NASA's Science Activation Program Achievements and Opportunities (2020) / Chapter Skim
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6 Recommendations for Science Activation
6 Recommendations for Science Activation
Pages 83-96
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From page 83... ...
We then proceed to a discussion of our specific recommendations and, where appropriate, highlight some additional critical considerations for SciAct leadership as it plans for the future. In the process of formulating its recommendations, the committee was struck by the considerable value of the SciAct portfolio of investments in the national landscape of efforts to support science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)
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From page 84... ...
The current articulated SciAct objectives can serve as a north star for the program, driving the program's overall direction; however, as discussed in Chapter 2, the grain size of these goals is too large to facilitate a useful, constructive assessment of the program's overall impact, the individual awardees' progress, the potential design changes that could improve individual projects' effectiveness, and the SciAct Program overall. Articulating a Logic Model A well-articulated logic model informs the design, planning, implementation, and evaluation of programs, from small projects to large and complex initiatives such as SciAct.
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From page 85... ...
For a program as complex as SciAct, where multiple awardees are operating projects that are driven by their own understanding of how they believe their work will achieve desired outcomes, developing a shared portfolio-level logic model offers an opportunity to understand the breadth and depth of SciAct in a concrete way, a device for comparing and aggregating outcomes, and a tool for identifying common challenges and potential solutions (Morariu, 2012)
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From page 86... ...
Value and Utility of a Portfolio-Level Evaluation Currently, each SciAct project includes an evaluation team that can support learning and improvement within that individual project. While these individual project evaluators are tasked with characterizing the linkages between project outputs and short-term outcomes, because the current SciAct objectives are so broad, it is nearly impossible for evaluators to draw a line between the awards and portfolio's objectives.
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From page 87... ...
The presence of NASA scientists, educational designers, community-based education organizations, and education experts in the form of program evaluators also represents a significant opportunity for coordinated learning and improvement across projects. Capitalizing on these existing resources offers one pathway into ossifying connections across individual projects as well as quantifying portfolio impact.
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From page 88... ...
plan, and evidence based approaches to broadening participation. This process should also consider how SciAct fits within and contributes to the larger STEM education ecosystem and should provide the foundation for developing actionable and measureable portfolio goals.
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From page 89... ...
In the process of clarifying its vision, objectives, and portfolio logic, SciAct can make use of contemporary frameworks for the development of STEM learning ecosystems, as described in Chapter 4. Because SciAct awards are already integrated into the national STEM education landscape, it may be worthwhile to consider how to foreground strategies that connect learning across formal and informal education settings.
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From page 90... ...
As described in Chapter 5, different kinds of networks function in different ways and require different kinds of supports. As part of delineating a more highly specified logic model (see Recommendations 1 and 2)
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From page 91... ...
Awardees should be offered an opportunity to engage with clear, updated expectations for their success, and SciAct should consider places where current funding fails to address the needs of specific audiences and should identify a set of consistent selection criteria for new awardee applicants. This process could be undertaken as a community rather than as a top-down assessment process, with project leaders working collectively with SciAct leadership to align project-level design and goals with SciAct's current or re-envisioned overall objectives and logic model.
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From page 92... ...
Specific to supporting the efforts of individual awards in their pursuit of broadening participation, the committee notes that there is a substantial body of literature devoted to providing evidence-based strategies for program designers invested in supporting diversity, inclusion, equity, and accessibility in their projects. Across literatures, several key points emerge that will be important for SciAct to foreground as it supports awardees in these efforts.
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From page 93... ...
This would likely require that SciAct build into its portfolio flexible funding opportunities that leverage the real-time nature of certain missions. Additionally, if opportunities to interact with missions in an ongoing way were built into the portfolio, it could help missions understand the science education and learning objectives of SciAct, and scientists could become aware of opportunities to be involved with the program.
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From page 94... ...
Drawing on outside expertise is an important strategy for supplementing, enhancing, and clarifying the goals and objectives of the SciAct portfolio. Independent advisors bring expertise that can help with the visioning process proposed in Recommendation 1 and the development of the logic model proposed in Recommendation 2, and help situate the distinctive work of SciAct within the larger STEM education ecosystem, which should include federal and state STEM education policy.
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From page 95... ...
Based on our understanding of the evidence, we believe that with effort directed at clarifying its vision, objectives, and logic model, the SciAct portfolio can be an invaluable resource in the national effort to support STEM education and engagement. SciAct is uniquely positioned to leverage NASA's considerable assets, and it is our belief that the SciAct portfolio holds tremendous potential for supporting the needs of diverse learners nationwide.
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