![\"Crossing](\"https:\/\/educatorinnovator.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/crossing-boundaries-cover-240x300.jpg\")
<\/a>How can advocates make a stronger case for bridging STEM education across settings? A\u00a0new report by the FrameWorks Institute<\/a>\u00a0offers insights.\u00a0Supported\u00a0by the Oath Foundation, the Heising-Simons Foundation, and the Bezos Family Foundation, the report is part of the\u00a0Families Learning Across Boundaries (FamLAB) project, which is led by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center in partnership with FrameWorks, New York University, and Stanford University.<\/p>\nThe report finds that advocates face numerous challenges in public thinking, such as:<\/p>\n
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- The public focuses on people, not places.<\/strong>\u00a0When Americans think about STEM education, they think about people, such as teachers, and their characteristics and qualifications. They rarely think about the influence of environments, such as school resources, building design, and cultural norms. When they do think about environments, they tend to focus on school and home, but not other sites, such as libraries, museums, daycare, afterschool programs, or summer camps.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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- The public views technology as an unhealthy distraction.\u00a0<\/strong>Experts see technology as a powerful learning tool, but members of the public see it as a distraction and worry about its effects on kids\u2019 social connections. As a result, the public sees technology as something that must be restricted and curtailed\u2014rather than subsidized and supported.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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- The public thinks integrating learning across settings is simply about reinforcing school-based content.\u00a0<\/strong>Experts argue that connecting and integrating learning across environments deepens and advances learning, but the public doesn\u2019t see it this way. They don\u2019t understand the unique value of STEM learning in alternative settings or that connecting it to school-based content deepens mastery of STEM content.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
These and other findings are summarized in\u00a0\u201cCrossing the Boundaries: Mapping the Gaps between Expert and Public Understandings of Bridging STEM Learning Environments.\u201d<\/a> This report compares expert and public thinking about this issue and offers advocates strategic advice to overcome challenges in public thinking.<\/p>\n
- The public thinks integrating learning across settings is simply about reinforcing school-based content.\u00a0<\/strong>Experts argue that connecting and integrating learning across environments deepens and advances learning, but the public doesn\u2019t see it this way. They don\u2019t understand the unique value of STEM learning in alternative settings or that connecting it to school-based content deepens mastery of STEM content.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- The public views technology as an unhealthy distraction.\u00a0<\/strong>Experts see technology as a powerful learning tool, but members of the public see it as a distraction and worry about its effects on kids\u2019 social connections. As a result, the public sees technology as something that must be restricted and curtailed\u2014rather than subsidized and supported.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n