Gathering and evaluating program data is critical to our understanding of our programs’ effectiveness.
We are committed to continually improving our operations through a data-driven approach.
Research Results
We strive to understand how our programs fail and succeed as best we can. Here are a selection of our findings so far:
Family Science
Our family science program has been evaluated as a part of our NSF Be a Scientist grant. Evaluation reports for Year One, Year Two, Year Three, and Year Four are available for download, but we’ve highlighted some key findings below:
- Most children report having a better understanding of science and engineering (74.8%) and are more interested in science at school (74.8%)
- Most parents report having a better understanding of science and engineering (77.8%) and that they will read more science books with their children (88.9%)
- College-level student instructors commented that they learned practical skills like critical thinking, creativity, public speaking, and collaboration
The summative evaluation can be found here.
Family Science Surveys
In Fall of 2008 we surveyed 361 parents from 8 schools at back-to-school nights and in 2009 we surveyed 943 parents from 14 partner schools in South Los Angeles. The surveys were aimed at understanding what parents wanted out of the Family Science Courses and what further support they needed.
We also conducted a follow up phone survey with families after one year of their participation in a Family Science Course.
TECHNOVATION
Technovation is a technology entrepreneurship program for young women in middle and high school. At the end of each Technovation season, we administer surveys to all participants (students, teachers, mentors, volunteers) to understand their experience and what they have learned over the course of three months. In 2014, this survey was a program requirement. 2014 also marked the first year a look-back survey was administered to program alumnae.
Highlights from the evaluation reports from 2012 and 2013 and 2014 surveys:
- 70% of participants took further Computer Science courses when they had the opportunity
- 70% or participants were more interested in entrepreneurship after the program than before
- 44% of college-age alumnae survey respondents who had already selected a major chose Computer Science
- 75% of mentors said that Technovation assisted their own professional development
- 95% of teachers report having a good experience with the program, and 80% of teachers plan to participate again
Source: Technovation Lookback Report: A Retrospective Survey of Five Technovation Cohorts (2010-2014)
CURIOSITY MACHINE
Our online learning platform, the Curiosity Machine, was awarded a 2-year Transforming STEM Learning (TSL) Grant by the National Science Foundation. The grant covered a Curiosity Machine pilot program in the summer and fall of 2013, continued use in in-person programs through spring 2014, and summer camps in 2014 and 2015. The final report:
- Indicates that the Project Learning of the Curiosity Machine fosters positive learning outcomes, with the majority of projects uploaded to the site being rated as effective in terms of structure and design strength of the projects, aesthetics, creativity, and performance.
- Found evidence of participant engagement in the learning process and the design process, lending support to the idea that the Curiosity Machine is helping participants practice and master skills related to the engineering design process specifically, and scientific processes generally.
- Found that almost all mentor feedback was rated as helpful, attentive, and friendly (99% yes, 1% no).
The full final report can be found here. The full evaluation report from Dr. Hickey can be found here.
ASSESSMENT PLANS
- Miklasz, Kevin (2013): Iridescent’s Plan for Internal Student Assessment and Knowledge Generation
DATA GATHERING TOOLS
- Urban School Map – to help identify the right partner schools
- Student Attendance System – to capture student attendance data