Space Earth and Informal Science Education Project Professional Impacts Summative Evaluation

Summative evaluation study for the Space Earth and Informal Science Education (SEISE) project examining professional impacts including project reach, partnerships, professional knowledge, and professionals' use of the project’s public-facing products and their implementation of practices for engaging the public

Over the course of the five-year NASA grant, the Space and Earth Informal STEM Education (SEISE) project offered a range of free professional development opportunities and resources to support informal educators’ ability to offer Earth and space programming and to partner with others for this work. SEISE professional development opportunities included an in-person meeting and online workshops. Resources were also created to support professionals’ use of the toolkits, the exhibition, and their work with the public. 

Specific evaluation questions guiding this study included:

• 1)  How many professionals does the SEISE project reach, and how do they feel about the Network community?
• 2)  What kinds of partnerships are formed between professionals during SEISE?
• 3)  How does SEISE impact professionals’ knowledge and understanding of Earth and space content areas?
• 4)  How does SEISE impact professionals’ use of the project’s public-facing products and their implementation of practices for engaging the public?