AERA Informal Learning Environments SIG

Joe Polman (jlpolman who-is-at artsci.wustl.edu)
Wed, 9 Jun 1999 10:58:54 -0500

Hello all,
In addition to the CHAT Special Interest Group at the American Educational
Research Association (AERA) meeting each year, I am involved with another
group that I believe some XMCAers might find interesting. It is the
Informal Learning Environments Research SIG (ILER SIG), and it is a
fledgling group concerned with supporting and understanding activity in
environments other than school (especially after school clubs and museums).
We are on a little bit of a membership drive, so I am making a plea for
interested parties to consider joining. If you are not interested, please
ignore this message and excuse the interruption!

Given recent and ongoing discussions about the social, cultural, and
historical problems associated with school learning environments (which I
do NOT discount out of hand) on the list, this group is interesting because
it is trying to think about understanding other environments on their own
terms rather than just in contrast to schools. Also, I know a number of
list participants (including myself and Jim Wertsch here at WashU), are
doing work and research in after school clubs and/or museums, so I thought
there could be some interest here. If you join by June 21st, we will get
more slots for sessions. If you don't join now, but are interested, check
out the newsletters on the web site and consider coming to a session at
AERA next year in New Orleans. Thanks.

The details are below ...
-Joe Polman
-------------------------------------
Informal Learning Environments Research
Special Interest Group

The Informal Learning Environments Research SIG (ILER SIG)is a special
interest group of the American Educational Research Association (AERA,
which can be found at http://aera.net). Membership in the SIG does not
require membership in AERA, though it is recommended.

The purpose of the Informal Learning Environments Research SIG is to further
educational research in informal learning environments such as science centers,
museums, zoos, aquariums, nature centers, and after school clubs, and to
promote a community of practice interested in establishing and maintaining
informal learning environments conducive to better understanding of teaching
and learning.

After two years of offering sessions on learning in museums and other
informal settings at the AERA annual meetings in San Diego and Montreal, we
look forward to an enriched and expanded effort next year.

If you have already joined ILER, please share this information with a friend.
The more ILER members we have who are also AERA members, the more sessions we
will have at the next AERA annual meeting. Please join or renew by June 21st if
possible.

To join the ILER SIG, mail $5.00 (checks payable to AERA SIG) to:

Chris Andersen
Ohio State University
947 East Johnstown Rd
Columbus, OH 43230

Please include your name, address, phone, email address, and **whether
you are an AERA member.**

For more information, and our most recent newsletter, see our web site:
http://darwin.sesp.nwu.edu/informal/