Glossary of Out-of-School Terms
Because of the wide diversity of activities and programming in informal science and engineering education, the terminology used varies widely. Specific terms used throughout this guide are defined below. The intention is to define, to some extent, the particular audience that we feel is addressed by this manual and be clear about our choice of vocabulary.
Activity Guide: A published set of materials, either in print or online, that provides specific directions of how to conduct investigations, design challenges, or an extended project with youth. Sometimes these are also called "curriculum guides."
Activity Leader: The person who works directly with children and youth and is responsible for carrying out activities over an extended period of time. In the out-of-school world, this person is sometimes called the “front-line staff” to distinguish him or her from managers and administrators.
Curriculum Guide: See "Activity Guide."
Exploration: An extended search for information about objects or materials, often associated with informal educational situations. Can be mistakenly used interchangeably with “play.” (See "play" below or Design Challenges and Science Exploration for more about the distinction.) The term “investigation” has a particular scientific meaning, but is also often used interchangeably with exploration.
Implementation of Activities: How the activity leader carries out activities from an activity guide in relation to what is intended by the authors.
Institute: An extended professional development opportunity that may occur in a short period of time (e.g., a week) or over months, usually with a broad agenda of building pedagogical practice.
Observing Progress: An informal way of assessing how participants (children and youth) are involved in a project or investigation in terms of their social behavior and skills as they relate to the informal learning goals of a project or investigation. “Evaluation” and “assessment” are associated with the systematic application of criteria (or expectations) about children’s behavior and/or understanding.
Out-of-School Program: Any kind of structured program for youth that occurs outside of the regular school day. The programs we mostly refer to have science, engineering, and/or environmental activities as their main focus, and often have an informal approach to education. This includes after-school programs, summer camps, family events, evening programs, clubs, and special weekend offerings.
Participants: Activity leaders of out-of-school activities.
Pedagogical Practices: The art of teaching or facilitating learning; in particular, effective strategies used to lead youth in science activities.
Professional Development: Workshops or institutes with the goal of gaining knowledge of, experience with and reflecting upon effective pedagogical practices and skills.
Project: An extended, in-depth series of activities focused on one theme, phenomenon, or problem presented in the out-of-school setting.
Science Activities: Hands-on, discovery-based activities for children or youth on science topics. This might include engineering challenges and environmental investigations.
Training: Often has the connotation of one-shot sessions that give specific instructions for carrying out activities with youth, but may or may not provide the opportunity for practice and application.
Workshop: A professional development opportunity that involves participants actually practicing and applying the pedagogical knowledge and skills they are learning about to what they are being asked to do with children.
