Chemistry is a vital and highly relevant field of science that is under-represented in science centers and museums. Amidst concerns that the public is ambivalent about the chemistry field, the Explore Science: Let's Do Chemistry project sought to understand how to design hands-on activities that could increase the feelings of interest, relevance, and self-efficacy around chemistry. Using design-based research, the team tested and refined a variety of activities while simultaneously creating a framework for future use about content and format strategies that increase interest, relevance, and self-efficacy. Science museum visitors tested these activities and were interviewed afterward to learn whether or not they had experienced any changes in their attitudes toward chemistry and what about the activity contributed to these feelings. Data indicated that the types of content embedded in an activity influence increased feelings that chemistry is relevant and interesting, while the format used in an activity contributes to increased interest and self-efficacy around chemistry. The design framework created from these findings can be used by other chemistry educators to develop additional chemistry outreach activities that support increased interest, relevance, or self-efficacy in participants.
While evaluation capacity building (ECB) may hold promise for fostering evaluation, little is known about how it is operationalized within a network. This article presents initial findings from a National Science Foundation-funded research project (Complex Adaptive Systems as a Model for Network Evaluations) that used concepts from complex adaptive systems theory to develop case studies of ECB within the Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network. The project used a multiple case study approach to explore ECB within four Network workgroups. Cross-case themes documented characteristics of the system and ECB within it. Evaluation capacity was evident in several ways, including people's comfort with evaluation, evaluation-related skills, evaluation processes used, and the value placed on evaluation. Ultimately, the study identified several complex adaptive system features that fostered Network ECB: massive entanglement and neighbor interactions, information
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