See below for a select list of the Center's publications.
If you are interested in a publication listed on this website please reach out to [email protected].
Publications
Publications
Authors: Julie Risien, Kelly Hoke, Martin Storksdieck, Cathlyn Davis, Eve Klein
We present a conceptual framework rooted in the practices and experiences of nine collaborative partnerships between universities and informal science education organizations. Our analysis and resulting framework aim to support those brokering, designing, and evaluating partnerships in making sense of the dynamism of interorganizational efforts to collaborate in achieving broader impacts of research. We highlight the critical role of brokers in modulating attentions between interorganizational, intraorganizational, and networked dimensions of their collaborations to maintain partnership health and continue progress toward shared goals.
Authors: Kari O'Connell, Kelly L Hoke, Michael Giamellaro, Alan R Berkowitz, Janet Branchaw
Undergraduate field experiences (UFEs), where students learn and sometimes live together in nature, are critical for the field-based science disciplines. The Undergraduate Field Experiences Research Network (UFERN) brings together UFE educators and researchers to improve and broaden participation in field education. Integrating research on UFEs and general STEM education and the expertise of the UFERN community, we present a model and evidence that describes the impact of intended student outcomes, student context factors, and program design factors on UFE student outcomes. The UFERN model is relevant for a diversity of UFE formats and the diverse students potentially engaged in them, and it supports the field science community to consider a range of ways students can engage with the field. The UFERN model can be applied to guide the design, implementation, and evaluation of student-centered UFEs and to guide research on the mechanisms underlying outcomes across UFE formats and disciplines.
Authors: Julie Risien & Bruce Evan Goldstein
We present an in-depth case study of a learning network that aims to transform infrastructure and practice across the research enterprise to advance societal impacts. The theory of social morphogenesis guides our processual qualitative analysis of the network. We describe how different types of boundary work, both building and navigating across boundaries, operate in tension while contributing to transformative capacity. We conclude that learning networks can play a robust role in fostering transformation by drawing together and holding together forces which expand knowledge and authority over time iteratively and recursively. In addition to this theoretical contribution, we provide practical guidance for how network leaders can dynamically manage boundaries, shifting emphasis between strength and fluidity to support transformative change across sites and scales.
Read the full article for practical guidance on managing boundaries
Authors: Mark S. Rosin, Martin Storksdieck, Kari O'Connell, Brianna Keys, Kelly Hoke, Bruce V. Lewenstein
A key broadening participation challenge for science communication is to reach non-traditional audiences beyond those already interested in science. In this study we test a “Guerilla Science” approach that blends elements of access, by removing barriers to participation, with those of inclusion, by designing participant-centered activities, for reaching an art-interested adult audience at the FIGMENT art festival in New York City. Our results show that participants at Guerilla Science were similar to festival goers overall in their connection to and interest in science, indicating the effectiveness of the approach for engaging non-traditional audiences and those who might not self-select into science activities.
Learn more about the "Guerilla Science" approach to broadening participation in science
Authors: Heather A. Fischer, Kimberley Preston, Nancy Staus, Martin Storksdieck
Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) occupations are projected to grow over two times faster than the total for all occupations in the next decade. This will require reskilling and upskilling those currently in the workforce. In response, many universities are deliberately developing academic programs and individual courses focused on providing relevant skills that can be transferred to the workplace. In turn, developers of such programs and courses need ways to assess how well the skills taught in their courses translate to the workforce. Our framework, Course Assessment for Skill Transfer (CAST), is a suite of conceptual tools intended to aid course designers, instructors, or external evaluators in assessing which essential skills are being taught and to what extent. The overarching aim of the framework is to support skills transfer from the classroom to the workplace. This paper introduces the framework and provides two illustrative examples for applying the framework. The examples show that the framework offers a customizable structure for course facilitators and evaluators to assess the skills taught, learned, and retained based on their needs and the resources available to evaluate the quality and usefulness of course offerings in higher education.
Learn more about the course assessment for skill transfer framework
Authors: Heather Fischer, Holly Cho, Martin Storksdieck
Many citizen science (CS) programs aim to grow and sustain a pool of enthusiastic participants who consistently contribute their efforts to a specific scientific endeavor. Consequently, much research has explored CS participants’ motivations and their relationship to participant recruitment and retention. However, much of this research has focused on actively participating citizen scientists. If researchers want to elucidate the relationship between participant factors (such as demographics and motivations) and participant retention, it is necessary to develop a more comprehensive picture of the different degrees of participation in CS. This paper presents a framework for classifying participation throughout the participant’s engagement in a CS project/program. We suggest a CS participation model that captures the dynamic nature of participation across an arc of volunteering. Called the Nibble-and-Drop Framework, the model describes multiple exit points and stages of contribution typical of participation in a CS program. Applying the framework to the NASA GLOBE Observer (GO) CS program, we found that it captured the dynamics of participation in a global-scale, mobile, app-based, contributory-style CS project. The framework guided our analysis of how different participant factors correlate with degrees of participation. We found that participants were motivated to initially participate because they wanted to contribute to NASA research and science. Participants who dropped out of the program at various points often initially engaged through specific collection events and did not feel the need to continue contributing beyond the event; other drop-outs doubted whether their contributions were meaningful, showing again the need to ensure that participants understand the value of their engagement in a CS project.
Authors: Julie Risien and Kelly Hoke
This report presents summative evaluation results for a National Science Foundation-funded project entitled Grounding Institutional Partnerships in Structures for Broader Impacts Design (BID). The project represents a collaboration between five institutions: Institute for Learning Innovation, The STEM Research Center at Oregon State University, Scicenter, University of Washington-Bothell, and University of Wisconsin-Madison. BID aimed at creating an inter-institutional structure and toolkit to assist higher education institutions (HEIs) and informal science education organizations (ISEs) in developing sustainable institutional partnerships through collaboration around the design of informal STEM education-based Broader Impacts (BI) experiences. The project built upon the Portal to the Public (PoP) framework, bringing together research support professionals, STEM education professionals and Principal Investigators at HEIs with practitioners at ISEs (i.e., BID partners) to enhance BI experiences for the public by leveraging human resources through intentional coordination and partnerships. This report addresses the impact of this collective work, serves as a record of the project, and as a resource for future partnerships that support BI.
Authors: Nancy L Staus, John H Falk, William Penuel, Lynn Dierking, Jennifer Wyld, Deborah Bailey
To better understand STEM interest development during adolescence in an urban community, we examined how “STEM Interested” youth differed from disinterested youth and how interest changed over time from age 11/12 to 12/13. We surveyed youth to measure interest in four components of STEM, used cluster analysis to categorize youth based on STEM interest, and examined how interest profiles and pathways differed for several explanatory factors (e.g., parental support, gender). Three STEM interest profiles emerged from the analysis: Stem Interested, Math Disinterested, and STEM Disinterested. Only STEM Disinterested youth lost interest in science, technology/engineering, and mathematics while the remaining 76% of youth remained at least somewhat interested in science and technology/engineering. Girls were just as likely as boys to identify as STEM Interested. Participation in out-of-school STEM activities and positive parental attitudes toward science were significant predictors of persistent STEM interest. Decreases in STEM interest were associated with declines in science self-concept and perceived parental attitudes toward science. Results suggested that declining STEM interest may not be the norm for urban youth. The findings also revealed factors that may influence declining STEM interest and reinforced the importance of out-of-school factors in developing and sustaining STEM interest during adolescence.
Authors: Laura Brandt Edson, Elizabeth MacDonald, Alison Cawood, Heather Fischer
While traditional science often focuses on peer-reviewed scientific publications and citations to gauge efficacy, citizen science projects, also called participatory science projects, span a broader range of goals, methods, and products than are capturable by such means. The Science Products Inventory (SPI) is one tool to assist with participatory science evaluation that extends beyond scientific outputs such as publications. Its use cases were limited to a cohort of projects during its initial development, so here we explored its utility and flexibility for use cases across multiple US federally-funded participatory science projects. We examined the tool’s formative and longitudinal utility, accessibility, and adaptability with contributory projects spanning different sizes, scopes, and goals. We found that the tool was easily customizable, making it suitable for individual project needs, including meeting the needs of funders for evaluation. It was easy to use, making it suitable for data gathering by non-expert evaluators, and it enabled practitioners to reflect on ways to enhance a project’s impact. We also found it useful for comparing evaluation data over time and between projects. Ultimately, citizen science includes elements across various dimensions that can be examined using quantitative indicators—like those in the SPI—and qualitative means. A combination of evaluation approaches could be appropriate for individual project goals and stakeholders, but we show how the simplicity and customizability of the SPI can provide benefits across a range of projects and programs.
Authors: Ben Archibeque, Kari O'Connell, Isabel Delgado, Christopher Nytch, Nancy Merlo, Emily Ortiz Franco
The goals of this work are to a) understand community perspectives related to public engagement with science and the Luquillo Long Term Ecological Research (LUQ-LTER) program, b) enhance existing relationships within these communities, and c) illuminate opportunities for establishing new relationships between the LUQ-LTER program and its surrounding community. We share results from our case study that includes three methods of data collection: interviews with natural resource managers, a community conversation activity with 12 local community organizations, and a survey given at a public outreach event at El Portal de El Yunque. From interviews with natural resource managers, we learned they are looking for collaborations which directly benefit the resources they manage (forests, water, etc.), and they are also hoping for more formal communication structures between them and the LUQ-LTER. Sixty percent of the organizations at the Community Conversation shared that the most valuable outcome was learning that LUQ-LTER existed .All participants expressed interest in collaborating with the LUQ-LTER and said that LUQ-LTER’s long term ecological data could be beneficial for them to use and LUQ-LTER could be a productive context to share data they gather to heighten utility in all directions. From a survey given at the International Day of Forests Celebration, we learned that most people present at the activity came to the El Yunque National Forest to learn about the forest, spend time with family, or enjoy the forest. We also learned that during previous visits to El Yunque, they most commonly either day hiked or visited a geographical feature (waterfall or observation tower). When asked about which activities they would like to have happen in the future in El Yunque, most people indicated high levels of interest in having educational activities (like festivals or flora and fauna workshops), workshops or training on environmental issues, and night tours. The volunteer opportunities for which the most people indicated highest levels of interest were trail, camp, and related maintenance as well as fish and wildlife opportunities. Overall, everyone we talked to was interested in more collaboration and working together in the future, giving the LUQ-LTER program an excellent starting point for building stronger relationships with the community surrounding their site.
Learn more about the results of the case study on the Luquillo Long Term Ecological Research program
Authors: Holly Cho, Russanne D. Low, Heather A. Fischer, Martin Storksdieck
In this paper, we describe a virtual high school earth science enhancement program that embeds a citizen science experience within a scientist-mentored research internship. We demonstrate the success of the program as measured by knowledge of pertinent science concepts and processes, and changes in future career orientation, and explore the role of place-based citizen science in interns’ experience of their research projects. The STEM Enhancement in Earth Science (SEES) Mosquito Mappers Virtual Internship connected high school interns with research opportunities applying NASA Earth Observations to the global health threat of mosquito-vector borne diseases. The interns engaged in 120–150 h of research working closely with NASA subject matter expert mentors, and making use of the GLOBE Observer citizen science infrastructure to collect and analyse data. In the virtual format, interns were able to participate in activities synchronously or asynchronously through an online learning platform, web conferencing software and social media. Students developed and completed either an independent or small team research project leveraging data collected using the place-based citizen science mobile application, GLOBE Observer. We found that participants were motivated by conducting fieldwork in and around their communities using the GLOBE Observer app. Local fieldwork enabled the student researchers to apply their prior knowledge of their natural and built landscapes, while also contributing to the reduction of mosquito-borne disease risk in their communities. This finding highlights the benefit of coupling citizen science to a virtual internship. Interns shared that their interest in research, and research in the earth sciences specifically, increased as a result of participating in the internship program. By leveraging citizen science data collection and reporting tools, existing data, and analysis tools, the program represented a robust, cost effective research experience conducted in a virtual environment, lowering barriers to participation and broadening access to STEM enhancement opportunities for all.
Learn more about the SEES Mosquito Mappers Virtual Internship
Authors: Julie Risien and Martin Storksdieck
We propose a thoughtful process for scientists to develop their “impact identity”, a concept that integrates scholarship in a scientific discipline with societal needs, personal preferences, capacities and skills, and one’s institutional context. Approaching broader impacts from a place of integrated identity can support cascading impacts that develop over the course of a career. We argue identity is a productive driver that can improve outcomes for scientists and for society. Widespread adoption of the concept of impact identity may also have implications for the recruitment and retention of a more diverse range of scientist.