Admission Requirements
Informal Science Education is a 13-week course which is part of the Science Communication and Society specialisation. The course is open to MSc students from the Faculty of Science and to MSc students in the Biomedical Sciences programme of LUMC. Other students who are interested in following this course, should contact their own study advisor for permission.
NOTE:
There are unfortunately no spots left for students who want to follow this course as an elective course and are not following the entire SCS specialisation.
Please apply for this course through this registration form.
Description
In this course we will look at the field of informal science education, a field within science communication concerned with learning about science outside of the formal school system. Examples of informal science education are institutions such as science museums, zoos, and nature parks. In this course we will discuss different theoretical perspectives that are relevant for informal science education regarding learning theories, target audiences, exhibit development, interactivity, authenticity and citizen science. The course will include guest lectures by professionals in the field and visits to science museums, a botanical garden and a zoo.
Course Objectives
After completion of Informal Science Education students are able to:
Give a definition of Informal Science Education and describe the history of the field;
Describe different learning theories that are relevant to ISE
Describe different ways of defining target audiences and their needs;
Define and explain authenticity and interactivity and their importance for ISE;
Describe the characteristics of citizen science;
Analyze existing ISE products using the theoretical concepts of this course;
Develop an educational activity using the theoretical concepts of this course
Timetable
Preliminary schedule: Classes will take place on Friday morning 9.15 – 12h from September 6 – November 29, 2024 (with the exception of Friday October 4 (Leidens Ontzet) and Friday November 1 (self-study week); Friday afternoons should be kept available for visits and group work. Room schedule will follow.
In MyTimetable, you can find all course and programme schedules, allowing you to create your personal timetable. Activities for which you have enrolled via MyStudyMap will automatically appear in your timetable.
Additionally, you can easily link MyTimetable to a calendar app on your phone, and schedule changes will be automatically updated in your calendar. You can also choose to receive email notifications about schedule changes. You can enable notifications in Settings after logging in.
Questions? Watch the video, read the instructions, or contact the ISSC helpdesk.
Note: Joint Degree students from Leiden/Delft need to combine information from both the Leiden and Delft MyTimetables to see a complete schedule. This video explains how to do it.
Mode of Instruction
Lectures, in-class activities, guest lectures, museum visits, self-study, group work.
Assessment method
The assessment of the course will be conducted through individual and group assignments, including reports and presentations.
NEMO analysis - individual - 20%
Naturalis educational activity - group - 50%
Blijdorp target group - one day assignment - individual - pass/fail
Museon-Omniversum object display analysis - individual - 30%
Hortus Botanicus citizen science - one day assignment - group - pass/fail
Reading List
Reading list will consist of several articles and book chapters. The reading material will be provided through Brightspace.
Registration
As a student, you are responsible for enrolling on time through MyStudyMap.
In this short video, you can see step-by-step how to enrol for courses in MyStudyMap.
Extensive information about the operation of MyStudyMap can be found here.
There are two enrolment periods per year:
Enrolment for the fall opens in July
Enrolment for the spring opens in December
See this page for more information about deadlines and enrolling for courses and exams.
Note:
It is mandatory to enrol for all activities of a course that you are going to follow.
Your enrolment is only complete when you submit your course planning in the ‘Ready for enrolment’ tab by clicking ‘Send’.
Not being enrolled for an exam/resit means that you are not allowed to participate in the exam/resit.
**Please apply for this course through this registration form. **
Contact
For any information regarding this course or the SCS specialisation in general you can contact our department through: infoscs@biology.leidenuniv.nl.
Remarks
Software
Starting from the 2024/2025 academic year, the Faculty of Science will use the software distribution platform Academic Software. Through this platform, you can access the software needed for specific courses in your studies. For some software, your laptop must meet certain system requirements, which will be specified with the software. It is important to install the software before the start of the course. More information about the laptop requirements can be found on the student website.