Celebrating Science - A Family Science Project
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Growing a Comprehensive Program
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  Growing a Comprehensive Program

The growth of a comprehensive Family Science or community-based science program relies on the Planning Group's responsiveness to community needs through ongoing evaluation efforts. To avoid events simply becoming a "check-off" event, the Planning Group needs to purposefully balance the phase of community participation with the stage of science reform.

From the beginning, the Planning Group should establish key evaluation targets matching the vision and outcomes selected for the program. During implementation, the Planning Group can take the opportunity to evaluate individual events. Such information can help them determine which strategies might be considered for the next event(s).

At year's end, the Planning Group can determine whether the program met its goals through reports compiled from all surveys, interviews, and notes collected throughout the year. This information can be used to make decisions about:

Next steps for future events and program development.
Identifying additional stakeholders and potential partners.
Strategies for sustaining financial support.

The table below provides a suggested time line and methods for collecting data to evaluate the programs' efforts in increasing community engagement and support towards school science education reform.



TIMELINE FOR DATA COLLECTION MECHANISMS TO INFORM PROGRAM GROWTH
TIME
DESCRIPTION OF EVALUATION
DATA COLLECTION METHODS
CONSIDER ASKING
Initial… Identify starting level of reform efforts and community participation. Identify program's goals with partners and select compatible events.

 Meetings, informal discussions with stakeholders
[needs assessment]
What is the purpose of the evaluation?
What audience are you trying to target?
What kind of information you want to gather?
What methods would be used to gather the information?
How do you plan to disseminate findings?
During… Collect information on whether outcomes were met for individual events. Assess level of community's participation.

 Surveys conducted by event facilitators; informal interviews; pictures; notes
[formative evaluation]
Final… Reflect on the program and its compatibility to the science reform efforts and the level of community participation.

 Reports from surveys conducted throughout the year
[summative evaluation]
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