ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
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Peggy -
I think informal science institutions always have the flexibility to develop
whatever kinds of programs they want. However, those programs should also be
based on the needs of the audiences that the institution serves and,
realistically, most of the time respond to the needs/desires of the funding
source. I would guess that an after school program that is not specifically
linked to a particular school or district and/or is not developed with
"formal education" funding would have more flexibility to develop programs
that aren't as pressured to adhere to narrowly-defined standards for, and
measures of, success.
The broader issue of being, as you say, "doomed to improve student test
scores", is a more complex one. In the Field Trips forum on ASTC Connect, we
have discussed the balance between expanding students' experience of science
and adhering to the accountability needs of schools in the context of school
field trips. If you are interested in reading the discussions we've had,
please let me know, and I can forward the password for the Forum to you.
Bill
Bill Watson
Research Assistant, SCALE-uP
The George Washington University
Graduate School of Education and Human Development
Department of Teacher Preparation and Special Education
2134 G St. NW
Washington, DC 20052
Phone: (202) 994-1171
Fax: (202) 994-0692
[log in to unmask]
www.gwu.edu/~scale-up
-----Original Message-----
From: Informal Science Education Network
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Timshel Purdum
Sent: Tuesday, July 10, 2007 2:04 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject:
ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
institutions.
****************************************************************************
*
PHildaelphia Safe and Sound released a research and policy brief this spring
on just this very topic. It addresses the limitations that NCLB has placed
on after school programs and that the aftershool movement was not created
with the sole purpose of improving partipants' performace on standardized
tests.
http://www.philasafesound.org/publications/publist.php
Timshel
Ms. Timshel Purdum
Manager: Elementary Science Education
The Academy of Natural Sciences
1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Philadelphia, PA 19103
215-405-5071
Fax: 215-299-1165
[log in to unmask]
>>> Peggy Zemach <[log in to unmask]> 7/10/2007 1:53 PM >>>
ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
institutions.
****************************************************************************
*
Here's a question for you all. An after school science program ( I don't
remember which state) shut it's doors after 27 years because they were not
able to prove that their programs improved test scores. What a shame!! As we
all develop inquiry-based programs, how important is it to fit into the
school education standards? My take is that we, in the museum education
field, have the luxury to develop informal education programs that students
don't get in the schools but maybe we are all doomed to improve student
test scores. Thoughts?
Peggy M. Zemach
Discovery Museum at the Powerhouse
1099 Main Ave. #316
Durango, CO 81301
970-422-2034
[log in to unmask]
www.durangodiscovery.org
"Education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire."
William Butler Yeats
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