In 2005, Independent Broadcasting Associates (IBA) received funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to create a series of radio programs for National Public Radio that features the Ganges river basin in South Asia. The radio programs, which are in the process of being produced, will describe the 650 million people who are supported by the river, as well as its cultural and religious significance. The programs will also describe the political and/or economic environment of the river and its surrounding areas. Each of these topics will encourage listeners to divorce themselves from U
GRG conducted summative evaluation of Ganga, a NSF-funded six-segment series of NPR radio programs about the culture and ecology of the river Ganga in India and Bangladesh and its companion Website. Through a web-based survey, GRG assessed the study participants' knowledge gain from and the satisfaction with the series and the Website. The appendix of this report includes the online survey used in the study.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Irene GoodmanIndependent Broadcasting Associates, Inc.
Women in Science Scale-Revised (WiSS-R) is a revised version of the original tool - Women in Science Scale (WiSS), a 27-item Likert type scale created by Erb & Smith in 1984. For reference, please see Erb, T. O., & Smith, W. S. (1984). Validation of the Attitude Toward Women in Science Scale for Early Adolescents. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 21, 391–397.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Steven OwenMary Anne ToepperweinCarolyn MarshallMichael LichtensteinCheryl BlalockYan Liuet al.
Revised Simpson-Troost Attitude Questionnaire (STAQ-R) is a revised version of the original tool – Simpson Troost Attitude Questionnaire (STQ), a 58-item Likert type scale created by Simpson and Troost in 1982. For reference, please see Simpson, R. D., & Troost, K. M. (1982). Influences on commitment to and learning of science among adolescent students. Science Education, 66, 763-781.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
S.V. OwenM.A. ToepperweinC.E. MarshallM.J. LichtensteinC.L. BlalockY. Liu
Relationships among attitudes of students toward science, as measured by the WASP (Wareing Attitudes Toward Science Protocol), perceived antecedents of such attitudes, and class achievement or performance indicated by reported grades were investigated for a survey sample of 1,740 students in 87 high school science classes from five communities. Additionally, students' self-reported number of tests administered in a given course, perceived rewards, degree of stress, and internal structure of the course were examined as potential predictor variables. Results indicate a significant correspondence
Although today's children have become the benefactors of an evolving technological society, few studies have addressed the assessment of their attitudes toward technology. This study describes the development of the Children's Attitude Toward Technology Scale (CATS) with 574 children in a rural school district. Principal components analysis of the CATS followed by varimax rotation indicated that item intercorrelations could be explained by two factors entitled "interest/aptitude" and "alternative preferences." Sub-scales at two test administrations demonstrated good internal consistency and
Measures students' views about the nature of knowledge and learning in the physical sciences along five non-orthogonal dimensions (structure of scientific knowledge, nature of knowing and learning, real-life applicability, evolving knowledge, & source of ability to learn.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Andrew ElbyJohn FrederiksenChristina SchwarzBarbara White
Probes personal beliefs about the nature of science within 3 scientific dimensions (structure, methodology, and validity of science) and learning science within 3 cognitive dimensions (learnability, reflective thinking, and personal relevance of science).
Goodman Research Group, Inc. (GRG) conducted summative evaluation of the educational resources kit for Forgotten Genius, a program from the PBS television series Lives in Science. Forgotten Genius explored the life of the scientist Percy Julian, an African American chemist who persevered in the face of racism to become one of the great scientists and inventors of the 20th century. GRG's evaluation focused on how public librarians used and assessed the educational resources kit, as well as their suggestions for revising the kit and conducting future science-related library outreach. The
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Marianne McPhersonJennie MurackIrene F GoodmanWGBH
Science Under Sail: Russia's Great Voyages to America 1728-1867 opened in May 2000 at the Anchorage Museum of History and Art (AMHA) for a five-month run. Developed by Curator Barbara Sweetland Smith and designed by Presentation Design Group, Science Under Sail was a 5,340-square-foot exhibition consisting of 44 elements, including text and graphic panels, cases with artifacts and specimens, audio stations, ship models, dioramas, and interactive elements. Overhead banners separated the exhibition into five sections: Why did they sail? Where did they go? How did they get there? What did they
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Beverly SerrellAnchorage Museum of History and Art
The San Francisco Zoo's new Lemur Forest Exhibit is successful on almost every measure of visitor experience, education and inspiration. A summative evaluation, consisting of pre- and post-visit testing, and a tracking and timing study confirms that cued visitors gain knowledge about lemur types, lemur behavior, lemurs' endangerment status, and lemurs' land of origin. Visitors also demonstrate enhanced appreciation for lemurs and emotional connection to them post-visit. While many pre-visit respondents are inclined to value protecting lemurs and their environment, post-visit responses that
In early 2004 Explorit Science Center (Explorit) contracted with Visitor Studies Services (VSS) to design and conduct an evaluation of Explorit's Health In Your World Project (HIYW). HIYW is a traveling, science-based health education program for children and adults in low-income communities. HIYW features interactive experiments designed to make learning about the human body, health, and healthy choices fun and accessible. The program serves students in grades K-6, and is designed to engage parents and involve them as an integral part of the learning process. The HIYW Project was developed in