Through Project BUILD, a STAR Library Network (STAR Net) program funded by the National Science Foundation, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the Space Science Institute’s National Center for Interactive Learning (NCIL) offered the virtual Dream, Build, Create program which consisted of (1) the award-winning documentary Dream Big: Engineering Our World and (2) five live-streamed panels of diverse engineers (Dream Teams) who shared their stories of what it means to be an engineer.
The external evaluation, conducted by Education Development Center (EDC), aimed to examine how
PEEP and the Big Wide World/El Mundo Divertido de PEEP is a bilingual, NSF- funded public media project that uses animation, live-action videos, games, mobile apps, hands-on science activities to motivate preschool-age children to investigate the world around them. Online, PEEP extends children’s science and math learning with a mobile-friendly website that offers games, videos, and hands-on activities, as well as a collection of 15 apps. PEEP is also reaching children in preschool classrooms and family/home childcare settings via the PEEP Science Curriculum, which provides resources for a
InformalScience.org is an online collection of resources designed to serve a broad community of professionals whose work relates to informal education in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Funded by the National Science Foundation and managed by the Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE), InformalScience hosts a variety of usercontributed resources, including a wiki of evidence-based information on the impacts of informal STEM and a database of over 7,000 reports, articles, project descriptions, and other items uploaded by CAISE and website members.
The
WCS launched its electronic field trip program, Distance Learning Expeditions, in 2001 when there
was tremendous interest in the educational community in the potential of videoconferencing
technology for program delivery, as well as money available for the purchase of related broadcast
equipment. The program grew rapidly and was successful through 2009 -- serving 9,600 students
in 2006-07, its largest year. From 2010 to 2014, with school budget cuts, high equipment
maintenance costs, and shifts in staffing, participation in the program declined. In 2010, WCS
secured a grant from IMLS for
This evaluation reports on the Mission: Solar System project, a 2-year project funded by NASA. The goal of the Mission: Solar System was to create a collection of resources that integrates digital media with hands-on science and engineering activities to support kids’ exploration in formal and informal education settings. Our goal in creating the resources were: For youth: (1) Provide opportunities to use science, technology, engineering, and math to solve challenges related to exploring our solar system, (2) Build and hone critical thinking, problem-solving, and design process skills, (3)
A two stage summative evaluation was conducted following the launch of the Mystic Seaport for Educators website, the final output resulting from the IMLS National Leadership grant entitled Mystic E-Port Digital Classroom project. The results of four focus groups, conducted in two phases, found consistent results suggesting that the project was successful at achieving all four goals as outlined in the original grant proposal. Appendix includes focus group protocol.
The UMass Donahue Institute (UMDI) was contracted to provide formative evaluation services for WGBH’s PEEP and the Big Wide World project development of curriculum units and instructional modules for use by family child care providers (FCCPs). This formative study piloted three 3-week curriculum units focused on three science content areas, integrated with media and professional development materials for family child care settings (videos and a Facilitator’s Guide for trainers) in English and in Spanish. This report describes the methodology used to implement this study and the findings from
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TEAM MEMBERS:
WGBH Educational FoundationUniversity of Massachusetts, Donahue
This report was completed by the Program Evaluation Research Group at Endicott College in October 2013. It describes the outcomes and impacts of a four-year, NSF-funded project called Go Botany: Integrated Tools to Advance Botanical Learning (grant number 0840186). Go Botany focuses on fostering increased interest in and knowledge of botany among youth and adults in New England. This was being done through the creation of an online flora for the region, along with the development of related tools, including PlantShare, and a user-friendly interface for ‘smartphones’. In January 2012, the PI
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Judah LeblangNew England Wild Flower Society
In 2011, ORG received a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to develop resources for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning by redesigning and expanding the "Jonathan Bird's Blue World" website; adding components to enable teachers and students to search episodes for specific themes, locations, or scientific concepts; and enhancing the lesson plans to explicitly match the content standards for teaching science. One of the major grant objectives was to make the "Jonathan Bird's Blue World" website content widely accessible as an open source via an Internet
To prepare for future summative research on the synergy among multiple educational media, the present pilot research explored real-life use of Cyberchase outreach materials. The present pilot study included: a Web survey of 48 outreach providers (representing over 3000 children in 19 states), follow-up phone interviews with 26 of these providers, and in-person observations at two outreach sites, one in New York and one in Massachusetts. With an eye toward future summative research, the resulting data yield conclusions and implications in two broadly defined areas: providers' use of Cyberchase
In 2008, Goodman Research Group, Inc. (GRG) conducted summative evaluation of Absolute Zero, a collaborative effort of the University of Oregon's Cryogenic Helium Turbulence Laboratory and Twin Cities Public Television. The films were produced by Meridian/Windfall Productions, Washington DC, and/Windfall Films in London, UK. Outreach was spearheaded by Devillier Communications, Inc. The Absolute Zero project was centered on a two-part documentary about low-temperature physics, which aired on PBS/NOVA in early January 2008, as well as an outreach campaign, which included approximately 20
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Irene GoodmanUniversity of OregonLaura HousemanMarianne McPherson
Planet Earth Television (PET) created Scientistic!, a television series that focuses on a young girl's scientific investigations of the world around her. The pilot episode, Sticks and Stones, explored bones and how they heal. A website and iPad app were also developed to supplement the program. REA evaluated the impact of the television program, website, and app on youth's knowledge about and interest in science and specific topics related to bone health and healing. REA recruited youth (grades 1-7) to participate either at home with their families or in a classroom with their teachers. REA