Informal Education

Dynamic afterschool programs for middle school students. Adult literacy programs for parents in New York City or coffee farmers in Papua New Guinea. Interactive exhibits at a library, teen center, museum, or national park. The potential for learning exists in every corner of every community. EDC works to realize that potential in its work with institutions and community groups. Along with our partners, we develop creative, engaging programs that guide people in building basic educational skills or developing deep content knowledge.

Educational Radio in Somalia

Armed conflict in Somalia has forced people to flee their homes and has sent many into makeshift housing and camps. Using shortwave radio to reach these people, EDC produces and broadcasts instructional segments on basic reading, math, and life skills such as health and conflict prevention.

EQUIP3/Afghanistan Literacy and Community Empowerment Program (LCEP)

Literacy and Community Empowerment Program (LCEP) is an integrated community development initiative that includes components in literacy, capacity building for income generation, and local governance in Afghanistan. Within the literacy component of LCEP, EDC is responsible for two interrelated subcomponents: the establishment and ongoing development of a Women’s Teacher Training Institute in Kabul and the implementation of the Afghan Literacy Initiative.

Examining the Impact of the ISS EarthKAM Project

CCT is conducting an evaluation of the ISS EarthKAM project’s impact on middle school and undergraduate students in Earth Science research. ISS EarthKAM (Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle school students) is a NASA education program that enables students, teachers, and the public to learn about Earth from the unique perspective of space. At the core of the program is a spectacular collection of digital images of Earth. ISS EarthKAM images are unique because middle school students take them.

Girls Flip for Science and Engineering

An EDC-sponsored after-school project where girls produce videos about careers in science and engineering recently received a donation of “flip cameras.” The cameras will enable the girls to produce Web-based personal vignettes in which they explore their dream careers.

Steady Determination

Wisdom “Laddo” Mulefu has become something of a hero at EDC. Depending on who you talk to, he’s the boy who traveled countless miles just to find a school that would enroll him … the boy who wouldn’t take “no” for an answer … the boy whose wholesale love of education blossomed before our very eyes.

Ethnobotany Explorers

ERO is creating science curriculum units for middle and high school students that focus on two of the most innovative and promising areas of botany: ethnobotany and economic botany. The units are designed to supplement existing life and plant science curricula as well as to provide an engaging set of materials for informal education settings, such as after-school science clubs, botanical gardens, and nature centers.

ScienceQuest

ScienceQuest was a unique after-school program that supported community-based organizations who wanted to increase staff and organizational capacity; assisted youth (ages 10–14) in learning science, technology, and literacy; and increased the youths’ positive experiences with learning. Through training in I-Search methods and ongoing in-person and electronic support, coaches lead small groups in personally relevant explorations documented through youth-designed Web sites.

National Girls Collaborative Project

EDC works with The National Girls Collaborative Project to: (1) maximize access to shared resources across projects and with public and private sector organizations and institutions interested in expanding girls’ participation in STEM; (2) strengthen capacity of existing and evolving projects by sharing promising practices, research and program models, outcomes, and products; and (3) use the leverage of networks andr collaborations of individual girl-serving STEM programs to create the tipping point for gender equity in STEM.

Imagination Place!

Imagination Place! was a three-year project to develop an interactive, on-line design space for use in homes and informal settings by girls ages 8 to 14, although it is open to all. Using the latest Internet technologies, Imagination Place! engaged girls in collaborative design activities to explore the worlds of engineering and invention in their everyday lives.

Breaking Barriers . . . Rompiendo Barreras

In collaboration with community-based organizations, EDC improves the education and employment of Latina women and their families, and supports economic and community development in Waltham, Mass. Participants take courses in English, GED preparation, and computers, while developing life skills in the areas of child care, family advocacy, and community activism. They also explore career opportunities, moving into first-time jobs or improving their career prospects.