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Thanks Dennis and all for this stimulating discussion.  Dennis post suggests the fruitful and strategic approach of (everything old is new again) of ISE supporting in school learning.  Grossly, there are 3 contributions that ISE's make to school based learning:

1) Field trips. These are often dismissed as too short term to have an impact, but we can do better, and many ISEs are doing better. And even as they are, all of us know anecdotally about the impact of seeing dinosaurs or an emerging steam vortex, etc.  Dennis and others here have worked hard on how to increase the impact of field trips, and there are some new strategies emerging that might be more effective.

2) Teacher professional development, another long term ISE strategy.  I was blown away by a recent discussion I had with the Science House people at SMM.  They are having dramatic and measurable impact through their professional development programs, and are assiduously keeping data.  I don't know how much of their data they are sharing publicly, but Kirsten and others here can probably help out on that.  We know that collectively we are a massive source of teacher professional development, but the research is atomized and silo'd so the collective impact is hard to assess.

3) Beyond the walls connections.  Digital resources offer the possibility of sustained and non-local connections with schools.  Again, I know many programs that are working at a distance or continuing connections with the schools through ongoing communication.  I don't know much about the impact of these programs, I suspect ITEST would be a good place to start, since they are explicitly about connecting informals with students and teachers through technology.

I know that there has been some aversion to messing directly in schools.  Particularly in big districts like new york it can be frustrating.  But for better or worse funders, policy makers, and other movers and shakers look to schools as the locus of education.  Unless we are in the school based mix, we will be seen as peripheral, as so many have been noting in this thread.

Eric


On May 13, 2012, at 8:08 AM, Dennis Schatz wrote:

> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
> *****************************************************************************
> 
> Dear all,
> 
> 
> 
> I've enjoyed following this conversation and appreciate everyone's
> insights and thoughts.  I've been meaning to "jump in," but couldn't do
> so until the weekend.
> 
> 
> 
> First of all, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are available
> as of Friday for review and comment at:
> 
> www.nextgenscience.org 
> 
> 
> 
> Next, I think we need to feel good about how the evidence and
> recognition for the value/importance of out-of-school STEM experiences
> has increased over the years - although certainly more slowly than we
> would like.  I was encouraged with the NAEP results that showed a
> positive correlation between the science scores and out-of-school
> experiences.
> 
> 
> 
> I want to bring to your attention another National Research Council
> (NRC) report that helps build the case for out-of-school STEM
> experiences.  Last year the NRC examined the evidence regarding what we
> know about schools that are successful at teaching STEM subjects.  The
> findings are in the report titled Successful K-12 STEM Education
> (http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13158). The report has an
> associated workshop document, which I find even more useful
> (http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13230). 
> 
> 
> 
> While the charge to the committee was to specifically examine learning
> in schools, there were two findings that point toward the importance of
> out-of-school STEM experiences in what occurs in successful schools.  On
> page 23, the report concludes "that although teacher qualifications
> matter, the school context-its culture and conditions-matters just as
> much, if not more, [including) multiple factors that strengthen and
> sustain those learning communities (e.g., school and district leaders,
> parents, and community)." The other finding was that successful STEM
> high schools typically included mentors from and/or internships within
> the community, which I am sure often includes connections to ISE
> organizations/institutions.
> 
> 
> 
> Associated with the report, NSF has organized workshops to "rollout" the
> results of the report at five locations across the country. Each
> workshop includes an emphasis on the importance of out-of-school
> experiences and has sessions that include staff from ISE institutions.
> The national rollout was last September in Philadelphia.  The most
> recent regional rollouts were in Seattle on February 28th at Pacific
> Science Center and on April 10th  at the University of Illinois, Chicago
> Campus.  There will be two more workshops, one in Reno, NV, and the
> other in Baltimore, MD - both in the fall.  There is a website
> associated with the rollout activities -
> http://successfulstemeducation.org/content/successful-stem-education-ini
> tiative. Once your are on the site, access to more resources and events
> are on the top right of the page, plus more information about the NV and
> MD workshops will go on the site once the information is known.
> 
> 
> 
> Finally, Congress has tasked NSF to develop evaluation strategies to
> understand how well the country is doing at implementing the
> recommendations in the report.  Again, the NRC is taking on this task
> and is just starting the process to develop an  Evaluation Framework for
> Successful K-12 STEM Education.  Little information is yet available
> about this effort, although the study committee has been identified (see
> http://www8.nationalacademies.org/cp/committeeview.aspx?key=49447). One
> of the positive aspect of this efforts is to make sure the evaluation
> looks beyond cognitive assessment and examine both student interest and
> motivation as part of the effort.
> 
> 
> 
> It may be only small steps, but it is good to see that the evidence is
> building for the importance of students' interest and motivation, and
> the value of ISE experiences.
> 
> 
> 
> Dennis
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> "Work hard to find something that fascinates you. When you find it you
> will know your lifework" -- Richard Feynman
> 
> Dennis Schatz | PACIFIC SCIENCE CENTER
> 
> Senior Vice President for Strategic Programs | P (206) 443-2867 | F
> (206) 443-3631 | [log in to unmask] | www.dennisschatz.org
> 
> Pacific Science Center is an independent, not-for-profit educational
> institution that inspires lifelong interest in science, math and
> technology
> 
> 
> 
> 
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