Helpful Tools: Practical Applications of A.I. Tools for Informal STEM Education Evaluation
Welcome to Insights & Opportunities: A Hub for Informal STEM Education! Insights & Opportunities is a twice-monthly newsletter for educators, administrators, legislators, and advocates who recognize the importance of informal STEM learning.
This newsletter is brought to you by me, Sarah Dunifon, and my team at Improved Insights. I’m a long-time STEM educator, researcher, and equity advocate. Along with my team, I now work on cutting-edge informal STEM learning research and evaluation.
Each edition of this newsletter offers exciting insights, resources, and opportunities for informal STEM learning professionals, including funding, jobs, professional development, informal STEM learning research, evaluation tips and resources, and so much more! We hope you find it valuable. Now, let’s get started.
Helpful Tools: Practical Applications of A.I. Tools for Informal STEM Education Evaluation
In February we shared a collection of A.I. resources for informal educators and evaluators. Because the A.I. and emerging technologies fields evolve daily, if not hourly, we thought it would be a good time to revisit this resource and highlight the capabilities of a couple of tools we’ve found useful in our daily workflows. Our hope is that this resource helps you explore the quickly developing world of A.I. tools, and that you might find them useful in your work!
Litmaps is an advanced literature navigator that utilizes citation networks to map related articles and research topics. This capability allows researchers to conduct literature reviews more efficiently and can even help uncover articles and authors that typical research methods might miss. The interconnections created by Litmaps mean that at a glance, a researcher can identify the papers most relevant to their topic, visualize the most up-to-date information, and even see what gaps exist in current research.
To read the full article, check it out in our Insights.
60-Second Suggestions
Here are a few of my favorite things this month, usually pertaining to informal STEM education and evaluation, but occasionally some fun personal stuff, too.
In a previous newsletter, we mentioned that InformalScience.org was working to revamp its website. The new site officially launched on May 22 and is now live! Learn more about how the REVISE team redesigned the website centering equity and accessibility, and implemented feedback from the informal STEM education community.
The spring edition of the Afterschool STEM Quarterly Research Review from the Afterschool STEM Hub was recently published. The review, compiled by Anita Krishnamurthi, PhD, Leslie Brooks, DVM, MPH, and Holly Miller, PhD (whom we recently featured on our Insights), highlights resources and articles on a variety of topics related to afterschool STEM education. This edition features two articles aligned with the 2024 Women’s History theme of “Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.”
I recently read a thought-provoking new book from Catherine D’Ignazio, Counting Feminicide: Data Feminism in Action. D’Ignazio follows feminicide data activists across the Americas who work to bring to light the stories of women and girls killed by gender-related violence through the use of data and statistics. Through this practice, individuals, researchers, and journalists demonstrate the hard reality of feminicide and seek to hold those in power and the structures that suppress the rights of women and girls accountable, demanding radical transformation. The book is open access and free to read through MIT Press.
Counting Feminicide, by Cathering D’Ignazio
Opportunities
Check out these new opportunities for the informal STEM learning community.
Funding:
2024 Reimagine Education Grants, Minneapolis Foundation, up to $75,000. Grants will be awarded to Minneapolis-area nonprofits, schools, and school districts that work to advance equity and support youth voice. In particular, grants will support efforts to build bridges between schools, families, and communities and improve school climates and academic outcomes. Submissions are due June 21, 2024.
2024 SWPA Moonshot Grants, Remake Learning, up to $70,000. Applicants in the greater Pittsburgh region of southwestern Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, and northern West Virginia regions are eligible to apply for funding in support of innovative approaches to future learning. Submissions should center equity and justice by supporting learners of color, learners in poverty, learners in rural areas, girls in STEM, and learners with disabilities. Applications are due September 15, 2024.
Energize the Environment Grant Program, Quadratec, $3,500. Groups and individuals are encouraged to apply for funding for initiatives that benefit the environment, including community environmental education programs and youth educational engagement events. Submissions are due June 30, 2024.
Global E-STEM Awards, Pratt & Whitney in collaboration with the North American Association for Environmental Education, up to $50,000. Nonprofit organizations that engage students aged 11 to 22 in STEM topics are invited to apply for awards. The E-STEM Awards are designed to support programs that engage students in real-world environmental problem-solving. Applications are open through July 8, 2024.
Jobs and Fellowships:
Education Manager, American Precision Museum (Windsor, VT), $60,000. The museum seeks a passionate STEM educator to lead efforts in implementing and broadening its portfolio of programs while maintaining a teaching role. The Education Manager will oversee program development, delivery, and implementation for youth and adult educational programming.
Project Director, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) (Washington, D.C.), $80,000. The Project Director will support the Deputy Director’s vision, operation, and strategic direction for SEA Change, a program in the Inclusive STEM Ecosystems for Equity & Diversity (ISEED) unit within the Office of Science, Policy and Society Programs at AAAS.
Science Educator, Asombro Institute for Science Education (Las Cruces, NM), $34,000. The Science Educator will prepare and deliver science education programs to K-12 students throughout New Mexico, at times working with Spanish-English bilingual learners. They will also assist with professional development workshops, lesson revision and development, maintenance duties, and other duties as needed. Applications are due June 10, 2024.
Vice President of Educational Programs, Science Museum Oklahoma (Oklahoma City, OK), $95,000. The Vice President of Educational Programs will oversee educational programming, visitor experience, and development of the museum’s strategic goals. They will provide program leadership, manage and oversee a staff of 80 full and part-time members, and manage part of the museum budget.
Zoo Camp Programs Coordinator, North Carolina Zoo (Asheboro, NC), $33,000.The Camps Programs Coordinator will grow and maintain zoo camp programs, including research, design, development, coordination, marketing, and evaluation for Summer Camp, holiday, and school break camp programs.
Professional Development:
Call for Proposals, 2024 Future of Museums Summit, American Alliance of Museums, October 29-30, 2024 (Virtual). The virtual 2024 Future of Museums Summit, taking place October 29-30, 2024, is now accepting session proposals. The Summit will feature 1-hour presentations on the following topics: Culture Wars 2.0, AI Adolescence, Decarbonizing the Future, and Combating the Loneliness Crisis. Proposals are due July 12, 2024.
Scaling STEM Equitably: Practitioner Driven Reflections and Emerging Guidelines, National Girls Collaborative Project, June 4, 2024 (Virtual). Join the National Girls Collaborative Project, Education Development Center, and practitioners across informal STEM learning spaces to hear reflections from the field on the challenges and opportunities of engaging in equity-centered scaling. The webinar will reflect on emerging guidelines and a new tool that supports equitable approaches to scaling informal STEM programs developed in the year since practitioners across the informal STEM landscape gathered in Washington, D.C. to brainstorm new paths for scaling informal STEM programs that center equity. The webinar will take place on June 4, 2024, at 11:00 AM PT.
Summer Institute for Climate Change Education, Climate Generation and NOAA, July 15-19, 2024 (Virtual). The Summer Institute for Climate Change Education invites both formal and informal educators to join for a three-day climate change education conference during the week of July 15-19, 2024. The Institute will explore the themes of Understanding and Observing Climate Change, Building Connection, and Education for Justice.
The Work of Fred Rogers: A Cross-Context Conference on Fred's Legacy in Action Today, Fred Rogers Institute, June 21-22, 2024 (Latrobe, PA). Educators, clinicians, and practitioners in a range of child- and family-serving fields are invited to attend the second annual Work of Fred Rogers Conference. The conference will be practice-focus and informed, and will feature sessions from educators and other child-serving professions who will share stories, ideas, and inspiration with their peers. Registration closes June 14, 2024.
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