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The Coalition has compiled a list of staff development resources that our members have found useful in increasing the quality and effectiveness of their programs:
These toolkits show you how to use promising practices to build students’ academic skills through fun and engaging activities. Material in the toolkit is based on current afterschool and content area research in six areas:
The Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE) works to strengthen and connect the informal science education community by catalyzing conversation and collaboration across the entire field—including film and broadcast media, science centers and museums, zoos and aquariums, botanical gardens and nature centers, digital media and gaming, science journalism, and youth, community, and after-school programs. CAISE focuses its work on improving informal science education practice, documenting evidence of impact, and communicating the contributions of informal science education.
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The site features a series of FREE, self-paced workshops covering a wide variety of hot topics in education. Some of the workshops are based in theory, some are based in methodology - but all of the workshops include plenty of tips and strategies for making classrooms work. Some users can apply these workshops toward professional development credit.
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The tools and articles provided here describe a model for how to engage out-of-school activity leaders in professional development around science and engineering activities for youth. Based on a successful NSF-funded program called the National Partnerships for AfterSchool Science (NPASS), the guide describes an approach to out-of-school programming where science is complementary to what happens in school, and the activities and projects used with youth are accessible to most program leaders.
This guide was designed to address the need for ongoing professional development of out-of-school leaders by offering specific training tools for those who may want to present workshops and provide ongoing training for this audience. Specific content on this site can be used flexibly depending on the needs and experience of the community-based organization with which you are working.
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The Innovation Center offers a number of free tools and resources that offer strategies and lessons from the field on identifying the unique strengths within any community as a foundation for creating lasting change. Offerings include: Youth Adult Partnerships: A Training Manual, Collective Leadership Works, and more. They also have all individual activities from the toolkits organized around an easy-to-navigate framework. All of these resources have value for STEM educators due to the alignment between STEM learning and youth development. Some resources with direct connections to afterschool science and math include the Basic Gridding Exercise and History Wall Exercise.
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Media & Informal Science Education virtual conference is dedicated to fostering collaboration to develop new media-based informal science education products and services, as well as disseminate research-based best practices and other knowledge at the intersection of media and science education.
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NASA and DESIGN SQUAD have developed an online workshop for educators and afterschool leaders. Experience the design process in action through this free, self-guided tool! Watch an activity session from start to finish. Learn questions you can ask to guide kids through the design process and to strengthen their critical thinking skills.
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The OSTRC at the University of Pennsylvania has developed a variety of resources to enhance OST staff support and professional development.
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TASC has produced a series of videos to show just how cool science can be.
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