Expanding the Capacity of Outdoor Science Programs to Measure Meaningful Outcomes

University Of California-Berkeley, Berkeley CA

Investigators

Abstract

Scientific and environmental literacy are valuable outcomes linked to academic learning, career pathways, and broader engagement in science. This project builds upon existing theories of scientific and environmental literacy that have largely focused on understanding the cognitive skills, dispositions, and behaviors that one develops related to science and the environment (e.g., Hurd, 1997; Hollweg et al, 2011). While current conceptions and tools for measuring scientific and environmental literacy are useful for understanding some dimensions of impact, they can overlook the knowledge and expertise of communities. This project will employ a community-centered process to articulate what outcomes the youth and communities who participate in these experiences see as particularly important and develop research tools to measure these outcomes. The project team will then conduct a national study to measure the impact of outdoor science and environmental learning (OSEL) experiences on students' scientific and environmental literacy using these newly developed tools. This project will produce a suite of psychometrically tested tools that center community priorities, improving the field's ability to measure learning outcomes and communicate the value of outdoor science learning. The work will contribute to existing bodies of literature on the benefits of outdoor learning and the role OSEL experiences can play in developing scientific and environmental literacy. The project team will use the Family and Community Framework for Engagement and Collaboration (Learning in Places, 2021) to articulate more nuanced understandings of how people, the learning environment, and the activities youth engage in influence scientific and environmental learning outcomes in outdoor science learning experiences. For example, when youth see connections between a learning experience and their daily lives, family, or community practices, they cultivate a stronger interest in science and the environment. The research will explore four questions across three phases. Phase 1 (Defining Outcomes) will explore: (1) What do scientific literacy and environmental literacy mean to communities? and (2) What outcomes are most meaningful for youth who engage in outdoor science learning experiences, and how can they be measured? A Community Research Network (CRN) composed of youth, educators, leaders, and community members of partnering OSEL organizations will engage in an iterative process of idea generation, data collection, and sensemaking to articulate and co-develop a set of outcome measures. These measures will be piloted with heterogeneous organizations and will result in finalized items and scales. In Phase 2 (Measuring Impact) the project will explore: (3) In what ways do OSEL programs influence scientific and environmental outcomes for youth? (4) How do youth make meaning of these experiences? Phase 2 will include a quantitative study, using the instruments developed in Phase 1, at OSEL programs across the country, while also seeking to understand how youth make meaning of these experiences through a focal student case study approach at selected case sites. Finally, in Phase 3, the research team and the CRN will collaborate to share findings with the field, including through a conceptual framework that articulates the outcomes and structures within and adjacent to OSEL organizations that enable youth to thrive. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.