News Article

NSF Announces Funding for Science Learning+

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

CCT's Dr. Jim Diamond will serve as PI for a new study just funded by the National Science Foundation as part of their Science Learning+ initiative. The project, Planning a design-based implementation research agenda to investigate digital badges as transformative assessment in informal science learning, brings together stakeholders in two digital badge systems—one in the U.S. and one in the U.K.—to plan for a study to identify the specific structural features of the systems that may allow for the alignment of learning objectives across institutions.

"Young people's participation in informal STEM learning activities can contribute to their academic and career achievements," says Dr. Diamond, "but these connections often aren't explicitly recognized. A more systematiic digital assessment of these informal activities could allow for students' experiences of all types of  STEM learning to be aligned, coordinated, and supported across learning contexts."

For this project, CCT will partner with the New York City Hive Learning Network and MOUSE in the United States, and DigitalMe in the U.K.

The NSF award abstract for this project is here; click here to read the NSF's press release on the Science Learning+ initiative's 11 projects.

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