Design of a Research-Based Assessment for Children's Attitudes and Motivation at Chemistry Outreach and Museum Events

Christopher F. Bauer, Mary E. Emenike, Thomas A. Holme

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Outreach activities have been an ongoing commitment of the American Chemical Society and other scientific organizations, yet formal assessment of outcomes has been infrequent. We have designed a simple, reliable, and robust format for assessing attitudinal and motivational characteristics of participants attending informal public events that promote interest in and understanding of chemistry. In its final form, this 6-item survey can be distributed on the front and back of an 8.5 × 5.5 card (for pre- and postassessment). The form is provided in the Supporting Information and is available via ChemRxiv preprint draft (DOI: 10.26434/chemrxiv-2022-2zp5p) for noncommercial community use. Challenges in design included construct selection and independence, adjusting language for the grade 3-12 populations, physical form and distribution, efficiency and reliability of completion, and item performance and symmetry. Along with a description of the design process, psychometric characteristics and results of field testing at outreach events are described.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)2821-2833
Number of pages13
JournalJournal of Chemical Education
Volume99
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 9 2022

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Chemistry(all)
  • Education

Keywords

  • Chemistry Education Research
  • Elementary/Middle School Science
  • General Public
  • Learning Theories
  • Public Understanding/Outreach
  • Student-Centered Learning
  • Testing/Assessment

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