2015 - 2016

In collaboration with King's College London and Michigan State University, Oregon State University's Lynn Dierking, with some support from Victoria Bonebrake, has conducted a Science Learning+ Initiative planning project funded by the Wellcome Trust. Called the “Youth Access & Equity Research & Practice Agenda in Informal Science Learning (ISL) Environments” project, or "Equity Pathways in ISL" for short, the project's focus is to establish a UK-US researcher/practitioner network in order to develop a "youth access & equity research & practice agenda” focused on youth ages 11-14, primarily living in under-resourced communities.

The project team organizes their collaborative work around three diverse informal STEM learning (ISL) settings/contexts: 1.) Designed spaces, e.g., museums, zoos and aquariums; 2.) Community-based efforts, e.g., after school clubs and organizations like Boys & Girls Clubs; and 3.) Everyday science, e.g., science media and citizen science. Projected outcomes for early 2015 include a survey of equity work among ISL practitioners and researchers as well as a workshop for each of the three contexts; all of which will be administered both in the US and UK.

Read the project's Phase 1 briefs below:

OSU Team: