Broad Implementation: Creating Communities Of Learners For Informal Cognitive Science Education

波士顿科学博物馆（MOS）与哈佛大学作为其大学研究合作伙伴，正在扩展，传播和进一步评估他们的NSF/ISE资助（DRL-0714706）非正式认知科学教育的生活实验室模型。 在这种模式下，过去三年来，儿童早期研究人员在MOS探索中心为幼儿进行了研究，并在博物馆的开放时间内与游客互动，了解他们的研究对儿童发展和认知的发现。 设计并评估了几种与成年参观者互动的方法，包括使用“研究玩具”作为展品。 对原始作品的总结性评价表明，所有目标受众-有幼儿的成年人、博物馆教育工作者和研究人员-都取得了积极成果。 该项目目前正在扩大该模式的实施范围，建立了三个额外的博物馆枢纽网站，每个网站都有大学合作伙伴-马里兰州科学中心（与约翰霍普金斯大学合作）、麦迪逊儿童博物馆（与威斯康星州大学麦迪逊分校合作）和俄勒冈州科学与工业博物馆（与刘易斯克拉克学院合作）。观众继续包括研究人员（沿着研究生和本科生）;博物馆教育工作者;和成年人与儿童参观博物馆。 可供选择的产品包括：（1）建立中心网站并在中心网站开展活动，继续改进MOS网站，（2）为四个网站和全国各地的其他网站建立一个虚拟中心门户网站，（3）为博物馆和科学家提供工具包资源，（4）在所有网站举办专业研讨会。 预期结果为：（1）提高博物馆教育工作者和参观博物馆的成年人对认知/发展心理学和研究及其在养育子女方面的应用的理解，（2）提高研究人员与公众沟通的能力，并在博物馆进行研究，（3）提高整个博物馆社区对这一模型的兴趣、知识和应用，并发展这种合作的网络。

Boston's Museum of Science (MOS), with Harvard as its university research partner, is extending, disseminating, and further evaluating their NSF/ISE-funded (DRL-0714706) Living Laboratory model of informal cognitive science education. In this model, early-childhood researchers over the past three years have both conducted research in the MOS Discovery Center for young children and interacted with visitors during the museum's operating hours about what their research is finding about child development and cognition. Several methods of interacting with adult visitors were designed and evaluated, including the use of "research toys" as exhibits. Summative evaluation of the original work indicated positive outcomes on all targeted audiences - adults with young children, museum educators, and researchers. The project is now broadening the implementation of the model by establishing three additional museum Hub Sites, each with university partners - Maryland Science Center (with Johns Hopkins), Madison Children's Museum (with University of Wisconsin, Madison), and Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (with Lewis & Clark College). The audiences continue to include researchers (along with graduate and undergraduate students); museum educators; and adults with children visiting the museums. Deliverables consist of: (1) establishment of and activities at the Hub sites and continued improvement of the MOS site, (2) a virtual Hub portal for the four sites and others around the country, (3) tool-kit resources for both museums and scientists, and (4) professional symposia at all sites. Intended outcomes are: (1) improve museum educators' and museum visiting adults' understanding of cognitive/developmental psychology and research and its application to raising their children, (2) improve researchers' ability to communicate with the public and to conduct their research at the museums, and (3) increase interest in, knowledge about, and application of this model throughout the museum community and grow a network of such collaborations.