Broad Implementation: Creating Communities Of Learners For Informal Cognitive Science Education

波士顿科学博物馆（MOS）与哈佛大学作为其大学研究合作伙伴，正在扩展，传播和进一步评估他们的NSF/ ise资助（DRL-0714706）非正式认知科学教育的生活实验室模型。在这个模型中，幼儿研究人员在过去三年中在MOS幼儿探索中心进行了研究，并在博物馆的营业时间内与游客互动，了解他们在儿童发展和认知方面的研究发现。设计和评估了几种与成年游客互动的方法，包括使用“研究玩具”作为展品。对原著的总结性评价表明，对所有目标受众——带小孩的成年人、博物馆教育工作者和研究人员——都有积极的影响。该项目现在通过建立三个额外的博物馆中心站点来扩大该模式的实施范围，每个站点都有大学合作伙伴-马里兰科学中心（与约翰霍普金斯大学合作），麦迪逊儿童博物馆（与威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校合作）和俄勒冈科学与工业博物馆（与刘易斯&克拉克学院合作）。听众仍然包括研究人员（以及研究生和本科生）；博物馆教育工作者;还有带着孩子参观博物馆的大人。可交付成果包括：(1)中心站点的建立和活动以及MOS站点的持续改进，(2)四个站点和全国其他站点的虚拟中心门户，(3)博物馆和科学家的工具包资源，以及(4)所有站点的专业研讨会。预期的结果是：(1)提高博物馆教育工作者和参观博物馆的成年人对认知/发展心理学和研究的理解及其在抚养子女方面的应用；(2)提高研究人员与公众沟通和在博物馆进行研究的能力；(3)增加博物馆社区对这一模型的兴趣、知识和应用，并建立这样的合作网络。

Boston's Museum of Science (MOS), with Harvard as its university research partner, is extending, disseminating, and further evaluating their NSF/ISE-funded (DRL-0714706) Living Laboratory model of informal cognitive science education. In this model, early-childhood researchers over the past three years have both conducted research in the MOS Discovery Center for young children and interacted with visitors during the museum's operating hours about what their research is finding about child development and cognition. Several methods of interacting with adult visitors were designed and evaluated, including the use of "research toys" as exhibits. Summative evaluation of the original work indicated positive outcomes on all targeted audiences - adults with young children, museum educators, and researchers. The project is now broadening the implementation of the model by establishing three additional museum Hub Sites, each with university partners - Maryland Science Center (with Johns Hopkins), Madison Children's Museum (with University of Wisconsin, Madison), and Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (with Lewis & Clark College). The audiences continue to include researchers (along with graduate and undergraduate students); museum educators; and adults with children visiting the museums. Deliverables consist of: (1) establishment of and activities at the Hub sites and continued improvement of the MOS site, (2) a virtual Hub portal for the four sites and others around the country, (3) tool-kit resources for both museums and scientists, and (4) professional symposia at all sites. Intended outcomes are: (1) improve museum educators' and museum visiting adults' understanding of cognitive/developmental psychology and research and its application to raising their children, (2) improve researchers' ability to communicate with the public and to conduct their research at the museums, and (3) increase interest in, knowledge about, and application of this model throughout the museum community and grow a network of such collaborations.