RESET’s Goals
- To improve attitudes, motivation, and literacy in STEM (Science-Technology-Engineering-Math) subjects.
- To reach greater numbers of students with hand’s-on, inquiry-based STEM programs.
- To establish connections between STEM professionals and children, providing them with role models and examples of career pathways.
- To improve the way science and math are presented to children in the Washington, DC metro area.
Success Metrics
• RESET and The Nation’s Report Card
To measure RESET’s effectiveness in achieving its goal of sparking children’s enthusiasm for STEM, RESET surveys students who have completed one of its hands-on science programs on their attitudes towards science learning. The survey instrument measures attitudes towards science learning, and uses questions developed by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in preparing “The Nation’s Report Card.” With these metrics RESET is able to compare the responses of students in our programs with those of students nationwide who completed the NCES assessment.
• RESET Questions for Students
RESET asks students questions after their RESET programs about the program and how it affected their views of STEM learning. These questions are:
How did you like the science classes that you had with your science visitor? Response choices are very much, quite a bit, some and very little
Did having your science visitor in your classroom change the way you feel about science? Response choices are I like it more, I like it the same or I like it less.
• Teacher Assessment Surveys
Another tool used to measure impact is a questionnaire completed by RESET classroom teachers after concluding their programs. Teacher feedback on the effectiveness of RESET programs enables volunteers to continually improve the content and delivery of their hands-on science lessons.
