Selected Research on Best Practices in Education
The LPI Education and Public Outreach Team infuses research-based best practices into all of our programs.
LPI education and outreach programs are intimately connected to the thematic topic, involve subject matter experts, and incorporate strategies for eliciting prior knowledge and formative assessment techniques. In addition, LPI educator trainings include follow-up and are often long-term, integrate the nature and practice of science, and include implementation planning.
Learning: What the Research Says
Brochu, L. and Merriman, T. (2008) Personal Interpretation: Connecting Your Audience to Heritage Resources. InterprPress,
Fort Collins, CO.
National Research Council (2000) How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School: Expanded Edition. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
National Research Council (2009) Learning Science in Informal Environments: People, Places, and Pursuits. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
National Research Council (2007) Ready, Set, SCIENCE!: Putting Research to Work in K-8 Science Classrooms. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
National Research Council (2010) Surrounded by Science: Learning Science in Informal Environments. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
National Research Council (2007) Taking Science to School: Learning and Teaching Science in Grades K-8. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
Tarlton, J. L. and Ward, C. J (2006) The Effect of Thematic Interpretation on a Child’s Knowledge of an Interpretive Program, Journal of Interpretation Research, Volume 11, Number 1.
Standards and Benchmarks
American Association for the Advancement of Science (1993) Benchmarks for Science Literacy, Oxford University Press.
American Association for the Advancement of Science / Project 2016 (2001) Atlas of Science Literacy, Volumes 1 and 2.
National Research Council (2012) A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas, The
National Academies Press, Washington, DC.
National Research Council (2013) Next Generation Science Standards, National Academy of Sciences.
Best Practices in Professional Development
Darling-Hammond, L. et al. (2009) Professional Learning in the Learning Profession: A Status Report on Teacher Development in the United States and Abroad. National Staff Development Council and The School Redesign Network at Stanford University.
Eisenhower Clearinghouse for Mathematics and Science Education (ENC). 1999, Ideas That Work: Science Professional Development, Columbus, OH: ENC.
Garet, M. S. et al (2001) “What Makes Professional Development Effective? Results from a National Sample of Teachers,” American Educational Research Journal, Vol. 38, No. 4, pp. 915-945.
Loucks-Horsley, S. et al (2010) Designing Professional Development for Teachers of Science and Mathematics. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Tran, L. U., & Halversen, C. (2011) Reflecting on Practice: A professional learning program for informal science educators. Berkeley, California: Regents of the University of California.
National Priorities for STEM Education
Institute of Museum and Library Services (2009) Museums, Libraries, and 21st Century Skills
NASA Education Design Team (2011) NASA Education Recommendation Report
NASA Education (2012) NASA Education Goals
NSTC Committee on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Education (2013) Federal Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education: 5-Year Strategic Plan