Seeking to use narrative as a vehicle for getting more young people interested in STEM, the National Science Foundation supported a WETA/PBS NewsHour initiative to adapt their Student Reporting Labs (SRL) curriculum to feature a focus on STEM content in 2015. NewsHour selected Knology to run a four-year evaluation of the project from 2015 to 2019. Building on earlier research about student-led science journalism (e.g. Polman & Hope, 2014; Nicholas, 2017), this project suggests that having students develop and produce narratives about complex STEM topics may make these topics far less
The National Building Museum (NBM) contracted RK&A, Inc. to conduct a summative evaluation of the Why Engineering? distance learning program. The goal of the evaluation was to assess program operations and explore the extent to which the program achieved its intended outcomes for students and teachers.
How did we approach this study?
RK&A used three methodologies for the study: online program observations; student assessments administered immediately after the program; and telephone interviews with teachers. Observations were primarily used to gain a holistic understanding of how the
The goals of the project were to build an understanding about the perception of career and technical education (CTE) as an option for middle school students in pursuing skill-based STEM-related careers, and to use that information to develop an innovative suite of digital tools designed to improve mentors’ and school counselors’ communication with middle school–aged students.
Beyond Spaceship Earth is a multi-faceted project at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis that includes an immersive permanent exhibit about the International Space Station, the Indianan Astronaut Wall of Fame, the Schaefer Planetarium and Space Object Theater; museum theater and facilitated programs throughout the exhibit; complementary programming for schools and families in the museum's STEMLab; and a freely available unit of study for classroom teachers of 3rd-8th grades. The summative evaluation of the project used qualitative and quantitative methods including timing and tracking
Supported by the National Science Foundation, the Global Soundscapes! Big Data, Big Screens, Open Ears project employs a variety of informal learning experiences to present the physics of sound and the new science of soundscape ecology. The interdisciplinary science analyzes sounds over time in different ecosystems around the world. The major components of the Global Soundscapes project are an educator-led interactive giant-screen theater program and hands-on group activities. Multimedia Research, an independent evaluation firm, implemented a summative evaluation with low income, inner-city
As part of the National Science Foundation (NSF) funding for the In Defense of Food project directed by Kikim Media, the independent evaluation firm Knight Williams Inc.1 conducted a summative evaluation of the project’s key deliverables, which included: a PBS television broadcast program, an outreach effort, and an educational curriculum. This report (Study 3 of 3) considers the In Defense of Food curriculum and, in particular, educators’ reactions to the curriculum in terms of perceived appeal, ease of implementation, and learning value. Feedback was gathered from educators who were surveyed
Roots of Wisdom (also known as Generations of Knowledge; NSF-DRL #1010559) is a project funded by the National Science Foundation that aims to engage Native and non-Native youth (ages 11-14) and their families in Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and western science within culturally relevant contexts that present both worldviews as valuable, complementary ways of knowing, understanding, and caring for the natural world. The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) and its partner organizations, The Indigenous Education Institute (IEI), The National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI
Throughout the five year SciGirls CONNECT grant the independent evaluation firm Knight Williams assisted Twin Cities PBS (TPT) in a wide range of program evaluation activities. Given the project’s emphasis on a Train-the-Trainer model, the evaluation prioritized two goals: (i) assessing the various levels of CONNECT trainings from different vantage and time points, and (ii) capturing information on the implementation of SciGirls programs led by those who completed a training. This evaluation approach allowed the team to collect ongoing data over the course of the grant and share this
The Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network (NISE Network) is a national infrastructure that links science museums and other informal science education organizations with nanoscale science and engineering research organizations. The Network’s overall goal is to foster public awareness, engagement, and understanding of nanoscale science, engineering, and technology. As part of the front-end effort, this report, Part IIB, documents 19 nanoscale STEM programming, media, and school-based projects that have been completed or are in development as of 2005.
With support from the National Science Foundation, Denver Museum of Nature and Science and Thomas Lucas Productions have produced a planetarium show entitled, Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity. The 20-minute full-motion program uses scientific simulations and data-based animations to illustrate the death of stars and the birth and characteristics of black holes.
Multimedia Research implemented a one-group pretest-posttest summative evaluation focused on appeal to and impact on upper elementary school students. Participating fourth graders (n = 104) and fifth graders (n = 64) were
With funding from the National Science Foundation, NOVA/WGBH Boston with the participation of 14 U.S. and 4 international science museums have produced an IMAX/OMNIMAX film titled, Special Effects. The 40-minute film shows the techniques and methods that special effects filmmakers use to create movie illusions. Multimedia Research implemented a summative evaluation with students focused on the following major outcomes: To what extent did the program appeal to student viewers? To what extent did the program achieve its intended viewing goals? Did the implementation of school-based activities
The impact of four half-hour science programs aired on commercial children's radio was assessed by Dr. Barbara Flagg of Multimedia Research in a causal-comparative between-groups study with prebroadcast and postbroadcast questionnaires. Of 253 fourth graders, 34% listened to one or more shows of the Kinetic City Super Crew series. Significantly more girls listened than boys. Listeners and Non-listeners did not differ on background variables of ethnic status, science attitudes, science reading and television viewing, and participation in seven of eight common at-home science activities