WGBH Boston (wgbh.org) was awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation to, in part, develop outreach materials based on the children's television series FETCH! with Ruff Ruffman. The outreach materials were designed to help typically underserved kids learn about science in informal camp or after-school settings. The centerpiece of this effort was the Camp FETCH! Guide (the Guide). The Guide is meant for anyone who wants to lead hands-on science activities with six- to ten-year-olds: camp counselors, afterschool providers, teachers, librarians, museum staff, and others. WGBH hired
In the spring of 2010, WGBH Boston (wgbh.org) delivered twenty new episodes for the television series FETCH! with Ruff Ruffman (pbskids.org/FETCH!/). These episodes, developed for FETCH!'s fifth season, reflected a broadening of FETCH!'s stem content to include more mathematics. Rather than focusing exclusively on science and engineering, as FETCH! had done in the first four seasons, Season 5 episodes also highlighted age-appropriate math skills and concepts. WGBH was interested in assessing the extent to which kids learned math concepts and skills from these episodes. WGBH hired Concord
WGBH has produced NOVA scienceNOW (NsN) since 2005, with major funding from the National Science Foundation, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and the Alfred. P. Sloan Foundation. Along with the associated web site and outreach initiative, all NsN resources share the overarching goals of: (a) increasing the public's use of multimedia resources to learn about current science research, (b) increasing public awareness and understanding of cutting edge science content and its relevance to their lives, and (b) increasing public engagement in science-related activities. Goodman Research Group
Led by KQED in Northern California, a network of seven public media organizations around the country joined to form the QUEST Regional Hubs Collaborative project. Funded with grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), this project aimed to achieve the adaptation of a successful cross-platform media production model and the creation of a content-sharing collaborative. Rockman et al (REA), an educational research and evaluation firm in San Francisco, served as the external evaluator to document the development of both the regional
This report presents an evaluation study of Soundprint Media's project, Out of This World (#0741737), which was funded by the National Science Foundation's Informal Science Education Program. The mission of the project was to introduce adult radio listeners and youth participants in museum events to the historical context and challenges faced by African-Americans and women who were involved as professionals in the United States' space program in the 1960's. The project website, capecosmos.com, included an interactive menu of activities set within the context of a NASA mission control center
Summary of Findings Summative Evaluation Cielo y Tierra Noticias del Mundo Robert L. Russell, Ph.D. Learning Experience Design October 2011 Learning Experience Design conducted summative evaluation of the project entitled: Cielo y Tierra Noticias del Mundo (Sky & Earth News of the World). A series of three evaluation sessions were conducted with radio listeners to look at the impacts of the programs on their interest in the topics presented, their understanding of the content presented, and their motivation to take further action. The first two studies used focus group sessions. The third and
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Robert RussellEarthSky Communications, Inc.Malu Jimenez
Premiering on PBS in January 2011, Design Squad Nation (DSN) is a 10-part series of TV shows and video blogs that build on the success of the award-winning PBS reality competition series Design Squad to get kids excited about engineering. Concord Evaluation Group (CEG) was hired to conduct an evaluation of DSN in 2011. The evaluation was designed to measure WGBH's success in achieving the following impacts on students and teachers: After using the DSN resources Middle school students will increase their knowledge of science and engineering concepts and the design process. Middle school
The findings summarized in this summative evaluation report focus on three of The World's media venues: (1) its radio broadcast, (2) its Science Podcast (http://www.world-science.org/category/podcast), and (3) its online resources (e.g., articles, streaming audio and video). An additional focus is on The World's participatory Science and Technology Forums. The primary research aim was to assess the project's impact and success at reaching its intended goals while avoiding unintended negative outcomes. Toward these ends, The World's audience members were asked to respond to an online survey
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Arthur JohnsonPublic Radio International (PRI)
The focus of this naturalistic study was to explore the enjoyment and appeal of Cyberchase, and its influence on children attitudes about math, self-confidence about mathematical problem solving, patterns of Website use, mathematical problem solving skills, and content recall. 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 to 11 and packed with mystery, humor, and action, Cyberchase's mission is to improve kids' problem-solving and math
As the Cyberchase series gained traction, it became evident that Cyberchase's appeal was not limited to the intended age group. Based in part around its visually appealing animation, its humor, and its characters as well as its after-school and Saturday morning broadcast schedule the program also attracted, and developed a loyal following among, younger viewers. As the mathematical concepts integrated into the plot lines were created with the explicit intent of engaging older children, Cyberchase's inadvertent resonance with this younger audience raised questions in the minds of the program's
Goodman Research Group, Inc. (GRG) conducted a summative national field test study of the PEEP Explorer's Guide in early childhood education (ECE) classrooms. Participating teachers used four-to-six Explorer's Guide Units with their students over the course of one school year. GRG assessed changes in teachers' science-teaching practices after using the PEEP Explorer's Guide over an extended period of time and examined potential barriers to using the PEEP Explorer's Guide throughout the course of a school year. The evaluation sought to measure the following professional audience impacts and
To gain insight into the Cyberchase audience, a Web survey was conducted with parents through the PBS Web site during June and July, 2005. Participants were 94 parents of children who were current or past users of at least one Cyberchase media component (e.g., TV, Web site, outreach materials, etc.). Roughly equal numbers of boys and girls were represented, and one-third of the children were identified as minorities. Parents were recruited through the Cyberchase Web site and online mailings, and were asked to complete the online survey. Rather than being representative of U.S. parents as a