Informal STEM Learning: Definitions, Contexts, and Impacts
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.
Informal STEM Learning: Definitions, Contexts, and Impacts
Welcome back to our Insights! We’ll be continuing today with another installment in our series examining Dr. Sarah Dunifon’s research on funding priorities and evaluation policies of informal STEM learning funding organizations. So far we’ve discussed the influence that evaluation policies have on informal STEM education (ISE) and reviewed the general landscape of funding support for ISE. Today, we’ll dive into the definitions, contexts, and impacts of informal STEM learning.
The following content is based on or excerpted from Dr. Dunifon’s dissertation, An Examination of Evaluation Policies and Funding Priorities in Informal STEM Education. The research cited in this piece was conducted between April 2022 and March 2023. You can access the full dissertation here.
Learning Outside of the Classroom
Informal learning – or learning that happens outside a classroom – makes up the bulk of one’s lifelong learning experiences. Think about learning experiences you’ve had outside your formal education experiences. When was the last time you tinkered with measurements in a recipe, adapting your practice based on the evidence of how your dinner turned out? Or consider the last time you listened to a podcast or radio program while walking the dog - did you learn something new? Maybe you’ve taken part in more structured informal learning experiences, like a guided tour of a museum, or learned about butterflies and metamorphosis at a local community center. All of these experiences are considered informal learning, and they are crucial to our learning and development as people.
Now what about informal STEM learning? Does that seem less accessible? Sure, you can play around with measurements in your souffle but is that really STEM learning? You can bet on it! Informal STEM learning is one of the most important avenues of learning where stereotypes fall away. Particularly for those who either previously believed or were told that they didn’t belong in STEM.
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.
The Youth Voice Playbook, developed in collaboration by the Center for Digital Thriving, Hopelab, and Character Lab, was created as a guide for researchers who are exploring youth perspectives in their work. The playbook aims to amplify youth voice and agency in research while anchoring facilitators in authenticity, ethics, and practicality.
In this article from Knology, researchers reflect on the results of 21 interviews with individuals in the informal STEM learning (ISL) field around advancing equity in the ISL field. The goal of these interviews was to inform researchers on how a new research infrastructure could support participants’ work to promote equity in informal science learning. Several themes emerged, including barriers that interviewees encountered in their work, current strategies and existing tools for advancing equity, and a host of unanswered questions about equity-related work.
This interactive Sea Ice Analysis Tool from the National Snow and Ice Data Center provides an amazing data visualization examining sea ice concentration and extent patterns over time. Several visualization options capture the change in sea ice concentrations over the years, demonstrate trends in coverage and track anomalies. This would be a great tool to utilize in discussions about climate change with students and peers alike.
Opportunities
Check out these new opportunities for the informal STEM learning community.
Funding:
2024 Grant Cycle, The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, average of $65,000. Nonprofits, including informal learning and afterschool organizations, serving the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area are invited to apply for grants in five program areas, including education and community services. The Foundation seeks to support programs that help young people improve their academic performance, focus on career readiness, and support a high-quality and equitable education system. Submissions are due November 1, 2024.
Bee Grants, Whole Kids Foundation, up to $1,500. Schools and non-profit organizations that serve grades K-12 are invited to apply for monetary and equipment grants to start or enhance existing bee programs. The grant will support educational bee hives and bee programming so students can observe bees up close and learn about pollinators' vital role in the food system. Applications are due October 15, 2024.
Behavior Change for Climate Action Challenge 2024, The Center for Behavior and Climate (CBC), free technical assistance and $7,200. Nonprofits are invited to engage in a challenge to address the climate crisis through behavioral and social change. Four nonprofits will be selected to receive free technical assistance and $7,200 in funds to apply to an existing or new climate action project. Projects should emphasize collective and individual efforts to address climate change including energy conservation, public action, food choices, tree planting, soil restoration, and others. Challenge submissions are due November 1, 2024.
Book Proposal Development Grant Cycle 2024 - Underrepresented Voices in the Sciences, Princeton University Press, Varies. Authors from groups historically underrepresented in STEM fields are invited to apply for grants to support the development of non-fiction book proposals. Selected grantees will be paired with a writing coach to collaborate on development. The opportunity is open to first-time and previously published authors, and applications are due October 11, 2024.
Inspire! Grants for Small Museums, Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), up to $75,000. Small museums of all disciplines, through the Museums for America program and IMLS, are invited to apply for grants in three project categories: Lifelong Learning, Institutional Capacity, and Collections Stewardship and Access. The application deadline is November 15, 2024.
Jobs and Fellowships:
Chief Learning Officer, Da Vinci Science Center (Allentown, PA), $95,000. The Chief Learning Officer will set and execute the strategic direction for Education, Innovation, and TechEd on the exhibit floor, in the classrooms, and at school and community sites. They will oversee the professional development and training of STEAM education professionals, and evaluate program offerings at Da Vinci to maximize the center's impact.
Coastal Camp Director, NatureBridge (Sausalito, CA), $65,000. The Coastal Camp Director will lead strategic planning, train and oversee staff, and oversee content and curriculum for a summer day camp located in the Marin Headlands. The camp offers educational, environmental science programs for youth in grades K-12. Applications are due October 4, 2024.
Director of Exhibits, Montshire Museum of Science (Norwich, VT), $80,000. The Director of Exhibits will oversee new exhibition planning, development and implementation, and maintenance of current exhibits. They will align the museum's indoor and outdoor experiences with organizational strategy efforts. Applications are due October 4, 2024.
Education and Experience Coordinator, The Wild Center (Tupper Lake, NY), $42,000. The Education and Experience Coordinator will create high-quality, engaging, and mission-driven educational activities, lead interpretive programs with animals, and share natural history stories. They will oversee the daily experiences on the exhibit floor and ensure guests have positive, informative, and safe visits. Applications are due October 31, 2024.
Science Education Program Manager, Great Basin National Park Foundation (Baker, NV), $45,000. The Science Education Program Manager will develop and deliver educational programs for students in the Great Basin region. They will design, create, and implement educational modules for middle and high school classrooms, lead outreach and field trips for elementary students, and conduct program evaluations to identify areas for improvement.
Professional Development:
2025 IMLS Museum Grant Application Reviewer, Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The Office of Museum Services is seeking grant reviewers for the 2025 Institute of Museum and Library Services funding cycle. Selected reviewers will be eligible to receive an honorarium of either $300 or $500 for their service, depending on the type of review. On average, each reviewer will receive 7-12 applications, which will take an average of 1 hour each to review. Reviewer applications are due December 6, 2024.
Online Workshop: Engaging Hispanic/Latinx Communities - Resources for Public Engagement (Part 2), National Informal STEM Education (NISE) Network, October 8, 2024 from 2:00-3:00 PM ET (Virtual). Join the NISE Network for an online workshop Tuesday, October 8, 2024, from 2:00-3:00 PM ET. The workshop will focus on engaging Hispanic/Latinx communities and will dive into capacity building among educators and scientists, and discuss resources for engagement. This is part two in a series of two workshops. Part 1 can be viewed here.
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 open for registration. 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.
STEMIEFest 2024, STEM Innovation for Inclusion in Early Education (STEMI2E2), October 14-15, 2024 (Virtual). The virtual STEMIEFest 2024 will take place October 14-15, 2024. Early childhood professionals, families, faculty, and STEM industry members will gather to engage in innovative STEM learning experiences, and advance the competence and confidence of practitioners. Fest topics include strategies for fostering inclusive early childhood education, learning trajectories, STEM exploration through the arts, and many others.
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