Summative Evaluation of Stormchasers with a Student Audience

With major funding from the National Science Foundation, the Museum Film Network and NOVA/WGBH in conjunction with MacGillivray Freeman Films have produced an IMAX/ OMNIMAX film called Stormchasers. Stormchasers follows scientists as they investigate the dramatic weather effects of monsoons, hurricanes, and tornadoes. A quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test nonequivalent comparison group design was used with middle school students to evaluate the film and ancillary schoolroom activities. Intact school classes were assigned to one of two treatments: viewing the film only (FILM) and viewing the film after doing related activities (ACTIVITY + FILM). All students completed a pre-viewing questionnaire. Two weeks later, the teachers of half of the classes spent several class periods completing two predetermined activities in the Stormchasers Activity Guide. During the subsequent week, all students viewed the OMNIMAX film Stormchasers at the Boston Museum of Science. The following day, all students completed a post-viewing questionnaire. The summative evaluation focused on the following major outcomes: • To what extent did the program appeal to middle school viewers? • To what extent did the program achieve its intended viewing goals? • Did the implementation of school-based activities prior to viewing affect outcomes? • What did viewers perceive that they learned from the program, if anything?