21st Century Learning in Natural History Settings: A Conference to Initiate Research-Driven Innovation in Informal Natural History Learning

史密森尼学会国家自然历史博物馆教育部在全国独立的大学和区域自然历史博物馆的广泛参与支持下，将举办为期3天的自然历史环境中非正式科学学习全国会议。 本次会议的目标将是制定和传播一个持续的，协作学习的研究议程，开始解决自然历史博物馆在自然历史学习中的作用，并建立一个基础设施，为沟通和合作，以追求研究议程。会议建立在博物馆和非正式学习专业人士最近的会议，以这个主题。 执行委员会和领导委员会将执行一个框架式的项目设计，其中包括从实地收集评价报告和受众研究，进行基础文献审查，举办委员会讲习班审查实地情况，规划会议并呼吁与会者参加，以及通过专业组织和活动进行会前对话。 该会议将于2012年春夏在哥伦比亚特区华盛顿举行，会后将广泛传播研究结果，并呼吁围绕会议产生的研究议程采取行动。 会议将由外部受众研究和评估公司Oberg Research进行评估。 奥伯格将制定一个评估过程，衡量质量，相关性，和会前，会议和会后活动的影响，使用民族志实地工作方法，涉及深入访谈和会议活动的参与者观察。并传播一个合作和持续学习的研究议程，关于美国800个自然历史博物馆如何最好地利用他们的STEM学习资源。 会议将审议的议题包括教育工作者、策展人、藏品管理人员、展览专业人员和博物馆领导之间互动的新模式;为更充分地了解观众及其需求而进行的观众研究;关于快速反应和当前科学的发现和学习的新技术;公众参与科学研究（公民科学）;以及在整个自然历史领域的学习研究合作。

The Department of Education of the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, with broad participatory support from free-standing, university-based and regional natural history museums across the nation will conduct a 3-day national conference on informal science learning in natural history settings. The goal of this conference will be to develop and disseminate a sustained, collaborative learning research agenda that begins to address the role of natural history museums in natural history learning and establish an infrastructure for communication and collaboration to pursue the research agenda.The conference builds on recent meetings among museums and informal learning professionals to this topic. Executive and Leadership Committees will implement a scaffolded project design involving a sweep of evaluation reports and audience research from the field, a foundational literature review, Committee workshops to review the field, conference planning and call for participation, and pre-conference dialogue through professional organizations and activities. The conference, to be held in Washington, DC in Spring-Summer 2012, will be followed by broad post-conference dissemination of findings and a call to action around the conference-generated research agenda. The conference will be evaluated by Oberg Research, an external audience research and evaluation firm. Oberg will develop an evaluation process that measures the quality, relevance, and impact of pre-conference, conference, and post-conference activities using an ethnographic fieldwork methodology involving in-depth interviews and participant observation of conference activities.The intended outcomes and impacts of this national conference are to develop, initiate, and disseminate a collaborative and sustained learning research agenda about how the 800 natural history museums in the United States can best use their resources for STEM learning. Among the topics to be considered by the Conference are new models for interaction among educators, curators, collection managers, exhibit professionals and museum leadership; audience research to more fully understand audiences and their needs; new technologies for discovery and learning regarding rapid response and current science; public participation in scientific research (citizen science); and collaboration in learning research across the Natural History field.