SENCER-ISE: Establishing Connections between Formal and Informal Science Educators to Advance STEM Learning through Civic Engagement

On March 6, 2011, more than fifty educators from the formal education (or higher education) and informal science education worlds gathered at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, New Jersey, to engage in two days of discussion about how both communities could work together to advance STEM learning through the broad focus of civic engagement. Along with an Executive Summary and the authors' recollections, these proceedings provide a source of information for this review article about the activities of the conference. The informal science educators who attended SENCER-ISE came primarily from science and natural history museums, science centers, science media and communication outlets, and science organizations such as the National Geographic Society and the Association of Science-Technology Centers. The world of formal science higher education was represented by SENCER faculty, primarily by those who are co-directors of the SENCER Centers for Innovation located at two- and four-year institutions of higher education. The participants came from 19 states and the District of Columbia and also from Canada, Chile, and Israel. How the individuals in the room found themselves together, what their discussions entailed, and how the connections between both communities can be strengthened will be the prime focus on this preliminary project report.