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Informal Science Learning
Stephanie Sinclair
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Today’s Talk
• Reminder what the Review set out to achieve
• Highlight key findings from the Informal Learning Review
• Examine what this means for the sector
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Aims of the Review
Practical outcomes of the study:
• A better understanding of the scope of informal learning, its theoretical base and the types of change it can bring about in people’s understanding, behaviour and attitudes to science
• Better understanding of how to evaluate the impact of informal science learning
• Best practice in reaching deprived learners schools and families
• Best practice in linking informal and formal learning.
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2 Reports Commissioned
• From UK-based GHK Consulting – report examines who is doing what, who are they reaching and how are they evaluating.
• From Stanford - Oregon State University- examining the science education ‘ecosystem’ and the role of informal learning within it.
• Plus a commentary piece from John Holman and Clare Matterson
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Fieldwork
Autumn 2011 – Spring 2012
Interviews: 60 stakeholders of informal learning
Surveys: online surveys of informal learning providers
Case studies: 10 exemplar organisations
Family studies: family choices for their leisure time
Literature review: academic and ‘grey’ literature
Ecological mapping: to describe the science learning eco-system
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Findings – the Informal Learning Landscape
• Diversity: ‘…. As far as we can tell, such diversity is not matched elsewhere’
• Strong sense of mission
• Complex interactions…
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Quantity of interactions among UK science education sectors – greatest interactivity in the middle
Stanford-Oregon: Analysing the UK Science Education Community: The contribution of informal providers: November2012: Wellcome Trust
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Findings – Evaluation
Evaluation activity is widespread but unsophisticated:
- user surveys are most common methodology used
- mostly done by providers themselves, not by external evaluators
‘Overall, this is a community eager to find out what its users think of its activities, but less inclined to measure long-term impact’
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What best describes your evaluation activity?
Statement Responses Percentage
Formative evaluation 160 91%
Summative evaluation 29 15%
Evaluate when required by funders 69 39%
Planned rolling evaluation programme in place 37
21%
Evaluate if concerns identified 32 18%
Evaluation undertaken on an ad hoc basis 24 14%
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Barriers to evaluation
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Findings – Research, practice and profession
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How well known is the literature?
• Modal value for how many individuals had read most cited publications = 0
• Modal value for how many recognised but had not read each publication = 2
• Most read article read by < 50%
So what do they read?
- Policy documents, evaluations and online resources (eg > 50% read the ASDC newsletter)
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So what do these findings mean for the sector?
- How we evaluate
- How we increase research base and research capacity
- Better linking research and practice
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Moving towards a more sophisticated evaluation model
• greater sharing of results
• identification of a common set of related proximal and distal indicators of impact
• working with other sectors to test alternative methods
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Linking research and practice
What Wellcome Trust are doing
•Exploring potential programme of research grants with National Science Foundation
What we can all do
-Ensure we are using research to underpin our own practice