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Design Squad Nation last updated: 2012-02-12 17:16:46 |
Project Details
| Lead Organization: | WGBH Educational Foundation |
| Funding Organization(s): | NSF / DRL #0917495 |
| Award Dates: 1 Sep 2009 - 31 Aug 2010 | |
| Award Amount: $1007240 |
Project Overview
Design Squad Nation is a PBS television series, with accompanying web and outreach activities for 9- to 12-year-olds, designed to inspire a generation of budding engineers. Over 10 episodes, engineer co-hosts Judy Lee and Adam Vollmer travel across the country and around the world, working side by side with kids to turn their dreams into reality. Whether it is a red-carpet worthy gown for fashion designer Christian Siriano, or a playground for kids in a rural village high in Nicaragua’s northern mountains, Design Squad Nation shows that engineering isn’t about hiding away in some lab; it’s about being active in the world, taking risks, collaborating with interesting people, and using science, math, and technology to solve real problems. The television program is complemented with an extensive companion web site, as well as materials and training for engineers to mount Design Squad Nation events in public venues and run workshops in schools, afterschool programs and libraries. On the site, kids can work alongside co-hosts Judy Lee and Adam Vollmer, posting real-life solutions to real-life problems and responding to challenges from the show by sketching and building their own prototypes. Outreach activities are supported by WGBH's ongoing relationships in the educational and engineering community, including the Girl Scouts, International Technology Education Association, NASA, and the Intel Computer Clubhouses. Concord Evaluation Group conducted summative evaluation of the project to measure project impacts including knowledge of science and engineering concepts and the design process; attitudes towards engineering; awareness of and interest in engineering career opportunities; and the extent to which kids perceive engineering as creative, rewarding, and socially relevant. Design Squad Nation premiered in January 2011.
Project Documentation
| Evaluation Report(s): |
Design Squad Nation: Evaluation Report |
Tags
Evaluation Reports
- Summative :: Paulsen, Christine (2011). Design Squad Nation: Evaluation Report. Boston: WGBH.
- Summative :: Sharon Caroll, Christine Paulsen (2011). Design Squad Nation: Evaluation Report. Boston: WGBH.
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Marisa Wolsky Principal Investigator |
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Kate Taylor Co-Principal Investigator |
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Christine Paulsen Evaluator |
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