Webinar: Learning Science Outside the Classroom

As part of their recent special report on informal science education, Education Week will be hosting a webinar tomorrow (4/19) on science learning outside of the classroom. The webinar will take place from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. EST and will feature John Falk, Professor of Free Choice learning at Oregon State University, and Dr. Alan Friedman, former Director and CEO of the New York Hall of Science and current member of the National Assessment Government Board. Both are highly regarded experts working at the cutting edge of informal science learning research, and they should have a lot to say about this ever-evolving field.

Dr. Friedman also gave a talk at the 2010 National Conference on Science & Technology in Out of School Time on the importance of program evaluation. Download a free podcast of his talk on the Coalition for Science After School iTunes U page.

Check out our updated iTunes U page!

iTunes U recently upgraded their interface, and the Coalition for Science After School page is cleaner and more easy-to-use than ever. Visit the page (link will open iTunes) to download recorded sessions from the 2010 National Conference on Science & Technology in Out-of-School Time! Learn about:

-Creating and sustaining community partnerships
-What funders are looking for from OST STEM programs
-Research trends and recent findings in the OST STEM field

-How technology is being used by OST programs

There's a lot to learn from these leaders and experts. What surprised you? What would you like to know more about? And please feel free to share these podcasts with your networks!

Evaluation and Afterschool

Evaluation and assessment are important components of ensuring your program's long-term success. As stated on the Coalition website:

"Program assessment and evaluation provide critical feedback for ensuring that a program is making the most of this opportunity. Additionally, these reviews can prove useful in securing funding."

Two Coalition members have recently completed major evaluation studies. Destination ImagiNation, a national non-profit afterschool program, underwent an evaluation by the University of Virginia. They found that Destination ImagiNation participants outperformed their non-participant peers on creative thinking, critical thinking, and problem-solving--all stated goals of the program.  

Project Exploration, located in Chicago, found that they have had a major impact in participants' decisions to stick with STEM education and career goals. The study was done by the Center for Research, Evaluation, and Assessment (REA) at the Lawrence Hall of Science, UC Berkeley and looked at ten years' of data collected by Project Exploration as well as surveys of more than 30% of Project Exploration participants. They also found that their youth-centered model was effective in encouraging positive youth development outcomes. You can read the full report, or listen to a podcast about the study at the National Conference on Science and Technology in Out-of-School Time presented by Project Exploration co-founder and director Gabrielle Lyon and REA Research Specialist Bernadette Chi. 

The Coalition website also has a list of tools available for program evaluation, as well as a list of independent evaluators from across the country. Looking for even more evidence of why evaluation is so important? Download this podcast from our conference in September, presented by Dr. Alan Friedman of The Museum Group. The podcast, called Three Reasons to be Eager to Do Evaluation: Your Funders, Your Organization and Your Students, presents compelling reasons why evaluation and assessment should be made a regular part of program design and implementation.

Podcasts from the National Conference on Science and Technology in Out of School Time Now Available!

Did you miss our conference in September? Were you unable to attend a particular session? Or do you want to share something you learned with your colleagues? Podcasts from many of the sessions, including the Keynote, plenary sessions, and breakout sessions are now available for FREE download on iTunes!

To access the podcasts, follow this link:  http://tiny.cc/a3zwr

The link will open iTunes. To download iTunes for free, go to http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/. 

Many thanks to our speakers, the staff of Swank AV at the Sheraton Universal Hotel, and the volunteers who assisted with recording!