| NSF Org: |
DRL Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL) |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | August 17, 2014 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | July 20, 2020 |
| Award Number: | 1421427 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Julie Johnson
jjohnson@nsf.gov (703)292-8624 DRL Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL) EDU Directorate for STEM Education |
| Start Date: | September 1, 2014 |
| End Date: | April 30, 2021 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $2,993,877.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $3,293,257.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2019 = $299,380.00 |
| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
4765 WALNUT ST STE B BOULDER CO US 80301-2575 (720)974-5888 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
4750 Walnut Street, Suite 205 Boulder CO US 80301-2532 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | AISL |
| Primary Program Source: |
04001920DB NSF Education & Human Resource |
| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.076 |
ABSTRACT
This project will bring STEM education to rural communities through local public libraries. Museum quality exhibits labelled as "Discover Earth", "Discover Technology", and "Discover Space" will spend 3 months at a series of locations around the Nation. Twenty four medium sized libraries will be chosen for the large exhibits and forty small libraries will be chosen for scaled down versions. The project's intent is to provide exhibits in every state and to reach as many under-represented individuals as possible. The significance of this project is that rural areas of this country are underserved regarding STEM education and since this segment of society is represented by 50-60 million residents, it is important to reach out to them.
There is a significant segment of the Nation's population (50-60 million) that is underserved by out-of-school learning venues such as museums and science centers. An earlier phase 1 project demonstrated at 18 sites that rural libraries and librarians could provide STEM education to community members ranging in age from adults to children using these hands-on exhibits. Each exhibit (earth, space or technology) includes information about the topic and technologically enabled models to provide interesting and fun discovery mechanisms. They use common layman friendly language that highlights the most recent discoveries in each area. Each exhibit will be placed in the selected library for 3 months during which the library will organize events to feature and advertise the STEM learning opportunities. Another feature of this project will be to determine the models of learning in library settings and as a function of the demographics. The partners in this project that bring the necessary expertise are the American Library Association, the Afterschool Alliance, the Association of Rural and Small Libraries, the University of Colorado Museum, Datum Advisors, LLC, Evaluation and Research Associates, the Lunar and Planetary Institute, the American Geophysical Union, and the Space Science Institute.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
STAR Library Education Network (STAR Net) was led by the Space Science Institute's (SSI) National Center for Interactive Learning (NCIL) in collaboration with the American Library Association (ALA), Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI), Datum Advisors, and the Afterschool Alliance. The STAR Net Phase 2 team refurbished two interactive STEM traveling exhibits developed by the earlier STAR Net Phase 1 project (Discover Earth and Discover Tech), coupled with hands-on activities and supporting resources for a third large exhibit (Discover Space: A Cosmic Journey) and three new small Explore exhibits. 76 libraries participated. The exhibit tour was led by ALA. To date, 2 million patrons have visited the exhibits, 300,000 (including 210,000 youth) have participated in over 1,500 programs, and over 1,700 librarians have participated in in-person workshops and online webinars. STAR Net News and the website were used to promote the webinars and other learning opportunities to host library staff as well as to the much broader community of practice (CoP) that now numbers over 8,000 members.
A supplement was funded by NSF in 2018 to transform the Discover Space exhibit into a computational thinking (CT) version called Exploring Space. Summative evaluation results found that host libraries increased their capacity to deliver inspirational and effective computation-rich STEM learning experiences. Librarians benefitted personally by increasing their interest, knowledge, and confidence in facilitating CT-rich STEM learning experiences for patrons of all ages. And finally, host libraries offered computation?rich STEM learning experiences while they hosted the exhibit and planned to continue doing so in the future.
The STAR Net outreach program was developed and led by the Afterschool Alliance. STAR Net participated in their annual Lights On Afterschool campaign. The Afterschool Alliance also released a Library-Afterschool Partnership Report highlighting the partnership efforts of more than 360 afterschool programs and their local libraries. Through both qualitative observations from conversations with libraries and youth-serving librarians during the grant and through the data gathered from the 2017 survey of afterschool programs, it became apparent that not only are libraries and out-of-school time (OST) programs frequently partnering around the country, but also that those partnerships come in many forms and address a wide array of subject areas. The Afterschool Alliance and the STAR Net project are well positioned to continue encouraging libraries and afterschool programs to establish partnerships focused on STEM.
Phase 2 public library staff formed partnerships with STEM professionals and educators to provide STEM programming for youth and adults. Most host libraries reached out to their STEM community for help with programming, and successfully developed connections with science or engineering professionals. Several libraries said STAR Net facilitated the formation of new partnerships within their community such as local colleges and universities, local businesses, government agencies, science coordinators from local K-12 schools, museums, professional organizations, and individual STEM professionals. Many libraries said that they expected the partnerships they had established to continue in the future
Key outcomes from the evaluation (led by EDC) were:
1. STAR Net?s professional development helped librarians host the exhibits and deliver high quality informal science education programming.
2. Phase 2 public library staff formed partnerships with STEM professionals and educators to provide STEM programming.
3. STAR Net was successful in reaching the targeted library participants and audiences at the host libraries.
4. Library patrons at the host libraries became more interested in, knowledgeable about, and engaged in the STEM topics presented in the exhibits and programming.
5. There were relatively few differences in librarian or patron outcomes at libraries that receive the small Explore exhibits versus the large Discover exhibits. Overall, STAR Net helped libraries showcase their role as ever-evolving centers of learning for their communities.
The research (led by Datum) focused on better understanding libraries as conduits for increasing STEM access and equity. The research team conducted an initial pilot research study that focused on the construct of STEM Program Readiness (SPR) in public libraries. An extensive review of the literature was conducted to better understand this construct and inform their approach. Specifically, the research team collaborated with STAR Net and ALA to survey over 1,000 library professionals and practitioners. The team examined what SPR might look like in public libraries (e.g., partnering with a science center, offering STEM afterschool activities for youth, hosting traveling exhibits, hands-on activities for patrons). A follow-up qualitative study with a subset of 20 library practitioners was also conducted to learn more about the experiences of library professionals. In 2019, results from this pilot led to the creation of a beta version of the SPR Tool, which included three dimensions:
1) Library structure and supports
2) Library staff preparedness, and
3) Community engagement.
Last Modified: 06/17/2021
Modified by: Paul B Dusenbery
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