Evaluating the Impact of Interaction between Middle School Students and Materials Science and Engineering Researchers

ABSTRACTWe, as education outreach providers at a research center, believe research scientists and engineers have much to contribute to science education. Our job is to design programs that allow our faculty and students to share their expertise and their stories to positively impact student learning and attitudes towards STEM fields. Is it possible to show that middle school students’ interaction with scientists and engineers makes a positive difference in only one day? The National Science Foundation funded Princeton Center for Complex Materials (PCCM), in partnership with MRS and NOVA, held a large-scale, one-day event for middle school students on January 27, 2011. This study measures the impact of that engagement on the students’ attitudes, contributing to their general attitude towards science and scientists that will ultimately determine their career choices later in life. Among other methods, focus group interviews and pre- and post-event attitude surveys were conducted and analyzed to evaluate the impact of the program.

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Innovative Evaluation of Two Materials Science Education Enrichment Programs

MRS Proceedings ◽

10.1557/proc-1233-pp07-01 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 1233 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Daniel Jonathan Steinberg ◽

Shannon L. Greco ◽

Kimberly Carroll

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

Middle School ◽

High School Students ◽

Materials Science ◽

Research Experience ◽

School Students ◽

Science And Engineering ◽

Princeton University ◽

Scientists And Engineers ◽

The Impact

AbstractThe Princeton Center for Complex Materials (PCCM) is an NSF-funded Materials Science and Research Center (MRSEC) at Princeton. PCCM currently has four Interdisciplinary Research Groups (IRGs) and several seed projects. PCCM runs a variety of education outreach programs that include: Research Experience for Undergraduates, Research Experience for Teachers, Materials Camp for Teachers, Middle School Science and Engineering Expo (SEE) for 1200 students, and Princeton University Materials Academy (PUMA), for inner city high school students. In this paper we focus on new evaluation efforts for the PUMA and the Science and Engineering Expo. We will discuss first PUMA the SEE and elaborate on the new evaluation efforts for each program.Created in 2002 by PCCM, PUMA has an inquiry based materials science curriculum designed to work at the high school level. PUMA's activities are paired with an inquiry based evaluation of scientific ability and attitude change. An evaluation of high school students' ability to formulate scientific questions as a result of their participation in this summer program based was developed based on similar studies of college students questioning ability in inquiry learning environments. Created in 2004 by PCCM and partners in Molecular Biology, SEE is run once per year in the spring. It is a day dedicated to capturing the imaginations of young students through science demonstrations and direct interaction with materials scientists and engineers. 1000 middle school students from local schools come to Princeton University to interact with Princeton scientists and engineers and explore science with the help of demonstrations and hands-on activities. Throughout the day, they explore a wide range research from Princeton that is at the cutting edge of science and engineering to generate excitement about science and engineering. In addition to studying over 5000's student written essays we have constructed a pre and post test for student attitudes administered to over 500 students in 2009 to determine the impact of the SEE on students' attitudes about materials science and STEM fields. This large scale attitude assessment and student written statements help to establish the impact of this one day program.

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