Telling Your Story: What the Informal Science Education Industry Has to Offer COSEE Alan J. Friedman...
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Transcript of Telling Your Story: What the Informal Science Education Industry Has to Offer COSEE Alan J. Friedman...
Telling Your Story:
What the Informal Science Education IndustryHas to Offer COSEE
Alan J. Friedman
Consultant
Museum Development & Science Communication
Alan J. Friedman, Consultant 2
Scientists have been seeking to achieve engagement with the public for centuries, and
formal education has not been their only means
Alan J. Friedman, Consultant 4
Informal Science Education
Learning during the 95% of our lives which we spend outside the formal education system
Also called “free choice learning,” because learners set their own agenda
Includes aquariums, museums, zoos, botanic gardens, and visitor centers, plus television, magazines, books, libraries, the Internet
61% of all adults visit an ISE institution at least once a year
Alan J. Friedman, Consultant 5
Sciencebuddies.org
– Hundreds of inquiry science fair projects, way beyond that model volcano; career advice and more
Science Museums are the Fastest Growing Sector of the Museum World
Several new “hands-on” science museums open each year
350 now in USA alone
$1+ billion per year total budgets
177 million visits per year in USA
about 60 million visitors on school field trips
Alan J. Friedman, Consultant 7
Science-Technology Centers Share a Lot, Yet Each is Different from the Others
tryscience.org Find just
about every science museum on the planet; dozens of vetted activities from science museums for use on or off-line; in 9 languages
Alan J. Friedman, Consultant 8
CW from top left: Vancouver BC, Paris FR, Duxford UK, Richmond VA, Indianapolis, IN
Alan J. Friedman, Consultant 9
Citizenscience.org
– Individuals, families, students do data collection and analysis for real science research
Alan J. Friedman, Consultant 10
Nobelprize.org
– Exquisite simulation activities of real experiments, inspiring stories, and more
Alan J. Friedman, Consultant 11
pbskids.org/designsquad/
– The TV show is cool, but even better are teens doing engineering for delight at school or at home
Alan J. Friedman, Consultant 12
Sciencefriday.com
– Millions listen, but even more get it through the Web, Podcasts, Blogs, Tweets ….
27,500 Inservice Teachers Take In-Depth Training in Science Museums Each Year
Museum staff know both content and pedagogy
They are used to paying attention to learners
Hard evidence that teacher’s exposure to real research improves their student’s test scores
Roles for COSEE
Apprenticeships for Students and Pre-Service Teachers Are Increasingly Popular
Exposure to real phenomena, scientists, technologies—COSEE organizations can offer real research experiences
Culture of inquiry, love of science and technology
Good balance of intensity, evaluation, and enjoyment, well suited to most youth
COSEE Projects can choose to work with both formal and informal education but
the differences are significant For schools the drivers are
standards, curricula, and assessments. COSEE projects need to discover where their stories do or do not fit with these constraints.
Informal learning organizations have broader missions and fewer external constraints. However, their economic drivers are very different from those of formal education, and so are their domains of greatest impact.
Alan J. Friedman, Consultant 16
The Informal Learning Realm is Well Organized—Sector by Sector.
See the Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education at www.insci.org, then:
Alan J. Friedman, Consultant 17
Inquiry Group on Informal Science Educationestablished by COSEE-OCEAN
Paul Boyle, Association of Zoos and Aquariums
Vince Breslin, Southern Connecticut State University
Johnny Frasier, Institute for Learning Innovation (formerly with the Wildlife Conservation Society)
Alan Friedman, New York Hall of Science/Consultant
Katie Gardner, Liberty Science Center
Sara Schoedinger, NOAA
Jerry Schubel, Aquarium of the Pacific
Steve Uzzo, New York Hall of Science
Steve Yalowitz, Institute for Learning Innovation (formerly with the Monteray Bay Aquarium)
Alan J. Friedman, Consultant 18
Four Useful Recent References “The 95 Percent Solution,” Falk, J.H. and Dierking, L. D., American Scientist (2010), v. 98, pp. 486-
493. A manifesto declaring the importance, even the necessity, of informal science education.
“Executive Summary,” Learning Science in Informal Environments http://books.nap.edu/catalog/12190.html. The NRC’s 2009 big synthesis study.
“A Special Report on Informal Science Education,” Education Week 2011. http://www.edweek.org/ew/collections/sciencereport-2011/index.html?r=1427089755. Up to date summary of the entire field.
Framework for Evaluating Impacts of Informal Science Education Projects, A. Friedman, ed. http://insci.org/docs/Eval_Framework.pdf. 2008 NSF report on evaluating effectiveness of ISE activities
Alan J. Friedman, ConsultantMuseum Development and Science [email protected]