ChemAttitudes: Using Design-Based Research to Develop and Disseminate Strategies and Materials to Support Chemistry Interest, Relevance, and Self-Efficacy

化学是一个重要的和广泛相关的科学领域。 然而，与其他STEM内容领域相比，化学在美国科学博物馆和其他非正式教育环境中的代表性不足。 该项目将建立创新方法，并积累有关知识，以提供化学方面的非正式科学学习活动。该项目不仅将提高公众对化学的兴趣和理解，而且还将提高公众对化学相关性的认识，并提高公众对化学的自我效能。该项目的成果将包括从业人员沿着活动材料的指南，这些材料将被打包成一个工具包，分发和复制，供美国250个地点的非正式科学教育工作者、化学家和化学学生使用。这些工具包将为吸引女孩、各种能力的人、讲西班牙语的人和其他不同的受众提供指导，并包括西班牙语材料。将包括书面指南、培训视频和培训幻灯片，以支持一般的科学传播培训，特别是化学培训。 该项目由推进非正式STEM学习（AISL）计划资助的研究和创新资源用于各种环境，作为其整体战略的一部分，以加强在非正式环境中的学习。该项目将采取创新的方法来开发非正式教育活动和化学材料。该项目不是从内容目标开始，而是从一个理论框架开始，该框架来自于关于影响与兴趣，相关性和自我效能有关的科学态度的研究。一个基于设计的研究方法（DBR）将被用来应用该框架的动手化学教育活动的发展，同时也测试和修改框架本身。(DBR将经验教育研究与理论驱动的学习环境设计相结合。现有的或新的教育活动似乎体现了框架中界定的主要特点，将在公众面前测试这些活动对游客的影响。研究人员和教育工作者将确定框架中定义的教育活动的不同特征如何影响结果。这些活动将反复修改和测试，直到调查人员实现框架和影响之间的密切一致。项目小组将继续采用基于设计的研究方法，既审查协同作用可能产生超越单一互动的影响的各类活动，也审查培训也可能对成果产生重大影响的促进者的各种方式。通过这种方式，该项目将产生关于实践非正式学习活动工具包如何激发对被忽视的化学领域的兴趣，相关性和自我效能的态度的知识。项目小组将在教育研究、科学和非正式科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）教育界广泛传播项目成果。虽然该项目将侧重于化学，但它将通过基于设计的研究过程开发和测试的策略将为更广泛的非正式STEM教育的有效方法提供有价值的见解。

Chemistry is an important and widely relevant field of science. However, when compared with other STEM content areas, chemistry is under-represented in U.S. science museums and other informal educational environments. This project will build, and build knowledge about, innovative approaches to delivering informal science learning activities in chemistry. The project will not only increase public interest and understanding of chemistry but also increase public perception of chemistry's relevance and increase the public's self-efficacy with respect to chemistry. This project outcomes will include a guide for practitioners along with activity materials that will be packaged into a kit, distributed, and replicated for use by informal science educators, chemists, and chemistry students at 250 sites across the U.S. The project team will reach out to organizations that serve diverse audiences and diverse geographic locations, including organizations in rural and inner-city areas. The kits will provide guidance on engaging girls, people with various abilities, Spanish speakers, and other diverse audiences, and include materials in Spanish. Written guides, training videos, and training slides will be included to support training in science communication in general, as well as chemistry in particular. This project is supported by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program funds research and innovative resources for use in a variety of settings, as a part of its overall strategy to enhance learning in informal environments.This project will take an innovative approach to develop informal educational activities and materials about chemistry. Rather than starting with content goals, the project will start with a theoretical framework drawn from research about affecting attitudes about science related to interest, relevance, and self-efficacy. A design-based research approach (DBR) will be used to apply that framework to the development of hands-on educational activities about chemistry, while also testing and modifying the framework itself. (DBR blends empirical educational research with the theory-driven design of learning environments.) Existing or new educational activities that appear to embody key characteristics defined in the framework will be tested with public audiences for their impact on visitors. Researchers and educators will determine how different characteristics of the educational activities defined in the framework affect the outcomes. The activities will be modified and tested iteratively until the investigators achieve close alignment between framework and impacts.. The project team will continue the design-based research approach both to examine groups of activities in which synergies can have impacts beyond single interactions as well as to examine varied ways of training facilitators who can also significantly affect outcomes. In this way, the project will generate knowledge about how kits of hands-on informal learning activities can stimulate attitudes of interest, relevance, and self-efficacy with respect to the neglected field of chemistry. The project teams will broadly disseminate project outcomes within the educational research, science and informal Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education communities. While this project will focus on chemistry, the strategies it will develop and test through a design-based research process will provide valuable insight into effective approaches for informal STEM education more broadly.