The Living on Earth's Ecological Literacy project (ELP) offers a comprehensive, flexible curricular framework that includes an integrated approach to field-based environmental studies, investigative journalism and computer-based radio production and engineering in middle and high school settings. The 2002-03 school year marked Year Three of the three-year, NSF-funded Ecological Literacy Project. Rockman et al, an educational research firm headquartered in San Francisco, conducted an independent evaluation of the ELP Year Two program activities (Char and Rockman, 2002), and continued evaluation
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Saul RockmanWorld Media FoundationCindy Char
The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer received a three-year National Science Foundation grant from Fall 2003 to Spring 2006 to develop, produce and air science reports during the regularly televised news program. The Online NewsHour Web site extends the reach of the science reports by housing the broadcast transcripts of the science reports, as well as information, graphics, and links that enhance the televised segments. In addition, EXTRA, a feature within the Web site designed for teachers and students, provides lesson plans and resources to support the use of the science segments in the classroom
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Rockman et alMacNeil/Lehrer Productions
Bill Nye the Science Guy is a widely-viewed, children's television series on science. Designed for eight-to-ten year olds, this series is shown in late afternoons Monday through Friday on PBS stations and on commercial television over the weekends. Rockman et al, an independent research group in San Francisco, was contracted by KCTS, Seattle, WA, to undertake an evaluation of the Bill Nye the Science Guy television series. The evaluation was charged with exploring the impact of the series on children at home, in school, and in other settings where children can watch television. Both the
During fall 1998, KCTS produced 50,000 “Bill Nye Family Fun Science Packets"" that included a family calendar and a ten-minute video. This outreach packet was meant for distribution to families with school-age children and designed to encourage family science activities at home. KCTS distributed these Packets in sets of 25-1,000 to community organizations, PBS stations, and member agencies of the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC). This study focused on capturing information about family and child involvement in science activities before and after they receive the BILL NYE
National Canal Museum (NCM) contracted with Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A) to evaluate three National Science Foundation-funded exhibitions: Engineering America, Towpath Town, and Waterworks. All three exhibitions were designed to facilitate multi-generational learning of science within an historical context using a variety of interactive and hands-on learning activities, a unique approach for this history museum. The exhibitions' target audience was broadly defined as families, including visitors 6 years of age and older. To examine visitors' experiences and the exhibitions' impact, RK
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Randi Korn & Associates, Inc.National Canal Museum
resourceevaluationMuseum and Science Center Exhibits
Children's Museum of Houston (CMH) contracted with Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A) to evaluate Cyberchase: The Chase is On!--a National Science Foundation-funded exhibition designed to facilitate children's development of mathematical strategies and build their confidence in using these strategies in daily life. The exhibition used the popular children's television show, Cyberchase, as a vehicle to facilitate this learning. CMH identified the exhibition's target audience as children between the ages of 5 and 10 years, with an emphasis on children 7 years and older. To document the
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Randi Korn & Associates, Inc.Children's Museum of Houston
Chicago Children's Museum (CCM) contracted with Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A) to evaluate Skyline a National Science Foundation-funded exhibition designed to facilitate family learning of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) concepts relevant to building stable structures. RK&A conducted all three phases of evaluation for Skyline front-end, formative, and summative; select findings from the summative evaluation are presented here. Skyline's target audience is families with children between the ages of 5 and 10 years of age. RK&A conducted 100 observations of children in the
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Randi Korn & Associates, Inc.Chicago Children's Museum
Sugar from the Sun was managed by the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance (GPCA) and funded, in part, by the National Science Foundation. For this project, a 6,400 square foot living exhibition was built at Garfield Park Conservatory. This exhibition, comprised of five sections, depicted plants' production of sugar from water, air, and sunlight. The exhibition also featured a printed Exhibit Guide and hands-on activities. This study used a naturalistic inquiry methodology. The research question for this study was, As visitors engage with the immersive environments and interpretive messages in
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Eric GyllenhaalGarfield Park Conservatory Alliance
Rockman et al (REA) conducted an impact study of the educational, two-hour, television special, Exploring Time, and the value-add of its associated web site, www.exploringtime.org. The program's objective is to increase the public's understanding of change over time the multitude of changes that are occurring in the present, but at rates too slow or too fast to be seen. This evaluation explored the extent to which the programs and web site met this overall objective by looking at three impacts of the resources: (1) Comprehension of the program's content, (2) Knowledge and understanding gained
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Saul RockmanTwin Cities Public Television
Grossology Live! was a creative and innovative program that involved unique format, content, and collaboration. The program used live video-conferencing techniques to create two-way interaction between onscreen actors in a colorful Grossology set in the studio in Noblesville, Indiana; uniquely imaginative comedic and musical presentations on the human body; and a live presenter, stage set, and audience at 5 small science or health centers primarily in the mid-west and southeast. The receiving sites were members of the National Association of Health Education Centers (NAHEC), which played a
In 2008, Goodman Research Group, Inc. (GRG) conducted summative evaluation of Absolute Zero, a collaborative effort of the University of Oregon's Cryogenic Helium Turbulence Laboratory and Twin Cities Public Television. The films were produced by Meridian/Windfall Productions, Washington DC, and/Windfall Films in London, UK. Outreach was spearheaded by Devillier Communications, Inc. The Absolute Zero project was centered on a two-part documentary about low-temperature physics, which aired on PBS/NOVA in early January 2008, as well as an outreach campaign, which included approximately 20
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Irene GoodmanUniversity of OregonLaura HousemanMarianne McPherson
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