Beyond the Classroom: Informal STEM Education

Opening Statement By Chairman Daniel Lipinski

Good morning and welcome to this Research and Science Education Subcommittee hearing on informal Science, technology, engineering, and math (or STEM) education.

While we often examine and discuss ways to improve STEM education in the classroom, we rarely look at the many opportunities for learning elsewhere. A great deal of learning happens throughout our lives in everyday activities -- from having a conversation at the family dinner table or watching a show on television, to attending a summer camp at a zoo or taking a trip to a museum. Students and the general public are exposed to opportunities for science learning through informal education every day. Today we will explore the ways in which informal learning institutions are uniquely positioned to attract and educate the public about STEM issues, as well as the role of informal institutions in contributing to and enhancing formal classroom learning.

Today, we will hear from witnesses who are engaged in informal STEM education in a range of settings and capacities. I expect the witnesses will provide insight on the benefits and challenges of informal STEM education in practice, the state of research on how students learn STEM in informal settings, and recommendations for moving forward.

The Science and Technology Committee, and our Subcommittee in particular, has made STEM education a top priority. We have heard time and again that we need more STEM educated graduates and teachers if we want to compete in the global economy of the 21st century. A 2005 National Academies report, Rising Above the Gathering Storm, recommended that the Nation increase its talent pool by vastly improving K-12 science and mathematics education. For that reason, in the last Congress, the Committee developed and the President signed into law the America COMPETES Act, which included many provisions specifically aimed at improving STEM education in our country.

Educating more highly qualified STEM teachers and enhancing the teaching skills and content knowledge of existing STEM teachers was the top recommendation of the Gathering Storm report, which became the basis for the teacher education and professional development provisions in the COMPETES Act. I hope to hear today from our witnesses about the ways in which informal education institutions, such as museums, zoos, and educational media providers, can and do offer teacher training and professional development tools for our Nation’s STEM teachers.

I am also particularly interested in the role of informal education in promoting diversity. I believe a critical factor in improving STEM education is the need to produce a more diverse pool of scientists and engineers through programs and policies that attract individuals from groups underrepresented in STEM fields. I know some of our witnesses have been engaged in programs that address this issue, and I look forward to learning more about ways in which informal STEM environments may be uniquely positioned to make STEM learning accessible and exciting to a broader demographic.

It seems to me that if we hope to promote a more scientifically literate citizenry across all age groups, and to attract and educate the Nation’s future scientists and engineers, we cannot depend upon schools alone. Instead, we should be tapping all our resources and looking at the potential for learning that happens every day, outside the classroom door. I want to thank all of the witnesses for taking the time to appear before the Committee this morning and I look forward to your testimony.

Witnesses

Panel

0 - Dr. Joan Ferrini-Mundy
Division Director Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings National Science Foundation Division of Research on Learning in Formal and In
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0 - Dr. Phillip Bell
Co-Chair National Academies report on “Learning Science in Informal Environments: People, Places, and Pursuits" Associate Professor of the Learning Sciences Nat
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0 - Ms. Andrea Ingram
Vice President of Education and Guest Experiences Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago
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0 - Mr. Robert Lippincott
Senior Vice President for Education PBS PBS
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0 - Dr. Alejandro Grajal
Senior Vice President of Conservation, Education, and Training Chicago Zoological Society Chicago Zoological Society
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