Collaborative Research: Effective environmental workshop facilitation and local community action

作为加强非正式环境中学习的总体战略的一部分，推进非正式STEM学习（AISL）计划旨在推进非正式环境中STEM学习的设计和开发的新方法和基于证据的理解。这包括提供多种途径，扩大STEM学习经验的获取和参与，推进非正式环境中STEM学习的创新研究和评估，以及发展参与者对深度学习的理解。“服务到实践的研究”项目考察了非正式的基于场所的协作学习如何支持当地社区与当前环境变化相关的规划过程。作为这项研究的一部分，讲习班将在8个社区进行，这些社区根据最近的极端环境变化（如干旱/野火、洪水、入侵物种或本地野生动物的丧失）制定了一系列规划任务。基于地方的适应讲习班的设计将与当地相关，并使人们能够根据他们新获得的理解学习和采取行动。当地社区的集体行动可能包括一系列决定（例如，改变基础设施，如在沿海社区建立防御海平面上升的设施，或改善道路质量以承受更高的温度）。集体行动还可能导致整个社区的行为改变，例如个人减少用水或农民种植不同的作物。该研究将重点关注在全国各地社区的8个讲习班中使用的方法的功效。研究目标包括：1)确定专家对成功研讨会最关键组成部分的看法；2)了解之前的研讨会成果，3)测试假设的有效实践，了解学习是如何发生的，集体行动是如何发生的。该项目解决了AISL招标的关键优先事项，包括对非正式STEM学习领域的战略影响、推进合作和专业能力建设。如征集书中所述，它既吸引公众观众，也吸引专业观众。公众观众包括8个社区的利益相关者，如社区环保组织、非政府组织、企业、土地所有者和地方政府规划者。专业听众包括研讨会的科学家和主持人，他们将接受实验研讨会方法的培训。该项目建立并扩展了AISL现有的科学传播项目组合，如科学咖啡馆、科学节、科学媒体和基于图书馆的项目。这是EcoAdapt和弗吉尼亚理工大学的一个合作项目，参与者来自国家公园保护协会、沙漠研究所、野生动物保护协会和其他机构。研究将分两个阶段进行。第一阶段旨在确定基于共识的有效做法，以促进适应讲习班的学习和行动。它包括一项德尔菲研究，以综合美国各地经验丰富的研讨会主持人对有效实践的看法。第二阶段包括八个适应讲习班的迭代设计和研究，这些讲习班在不同社区开展，具有一系列规划任务和最近的极端天气经验。通过对工作坊设计的迭代修正，本研究将阐明不同工作坊组成部分如何影响参与者的学习、个体行为意图以及随后对集体行动的努力。整体研究设计将检查教学和协作技术与学习者成果和集体行动的关系。这些课程中的许多可能与其他非正式的协作科学学习环境有关。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

As part of its overall strategy to enhance learning in informal environments, the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program 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 Research in Service to Practice project examines how informal place-based collaborative learning can support local communities' planning processes related to current environmental changes. As a part of this study workshops will be conducted in 8 communities that have a range of planning mandates based on recent extreme environmental changes such as drought/wildfires, flooding, invasive species, or loss of native wildlife. Place-based adaptation workshops will be designed to be locally relevant and empower people to learn and act on their newly acquired understandings. Local community collective actions may include a range of decisions (e.g., infrastructure changes such as building defenses against sea level rise in coastal communities or improving the quality of roads to withstand higher temperatures.) Collective action may also lead to community wide behavioral changes such as individuals using less water or farmers planting different crops. The study will focus on the efficacy of the methods used in 8 workshops in communities throughout the country. Research objectives include: 1) identifying experts' belief about the most critical components of successful workshops; 2) Understanding of prior workshop outcomes and 3) test hypothesized effective practices and understand how learning takes place and collective action does or does not take place. The project addresses key AISL solicitation priorities including strategic impact on the field of informal STEM learning, advancing collaboration, and building professional capacity. It engages both public and professional audiences as described in the solicitation. Public audiences include stakeholders in each of the 8 communities such as community environmental groups, NGOs, businesses, landowners, and local government planners. Professional audiences include the workshop scientists and facilitators who will be trained in the experimental workshop approach. The project builds upon and expands the existing AISL portfolio of science communication projects such as science cafes, science festivals, science media, and library based projects. This is a collaborative project of EcoAdapt and Virginia Tech with participants from the National Parks Conservation Association, the Desert Research Institute, and the Wildlife Conservation Society and others.The research will progress through two phases. Phase 1 is designed to identify consensus-based effective practices for promoting learning and action in adaptation workshops. It includes a Delphi study to synthesize beliefs about effective practices held by experienced workshop facilitators across the United States. Phase 2 includes iterative design and research of eight adaptation workshops in various communities with a range of planning mandates and recent extreme weather experience. By iteratively revising the workshop design, the study will elucidate how different workshop components influence participant learning, individual behavioral intentions, and subsequent efforts toward collective action. The overall research design will examine the relationships of pedagogical and collaborative techniques to learner outcomes and collective action. Many of these lessons are likely relevant to other collaborative informal science learning contexts.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.