Informal STEM Learning (ISL) organizations have increasingly engaged in innovative ways to present STEM knowledge within the context of societal challenges. For almost every major societal issue -- from biodiversity conservation to cybersecurity, from considering how robotics will change the ways we live, to genetic engineering or to coastal resilience and food security -- there is a science center, national park, natural history museum, a zoo, or an aquarium hosting an exhibit or citizen science project, convening a dialogue program, or planning a community initiative related to that topic. What have we learned from these efforts? What do we know about how ISLs are engaging with and addressing socio-scientific concerns? Where are the gaps in understanding about what works and what doesn't? For example: Is STEM knowledge more approachable when situated within a social question? Are socio-scientific concerns more approachable when viewed through a STEM lens? Are there heuristics or guiding principles that can maximize the impact of these efforts? With increasingly sophisticated methodologies for conducting research syntheses, it is now possible to mine disparate studies, explore relationships between variables, and examine trends within and across groups of studies. Taking the opportunity to aggregate what we know is critical for improving public audience experience and institutional outcomes.
For purposes of this research, societal challenge is defined as a social problem where: STEM knowledge and scientific reasoning are necessary to understand and to respond; and there are claims or warrants for ISL's to engage in the problem. Three bodies of peer and field reviewed literature (peer-reviewed journals, graduate theses, and evaluation reports of nationally-funded projects) provide the source for studies to be included in the research synthesis. The team's approach contains several cycles starting with a search by combinations of keywords (e.g. cybersecurity, coastal resilience, social problems, social issues, science controversies, public polls) and a review of the Table of Contents of approximately 30 journals (such as Curator: The Museum Journal, Museums & Social Issues, or Visitor Studies) and archives (such as informalscience.org) that publish or archive ISL research. Subsequent cycles will (1) search journals cited from initial items retrieved until no new concepts or projects emerge; (2) review grants awarded through NSF and IMLS; and (3) examine peer-reviewed articles related to projects that may show up in the literature of other disciplines. Studies will be classified using a scheme that includes metadata (date, source of publication and keywords) and categories suggested by the research questions (e.g., intended audience, STEM discipline(s), types of impact, intervention format, societal issue).
Next, studies will be assessed for inclusion in the analysis by evaluating their relevance (sources and evidence of claims), usefulness (contains adequate information for analysis purposes), and clarity of methodology(ies) used. NVIVO software will be used to manage the analysis of the literature. The coding system will draw on theoretical constructs (e.g., social phenomenology, issues framing, rhetoric, social problems claims), the research questions, and iterations of mapping and exploring the literature. Advisors with expertise in socio-scientific research, public engagement with science, and evaluation will review and inform the coding plan; an external panel will assist in finalizing the coding plan. Descriptive and correlational analysis will be conducted to identify patterns, themes, and trends and to examine relationships between groups of data. The interpretation process will involve the PIs and the advisors exploring implications and conclusions. Outputs and activities under this award include the research synthesis report and several research briefs as well as researcher-practitioner webinars to share the research.
The professional audiences for this research are: (a) individuals working with ISL organizations, particularly practitioners who engage public audiences through exhibits or education programs, and those who set direction or policy; (b) researchers and evaluators; and (c) university students and faculty associated with museum studies or STEM disciplines that contain a public communications focus. ASC is funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, which seeks to advance new approaches to, and evidence-based understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments. This includes providing multiple pathways for broadening access to and engagement in STEM learning experiences, advancing innovative research on and assessment of STEM learning in informal environments, and developing understandings of deeper learning by participants.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
