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
At the Maryland Science Center, a new permanent exhibition with a companion mobile game is focused on electricity. Multimedia Research, an independent evaluation firm, implemented a summative evaluation to assess how using the PowerUp! game in the exhibition influences engagement and knowledge acquisition. The evaluation collected timing and tracking observations and pre- and post-interview data from 18 ten-year-olds who used the game within the Power Up! exhibition area and 16 ten-year-olds who did not use the game. Game players experienced the Power Up! exhibition area differently from non
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Maryland Science CenterBarbara FlaggIlona Holland
This research investigated gender equitable exhibit development by enhancing a geometry exhibit with several female-friendly design features and analyzing video data to determine the effects on girls' engagement and social interactions with their caregivers. The findings suggest that incorporating several female-friendly design features leads to significantly higher engagement for girls (evidenced by greater attraction and time spent). This study also looked for any unanticipated negative effects for boys after incorporating the female-friendly design features.
The National Science Education Standards [National Research Council (1996) National science education standards. Washington, DC: National Academy Press] recommend that students understand the apparent patterns of motion of the sun, moon and stars by the end of early elementary school. However, little information exists on students’ ability to learn these concepts. This study examines the change in students’ understanding of apparent celestial motion after attending a planetarium program using kinesthetic learning techniques. Pre- and post-interviews were conducted with participants from seven
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Pennsylvania State UniversityJulia Plummer
The Center for Chemistry at the Space-Time Limit (CaSTL)’s outreach program in collaboration with the California Science Project at Irvine (CSPI), housed at the Center for Educational Partnerships at UC Irvine designed, created, implemented, and consistently refined a science program for 8-12 year old students at the Boys and Girls Club(BGC) in Santa Ana, California. The year-long weekly program and 4-day summer camp consisted of hour-long lessons designed to connect to CaSTL’s research goals of investigation at the microscopic level. Appendix includes observation protocol, performance measure
In this study our goal is to conduct a "connective ethnography" that focuses on how gaming expertise spreads across a network of youth at an after-school club that simultaneously participates in a multi-player virtual environment (MUVE). We draw on multiple sources of information: observations, interviews, video recordings, online tracking and chat data, and hundreds of hours of play in the virtual environment of Whyville ourselves. By focusing on one particular type of insider knowledge, called teleporting, we traced youth learning in a variety of online and offlien social contexts, both from
There has been little work done on the early experiences of children looking at plant exhibits in botanical gardens. This project, a parallel study to one carried out in zoos, sought to establish what the groups talked about and whether there were differences in content when adults were present and between single sex and mixed groups. The conversations were collected during primary school visits to the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, England, whilst the groups looked at plant specimens. Transcripts of the conversations were analysed using a systemic network. The results show that children talked
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
This research study reports on the evaluation of the outcome and impact of learning as a result of the implementation of Education Programme Delivery Plans in 69 museums in the nine regional museum hubs in England during September, October and November 2005. This is the second study of the impact of learning achieved through museum school services which have been funded through the Renaissance in the Regions programme, which provides central government funding to museums in the English regions. The first study 'What did you learn at the museum today?' was carried out in 2003. The findings of
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Eilean Hooper-GreenhillJocelyn DoddLisanne GibsonMartin PhillipsCeri JonesEmma Sullivan
To begin, this paper describes the climate in science education in the United States, and describes and defines formative assessment. Next, Black & Wiliam’s review and two other important empirical studies will be summarized. Then, a framework characterizing different forms of formative assessment is presented. Non-empirical studies are organized according to this continuum. Finally, the paper describes limitations in the implementation of formative assessment in K-8 science, and summarizes assessment practices that show promise for improving student learning. The important contribution of the