Project: Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Exploration Center Evaluation Plan
Stanford Learning, Design, & Technology Program - Spring 2012
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Team Members: Stephanie Chang and Lisa Peterson
Our team for the Theory and Practice of Environmental Education course worked to develop an evaluation plan for a new Exploration Center in Santa Cruz that serves as a welcome center to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Our plan centered on the use of "embedded assessments" that integrate with the hands-on activities the Exploration Center had developed. Each assessment was designed to determine the impact of the visit and be easy for staff and volunteers to administer and analyze. The evaluation plan consisted of three elements: 1) Watersheds Content Assessment: Guests create a flow chart of where runoff from different sources ends up. The facilitator looks for specific links. 2) Biodiversity Content Assessment: Guests are asked to circle, on an iPad, animals that they recognize in three pictures of the rocky intertidal. The facilitator checks off animals that are identified and takes a screen shot of the circled image for later reference. 3) Pledge Board: At the end of the exhibits, guests can post, either through Twitter or on the physical board, what their visit to the Exploration Center has taught them. The staff can analyze how many of the responses are content-based versus action-based. View the full report. |
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