As a State Extension Specialist in “STEM Education and Outreach” (so says my job title), I help people locate resources. Some of the requests I get and compilations I’ve put together include resources related to
- agricultural education (yes, Ag is part of STEM)
- free-choice learning via agritourism, social media, events, and more!
- public engagement with science: how to get better and where to practice
For this post, I’ve specifically brought together resources to support research in these areas. The other part of my job is actually as a researcher, meaning I systematically collect and analyze data to answer questions about how people learn, with the goal of improving learning programs and settings.
Research resources on free-choice / informal / nonformal learning
- What’s the difference in these terms? Check out my article: Stofer, K.A. (2015). Informal, Nonformal, or Free-Choice Education and Learning? Toward a Common Terminology for Agriscience and Ag-STEM Educators
- Here’s a list of Free-choice / informal / nonformal education journals where you can publish your research results to contribute to the broader knowledge base, another important task of researchers.
Good introductory reading on the field of science communication and some persistent issues in the way we do not only practice but also research:
- Simis, et al. (2016). The lure of rationality: Why does the deficit model persist in science communication?
Research resources on agricultural, agriscience, or Ag-STEM education:
- Agricultural Education/Communication/Extension/Leadership Journals – this part of the discipline is actually a pretty small group of people. These journals are often under the radar for a lot of people outside of the “agricultural” focuses, but they provide a rich literature for contextualized programs in groups from middle school to university to Extension and other industry professionals, their needs, and their preferences and beliefs.
Research resources on conducting qualitative research:
What else would be of use to you? Please don’t hesitate to reach out!
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