The Science Museum of Minnesota conducted a study to find out how many visitors stopped at the Science on a Sphere (SOS) exhibit during their visit to the museum, visitors' prior knowledge of SOS, and why a visitor might chose not to visit SOS. A total of 189 visitors were interviewed. Findings included: - Groups of adults and children were more likely to visit SOS than groups composed of adults only. - Most visitors just happened across the exhibit during their visit rather than sought it out. - Of the visitors who did not stop at SOS, few were familiar with the exhibit. - Both visitors who
During January 2007, the Science Museum of Minnesota carried out a study to gather visitor feedback on a variety of potential interpretive features of Science on a Sphere. Visitor preferences related to the use of interpretive labels and graphics directly on the Sphere and the speed in which visualizations rotate were studied. A total of 51 visitors were interviewed. Key findings include: 1. Three quarters of visitors preferred descriptive labels to be directly on the Sphere. 2. If labels were projected on the Sphere, almost all the visitors wanted them to disappear after a period of time. 3
Goodman Research Group, Inc. (GRG) conducted summative evaluation of the Journey to Planet Earth: The State of the Ocean's Animals project. GRG has served as external evaluator for Journey to Planet Earth since 1999. Journey to Planet Earth is a PBS series that explores the fragile relationship between people and the world they inhabit. The most recent evaluation included two components: 1) a viewer study of the Ocean's Animals episode in the series (hosted and narrated by Matt Damon), and 2) an evaluation of the outreach initiative that complemented the series. The broad goal of the
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Marianne McPhersonElizabeth BachrachIrene F GoodmanScreenscope, Inc.American Association for the Advancement of Science
Goodman Research Group, Inc. (GRG) conducted a summative evaluation of the second season of NOVA scienceNOW, the PBS series that explores cutting-edge scientific and technological innovation in real time. (GRG also served as the external evaluator for NOVA scienceNOW during Season One). In addition to the television series, WGBH-TV developed a companion website, a series of high school classroom activities, and a Science Cafe outreach initiative, designed to discuss, in non-academic environments, the latest developments in science. The Season Two evaluation included: 1) a viewer study
Goodman Research Group, Inc. (GRG) conducted front-end evaluation and Alpha testing for the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics of EarthScope Panorama, an interactive Earth science game for middle school youth. The front-end evaluation focused on the prospective content, format, and platform of the game, with the broad goal of assessing four different game prototypes in a population of middle school students. The specific objectives of the evaluation were to document and assess what students already know about EarthScope-related themes and content, what geoscience questions they have
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Marianne E. McPhersonLaura HousemanIrene F GoodmanHarvard-Smithsonian Center for AstrophysicsSmithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
Produced by Thirteen/WNET New York and Nelvana International, the Award-winning series CYBERCHASE is the only mathematics series for children on American television. Designed for kids ages 8 to 12 and packed with mystery, humor, and action, each episode delivers positive messages about math by teaching concepts in a fun way that kids can understand. To inform the design of a planned major study of children's learning from multiple media (using materials from the mathematics series Cyberchase), a small-scale, quasi-experimental pilot study was conducted with 47 children in the third and fourth
FETCH, a children's television series produced by WGBH since 2005, is a competition-based game/reality show for 6-10 year-old children that includes both animation and live action footage. Goodman Research Group, Inc. (GRG), a research firm specializing in the evaluation of educational programs, materials, and services, served as the external evaluator for the FETCH series in Season Two. GRG's evaluation focused on the science and engineering challenges presented in the show, and assessed the influence of the series on children's understanding of science and engineering concepts and processes
In June of 2007, American Institutes for Research (AIR) conducted two focus groups to support WGBH in gathering feedback from children aged 7-10 on the FETCH! television program. The main objective of the focus groups were to: 1) gain insight into children' previous perceptions of scientists and whether or not such perceptions related to the demographic composition of the groups or informed their perception of scientists and scientific careers, and 2) determine how FETCH! supports or challenges these perceptions and how the seres might be enhanced to inspire children to consider careers in
The Builders Math game on the Cyberchase website provides an integrated, goal-oriented problem that combines math skills in measurement, geometry, and visualization. The formative procedure focused on: ability to read the game text; interpretation of the terminology and suggestions for alternative terminology; transparency and usability of features; and comprehension of the four rounds of play. Cyberchase is the Emmy Award-winning mathematics series and website on PBS KIDS GO! using broadcast, web, new media and educational outreach to impact millions nationwide. Designed for children ages 8
Goodman Research Group, Inc. conducted a comprehensive multi-method external evaluation of the first season of the Design Squad TV series and outreach initiative. The broad evaluation goals were to: assess the extent to which children's knowledge, interest, and awareness of engineering increased as a result of watching the Design Squad series, document the implementation of community events resulting form the November 2006 Engineering Summit, and assess the effectiveness of the Afterschool Educators Guide with leaders and students.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Peggy VaughanEmilee PressmanIrene GoodmanWGBH
The evaluation research summarized here focuses on science reports developed by MacNeil/Lehrer Productions. The reports appear on The NewsHour television broadcasts and are archived as streaming video available on the program's Web site (www.pbs.org/newshour/science), which includes enhanced media resources such as audio Podcasts, RSS feeds, transcripts, teacher lesson plans, background reports, slideshows, and interactives. The project's general intention is to produce positive learning outcomes and attitudes towards STEM topics (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and to foster
Introduction The American Anthropological Association contracted with Minda Borun, Museum Solutions, to conduct a summative evaluation of the website http://www.understandingrace.com/ developed by s2n Media in connection with the Race exhibit. The exhibit, created by the AAA and the Science Museum of Minnesota, will travel to museums around the country. The website complements the exhibit and also stands on its own as a rich resource on the subject of race and human variation. The summative evaluation is based on an online survey. The link was posted on the website and data was collected using
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Minda BorunAmerican Anthropological Association