Evaluating Outreach Programs

Faculty, students, and K-12 educators engaged in science education outreach need to evaluate their work, document and communicate program successes to a broader audience, and gather feedback for continued enhancement of their programs. The purpose of program evaluation is to determine if programs are having the intended effect.

Types of Evaluation

Formative Evaluation allows educators to obtain feedback about their projects as they are being developed. This type of evaluation allows for continuous fine tuning and can increase chances that the project will succeed.

 Summative Evaluation measures the impact of programs after they have been implemented over a period of time.  This type of evaluation helps identify best practices that can be used in the development of methodologies, techniques, and curricular and scientific models for future projects.  Summative evaluation combines both research and assessment methods.

Tools for Evaluation

• Surveys
• Interviews
• Surveys and interviews
• Focus groups
• Classroom observations/Integration of technology

Types of Evaluators

Internal:  Science Center Outreach provides evaluation guidance for selected outreach projects using our Evaluation Model

External:  Science Center Outreach utilizes the Education Alliance as an external resource for many of its outreach programs: Education Alliance

Evaluation Resources:

Online Evaluation Resource Library

NSF Handbook for Project Evaluation

For more information about Evaluating Outreach Programs, contact Dean Oludurotimi Adetunji, Director of Science Center Outreach