Many undergraduate and graduate physics students participate in some form of public engagement throughout the course of their studies, often through groups supported by physics departments and universities. These informal teaching and learning programs can offer unique opportunities for both participants and facilitators to interact in a way that…

No undergraduate or postgraduate programmes currently exist for the professional education of informal educators. The authors outline the development of previous programmes and consider the emergence of informal education as a discrete concept. The article then highlights some key failings in the professional education of informal educators and…

This retrospective emergent design qualitative evaluation study documents the development of a unique model for community engagement and engaged scholarship in higher education. The primary novel aspect of the model is participatory involvement of both the target audience for the program and representatives of various stakeholder groups who…

Background: Recent reports have noted a need for increasing both the recruitment and retention of young people into the STEM disciplines. While many studies have reported on the benefits of classroom reform in formal education environments, less is known about the role of informal education programs in young people's academic aspirations, interest…

Along with rapid globalization, the ability to adapt and excel in an unfamiliar or diverse cultural setting becomes increasingly important. To meet the challenges, universities all over the world are committed to fostering an environment for students to develop their cultural intelligence (CQ). However, besides exchange programs and intercultural…

The purpose of this work is to develop a model for the construction of STEAM-education, which is based on project training in the so-called "creative spaces". "Creative spaces" are integration areas of schoolchildren, students and graduate students working in the format of joint work on projects initiated by various structures…

Informal learning organizations such as museums, zoos, aquaria, gardens, and community-based organizations are often positioned as having programming that fill a void that may exist in the lives of youth participants. Often these institutions do not recognize the assets that youth gain from their own homes and communities and bring to bear in…

How we listen to music and respond to its media and contexts has changed significantly since the invention of sound recording. Today's musicians have countless opportunities to listen to others' interpretations given the vast availability of past and contemporary repertories through the global reach of recordings. This study investigated the…

Virtual design studio (VDS) has been a part of the discourse of architectural pedagogy for the past two decades. VDS has been showcased as a potential educational tool in schools of architecture often in controlled, pre-designed experiments. However, the global COVID-19 pandemic has forced most schools to move their design studios into virtual…

While the autonomous nature of free-choice learning can have numerous positive effects on student learning in science fields, there is a lack of research on how college-age adults learn in informal settings. The purpose of this study was to quantitatively describe college-age adults' experiences at informal learning settings by administering the…

WhatsApp is a powerful tool for L2 learning because of its capacity to promote interaction between teacher and student, as well as among students. Its use has also been shown to support ubiquitous learning. In an attempt to extend language learning beyond the classroom, this study reports on the use of instant messaging through WhatsApp by a group…

Gender bias, reduced sense of belonging, and lower physics self-efficacy are among the challenges faced by women who choose to study physics. Prior studies focusing on this underrepresented group have examined the experiences and impacts of formal educational settings, leaving the impact of informal physics programs, frequently called outreach…

Informal learning (IL) venues such as museums, zoos, scouting, national parks, and community activities are increasingly recognized for their important role in enhancing the public understanding of science. Many benefits to students who participate in rich informal learning experiences are reported in the literature, including improvements in…

This paper covers the work in progress of an e-platform being developed for language enhancement at a tertiary institution in Hong Kong. There is an actual or perceived concern about the English and Chinese language ability of undergraduate students at certain universities in Hong Kong. One reason for this is that a significant proportion of…

In this study, the effects of a documentary and a biographical film, which was watched in an informal environment, on the prospective science teachers' nature of science (NOS) views were examined. The study conducted according to the mixed research methodology. The data were obtained through the open-ended questionnaire prepared by considering the…