Instruments

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. No particular assumptions are made about task structure (e.g., brief or extended, alone or collaborative, adult guided or student guided) other than there is a particular task that should have been completed. The engagement survey is used to measure an individual’s behavioral, cognitive, and affective engagement. Our analysis of the internal structure of the instrument indicates that valid inferences can be made regarding the overall engagement (i.e., a combination of affective, behavioral, and cognitive engagement) during an activity using responses across all items. Equally valid inferences can be made for two sub-factors of the scale, specifically an affective score or a behavioral/cognitive score. Responses to the cognitive and behavioral co-occur so tightly that separating those scores is not typically meaningful. Due to the self-report nature, the survey is not intended for high-stakes decisions about students (e.g., pass/fail determination, selection of program participants) or programs. Instead, the instrument is intended for formative feedback and/or for research purposes.