Learning Science in Informal Environments – Practitioner’s Resource

The Board on Science Education of the National Research Council is developing a resource for practitioners that is based on evidence, findings and conclusions of a consensus study on learning science in informal environments. Both the formal study committee and the practitioner’s resource project are underway. The formal report is expected to be available in spring of 2008, and the practitioner’s resource will be completed in the spring of 2009.

The formal report will synthesis literature across the fields of informal science education and informal learning, describing how people of all ages access and learn science in everyday settings, in designed spaces, in out of school opportunities, and through media. It will detail the importance and value of informal science learning, and define what is meant by informal science learning. Authored by an NRC committee of experts in learning, communications, informal science research, evaluation, and informal science practice, the formal study is expected to be a valuable resource for policymakers, researchers, corporate charitable and foundation staffs, as well as informal science educators.

The practitioner’s volume will draw heavily from the work of the formal study committee. It will provide practitioners with a view of research findings situated in the context of their daily work. A professional writer will author the report with the guidance of an oversight committee. It is anticipated that case studies or case vignettes will be used to provide rich descriptions of the application of the research findings.

This work is being sponsored by the National Science Foundation’s Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings, the Institute for Museum and Library Services, and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund.