This poster was presented at the 2016 Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) PI Meeting held in Bethesda, MD on February 29-March 2. Head Start on Engineering is a pathways project focused on developing the foundations of a long-term, community-based research program to (a) understand how preschool children (4 years old) and their families develop engineering-related interests in early childhood and (b) develop community partnerships and programs that support engineering interest pathways for these families.
The UMass Donahue Institute (UMDI) was contracted to provide formative evaluation services for WGBH’s PEEP and the Big Wide World project development of curriculum units and instructional modules for use by family child care providers (FCCPs). This formative study piloted three 3-week curriculum units focused on three science content areas, integrated with media and professional development materials for family child care settings (videos and a Facilitator’s Guide for trainers) in English and in Spanish. This report describes the methodology used to implement this study and the findings from
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WGBH Educational FoundationUniversity of Massachusetts, Donahue
The data collection for this project involved three audiences: (1) a post-event survey completed by participants at the 'Eight-Legged Encounters' event, (2) a club experience survey completed by middle school students in an after-school club, and (3) focus groups, observations, and end-of-course evaluations conducted with students in the BIOS 497/897 'Communicating Science through Outreach' seminar class at the University of Lincoln, Nebraska. Year two data collection was completed from September 2013 - March 2014. Appendix includes survey.
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University of Nebraska-LincolnEileen Hebets
The data collection for this project involves three audiences: (1) a post-event survey completed by participants at the 'Eight-Legged Encounters' event, (2) a club experience survey completed by middle school students in an after school club, and (3) focus groups, observations, and end-of-course evaluations conducted with students in the BIOS 497/897 'Communicating Science through Outreach' seminar class at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Data was collected from February to April, 2013 and the evaluation was conducted by the Bureau of Sociological Research (BOSR). Appendix contains surveys
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University of Nebraska-LincolnEileen Hebets
Children's museums represent one of the fastest growing segments of the museum community; however, the evidence base to demonstrate the learning value of these institutions has not kept pace. With funding from the Institute of Museums and Library Services (IMLS), the Association of Children’s Museums (ACM) and the University of Washington’s Museology Graduate Program (UW Museology) are partnering to generate a field-wide research agenda for children’s museums, an agenda that will identify and prioritize the most pressing evidence needed by the field to articulate and demonstrate the distinct
In this paper, we introduce the Exploratory Behavior Scale (EBS), a quantitative measure of young children's interactivity. More specifically, the EBS is developed from the psychological literature on exploration and play and measures the extent to which preschoolers explore their physical environment. A practical application of the EBS in a science museum is given. The described study was directed at optimizing parent guidance to improve preschoolers' exploration of exhibits in science center NEMO. In Experiment 1, we investigated which adult coaching style resulted in the highest level of
In this article, Nathalie Caplet, from Cap Sciences in Bordeaux, France, outlines how French and European museums in general cater to young audiences in exhibitions while otherwise targeting the general public. Caplet provides examples of how institutions engage children using old or more innovative techniques.
This report summarizes the evaluation findings of the first year of the Science Beyond the Boundaries Early Learners Collaborative (ELC). The three-year project, funded through the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), connects science centers and children’s museums to enhance early learner programming. In Year One, the ELC brought together five institutions to collaborate directly through regularly scheduled conference call discussions. During these discussions they shared their program experience, ideas on early childhood programs, and their thoughts on current early learner
This study of American adults’ attitudes towards children’s experiences in nature was based on survey data from 2,138 people who participated in an independently commissioned, online consumer survey in February 2010. The Encouraging Children’s Nature Experiences Scale (EC-NES) was created to assess adult attitudes and beliefs surrounding encouragement of children’s nature experiences. While a great deal of empirical research has already been undertaken to demonstrate the value and impact of these experiences, not all of the research has been adopted by the public. The EC-NES scale was designed
This report presents a project overview and findings from a formative evaluation of the Ready, Set, School prototype exhibit space at Marbles Kids Museum in Raleigh, NC. This study was conducted by museum staff in consultation with Randi Korn & Associates in May 2013.
Produced by National Geographic Kids and Cricket Moon Media with support from the National Science Foundation, Marine Missions is a free iPad touch screen application for preschoolers. The app is hosted by Jacques, a hermit crab character who guides pre-readers through six ocean missions and the building of a fantasy sea creature. Players steer Jacques’ boat to three green markers to clean up polluted spots in the ocean and three orange markers to complete different water current challenges in which players rescue Jacques’ tools from a whirlpool, run past blowholes, and surf on tidal bores
Over a period of three weeks in October 2012, Marbles Kids Museum conducted focus groups to support the development of a new school readiness-focused exhibit space and programming. Focus groups included parents of children ages 3-5, preschool and early elementary school educators, and staff from community organizations involved in early childhood education in Wake County, NC. Focus groups addressed the following questions: (1) What does school readiness mean to you? (2) What do you envision or expect in a school readiness exhibit space? (3) What school readiness program possibilities can you