QUALITATIVE EVALUATION OF STUDENT-SCIENTIST PARTNERSHIPS: THE DEVONIAN SEAS PROJECT

Many hold that involvement of teachers and students in scientific research is a key to science education reform, with outcomes including (1), a more science-literate public and (2), increased number and diversity of individuals pursuing science careers. Direct outcomes are more likely to include increased motivation and problem-solving skills than increased performance on standard assessments. Up to present evaluation of achievement of such outcomes has tended to rely on unsystematic anecdotal feedback. The Paleontological Research Institution (PRI) has been engaged in evaluating prototype versions of student-scientist partnerships (SSPs), contrasting them with PRI's standard in-school programs (SIP), which have similar intended outcomes. The Program Evaluation Research Group (PERG) at Lesley University has been contracted to serve as external evaluator of the PRI educational outreach programs.

The Devonian Seas SSP is an ongoing collaborative effort between PRI scientists and students to collect data on the evolution of Middle Devonian communities in central NY. PERG evaluators document outreach program development and implementation in classrooms, and provide formative program evaluation feedback to PRI. Formative evaluation functions as a tool for creating an evidence-based planning and implementation process. It also promotes conditions for partnership collaboration through dialogue. Employing qualitative evaluation methods, the findings from the formative evaluation are intended to address the following questions: · Effective science programming -- What characteristics does the program have that foster program goals? · Effective science teaching -- What are the instructional strategies (consistent with NSES) that promote science learning on the part of students, and how are these strategies consistent with program goals? · Impact on learners -- What types of science knowledge/skills are the program designs and instruction seeking to develop in learners, and how will changes in students' thinking about science be documented/measured (e.g., which domains by what performances)?