This grant supports a workshop focused on catalyzing STEM education R & D in Sri Lanka and in the U.S. through networking and international collaboration. The workshop is a collaboration of the US Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC) and the National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka. Its focus is for ASTC to share its wealth of expertise with Sri Lanka in the creation of a science center in Colombo that will engage its people in an accessible science-learning environment and provide its youth with grounding in the scientific concepts and practices.
The three day workshop to be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, will engage these experts in the discussion and co-creation of a plan for a science center to be built in Sri Lanka, and to consider how to develop an ongoing relationship between informal STEM educators in the US and STEM educators in Sri Lanka. The workshop will cover subjects critical to the development of an effective and successful science center, including: 1 - Inquiry-based learning and the development of effective exhibits and programs 2 - Evaluation tools and techniques 3 - Local scientific knowledge and expertise that can influence planning and programing 4 - Developing effective outreach programs 5 - Public Engagement with science and society issues 6 - Managing a science center
While using the development of the science center as a focus for the meeting, the workshop will also initiate discussions between STEM educators in the South Asia region and the United States, with the goal of developing a long-term relationship between STEM educators in the South Asia region and the United States.
One or more of the US speakers and the invited US doctoral student will explore and identify new research questions on STEM education and the role of science centers as a new model for improving human resource capacities in STEM in developing countries. The workshop outcome should also advance future international collaborations and inform efforts to serve immigrant populations from South Asia in the US.
This award is designated as a Global Venture Fund Award and is being co-funded by NSF's Office of International Science and Engineering.
The Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC) convened a three day workshop to assist the Sri Lankan government and other stakeholders in the creation and development of the first science center in Sri Lanka. The workshop began the process of establishing an ongoing relationship through which US informal STEM education institutions will learn more about STEM education in the South Asia area, and the South Asia area will benefit from US expertise. ASTC presented core concepts for the creation of a new science center as well as identifying the next steps toward implementation of a successful operating strategy for the center. ASTC brought a delegation of ten US experts to the capital Colombo, where they met with 100 Sri Lankan professionals. Sri Lanka seeks to become both a knowledge hub and an economic hub in the South-Asia Region. According to NSF-Sri Lanka, neither of these dual goals can be developed or maintained without adequate input from science, technology and innovation -- inputs that need to be nurtured and sustained. Sri Lanka presently lacks a science culture that has resulted in inadequate funding and facilities for science and science education at all levels, recognition and support for innovation, research and development, and the preservation of science, technology and innovation (ST&I) heritage as traditional knowledge of the country. One of the most effective ways to engage people, the young in particular, in science is to expose them to an easily accessible, informal, and enjoyable science-learning environment. Science centers offer experiences that go deep into young minds and instill a spirit of inquiry – the fundamental grounding for a scientific approach. Presentations made at the Workshop included: From the US Delegation: How a Science center is inserted into education and cultural infrastructure (Key Note address) What is a Science Center? Developing a Master Plan Exhibits, programs, How to develop products Content Design and the Involvement of the Scientific Community Evaluation: tools and techniques Science is everywhere - That’s why you can’t leave it to the scientists alone Science centers and life-long science and technology learning Phenomena, Objects, & Models: Elements of Exhibition Design From the Sri Lankan Delegation: An Interactive Science Museum for Sri Lanka Our Knowledge on Botanical Gardens National Zoological Gardens as Conservation and Breeding Centers National Museums and Local Knowledge Holistic Education Following the workshop, there was a debriefing for the Hon. Senior Minister for International Monetary Co-operation and the Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. Sarath Amunugama, Hon. Senior Minister for Scientific Affairs Prof. Tissa Vitarana and Hon. Deputy Minister of Education Mr. Mohanlal Grero. In March 2014, Hon. Senior Minister for Scientific Affairs Prof. Tissa Vitarana, was a keynote panelist for the opening plenary of the Science Center World Summit in Mechelen, Belgium. The topic was "Science and Decision Making" where he shared the plans for the first science center in Sri Lanka and the processes that are being developed to make this project a reality. The Sri Lankan delegation received good exposure to several different institutional models and foundational thinking. The workshop began multiple lines of dialogue between different stakeholders and the ASTC delegation. A concise but honest picture of the complexity of the field of informal science learning was conveyed. The workshop aided them in better understanding the challenges and opportunities as they develop their national science center and helped establish a road map for the future. The workshop should also help them to deliver a truly national science center having used a more thoughtful and deliberative process. A graduate student in Learning Sciences and Education Policy at the University of Pittsburgh participated in the workshop. She has subsequestly designed some research questions on indigenous knowledge systems and their use in informal science settings. The workshop process created a successful model that could be replicated for other countries or regions wishing to research the possibility of creating a science center. The inclusion of many stakeholders, including government representatives, was particularly helpful. The project provided exposure for the US team of science center practitioners to methods and techniques to establish a new science center and taking into consideration how Sri Lanka's traditional knowledge shapes the larger project. The lessons shared about local and traditional knowledge can become a professional development learning exercise for the US delegation in reaching out to multicultural audiences at their own institutions. Inclusion of a wide audience is always sought by science centers and museums - learning in a different cultural context helps to broaden the mind and view problems from a different angle. One US participant commented that there were deep lessons about the interface of science (a knowledge set with universal aspirations) and much more local cultural/technological traditions. Feedback of lessons learned can be made through inter-institutional sessions, the ASTC Communities of Practice and the ASTC annual conference.
