We have developed a six-item paper-and-pencil survey for chemistry outreach events.  Survey items are based on theories of human affective and motivational behavior.  The survey is presented on a card with pre items on one side and parallel but not identical post items on the other.  Field testing has been done at university �science week� field trips, Festival de Quimica in Puerto Rico, and National Chemistry Week events.  Design challenges included what constructs to include (emotional satisfaction, difficulty, interest, self-efficacy, fear, mystery), adjusting language for the grade 3-12 population (and Spanish-speakers), physical form, efficiency and reliability of completion, item performance and symmetry, and construct independence.  An additional challenge is providing understandable feedback to event organizers from an instrument that provides rich data.  We will present data on the robustness of the constructs in survey items and show a visual color-coded approach for summarizing data.

Validity and application of a pre/post survey assessing children's attitudes and motivation at informal chemistry outreach events

244th National Meeting (2012)

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