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Research and Evaluation

Significant Work: Math and Science

Current Work:

MyMoon Program Evaluation: In partnership with the Lunar Planetary Institute, SEDL is evaluating a new educational portal, MyMoon: The Public’s Portal to Lunar Science Exploration Through New Media. The portal will provide science and lunar content, media exhibits, and opportunities for the public to interact with lunar scientists and experts. The work is funded through the Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences-2008 (ROSES-2008) program at NASA’s Education & Public Outreach for Earth & Space Science.

New Mexico Scaling Up Mathematics Achievement (SUMA) Program Evaluation: SEDL is conducting an external evaluation of the process and progress of the New Mexico SUMA project, which is in its third year of implementation. The SUMA project team is partnering with the Las Cruces Public School District to systemically improve mathematics instruction and achievement in the district. The primary project goal is to determine if a Building Capacity Model that helped close the achievement gap in a rural New Mexico school district will also work in a larger urban district with mixed ethnicities and a different organizational structure. SEDL's evaluation will address how to modify the model to strengthen its effectiveness and replicability, and which components of the model have the most positive effect on student achievement.

Past Work:

Explore! Program Evaluation: SEDL was the external evaluator for this 2-year project to further develop the Explore! Program, an interactive science and space program developed for school-age children in afterschool and library settings by the Lunar and Planetary Institute. Conducting primarily a formative evaluation, SEDL provided information through participant and trainer surveys and interviews regarding the development of new modules as well as the use of Web-based versus in-person professional development. This work was in partnership with the Lunar and Planetary Institute and Goddard Space Flight Center, and was funded by the International Polar Year Program at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Models of Implementation and Dissemination of Environmental Health & Science Across Subjects (MIDAS) Project Evaluation: SEDL conducted a multiyear evaluation of the implementation of a professional development program for all elementary, middle, and high school science teachers in a school district in Texas. The intervention sought to improve teachers' use of higher education resources for science instruction to K–12 students across the district through the use of summer field experiences, online courses, and seminar series. SEDL conducted surveys and focus groups with teachers, students, and faculty involved with the program to provide both formative and summative feedback to the program developers.