STEM Matters: Investigating the Confluence of Visitor and Institutional Learning Agendas

该项目将在全国范围内进行研究，以解决三个广泛的问题：（1）公众如何看待动物园和水族馆，以及这些机构如何影响STEM（科学技术工程数学）学习？(2)游客在生命的不同阶段是如何体验动物园的？参观动物园如何影响他们对环境问题和保护的知识和观点？(3)游客的入境特征是什么，这些特征在访问期间如何在行为中发挥作用？该项目旨在通过机构教学法和学习目标以及个人特征及其社会和文化背景的交叉，促进对非正式STEM学习如何出现的理解。作为第一个推进全领域研究议程的机构研究，该项目将绘制如何实施国家合作努力，以帮助完善动物园，水族馆和其他STEM学习机构之间的项目交付和合作。 这项研究将描述动物园和水族馆游客的基础上，人口统计学，群体和个人的观点，以扩大这些因素如何影响游客学习的理解，以及他们如何看待动物园和水族馆提出的教育信息的相关性。 该项目将产生报告、讲习班和一本手册，介绍对教育工作者有实际价值的调查结果、一个研究平台和研究工具、在线讨论论坛以及未来研究的方向。该项目由新知识组织（NKO）领导，将通过NKO与其他非正式研究组织以及动物园和水族馆协会（AZA）及其230个非正式科学学习机构成员的合作进行。 该项目得到了推进非正式STEM学习（AISL）计划的支持，该计划为在各种环境中使用的研究和创新资源提供资金，作为其加强非正式环境中学习的整体战略的一部分。

The project will conduct a nation wide study to address three broad questions: (1) How does the public view zoos and aquariums and how do these institutions affect STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics) learning outside their walls? (2) How do visitors experience zoos at different stages in their lives and how do zoo visits affect their knowledge and perspectives concerning environmental issues and conservation? (3) What are the entry characteristics of visitors and how do those characteristics play out in behaviors during a visit?The project is designed to advance understanding of how informal STEM learning emerges through the intersection of institutional pedagogy and learning goals and the characteristics of individuals and their social and cultural backgrounds. As the first institutional study that advances a field-wide research agenda, the project will map how to implement a national collaborative effort that can help refine program delivery and cooperation between zoos, aquariums and other STEM learning institutions. The study will describe zoo and aquarium visitors based on a broad understanding of demographics, group, and individual perspectives to expand understanding of how these factors influence visitor learning and how they view the relevance of educational messages presented by zoos and aquariums. The project will result in reports, workshops and a handbook presenting findings of practical value for educators, a research platform and research tools, online discussion forums, and directions for future research. The project, led by New Knowledge Organization (NKO), will be carried out through the collaboration of NKO with other informal research organizations and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) with its 230 informal science learning institutional members. 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.