"Prototyping Puppets" combines craft and performance in a puppet making STEM workshop for informal learning. We report on its final evaluation in two events (n=10 and n=13) to show how the design addressed black boxing of technology through a craft-centric approach and successfully engaged different student populations through an…

Research in mentoring has shown that students may at times be more willing and able to absorb information that is delivered to them by their near-peers, rather than by traditional figures of authority, like teachers and professors. In this study, underrepresented minority high school students participated in an informal learning experience that…

Informal STEM educators, teaching in out-of-school environments, have few opportunities for professional development. These educators often have widely varied professional backgrounds and areas of expertise, which can lead to rich opportunities for learning with and from other informal STEM educators in the context of professional learning…

The University of Washington's (UW) "Access to Informal STEM Learning (AccessISL)" project employs a student-centered approach and potentially transformative practices that embrace the social model of disability, social justice education, disability as a diversity issue, intersectionality, and universal design. A leadership team of…

This article offers a qualitative analysis of infrastructural in/justice in a community-partnered design intervention focused on developing high-tech low-cost Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM) projects. We examined the kinds of infrastructural injustices that were present in three afterschool programs and how it shaped STEAM…

This article briefly sketches the evolution of live animal displays in twentieth- and twenty-first-century U.S. museums of science and natural history, in order to show how these exhibits function as a sampling device for changing postwar pedagogies of science learning. Live animal displays have been, more often than not, interpreted by both their…

Connecting the public to concepts in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is an essential for technological advancement and inspiring future scientists, impacting both the communicator and the audience's understanding of scientific topics. Without proper communication of scientific knowledge, acceptance and implementation of…

Although STEM is at the forefront of many educational initiatives, little is known about various professionals' perceptions of STEM. This mixed-methods study surveyed 164 preservice teachers, inservice teachers, administrators, informal educators, and STEM professionals. Quantitative and qualitative questions on the survey elicited participants'…

Diversity has been shown to improve the ability of groups to problem solve and make predictions, as well as guarding against groupthink and overconfidence. Marginalized groups within the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields are still largely underrepresented despite various efforts to increase diversity in STEM. This…

Bibliometric mapping serves as a method to systematically evaluate and visually demonstrate the development of a research field. CiteSpace and VOSviewer, two research tools of bibliometric mapping, were used in the present study to analyze, synthesize, and visualize the hot topics as well as frontier evolution of science education. Co-authorship…

Many studies have argued the need for culturally competent teachers in the classroom as learners' demography shifts toward more diversity. The teaching workforce remains predominantly unchanged, with more White teachers than other races or ethnic groups. Many teacher preparation programs use multicultural education or equity and diversity courses…

This study adopted a researcher-generated framework to analyze STEM activities demonstrated in primary students' science projects in an annual extracurricular event held in Hong Kong. Ten students' project reports were randomly selected from each of the three groups of 24 outstanding, 45 merit, and 68 consolation awarded projects. Content analysis…

The importance of increasing interest in the STEM disciplines has been noted in a number of recent national reports. While many previous studies have focused on such efforts inside of the formal classroom, comparatively few have looked closely at informal learning environments. We investigate the innovative use of technology in informal learning…

Careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields are increasing but the number of qualified individuals to fill these positions are not meeting the demand. One way to increase the number of qualified STEM employees is to garner the interest of students from underrepresented groups in the STEM fields. One of these…

It is through the collective work of museum educators that an organization grows its social capital in its local community and beyond its physical footprint. Given the significant contributions of museum educators to an institution's outcomes, we argue for a shift in mindset on investing in their growth and development. We share our reasoning for…