STEM Education

Rockman et al Cooperative examines issues in science education across grade levels, disciplines, and learning environments, ranging from museums, to K-12 schools and universities, to summer camps and after-school programs. We have developed a strong reputation for providing research and evaluation in the area of informal learning initiatives in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Some of our recent work includes studies around climate and environmental science, astronomy, quantum physics, and computer science, and health and biosciences. Other STEM programs that we have examined are focused on teacher professional development, and mentorship programs for scientists to engage in outreach activities and science communication. Many of our STEM education projects utilize our expertise in media and technology. We have examined STEM learning in the context of websites, apps, public television and radio series, digital badge systems, 3-D movies and art education.

We customize evaluations for each project, and are knowledgeable about federal grant-funded initiatives. We also facilitate partnerships with educators, scientists and university faculty, and provide technical assistance to support self-evaluation and internal research. Please browse selected examples of our projects below to learn more about past work. We welcome the opportunity to discuss your project with you and to provide you with more information about our tailored services. Contact Us to schedule a free 30-minute Q&A session with a consultant.

Selected Projects Include

  • Photo courtesy of NeONBRAND on Unsplash via CC licensing.

    Biotech Partners

    Biotech Partners (BP) is a nonprofit organization that provides opportunities for socio-economically and culturally diverse youth in the Bay Area to explore and participate in the biotechnology and bioscience fields. BP’s mission is to mentor underrepresented youth in STEM, and facilitate students’ personal, academic, and professional development experiences with personalized learning support through in-school instruction, laboratory-based instruction, and paid industry internships. Through NSF ITEST funding, we are studying program implementation and stakeholder impacts of BP’s industry internships. In particular, we are exploring the local context of cross-sector partnerships, and the roles and ways bioscience educators and business and industry workforce members motivate students from diverse underrepresented populations to become aware of, interested in, and prepared for careers in the STEM workforce.

  • Photo by Ryan Magsino on Unsplash

    Cornell BirdCam

    Bird Cams Lab is an NSF AISL-funded project designed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to engage public participants in co-created research through an online collaborative platform. Program participants are invited to help generate research questions, collect data from live bird cam footage, analyze the data, and report on findings. REA investigated how participants engage with the project in different ways and how their participation expands their understanding and sense of ownership of research processes.

  • Photo by Robo Wunderkind on Unsplash

    Google Made with Code

    Google’s Made with Code initiative aimed to inspire, activate, and sustain girls’ interest in using code. Google partnered with REA to evaluate the impact of Made with Code on underrepresented teen girls’ interest in coding and their expectations to pursue coding. We conducted sixteen quasi-experimental focus groups in four major metropolitan areas around the US with 115 teen girl participants. The quasi-experimental design tested the impact of the two formats of delivering the website to STEM-oriented and non-STEM-oriented teen girls.

  • Photo courtesy of Julia Li.

    Peg + Cat: Adventures in Learning

    Peg + Cat is a math-based PBS television program for preschoolers, supplemented by online games, digital storybooks, and apps. We conducted formative and summative evaluation of Peg + Cat interactive media and themed science camp activities, developed by Fred Rogers Productions (formerly The Fred Rogers Company) and Carnegie Science Center as part of an NSF-funded AISL project. We examined pre-schoolers’, families’, and educators’ experiences using project resources, as well as pre-schoolers’ social-emotional and learning outcomes via observations, focus groups, interviews, and a quasi-experimental design that incorporated pre-post surveys and content assessments.

  • Photo courtesy of woodleywonderworks via CC licensing.

    Project PLANET

    Project PLANET was a two-year NSF DRK-12 project that explored the integration of science-related storybooks, hands-on investigations, and a planetarium experience to support early elementary aged students in learning astronomy. First and third grade teachers in California and Pennsylvania worked with The Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Lawrence Hall of Science, and West Chester University to create two five-day lesson sequences. Our research focused on the opportunities provided for students to explore natural phenomena (i.e., noticing, recognizing change, etc.), and the connections teachers and students made between the curriculum learning sequence (i.e., storybook, hands-on investigations, and the planetarium). Methods included videotaped lessons, student pre-post content surveys, interviews with teachers, and observations of classrooms and professional development sessions.