Education
Wildwood STEM Institute Program Evaluation
Evaluation, Learning Design
CRESST is carrying out an evaluation of Wildwood School’s STEM Institute. The Institute aims to give its students the opportunity to take responsibility for their learning, as collaborators and directors of the institute. It also allows them to investigate topics of personal interest through independent research projects under the guidance of Institute staff and with the support of mentors from the scientific community.
CRESST is gathering information to describe the program’s accomplishments and challenges to date as a means for the program to strategically plan for the future. We are employing qualitative data collection methods, including surveys, interviews, and focus groups, with all segments of the Wildwood community. We are interviewing Institute participants, both students and staff to understand how the institute has influenced participating students’ learning, attitudes and interest toward STEM. And we are also collecting data from teachers, administrators and students from the general Wildwood community in order to understand how the institute may have influenced the larger school culture.