IDEA Cooperative: Select Findings from the Invention Crew Exit Survey

All youth in the Science Museum of Minnesota's Kitty Andersen Youth Science Center (KAYSC) are invited to complete a web-based exit survey upon leaving their current team. The survey is the same across all KAYSC teams, with the addition of some questions specific to a team experience and outcomes. This report includes select data from the exit surveys for the Invention, Design, Engineering, and Art (IDEA) Cooperative high school team, called the Invention Crew. The purpose of the exit surveys were to understand youth's overall experience on the IDEA Coop as well as the impact of the IDEA Coop experience on youth course enrollment, post-secondary plans, and career aspirations. Throughout the course of the Invention Crew a total of 41 youth participated in the Invention Crew and 32 of these youth consented to participate in the evaluation activities lead by the Science Museum of Minnesota Department of Evaluation and Research in Learning. Of those 32 youth, 20 completed an exit survey for a 63% completion rate. Key Findings: -Most of the youth have taken or plan to take at least one engineering course. Of these 12 students, over half said the IDEA Coop influenced their decision to take at least one engineering related course. -All of the Invention Crew youth plan to go on to post-secondary school after they graduate from high school and over half of the youth said they are interested in possibly studying a STEM-related area, with engineering most frequently mentioned. -Youth also talked specifically about the job or career they expect to have at the age of 30. Two thirds of youth mentioned at least one STEM related career. Of these 12 youth, a quarter said the IDEA Coop had an impact on their career choice. The exit survey instrument used in this study is included in the appendix of this report.