Minnesota

Developing an Evaluation Tool for Environmental Field Days

Principal Investigator:

Stephan Carlson

Project Overview

Background & Purpose:

To develop a reliable and valid observation tool for informal science education field day programs.

Setting:

This research takes place in a middle education students in an outdoor informal science setting.

Research Design:

Original data are collected through a review of the literature and personal observation. A modified Delphi study was conducted to confirm constructs in the research and observations. A Fleiss Kappa was used to establish coder reliability, and correlation study was conducted to establish validity.

Findings:

The observation tool was correlated to student survey and 20 of the 26 items correlated, validating the observation tool.

Publications & Presentations:

Carlson, S. (2008). Environmental field days: Recommendations for best practices. Applied Environmental Education and Communication, 7, 94-105.

Carlson, S. P., Heimlich, J. E. & Storksdieck, M. (accepted 2011) Validating an Environmental Education Field Day Observation Tool. International Electronic Journal of Environmental Education,

Heimlich, J.E., Carlson, S.P. Tanner, D. & Storksdieck, M. (accepted 2010). Building face, construct and content validity through use of a modified Delphi: Adapting grounded theory to build an observation tool, Environmental Education Research.

Carlson, S. P., Heimlich, J. E., Storksdieck, M. & Meyer, N. (2009). Best Practices for Field Days: Assessment Tool and Observation Protocol. U on MN Extension, #08653.

Wang, H. H. & Carlson, S. P., (2011). Factors that Influence Student’s Learning in an Environmental Field Day. International Electronic Journal of Environmental Education. 1 (2), 129-139.

The publication was presented at the Visitor Studies Association 2005, NARST 2006 and NAAEE 2007 and 2008.

Other Products:

Poster was developed and presented at state and national conferences.

On the Web:

Best Practices for Field Days

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