CommunITy Studios Final Evaluation Report

Authors

Becky Carroll, Pam Castori, Inverness Research Inc.

Purpose

The CommunITy Studios project at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History was funded through the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program at the National Science Foundation (NSF) in January 2008. The ITEST program within the NSF is focused on helping young people build knowledge and skills to succeed in a technology-rich society. One of the primary interests of the program within the NSF is motivating students to enter a STEM career pipeline. The project was designed to build on work that began through a previous ITEST-funded project at the museum, Design IT, and off of the museum's participation in the Playful Invention and Exploration (PIE) Network and Institute projects also funded through the National Science Foundation.

Inverness Research was contracted to conduct the formative and summative evaluation of the CommunITy Studios project. Our evaluation work has been qualitative in nature, and has included regular site visits to observe programming in both the school and museum studio spaces, as well as interviews with staff, program coaches and participants, and museum visitors. We provided informal formative feedback memos after major site visits, and annual reports that were largely formative in nature. The summative study included a final site visit where we conducted in-depth interviews with long-term program participants and staff, as well as follow-up telephone interviews with participants.

Intended Audience

Museum Educators, Science Educators and Administrators, Reform Leaders and Funders, and general public.

Disclaimer

Any and all errors are claimed by the authors of this document, Inverness Research, Inc.

Date published

July 2011

Distribution Policy

Inverness Research Inc. grants permission to print and distribute copies.

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