A particularly successful effort to engage the public in science has been to move the nearly countless galaxies imaged by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to citizen scientists in a project known widely as Galaxy Zoo (URL; http://www.galaxyzoo.org). By examining the motivations, methods and appeal of Galaxy Zoo to the participating public, other…

My only experience with politics took place several years ago, when I helped write some campaign literature for my son, a novice politician who was running for the state legislature against a popular incumbent. It wasn't much of a race; my son lost the election by a huge margin. But what impressed me was the civility of the campaign. In their…

This explores the constructivist understanding that shared practitioner research in collaborative online spaces leads to deeper learning. The research was developed within the context of building the National College of School Leaderships (NCSLs) online learning communities. A community and a learning scale, both emerging through grounded…

Successful mobile projects in informal learning in rural areas involve negotiation between workers and participants and links among local agencies to deliver services that address local needs. (SK)

The example of an environmental conservation program for young offenders demonstrates the efficacy of group activities in enhancing self-esteem and coping skills and in enabling transition out of the custodial environment. (SK)

Examines evidence relating to factors that affect the quality and maturity of children's play and discusses three resources parents can readily use to enrich play: adult involvement, materials, and time. Explains parent roles of play initiator, coplayer, and play facilitator. Offers guidelines for the selection of toys and playthings and for…

Holds that virtually all children possess informal abilities required for school success and that most problems in school mathematics stem from social, personality, or educational factors. Describes children's informal mathematical thinking, presents clinical observations, and discusses implications for instruction of children experiencing…

Focuses on one person's perspective toward responsibilities of and toward the history of the museum profession. A plea is put forth for developing a feasible documentation system and national network of exhibit reviews. (Author/SA)

Studies how visitors use mechanical interactive exhibits: how they respond to interactive controls, problems encountered, and how museums can best solve those problems through redesign of controls and exhibits. Problems are described under the following headings: (1) Visitors' Understanding of Exhibits; (2) Design of Interface Controls; (3)…

Strategies are given for enhancing learning in the informal environment of the museum. Collaboration between the school and classroom is encouraged. (SA)

This article focuses on the issue of creating a national museum laboratory to provide opportunities to test what is called, "the field of action." Also included is a discussion of creating an interinstitutional computerized retrieval system to provide information about the location of specific research. (Author/SA)

Working with unemployed youth with negative attitudes toward learning, a community educator applied Freire's methods to lead them through reflection on their circumstances and participation in a dialog on learning in which their own words would be heard. (SK)

Computer screen-based interactives can be very effective exhibits and are especially popular with children. Summarizes what museum researchers at London's Science Museum learned while testing computer-interactive exhibits. Topics include typical modes of behavior at computer exhibits, features that improve exhibit attractiveness, effective use of…

Children's solutions to simple word problems requiring addition or subtraction skills develop through four stages: (1) modeling with objects; (2) utilization of both modeling and counting strategies; (3) reliance on counting strategies; and (4) reliance on number facts. The current primary mathematics curriculum fails to capitilize on rich…

Presents a model based on the Premack Principle which utilizes preferred learning activities to promote the career development of students during free time in the classroom. Free time can be reconceptualized as a medium for extending learning beyond formal instruction. Examples of preferential career activities are described. (Author)