The Conservation Trust of Puerto Rico collaborated with RK&A to study the impact of its Citizen Science program, a NSF-funded project designed to involve local Spanish-speaking citizens in scientific research that contributes to growing knowledge about the Trust's biodiversity and land management efforts. The Citizen Science program underwent formative evaluation in 2009 and summative evaluation in 2010. Summative evaluation is discussed here. Summative evaluation was guided by four impacts developed using NSF's Framework for Evaluating Impacts of Informal Science Education Projects. These
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Randi Korn & Associates, Inc.Conservation Trust of Puerto Rico
For more than 20 years, the Science Career Ladder Program at the New York Hall of Science has provided unique opportunities for middle school, high school, and college students to be trained and mentored as Explainers at the museum. The program is designed to encourage and support personal and professional development of these students, increasing their academic achievement, personal growth, and participation in science and teaching careers. Previous evaluations have documented the impact on participants and opportunities for program growth. This report documents the findings and conclusions
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Jessica SicklerNew York Hall of ScienceErin Johnson
"Evolution in Action: Isolation and Speciation in the Lower Congo" is a 9-minute documentary about a team of researchers working to understand what is driving the rapid evolution and speciation of fishes in the Lower Congo River. The evaluation was designed to probe the following: 1) Connection and Interest in the science content 2) Connections between the scientific story and other topics of personal interest 3) Implications of the multilingual versions for disseminating science to the public and to science educators The participants included international education students who work in
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Maritza MacdonaldAmerican Museum Natural History
El Museo del Barrio approached Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A) to evaluate a couple of their school programs Classroom Connections and El Museo in the Classroom that target high school students, particularly those in under-served schools. Data were collected at two participating schools in May 2009. Primarily, data were collected through in-depth interviews with students, although RK&A also observed the programs for context. Due to the small sample size, findings are truly representative of students at only the two participating schools, and in the report, the two schools are discussed
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Randi Korn & Associates, Inc.El Museo del Barrio
The CASE program served communities that are underrepresented in current museum audiences. CASE served both females and males from underrepresented minority groups, primarily African American, Latino, and Asian. The most frequent participants were younger than 20 years-old and African American. CASE succeeded in making informal science learning accessible in participating communities. CASE served a total of 10,971 individuals between September 2004 and December 2008. Across the five years, families in the eight participating sites had a grand total of 358 opportunities to attend science
The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County contracted Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A) to conduct a front-end evaluation to inform the reinstallation of the Ancient Latin America Hall. The study was conducted to examine visitors' experiences in the current exhibition, the nature of their connection with the objects on view, and their needs and preferences for interpretation. In-depth interviews were conducted with 20 English-speaking and 20 Spanish-speaking visitor groups, using a quota sampling method. Visitors were intercepted as they exited the current Ancient Latin America Hall
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Randi Korn & Associates, Inc.Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
The goal of this project is to extend the impact of the nationally broadcast weekly radio program, Science Friday to a new, young audience through the various new cyber-space platforms and interactive tools such as Facebook, Twitter, and Second Life as well as new emerging social networking tools. The STEM content over the course of the two year project will include a wide variety of topics in all disciplines. The relationship between art and science will also be a focus. The NPR radio broadcasts currently reach 1.3 million listeners every week, and that audience is expected to increase. In addition to that audience, this project will target a new audience of adults under the age of 35 using various cyber platforms and new social networking tools such as Second Life, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. Audiences will also be reached through remote broadcasts from science centers and art centers around the country. Over 30 science centers will use this project's web content on their own web sites, reaching their audiences as well. The web content will be translated into Spanish and widely disseminated to Hispanic audiences. Each Friday afternoon, Ira Flatow, the PI will produce and host the nationally broadcast Science Friday radio program interviewing scientists and engineers in a lively engaging format. In addition, the Science Friday digital media team will be producing and inviting others to create and post digital content and commentary on the Science Friday web site for further dissemination through Second Life, Facebook, as well as other emerging networking platforms. The evaluation will use a quasi-experimental design to study the appeal of both the radio broadcasts and the cyber-platforms with both older and younger audiences. Proposed audience impacts include increased STEM knowledge, interest, and behaviors. Partner organizations include the Self Reliance Foundation, the New York Hall of Science, LA Theatreworks, and Tribeca Film Festival.
A three-year project, Science Experiences and Resources for Informal Education Settings (SERIES), involves collaboration between the 4-H Youth Development Program, practicing scientists, science education centers, and community service agencies to provide community-based science experiences for youth. Goals for national dissemination of the SERIES project are: 1) Increase the quality and quantity of science experiences for youth as leaders and as learners; 2) For youth to actively experience how science concepts and processes relate to their everyday lives; 3) Provide opportunities for youth to take positive leadership roles in their homes and communities; and 4) Provide opportunities for youth to investigate educational and career possibilities in science and technology through a scientist mentor relationship. SERIES builds upon the materials, and instructional/coaching model successfully developed and tested during the Califronia SERIES Project. National dissemination by 4-H assures SERIES availability to the 5,100,000 youth currently enrolled in 4-H. Expected outcomes of SERIES are: 1) Refine and produce final versions in English and Spanish of four SERIES community service science units; 2) Develop two new units; 3) Development of an "inquiry coaching" module for adult volunteers; 4) Develop and asses apprentice-like mentoring experiences for SERIES teens to work directly with scientists; and 5) Establish four SERIES regional dissemination centers, working collaboratively with 4-H, science centers and other youth serving agencies to provide national dissemination of the SERIES program model to 28 states.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Richard PonzioLaurel DeanHerbert Thier
resourceprojectProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
The proposed CAREER study uses a comprehensive mixed-methods design to develop measures of motivational beliefs and family supports for Spanish and English speaking Mexican-origin youth in high school physical science. The research examines a three-part model which may provide a deeper understanding of how Mexican families support youth through their general education strategies, beliefs about physical science, and science specific behaviors. This approach incorporates motivation and ecodevelopmental theories while pursuing an innovative line of research that examines how the contributions of older siblings and relatives complement or supplement parental support. The study has four aims which are to (1) to develop reliable, valid measures of Mexican-origin adolescent motivational beliefs and family supports in relation to high school chemistry and physics, (2) to test whether family supports predict motivational beliefs and course enrollment, (3) to test how indicators in Aim 2 vary based on gender, culture, English language skills and relationship quality, and (4) to examine how family supports strengthen or weaken the relationship between school-based interactions (teachers and peer support) and the pursuit of physical science studies. Spanish and English-speaking Mexican-origin youth will participate in focus groups to inform the development of a survey instrument which will be used in a statistical measurement equivalence study of 300 high school students in fulfillment of Aim 1. One hundred and fifty Mexican high school students and their families will participate in a longitudinal study while students progress through grades 9-12 to examine Aims 2- 4. Data to be collected includes information on science coursework, adolescent motivational beliefs, supports by mothers and older youth in the family, and family interactions. All materials will be in English and Spanish. The educational and research integration plan uses a three pronged approach which includes mentoring of doctoral students, teacher outreach, and the evaluation of the ASU Biodesign high school summer internship program using measures resulting from the research. It is anticipated that the study findings will provide research-based solutions to some of the specific behaviors that influence youth motivation in physical sciences. Specifically, the study will identify youth that might be most affected by an intervention and the age of maximum benefit, as well as valid, reliable measures of youths' motivation that can used in interventions to measure outcomes. The study will also identify family behaviors that may be influenced, including education strategies for school preparation, beliefs about physical science, and sciece-specific strategies such as engaging in science activities outside school. The findings will be broadly disseminated to science teachers, scholars, and families of Mexican-origin youth. This multi-tiered approach will advance current scholarship and practice concerning Mexican-origin adolescents' pursuit of physical science.
This full-scale development project would use a multi-platform approach (TV, Field School, and Web site) to engage public audiences and underserved youth in archaeology research and discovery. The project will advance knowledge and practice in the field of ISE by establishing the utility of archaeology as an entry point to multiple STEM fields showing how it answers important questions about human origins-culture, history, and the natural environment. The target audience includes a broad demographic of viewers who will watch the PBS broadcasts. The other key audience is underserved youth who will participate in the archeology digs and be featured in the national broadcast. They will engage other underserved youth who will have the opportunity to participate in the interactive online virtual field school. Primary organizational partners include the Crow Canyon Archaeology Center in Colorado and other archeology organizations at the 4 field sites. Deliverables include four hours of PBS programming filmed at four archaeological sites telling the stories of diverse cultures (Native American, African American, Hispanic); field schools designed for underrepresented youth both onsite and online; blogs, online discussions, and user-generated videos. The evaluation will determine the impact of the television series, online content, and the on-site Field School on audiences' understanding of, interest in, and interactions around STEM topics within the context of archaeology. Formative evaluation will provide input and help refine the television programs, web site, and field school. The summative evaluation will use a variety of methods and artifacts to determine the degree to which the process of the TV series, web site, and Field School was successful. The television programs are expected to reach 13 million viewers via broadcast, 300,000 via streaming video and 50,000 unique web site visitors. The lessons learned from this project will be disseminated to other media and ISE organizations.
The Lost Ladybug Project (LLP) is a Cornell University citizen science project that connects science to education by using ladybugs to teach non-scientists concepts of biodiversity, invasive species, and conservation. The project has successfully engaged thousands of children (ages 5-11) in collecting field data on ladybugs and building a ladybug biology database that is useful to scientists. It has also reached 80,000 people over the Internet. The goal of the project is to promote lifelong appreciation of biodiversity and science, and provide scientists with data on the changing distribution and abundance of ladybug species across the country. The current project is broadening the Lost Ladybug Project's reach geographically, culturally, demographically, and contextually by creating new tools and materials for the website, and forging new connections with (1) youth groups, (2) science centers, community centers, botanical gardens, nature centers, and organic farms, (3) adults, (4) Native Americans, and (5) Spanish-speakers. The expanded project could potentially involve tens of thousands of new individuals in ladybug monitoring research. An evaluation study is measuring the impacts of the expansion on new participants' knowledge, skills, attitudes, interests, and behavior. The Lost Ladybug Project has been important in advancing scientific discovery and building scientific knowledge. Data collected by the project's volunteers have improved scientists' understanding of (1) ladybug species presence/absence, (2) shifts in ladybug species composition, (3) shifts in ladybug species ranges, and (4) change in ladybug body size and spot number. Evaluation data show that the project has a broad audience reach and is achieving its learning goals for adults and children. Broadening the project's reach will further increase the project's importance to ecology, conservation biology and biodiversity research, as well as education research.
The Herpetology Education in Rural Places & Spaces (HERPS) project is a four-year full-scale development project designed to engage diverse North Carolina residents from the Central Piedmont, Eastern Piedmont, and Inner Coastal Plain regions of the state in conservation and field experiences focused on herpetology, the study of reptiles and amphibians. The project targets rural underrepresented groups in STEM; predominately African-Americans, Hispanics, and Lumbee Native Americans. The University of North Carolina-Greensboro and its partner organizations, Elon University and University of North Carolina-Pembroke, will partner to develop and implement all phases of the project. Ultimately, the project aims to increase knowledge of and interest in herpetology and related conservation issues, provide authentic research experiences, and better understand identity-related motivations and affordances of the casual, regular, and enthusiastic participant across project strands. HERPS builds on four pilot studies and will engage people of all ages in a broad range of herpetological activities including: (a) an annual herpetology-focused community event (HERPS Celebrations), (b) technology resources such as a project website and customized mobile applications (HERPS Cyberhub), (c) summer and year-long herpetological research experiences (HREs) for high school students and teachers, and (d) in-depth longitudinal herpetological study opportunities (e.g., box turtle study). In addition, there is separate but integrated research stand that will focus on identity and HERPS experiences, as settings for informal science learning. The identity research will study: (a) identity-related motivations and (b) identity-related affordances of casual, regular and enthusiastic participants across threads. In addition, an extensive formative and summative evaluation will be conducted using a mixed methods approach by an external evaluator. Using a multiple-entry-points approach for learning and engagement, this project could serve as a replicable model for similar efforts in other settings. In addition, the results of the identity reseach strand could fill a critical gap in the identity and informal science education research bases. With an average estimated reach of nearly 15,000 people of all ages and diverse backgrounds, the potential broader impacts of this project could be extensive.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Catherine MatthewsAndy AshTerry TomasekAnn SomersHeidi Carlone