Scientist-Educator Collaborative Workshop Workshop Evaluation: Feedback to Scientists

Held at the University of Connecticut Avery Point Campus, Groton, CT Thursday, October 8, 2009 through Saturday, October 10, 2009

Scientists' concept map presentations were evaluated by the other scientists and by the educators participating in the workshop. Participants were asked to rate each presentation according to four criteria:

• The Big Picture -- how well was the scientist's specific research question expanded to address broader issues and concerns and how clearly was that stated?
• Jargon -- how well did the scientists tailor their language to be accessible to a general audience or explain any jargon used?
• Concept map -- how well did the map itself organize the information being presented and help the audience understand important ideas?
• Take home message -- how memorable was the overall message of the presentation?

In previous COSEE-OS workshops, only educators gave this type of presentation feedback. Several scientists requested that they be allowed to evaluate their peers as well. Overall, the ratings given by scientists fit very well with those given by the educators. These data are available for download in pdf format (199 KB).

Quotes from Workshop Participants

"[The scientists] seemed to enjoy working with us and I liked seeing how they think. We interacted as peers and when the scientist was more knowledgable about a subject ... s/he just showed us how to do it and did not assume we would not understand."

"Scientists were great about allowing us to incorporate their extensive content knowledge with what we know about how students learn and what students know and are able to do."

"It was terrific working with the scientists. It was good for me as a teacher to see how scientists think and to have them see how teachers can use the data and information they collect."