Projects and reports (selected)
Studying the STEM Landscape for Undergraduates of Color (2021-2022)
Cynthia Char and Jennifer Jewiss are co-directing a study examining reasons college students of color pursue, or abandon, undergraduate studies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Through a series of interviews with students and faculty, the qualitative study seeks to better understand how aspects of a college's STEM ecosystem attract, retain, or deter students of color from pursuing STEM courses, majors, and future training and career paths in these fields. (Funder: Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Dartmouth College)
Stakeholder-Guided Environmental Science (STAGES) (2022-2026)
With Rockman Et Al
This NSF Research Traineeship project at Texas A&M Corpus Christi (Dorina Murgulet, PI) is designed to prepare a new generation of diverse environmental scientists in coastal and marine science to conduct big data analyses in interdisciplinary research settings. Through a combination of technical coursework, big data blitzes, and co-developing scientific research projects with stakeholders culminating in a fall capstone project, the program will boost trainee involvement in convergent research and occupational readiness. Char is working with Rockman Et Al to conduct the external formative and summative evaluation for the project, and studying the program's impact on graduate student trainees, faculty, and stakeholder partners. (Funder: National Science Foundation)
Bolstering STEM Pathways for Students in Rural New England (2022-2026)
With Rockman Et Al
This NSF ITEST project with the New Hampshire Academy of Science (Markus Testorf, PI) explores how providing a comprehensive, multi-year academic and personal support system can attract and retain underrepresented rural high school students from underserved rural areas of New Hampshire and Vermont. Char is working with Rockman Et Al to study how the experience affects students' identity as STEM researchers and, in turn, their pathways to post-secondary STEM activities. (Funder: National Science Foundation)
Change the Story (2015 - 2022)
Change the Story is an initiative to align policy, program and philanthropy to fast track women's economic status and well-being in Vermont. The work is fueled by the three core partners: The Vermont Women's Fund, the Vermont Commission on Women, and Vermont Works for Women. Char is serving as a research advisor and core contributor to the group's five research reports, and lead evaluator of the multi-year initiative. (Funder: Vermont Women's Fund)
Download Women, Work and Wages in Vermont report here. womenworkwages2019.pdf
Changing Perspectives (2015 - 2023)
Changing Perspectives is a curriculum resource, teacher support, and professional development initiative to promote socio-emotional learning and disability awareness to cultivate inclusive and equitable communities for all students in grades pre-K through 12. Char is serving as an evaluation advisor for both formative evaluation and summative evaluation work in classrooms and with teachers.
Risk and Uncertainty Quantification in Marine Science (2015 - 2021)
This NSF Research Traineeship project at Oregon State University (Lorenzo Ciannelli, PI) is designed to prepare a new generation of natural resource scientists and managers who will combine mathematics, statistics and computer science with environmental and social sciences to study, protect, and manage ocean systems. Through a combination of technical coursework, communication and collaborative work structure workshops, internships, and transdisciplinary research projects and group thesis chapters, OSU trainees will learn about the science of big data, risk and uncertainty quantification, and human-natural systems. Char is leading the external formative and summative evaluation for the project, and studying the program's impact on graduate student trainees, faculty, and the institution. (Funder: National Science Foundation)
iSWOOP (Interpreters and Scientists Working On Our Parks) (2013 - 2020)
Interpreters and Scientists Working On Our Parks (iSWOOP) (Martha Merson, TERC and Nickolay Hristov, Winston-Salem State University, co-PI's) brings together educators, scientists and National Park Service interpreters to incorporate site-based science into programs for the public. It offers a new model of professional and resource development featuring on-site scientific research, visual data and inquiry-oriented techniques for increasing STEM learning opportunities for visitors. Char Associates is leading the formative and summative evaluation to examine whether iSWOOP offers a viable model of professional and resource development to equip interpreters to convey current scientific research to the public, and foster visitors' visual and scientific literacy. (Funder: National Science Foundation)
Download iSWOOP Implementation in National Parks report here iswoop_implementation_report_2020.pdf
COASSTal Communities of Science (2011 - 2020)
The Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team (COASST) at the University of Washington (Julia Parrish, PI) is a citizen science project that engages trained, non-scientist community members in collecting data on beached birds on more than 350 beaches from northern California to Alaska. The ultimate goals of COASST are to connect coastal citizens to expanded involvement in science that is personally meaningful to them and to improve the use of citizen science as a tool for scientific inquiry and resource management. The current project expands that work, by adding a new data module on marine debris to complement their ongoing work with beached birds. For COASST, Char Associates is serving as the external evaluator to investigate the extent to which COASST volunteers, following training sessions and personal experience of gathering coastal data, acquire greater knowledge, skills and levels of engagement in science. (Funder: National Science Foundation)
Literacies in Engineering for Access and Participation (LEAP) Conference (2016 - 2018)
With Rockman Et Al
Educational researchers from TERC, Utah State University, The University of Texas El Paso, Angelo State University (Texas), and The University of Texas San Antonio, organized a conference to bring together education scholars for the purpose of creating a research agenda at the intersection of equity, engineering and literacy. Char is working with Rockman Et Al to evaluate what the immediate and longer term impacts of the conference were upon conference participants. (NSF-ITEST).
Kid Citizen: Expandable Mobile and Online Apps for Elementary Grades on Congress and Civic Participation (2015 - 2017)
Kid Citizen (Bert Snow, Muzzy Lane Software, PI; Ilene and Michael Berson, University of South Florida, co-PI's) will be a set of digital learning products that will provide children in grades K-5 with authentic, age-appropriate interactions with primary source materials, to explore civics and government concepts through historical sources, and connect what they learn with their daily lives. Char is serving as an evaluation advisor for the formative and summative evaluation work in classrooms and with teachers.
(Funder: Library of Congress)
Zoo and Aquarium Action Research Collaborative (ZAARC) (2011- 2015)
TERC (Andee Rubin) and Oregon State University (John Falk and Lynn Dierking) are leading the Zoo and Aquarium Action Research Collaborative (ZAARC), a project to determine how action research-based professional development can best be implemented in informal science settings such as zoos and aquariums to enhance both individual practitioners and institutions. Char is working as the evaluator and a member of the senior project team to ascertain a better understanding of the opportunities, challenges, strengths and limitations of action research in informal contexts. (Funder: National Science Foundation)
The Dynamic Earth (2012-2014)
In the Dynamic Earth project, the Montshire Museum of Science is developing an exhibit cluster and associated educational program focused on the earth’s dynamic processes, specifically those processes which can be visualized with NASA satellite imagery and data. Char is serving as a senior evaluation consultant to work with project staff to conduct a visitor and tracking study that assesses adult and youth visitors’ levels of engagement and understanding. (Funder: NASA)
Turning Points in American History (2010-2014)
This Teaching for American History project is a professional development effort for Vermont educators, designed to increase teachers' content knowledge in American history, strengthen pedagogical skills in historical thinking processes, and foster a learning community for educators studying and teaching American history. Using a variety of techniques (e.g., pre- and post-program surveys, focus groups, observations of program sessions), Char Associates is leading the summative evaluation on the program's impact on participating teachers. (Funder: US Department of Education)
Math Off the Shelf (2007 – 2011)
TERC, a not-for-profit educational research and development corporation in Cambridge MA, is collaborating with national public library leaders to make mathematics a visible and fun part of library programming for elementary grades children and their families. They are developing materials for story times and crafts that integrate literacy and math; supporting children's librarians in outreach to local after-school programs; and conducting research on program impact. As a result of this project, librarians and after-school educators will increase capacity to incorporate math into programming for peers, children, and parents, and children and their families will gain understanding of and appreciation for math. Char Associates will lead the external summative evaluation on program impact throughout the four-year project. (Funder: National Science Foundation)
The Science Associates Program (2008 - 2011)
The Science Associates Program at Swarthmore College has established peer-facilitated study groups designed to improve retention of prospective science, mathematics and engineering majors and to facilitate mentoring relationships between older and younger college students interested in the sciences. Char Associates is conducting formative, process and summative evaluations for the 3-year project. (Funder: Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Swarthmore College)
American Dynasties/Past Present (2007 – 2008; 2010-2012)
The Center for New American Media (CNAM) has embarked on a new educational initiative to develop an educational multi-media product designed to teach American cultural history to middle school and high school youth. The project, called American Dynasties, is one of seven projects across the country, funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB)’s American History and Civics Initiative. The centerpiece of the American Dynasties project is an interactive history game – a narrative, role-playing 3-D computer game that allows students to put themselves in the place of Americans from past eras, learning about what life was like and making decisions that will affect their future. For American Dynasties, CNAM, an independent documentary film maker for public television, is collaborating with game company, Muzzy Lane. Char Associates is conducting formative research and classroom field tests of the prototype and final game materials. (Funder: Corporation for Public Broadcasting)
Monadnock Regional School District Public School Choice (2005 – 2007)
The Monadnock Regional School District Public School Choice (MPRSOC) is one of 13 grantees of a US DOE Voluntary Public School Choice grant. Begun in 2002, the five-year project is designed to bring new public school choices to southwestern New Hampshire, and to enhance the quality of education that existing schools provide so that all local public schools become schools of choice. The project supports the development of new programs within existing public schools, as well as new small schools in the region, through capacity-building efforts targeting schools, teachers, parents, and community. A major focus has been the development of thematic programs and smaller learning communities within the schools. The principal areas being evaluated have been the degree to which the project has yielded distinctive, new educational programs of choice; the choice programs’ educational impact on students and families; and the effectiveness of the project’s professional development efforts to build the educational capacities of the region’s schools and staff. (Funder: US Department of Education)
Environmental Detectives (2000 - 2004)
Environmental Detectives (ED) is a new environmental science curriculum for middle school students, developed by the Montshire Museum of Science in Norwich, Vermont. The Montshire worked collaboratively with research faculty from Dartmouth College and with teachers from New Hampshire and Vermont to design, pilot, and develop the curriculum. The curriculum centers on hands-on investigations based on student formulated research questions concerning dose response, and students conducting experiments of their own scientific design. The evaluation examined how teachers chose to incorporate the ED curriculum into their different science curriculum and classroom practices, and assessed the kind of student engagement and learning afforded by the curriculum. (Funder: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences)
Download Full Report Here
Download Executive Summary Here
Building Capacity for Change Program (2003 - 2004)
The Consortium for Mathematics and Its Applications (COMAP)’s Building Capacity for Change (BCC) project is an effort to introduce a range of improvement options in mathematics education to school districts in underserved areas in New Mexico. The BCC program has two basic program components: a Mathematics Summer Institute for school districts interested in learning about standards-based elementary mathematics education, and follow-up on-site consulting for districts engaged in more intensive and sustained curriculum reform work in their schools. The evaluation’s primary objectives were to study the nature and initial impact of the BCC work, and to capture the realities of the school districts that the BCC serves. A major focus was to identify aspects of the BCC program most instrumental in promoting a district’s willingness and ability to begin exploring the use of standards-based mathematics curricula in their classrooms. The evaluation documents how the BCC program took shape and evolved to respond to the teacher development, leadership, and curriculum needs of New Mexico districts that were new to standards-based mathematics. (Funder: NSF)
Download Full Report Here
Living on Earth Ecological Literacy Project: (2001 – 2003)
With Rockman Et Al
The Living on Earth Ecological Literacy Project is an interdisciplinary curriculum for middle and high school students that integrates radio journalism, ecological literacy, and knowledge of global environmental change. The project is designed to build a consortium of schools, informal science organizations, and local public radio stations to create a corps of environmental communicators and radio journalists with expertise in journalism and environmental science, skills in digital technology, and creativity in global change documentation. Char served as the PI for Rockman Et Al, a San-Francisco-based research firm, hired to conduct the evaluation. The evaluation was designed to provide project staff with information on how the curriculum was being used and received by teachers and students in participating schools across the country, and to identify project components that were effective as well as those in need of improvement. (Funder: NSF)
Download Full Report Here
Science in the Stacks (1999 - 2002)
Science In the Stacks (SITS) is a collaboration between the Montshire Museum of Science in Norwich, Vermont and eight small community libraries in New Hampshire and Vermont to create a set of traveling science exhibits for libraries. At the heart of the project is an attempt to establish a true collaborative relationship between the museum and the various libraries. The SITS evaluation assessed whether the exhibits and program had the desired impact on libraries and families, and identified best ways to structure a process fostering genuine collaboration between museum and library professionals. (Funder: Institute for Museum and Library Services)
Download Full Report Here
Boston-Harvard Leadership Development Initiative (2000 - 2002)
With Rockman Et Al
The Boston-Harvard Leadership Development Initiative (LDI), a partnership of the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Boston Public Schools, is an effort designed to build the leadership capacity of educators in the Boston Public Schools to enhance overall academic achievement for students. Through its summer institutes, workshops, seminars, consultants, and faculty, the LDI program provided school professionals with a diverse range of program components and services. The evaluation conducted an initial assessment of the reach and impact of the LDI program on the twelve LDI schools and its participating school team members, and the extent to which LDI activities reinforce and enhance the whole school reform initiatives in the Boston Public Schools. The evaluation also assessed the degree to which the program contributed to the professional development of the Harvard graduate students serving as LDI consultants to the schools, and enhanced the faculty and programs of the Harvard Graduate School of Education. The final evaluation helped project staff and partnering organizations identify program elements that are most important to preserve or modify in future rounds of the program. (Funders: FleetBoston Financial Foundation and Harvard University)
Download Full Report Here
Download Executive Summary Here
MetroLINC (1999 - 2003)
With Rockman Et Al
MetroLINC is a partnership between the Boston and Watertown, Massachusetts public schools that is designed to improve student performance through the integration of technology to support statewide and district-wide curriculum standards. Its primary focus is to find innovative ways to help teachers gain the technology skills and understanding they need to integrate technology effectively in the classroom. A key component of the project is a mentoring model in which a mentor teacher works closely with a small group of teachers from across the district interested in adapting a technology unit for their classrooms. Several hundred teachers participated each year of this five-year project. Char served as the PI for Rockman Et Al, a San Francisco-based research firm, hired to conduct the five-year evaluation. The evaluation examined the effectiveness of the professional development efforts in the two districts, the process and classroom impact of the mentoring model, and the challenges of inter-district collaboration. (US Department of Education Technology Innovation Challenge Grant)
Download Full Report Here
Cynthia Char and Jennifer Jewiss are co-directing a study examining reasons college students of color pursue, or abandon, undergraduate studies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Through a series of interviews with students and faculty, the qualitative study seeks to better understand how aspects of a college's STEM ecosystem attract, retain, or deter students of color from pursuing STEM courses, majors, and future training and career paths in these fields. (Funder: Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Dartmouth College)
Stakeholder-Guided Environmental Science (STAGES) (2022-2026)
With Rockman Et Al
This NSF Research Traineeship project at Texas A&M Corpus Christi (Dorina Murgulet, PI) is designed to prepare a new generation of diverse environmental scientists in coastal and marine science to conduct big data analyses in interdisciplinary research settings. Through a combination of technical coursework, big data blitzes, and co-developing scientific research projects with stakeholders culminating in a fall capstone project, the program will boost trainee involvement in convergent research and occupational readiness. Char is working with Rockman Et Al to conduct the external formative and summative evaluation for the project, and studying the program's impact on graduate student trainees, faculty, and stakeholder partners. (Funder: National Science Foundation)
Bolstering STEM Pathways for Students in Rural New England (2022-2026)
With Rockman Et Al
This NSF ITEST project with the New Hampshire Academy of Science (Markus Testorf, PI) explores how providing a comprehensive, multi-year academic and personal support system can attract and retain underrepresented rural high school students from underserved rural areas of New Hampshire and Vermont. Char is working with Rockman Et Al to study how the experience affects students' identity as STEM researchers and, in turn, their pathways to post-secondary STEM activities. (Funder: National Science Foundation)
Change the Story (2015 - 2022)
Change the Story is an initiative to align policy, program and philanthropy to fast track women's economic status and well-being in Vermont. The work is fueled by the three core partners: The Vermont Women's Fund, the Vermont Commission on Women, and Vermont Works for Women. Char is serving as a research advisor and core contributor to the group's five research reports, and lead evaluator of the multi-year initiative. (Funder: Vermont Women's Fund)
Download Women, Work and Wages in Vermont report here. womenworkwages2019.pdf
Changing Perspectives (2015 - 2023)
Changing Perspectives is a curriculum resource, teacher support, and professional development initiative to promote socio-emotional learning and disability awareness to cultivate inclusive and equitable communities for all students in grades pre-K through 12. Char is serving as an evaluation advisor for both formative evaluation and summative evaluation work in classrooms and with teachers.
Risk and Uncertainty Quantification in Marine Science (2015 - 2021)
This NSF Research Traineeship project at Oregon State University (Lorenzo Ciannelli, PI) is designed to prepare a new generation of natural resource scientists and managers who will combine mathematics, statistics and computer science with environmental and social sciences to study, protect, and manage ocean systems. Through a combination of technical coursework, communication and collaborative work structure workshops, internships, and transdisciplinary research projects and group thesis chapters, OSU trainees will learn about the science of big data, risk and uncertainty quantification, and human-natural systems. Char is leading the external formative and summative evaluation for the project, and studying the program's impact on graduate student trainees, faculty, and the institution. (Funder: National Science Foundation)
iSWOOP (Interpreters and Scientists Working On Our Parks) (2013 - 2020)
Interpreters and Scientists Working On Our Parks (iSWOOP) (Martha Merson, TERC and Nickolay Hristov, Winston-Salem State University, co-PI's) brings together educators, scientists and National Park Service interpreters to incorporate site-based science into programs for the public. It offers a new model of professional and resource development featuring on-site scientific research, visual data and inquiry-oriented techniques for increasing STEM learning opportunities for visitors. Char Associates is leading the formative and summative evaluation to examine whether iSWOOP offers a viable model of professional and resource development to equip interpreters to convey current scientific research to the public, and foster visitors' visual and scientific literacy. (Funder: National Science Foundation)
Download iSWOOP Implementation in National Parks report here iswoop_implementation_report_2020.pdf
COASSTal Communities of Science (2011 - 2020)
The Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team (COASST) at the University of Washington (Julia Parrish, PI) is a citizen science project that engages trained, non-scientist community members in collecting data on beached birds on more than 350 beaches from northern California to Alaska. The ultimate goals of COASST are to connect coastal citizens to expanded involvement in science that is personally meaningful to them and to improve the use of citizen science as a tool for scientific inquiry and resource management. The current project expands that work, by adding a new data module on marine debris to complement their ongoing work with beached birds. For COASST, Char Associates is serving as the external evaluator to investigate the extent to which COASST volunteers, following training sessions and personal experience of gathering coastal data, acquire greater knowledge, skills and levels of engagement in science. (Funder: National Science Foundation)
Literacies in Engineering for Access and Participation (LEAP) Conference (2016 - 2018)
With Rockman Et Al
Educational researchers from TERC, Utah State University, The University of Texas El Paso, Angelo State University (Texas), and The University of Texas San Antonio, organized a conference to bring together education scholars for the purpose of creating a research agenda at the intersection of equity, engineering and literacy. Char is working with Rockman Et Al to evaluate what the immediate and longer term impacts of the conference were upon conference participants. (NSF-ITEST).
Kid Citizen: Expandable Mobile and Online Apps for Elementary Grades on Congress and Civic Participation (2015 - 2017)
Kid Citizen (Bert Snow, Muzzy Lane Software, PI; Ilene and Michael Berson, University of South Florida, co-PI's) will be a set of digital learning products that will provide children in grades K-5 with authentic, age-appropriate interactions with primary source materials, to explore civics and government concepts through historical sources, and connect what they learn with their daily lives. Char is serving as an evaluation advisor for the formative and summative evaluation work in classrooms and with teachers.
(Funder: Library of Congress)
Zoo and Aquarium Action Research Collaborative (ZAARC) (2011- 2015)
TERC (Andee Rubin) and Oregon State University (John Falk and Lynn Dierking) are leading the Zoo and Aquarium Action Research Collaborative (ZAARC), a project to determine how action research-based professional development can best be implemented in informal science settings such as zoos and aquariums to enhance both individual practitioners and institutions. Char is working as the evaluator and a member of the senior project team to ascertain a better understanding of the opportunities, challenges, strengths and limitations of action research in informal contexts. (Funder: National Science Foundation)
The Dynamic Earth (2012-2014)
In the Dynamic Earth project, the Montshire Museum of Science is developing an exhibit cluster and associated educational program focused on the earth’s dynamic processes, specifically those processes which can be visualized with NASA satellite imagery and data. Char is serving as a senior evaluation consultant to work with project staff to conduct a visitor and tracking study that assesses adult and youth visitors’ levels of engagement and understanding. (Funder: NASA)
Turning Points in American History (2010-2014)
This Teaching for American History project is a professional development effort for Vermont educators, designed to increase teachers' content knowledge in American history, strengthen pedagogical skills in historical thinking processes, and foster a learning community for educators studying and teaching American history. Using a variety of techniques (e.g., pre- and post-program surveys, focus groups, observations of program sessions), Char Associates is leading the summative evaluation on the program's impact on participating teachers. (Funder: US Department of Education)
Math Off the Shelf (2007 – 2011)
TERC, a not-for-profit educational research and development corporation in Cambridge MA, is collaborating with national public library leaders to make mathematics a visible and fun part of library programming for elementary grades children and their families. They are developing materials for story times and crafts that integrate literacy and math; supporting children's librarians in outreach to local after-school programs; and conducting research on program impact. As a result of this project, librarians and after-school educators will increase capacity to incorporate math into programming for peers, children, and parents, and children and their families will gain understanding of and appreciation for math. Char Associates will lead the external summative evaluation on program impact throughout the four-year project. (Funder: National Science Foundation)
The Science Associates Program (2008 - 2011)
The Science Associates Program at Swarthmore College has established peer-facilitated study groups designed to improve retention of prospective science, mathematics and engineering majors and to facilitate mentoring relationships between older and younger college students interested in the sciences. Char Associates is conducting formative, process and summative evaluations for the 3-year project. (Funder: Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Swarthmore College)
American Dynasties/Past Present (2007 – 2008; 2010-2012)
The Center for New American Media (CNAM) has embarked on a new educational initiative to develop an educational multi-media product designed to teach American cultural history to middle school and high school youth. The project, called American Dynasties, is one of seven projects across the country, funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB)’s American History and Civics Initiative. The centerpiece of the American Dynasties project is an interactive history game – a narrative, role-playing 3-D computer game that allows students to put themselves in the place of Americans from past eras, learning about what life was like and making decisions that will affect their future. For American Dynasties, CNAM, an independent documentary film maker for public television, is collaborating with game company, Muzzy Lane. Char Associates is conducting formative research and classroom field tests of the prototype and final game materials. (Funder: Corporation for Public Broadcasting)
Monadnock Regional School District Public School Choice (2005 – 2007)
The Monadnock Regional School District Public School Choice (MPRSOC) is one of 13 grantees of a US DOE Voluntary Public School Choice grant. Begun in 2002, the five-year project is designed to bring new public school choices to southwestern New Hampshire, and to enhance the quality of education that existing schools provide so that all local public schools become schools of choice. The project supports the development of new programs within existing public schools, as well as new small schools in the region, through capacity-building efforts targeting schools, teachers, parents, and community. A major focus has been the development of thematic programs and smaller learning communities within the schools. The principal areas being evaluated have been the degree to which the project has yielded distinctive, new educational programs of choice; the choice programs’ educational impact on students and families; and the effectiveness of the project’s professional development efforts to build the educational capacities of the region’s schools and staff. (Funder: US Department of Education)
Environmental Detectives (2000 - 2004)
Environmental Detectives (ED) is a new environmental science curriculum for middle school students, developed by the Montshire Museum of Science in Norwich, Vermont. The Montshire worked collaboratively with research faculty from Dartmouth College and with teachers from New Hampshire and Vermont to design, pilot, and develop the curriculum. The curriculum centers on hands-on investigations based on student formulated research questions concerning dose response, and students conducting experiments of their own scientific design. The evaluation examined how teachers chose to incorporate the ED curriculum into their different science curriculum and classroom practices, and assessed the kind of student engagement and learning afforded by the curriculum. (Funder: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences)
Download Full Report Here
Download Executive Summary Here
Building Capacity for Change Program (2003 - 2004)
The Consortium for Mathematics and Its Applications (COMAP)’s Building Capacity for Change (BCC) project is an effort to introduce a range of improvement options in mathematics education to school districts in underserved areas in New Mexico. The BCC program has two basic program components: a Mathematics Summer Institute for school districts interested in learning about standards-based elementary mathematics education, and follow-up on-site consulting for districts engaged in more intensive and sustained curriculum reform work in their schools. The evaluation’s primary objectives were to study the nature and initial impact of the BCC work, and to capture the realities of the school districts that the BCC serves. A major focus was to identify aspects of the BCC program most instrumental in promoting a district’s willingness and ability to begin exploring the use of standards-based mathematics curricula in their classrooms. The evaluation documents how the BCC program took shape and evolved to respond to the teacher development, leadership, and curriculum needs of New Mexico districts that were new to standards-based mathematics. (Funder: NSF)
Download Full Report Here
Living on Earth Ecological Literacy Project: (2001 – 2003)
With Rockman Et Al
The Living on Earth Ecological Literacy Project is an interdisciplinary curriculum for middle and high school students that integrates radio journalism, ecological literacy, and knowledge of global environmental change. The project is designed to build a consortium of schools, informal science organizations, and local public radio stations to create a corps of environmental communicators and radio journalists with expertise in journalism and environmental science, skills in digital technology, and creativity in global change documentation. Char served as the PI for Rockman Et Al, a San-Francisco-based research firm, hired to conduct the evaluation. The evaluation was designed to provide project staff with information on how the curriculum was being used and received by teachers and students in participating schools across the country, and to identify project components that were effective as well as those in need of improvement. (Funder: NSF)
Download Full Report Here
Science in the Stacks (1999 - 2002)
Science In the Stacks (SITS) is a collaboration between the Montshire Museum of Science in Norwich, Vermont and eight small community libraries in New Hampshire and Vermont to create a set of traveling science exhibits for libraries. At the heart of the project is an attempt to establish a true collaborative relationship between the museum and the various libraries. The SITS evaluation assessed whether the exhibits and program had the desired impact on libraries and families, and identified best ways to structure a process fostering genuine collaboration between museum and library professionals. (Funder: Institute for Museum and Library Services)
Download Full Report Here
Boston-Harvard Leadership Development Initiative (2000 - 2002)
With Rockman Et Al
The Boston-Harvard Leadership Development Initiative (LDI), a partnership of the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Boston Public Schools, is an effort designed to build the leadership capacity of educators in the Boston Public Schools to enhance overall academic achievement for students. Through its summer institutes, workshops, seminars, consultants, and faculty, the LDI program provided school professionals with a diverse range of program components and services. The evaluation conducted an initial assessment of the reach and impact of the LDI program on the twelve LDI schools and its participating school team members, and the extent to which LDI activities reinforce and enhance the whole school reform initiatives in the Boston Public Schools. The evaluation also assessed the degree to which the program contributed to the professional development of the Harvard graduate students serving as LDI consultants to the schools, and enhanced the faculty and programs of the Harvard Graduate School of Education. The final evaluation helped project staff and partnering organizations identify program elements that are most important to preserve or modify in future rounds of the program. (Funders: FleetBoston Financial Foundation and Harvard University)
Download Full Report Here
Download Executive Summary Here
MetroLINC (1999 - 2003)
With Rockman Et Al
MetroLINC is a partnership between the Boston and Watertown, Massachusetts public schools that is designed to improve student performance through the integration of technology to support statewide and district-wide curriculum standards. Its primary focus is to find innovative ways to help teachers gain the technology skills and understanding they need to integrate technology effectively in the classroom. A key component of the project is a mentoring model in which a mentor teacher works closely with a small group of teachers from across the district interested in adapting a technology unit for their classrooms. Several hundred teachers participated each year of this five-year project. Char served as the PI for Rockman Et Al, a San Francisco-based research firm, hired to conduct the five-year evaluation. The evaluation examined the effectiveness of the professional development efforts in the two districts, the process and classroom impact of the mentoring model, and the challenges of inter-district collaboration. (US Department of Education Technology Innovation Challenge Grant)
Download Full Report Here
