ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
*****************************************************************************

Hi Nancy,
I completely concur with David Taylor's response re: cognitive gain
following a science museum visit.  First, this is difficult to measure
(longitudinal studies really are necessary), and second, a number of other
evaluative studies (Minda Borun's comes to mind) have shown the kids would
have been better off staying in the classroom if it was comprehension of
facts that was desired.

So I suggest you try a different approach to measure the outcomes of a visit
to your facility. There are many other ways to get at 'effectiveness'.  For
example, I once tried a study that attempted to determine whether the
students' curiosity was heightened following a visit (self-declaration); on
another occasion, I tried to measure an attitudinal shift by following the
types of books that were checked out at the school library before and after
a visit.  Neither were particularly satisfying in terms of the results I
wanted!

Wynne Harlen in England was doing some good work and her reports would be
interesting reading for you (not sure if they are published, but you could
check with the Liverpool Museums, Large Object Storage).  An often-used
phrase (in fundraising materials of my former employer) was that "80% of
Canadian scientists credit a visit to a museum as a key source for inspiring
them" or something along that line.  I'm not sure where the quote came from,
or even if it was accurate, but no one ever challenged it.

It would be interesting to do a similar study to see if this is still true,
say, with Nobel prize winners, or astronauts, etc.

Good luck!
George Wurtak
Winnipeg, Canada

> -----Original Message-----
>
>
> Aloha,
> I am trying to establish an evaluation procedure to assess the extent to =
> which our outreach programs accomplish our stated goals, specifically in =
> terms of student learning.  Does anyone have any advice or =
> recommendations about how to get a true picture of the impact our =
> program had on students?  We are interested in both what content =
> students learned and how their attitudes changed because of our program. =
>  This is not intended to evaluate how well the students or teacher liked =
> the program.  I am mainly considering some type of pre/post test that =
> teachers conduct and return to us, but if anyone has other ideas I'd be =
> happy to hear them.  Also, if anyone has evaluation samples they are =
> willing to share, that would be great.
> Thanks,
> Nancy
>
> ****************
> Nancy Alima Ali
> Science Educator
> Bishop Museum

>

***********************************************************************
More information about the Informal Science Education Network and the
Association of Science-Technology Centers may be found at http://www.astc.org.
To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the
message  SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to
[log in to unmask]