The Curiosity Summer Camp was held in the Redwoods of Huddart Park, Woodside, CA. The camp provided an opportunity for students (ages 4-10) to experience learning in ways that are not always supported by the formal school science curriculum. By focusing on the engineering design process, the children learned to iterate and come back to the same model with a different approach, resulting in development of critical thinking skills and persistence.
We engaged 12 PreK-5 students in a 100-hour hands-on engineering camp. The age cohorts we assessed were: 4-5, 6-7 and 8-10. The sample size was
This report is part of a four-year evaluation assessing the impact that the Working with a Scientist Program at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) had on its first cohort of participants. Participants were students from a regional high school that were selected to take part in research activities every other Saturday during the Spring semester and on weekdays during the summer. The evaluation components included in this report focus on assessing students’ academic performance and the gains the students made while in the program. It also focused on an assessment of students’ perceptions
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Guadalupe CorralJacqueline LowereeJoseph Negron
SciGirls' (Season'Three) is a multimedia project that presents videos and games designed to engage and educate millions of children about citizen science. Multimedia Research, an independent evaluation group, implemented a summative evaluation that assessed a model of citizen science engagement and education that examined the contribution of SciGirls multimedia to preteen girls' experience of citizen science.
The Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation and the National Museum of American History (NMAH) contracted Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A) to conduct a summative evaluation of Places of Invention (POI), an exhibition funded by the National Science Foundation. The evaluation was designed to determine the extent to which the exhibition achieved its outcomes: 1)Visitors identify the 21st century skills that inventors practice; 2)Visitors identify characteristics that support innovative communities; 3)Visitors express interest in learning about inventions and/or inventors; 4
The University of Minnesota Extension (UME) contracted Garibay Group to conduct a summative evaluation of the Driven to Discover program (often referred to as D2D by youth participants and adult leaders) to assess how adult leaders in Informal Science Education (ISE) settings used the curriculum and citizen science projects as conduits to engage youth in scientific inquiry.
Pushing the Limits: Making Sense of Science (PTL) is an NSF-funded program designed to build the capacity of rural and small libraries to provide programming to enhance public understanding of science and math. PTL provides professional support, technical assistance, specially produced video segments, and funding for library professionals and their local science partners to co-facilitate a series of science café-style public discussions with adult patrons. In Phase I of the PTL project (September 2012-August 2013), 20 rural and small libraries piloted the program. In Phase II (September 2013
Pushing the Limits: Making Sense of Science (PTL) is an NSF-funded program designed to build the capacity of rural and small libraries to enhance public understanding of science and math. The program provides professional support, technical assistance, and funding for librarians and local science partners to co-facilitate a series of science café-style guided public discussions with adult patrons using books and specially produced video segments. External evaluator Goodman Research Group, Inc. conducted the second formative evaluation, focusing on the professional development (PD) for the
This report details the summative evaluation of the Flight of the Butterflies IMAX film. Four focus with a total of 39 participants took part. They watched the film in either 2D or 3D. The St. Louis Science Center, where the film was presented in large 2D format, hosted two focus groups with adults (n=19). The Maryland Science Center (MSC) in Baltimore, which showed the film in 3D format, hosted one focus group with adults (n=8) and another with middle school age students (n=12). All participants were recruited through the science center membership lists. The focus group began with initial
The report is of the treatment of the Flight of the Butterflies IMAX film. 42 individuals participated in four focus groups in two cities and were asked to read the film treatment in advance and were shown a two and a half minute video clip. Participants then completed a four-page questionnaire with open and closed-ended questions, and engaged in an hour-long discussion of the treatment. Survey and focus group questions were designed to elicit audience perspectives on the appeal and scientific content of the script, including discussion of the film concept, use of the large format medium
This project has developed a highly successful model for integration of pre-college youth career exploration into authentic environmental research and restoration activities at Washington University’s field station, Tyson Research Center, and the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Shaw Nature Reserve. The Shaw Institute for Field Training (SIFT) and Tyson Environmental Research Fellowships (TERF) programs provide access to field research for St. Louis, Missouri area high school youth interested in careers related to environmental biology. SIFT is an introductory field skills training program that
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Washington UniversityKatherine BeyerSusan Flowers