solutions illustrated in the scenario stories. The pairing of community and citizen science with scenario stories development provides a promising method to connect data to action for a sustainable and resilient future.more » « less
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Abstract Background In this paper, we add to the scant literature base on learning from failures with a particular focus on understanding educators' shifting mindset in making‐centred learning environments.
Aims The aim of Study 1 was to explore educators' beliefs about failure for learning and instructional practices within their local making‐centred learning environments. The aim of Study 2 was to examine how participation in a video‐based professional development cycle regarding failure moments in making‐centred learning environments might have shifted museum educators' failure pedagogical mindsets.
Sample In Study 1, the sample included 15 educators at either a middle school or museum. In Study 2, the sample included 39 educators across six museums.
Methods In Study 1, educators engaged in a semi‐structured interview that lasted between 45 and 75 min. In Study 2, the six museums video recorded professional development sessions.
Results Results from Study 1 highlighted educators' failure pedagogical mindsets as either underdeveloped or rigid and absent of relational thinking between self‐ and youth‐failures. One key result from Study 2 was a shift from an abstract sense of failure as youth‐focused to a practical sense of failure as educator‐focused and/or relational (i.e., youth educator‐focused failure moments).
Conclusions Based on the results from Study 1 and Study 2, our research suggests that exploring an educator's relationship with failure is important and witnessing and reflecting upon their own failure pedagogical mindset in action may facilitate a shift towards a more complex and interconnected space for growth and development of both educators and youth.
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Conference Paper:
- The DOI is not currently available.
