Conference: Annual Rural STEM Learning Summit

农村社区往往缺乏非正式的学习机会。农村STEM学习峰会将促进对农村STEM教育工作者、管理人员、专业人员和组织的合作和支持。研究表明，农村社会企业、区域网络和扩大的邻近性在催化创新和提供克服这些独特挑战的机会方面具有优势。然而，农村STEM倡议面临着共同的障碍，例如物理距离、缺乏基础设施、个人能力有限以及在发展和维护STEM生态系统方面资源紧张。这次会议将为加强这些领域的创新知识、分享经验教训和促进合作提供重要机会。重点将放在集体影响、农村赋权和成功的农村STEM项目上。主题将包括研究和评估、艺术融合、伙伴关系、与资源不足的人群合作以及建立农村STEM身份。会议将采用多种形式，包括主题演讲、快速概述项目和想法的简短（“闪现”）演讲、提供现成活动和资源的专题讨论会、由专家、项目主管和研究人员主持的专题讨论会，以及与有共同兴趣的人会面的非正式机会。会议将采用混合形式，包括现场和数字选项，以支持参与。会议将让注册人参与便利的讨论，旨在围绕共同利益对参与者进行分组。这些团队将作为一个团队来引导会议，并合作开发一种共享的实践/产品，可以在本地进行测试，并更广泛地共享。通过让各种各样的农村利益相关者、联邦和州政府机构、观点、观点和地区参与进来，会议将为促进多样性、公平和包容提供一个独特的机会。会议将举办后续会议，以促进持续合作，并为一年一度的农村STEM教育会议建立势头。本次会议由推进非正式STEM学习（AISL）计划资助，该计划支持以下项目：(a)促进研究和实践，考虑非正式STEM学习在STEM公平和归属方面的作用；(b)促进个人和教育在STEM方面的成功；(c)促进公众参与科学发现；(d)培养对STEM职业的兴趣；(e)为有效的非正式STEM学习创造和加强理论和经验基础；(f)改善社区活力；及/或(g)加强科学传播和公众对STEM和STEM过程的参与和理解。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。

Rural communities often lack access to informal learning opportunities. The Rural STEM Learning Summit will promote collaboration and support for rural STEM educators and administrators, professionals, and organizations. Research demonstrates the strengths of rural social enterprises, regional networks, and extended proximity in catalyzing innovation and providing opportunities to overcome these unique challenges. However, rural STEM initiatives face common barriers, such as physical distance, lack of infrastructure, limited individual capacity and stretched resources in developing and maintaining STEM ecosystems. The conference will provide a critical opportunity for enhancing knowledge around innovation in these areas and sharing lessons learned with and advancing collaboration. The focus will be on collective impact, rural empowerment, and successful rural STEM programs. Topics will include research and evaluation, arts integration, partnerships, working with under-resourced populations, and building rural STEM identity. The conference will use a variety of formats, including keynotes, brief ("flash") talks presenting quick overviews of programs and ideas, hosted workshops providing ready-made activities and resources, facilitated workshops led by experts, project directors and researchers, and informal opportunities to meet those with common interests. The conference will be structured as a hybrid format with in-person and digital options to support participation. The conference will engage registrants in facilitated discussions aimed at grouping participants around common interests. These cohorts will navigate the conference as a team and collaborate on developing a shared practice/product that can be tested locally and shared more broadly. By engaging a wide variety of rural stakeholders, federal and state governmental institutions, perspectives, viewpoints, and regions, the conference will offer a distinct opportunity for promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion. The conference will host follow-up sessions that will foster continuing collaboration and build momentum for an annual rural STEM education conference. This conference is funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, which supports projects that: (a) contribute to research and practice that considers informal STEM learning's role in equity and belonging in STEM; (b) promote personal and educational success in STEM; (c) advance public engagement in scientific discovery; (d) foster interest in STEM careers; (e) create and enhance the theoretical and empirical foundations for effective informal STEM learning; (f) improve community vibrancy; and/or (g) enhance science communication and the public's engagement in and understanding of STEM and STEM processes.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.