As interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education grows (Olson & Riordan, 2012), the need for professionals to clearly communicate sophisticated concepts associated with these areas also increases (Fischoff & Scheufele, 2013). This evaluation focuses on a 3 credit university course “Training in Science Education Outreach” which utilizes a novel course structure. The course’s main aim is to teach graduate and undergraduate students how to speak to the public about science, focusing specifically on language science. The structure of the course is non-traditional
The Engineer Your Life (EYL) project is a national initiative to encourage college-bound young women to consider pursuing a degree and a career in engineering. The project aims to communicate to young women the societal value and rewards of being an engineer, rather than the traditional emphasis on the process of becoming an engineer. Target audiences include academically prepared high school girls, career counselors, and professional engineers. Evaluation data were collected in Year 1 and Year 2 of the EYL initiative to assess its impact. We found that young women were especially interested
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Concord Evaluation GroupChristine PaulsenChris BransfieldThea Sahr
STARBASE Minnesota strives to increase the knowledge, skills, and interest of inner-city elementary school youth in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) for greater academic and lifelong success. This study examines the potential long-term impacts of participation, including interest and engagement in STEM, academic achievement, high school graduation, and college enrollment.
The New Directions in Audience Research Initiative, initially funded by IMLS in 2009, is a special initiative of the University of Washington Museology Graduate Program. New Directions aims to train graduate students in Audience Research & Evaluation within informal learning settings through laboratory style coursework that integrates the strengths of professional and peer mentoring, fieldwork, academics and client-centered experiences. Audience Research & Evaluation is an ever increasing field and one that is integral to all aspects of museum practice. Students who participate in New Directions learn the value of effectively incorporating outcomes based planning and research-based practice into their chosen area of museum practice and become advocates for evaluation within the museum field. Primary partner sites include the Woodland Park Zoo, and the Pacific Science Center who's Evaluation staff assist student teams in designing, implementing and reporting on evaluation projects within their institutions as well as other affiliated partner sites. Past affiliated partner sites include, the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, EMP Museum, Frye Art Museum, Henry Art Gallery, Museum of History and Industry, Northwest African American Museum, Seattle Aquarium, and the Washington Park Arboretum.
To effectively address problems in education, research must be shaped around a problem of practice. Reorienting research and development in this way must overcome three obstacles. First, the incentive system for university researchers must be changed to reward research on problems of practice. Second, the contexts must be created that will allow the complexity of problems of practice to be understood and addressed by interdisciplinary teams of researchers, practitioners, and education designers. And third, meaningful experimentation must become acceptable in school systems in order to develop
This article focuses on collective impact, the idea that large-scale social change requires broad cross-sector coordination rather than a focus on isolated interventions in individual organizations. The article lays out five conditions that help organizations collaborate--a common agenda, shared measurement systems, mutually reinforcing activities, continuous communication, and backbone support organization.
This presentation was part of the "Broader Impacts at Centers and Large Facilities" dyad at the 2015 CAISE Convening on Broader Impacts + Informal Science Education held in Arlington, VA on April 7-8. The presentation outlines how centers and large facilities have used informal learning experiences for broader impacts, identifying key opportunity areas for Broader Impacts and Informal Education as programming, partnerships, communication, and evaluation.
This presentation was part of the "ISE Learning Research and Evaluation" dyad at the 2015 CAISE Convening on Broader Impacts + Informal Science Education held in Arlington, VA on April 7-8. The presentation describes the difference between research and evaluation, highlights from informal science education (ISE) findings in the learning sciences, research and evaluation highlights, and potential research and evaluation questions.
NOVA Labs (www.pbs.org/nova/labs) is a web-based platform designed to engage teens and educators with authentic data, scientific games, tools, and opportunities to communicate with and assist working scientists. The present study sought to investigate the outcomes achieved by users of the fourth NOVA Labs platform developed: RNA Lab. The RNA Lab includes several key components of the previous labs (e.g., videos, educator guides, etc.). The major difference is that the RNA Lab “research challenge” is a game component. The NOVA Education team's overarching goals for teens using the Lab focused
The NEES network is comprised of a central management office (NEEScomm) located at Purdue University, and 14 geographically distributed earthquake and tsunami research facilities. We are considered to be a Large Facility within the Engineering division. We have been responsible for the coordination of centralized education, outreach and training activities at each of theses research facilities plus assessment of these activities. We have conducted a very successful REU program for the past 5 years. Additionally we maintain a repository of education modules and learning objects available on our website.
Several major international studies recognize that children (and adults) pursue lifelong STEM interests and understandings, in and out of school, using a variety of community resources and networks. In most communities though, these resources are not well connected with one another, nor is there understanding on the ground of how children and adults can best access and use these resources to support their lifelong STEM interests and learning. The SYNERGIES project is predicated on the assumption that better understanding how 10-14 year old youth become interested and engaged with STEM (or not) across settings, time and space, will make possible a more coordinated network of educational opportunities, involving many partners in and out of school, and in the process, create a community-wide, research-based educational system that is more effective and synergistic. Using the under-resourced Parkrose community of Portland, Oregon as a case-study, the SYNERGIES team has been longitudinally studying the STEM interest and participation pathways of 200 youth for four years. Data from this investigation formed the foundation for a community-wide, multi-year STEM education improvement plan jointly developed by the schools, after-school providers, museums, libraries, parks, colleges, parents and businesses.
This document includes a series of six checklists—one for each of the six types of research outlined in the Common Guidelines for Education Research and Development. The Guidelines, developed by the Institute of Education Sciences at the U.S. Department of Education and the National Science Foundation, explains those agencies’ shared expectations for education research and development. The checklists, created by EvaluATE, are distillations of key points from the Guidelines. The checklists are intended to support use of the Guidelines, enabling users to quickly reference a type of research and
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Evaluation Resource Center for Advanced Technological Evaluation (EvaluATE)Lori Wingate