Collaborative Research: An Evidence-based Informal STEM Learning (ISL) Professional Framework

越来越多的证据表明，以科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）学科为重点的非正式学习环境培养了年轻人对STEM职业的兴趣，并促进了对STEM内容知识和科学过程的理解。 该项目的中心是创建和验证一个理论基础和经验衍生的框架，用于非正式STEM学习（ISL）领域内的专业成长和学习（“框架”）。该框架将是有用的ISL从业者在他们的教育或职业生涯的任何阶段，通过制定必要的技能，知识和处置，以指导他们的专业成长。虽然该项目的直接受益者将是ISL专业人员本身，但这项工作的最终受益者将是儿童、青年、教师和公众，他们将参与由熟练和知识渊博的ISL专业人员设计和实施的STEM体验。俄勒冈州州立大学科技中心协会的终身STEM学习研究中心，太平洋科学中心，华盛顿大学博物馆学系和俄亥俄州哥伦布科学与工业中心终身学习小组（COSI哥伦布）将合作开发ISL专业框架。 该框架将建立在对科学中心和国际空间学习机构工作人员使用的实际做法进行定性和定量实证分析的基础上，评估各个职业阶段的感知和实际需求，以及对其他职业中类似学习框架的创建和使用的分析。该项目将分三个阶段进行：（1）文献审查、研究综合和“制定课程”（DACUM）研讨会，以制定初步框架;（2）利益相关者审查和反馈，以改进初步框架;（3）创建一个在线平台，以分享最终框架草案，并进行迭代测试，以获得实用性和ISL社区的接受度。 该项目将解决两个当前和紧迫的问题：（1）确保在科学中心类型的设置工作的专业人员有必要的知识和技能，以应用大量和不断增长的证据基础在ISL，和（2）理解和支持全方位的ISL专业人员在他们的基础教育和在整个职业生涯的特定点的需求。对ISL专业人员的有效支持需要，在最基本的层面上，如果他们要在工作中使用循证实践，那么他们需要对工作专业人员在职业道路的关键点沿着所需的知识，技能和处置的基本理解。在非正式环境中设计和开发STEM学习。

There is a growing body of evidence that informal learning environments focused on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines cultivates an interest among young people in STEM careers and promotes understanding of STEM content knowledge and the scientific process. This project centers on the creation and validation of a theoretically grounded and empirically derived framework for professional growth and learning within the informal STEM learning (ISL) field ("Framework"). The Framework will be useful to ISL practitioners at any stage of their education or career by laying out the necessary skills, knowledge, and dispositions to guide their professional growth. While the immediate beneficiaries of the project will be ISL professionals themselves, the ultimate beneficiaries of the work will be the children, youth, teachers, and general public that engage with STEM experiences designed and implemented by a skilled and knowledgeable ISL professional workforce.The Association of Science-Technology Centers, Oregon State University's Center for Research on Lifelong STEM Learning, Pacific Science Center, University of Washington Museology Department and the Lifelong Learning Group of the Center of Science and Industry in Columbus, OH (COSI Columbus) will collaborate to develop the ISL professional framework. The Framework will be built from qualitative and quantitative empirical analyses of actual practices used by staff of science centers and ISL institutions, assessing perceived and actual needs at various career stages, as well as an analysis of the creation and use of similar learning frameworks in other professions. The project will be conducted in three phases: (1) Literature review, research synthesis, and "Developing a Curriculum" (DACUM) workshops to develop a preliminary framework; (2) Stakeholder review and feedback in order to improve the preliminary framework; and, (3) Creation of an online platform to share the final framework draft and conduct iterative testing for utility and ISL community acceptance. The project will address two current and pressing issues: (1) Ensuring that professionals working in science center-type settings have the necessary knowledge and skills to apply the substantial and growing evidence base in ISL, and (2) Understanding and supporting the needs of the full range of ISL professionals during their basic education and at particular points throughout their careers. Effective support for ISL professionals requires, at the most basic level, a fundamental understanding of the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed by working professionals at critical points along their career pathway if they are to use evidence-based practice in their work.This project is being 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.