This observation protocol is used by a trained observer to score an individual’s engagement in a science learning experience.

The Engagement survey was written for use with 10-14 year-old respondents immediately after a science activity, whether in a class or in an informal learning context. Such contextualized and immediate use minimizes memory biases or inferences based on beliefs the learner has about themselves or the learning context. Accordingly, it should be used after a focused science activity rather than as a measure of general engagement over a series of activities.

Designed to be used with 10-14 year olds, these survey scales are used to assess an individual across multiple dimensions of STEM learning activation (Fascination, Values, Competency Belief, Innovation Stance). Please note that these can be used in conjunction with the scientific sensemaking scale included in Science Learning Activation survey. These scales can be used concurrently to measure the multi-dimensional construct of STEM learning activation or separately to measure individual dimensions.

It is a 24-item scale that measures change along four scales of student career awareness and planning, along with open-response items about specific schooling intentions and career aspirations. Four scales are Concern, Curiosity, Confidence, and Consultation.

A review of relevant literatures led to the construction of a self-report instrument designed to measure two subtypes of student engagement with school: cognitive and psychological engagement. The psychometric properties of this measure, the Student Engagement Instrument (SEI), were assessed based on responses of an ethnically and economically diverse urban sample of 1931 ninth grade students. Factor structures were obtained using exploratory factor analyses (EFAs) on half of the dataset, with model fit examined using confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) on the other half of the dataset.

Evaluators are frequently asked to assess the effectiveness of school programs implemented to improve academic achievement. School connectedness has been shown to be directly related to academic achievement and is therefore of interest to evaluators. The construct of school connectedness has been shown to consist of 3 elements: connectedness to adults in schools, connectedness to peers, and connectedness to the school.

In this chapter, I discuss the development, piloting and revision of a new instrument for measuring pre/post the academic self-efficacy of students. The initial motivation for the creation of this new instrument came from an unsuccessful search for an instrument to measure self-efficacy in an NSF-funded project designed to investigate the motivational effects of a multi-user virtual environment (MUVE) on the science achievement of middle-school students.