Evaluation

Barbara Flagg, Ed.D.
Director of Multimedia Research
with Arthur Johnson, Ed.D. and Valerie Knight-Williams, Ed.D.
flaggb@aol.com

Amy Spiegel, Ph.D
Center for Instructional Innovation
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
aspiegel@unl.edu

As part of the International Polar Year activities, the Engaging Antarctica project will produce a NOVA PBS television show in addition to exhibits and activities for youth to increase public and student awareness and understanding about Antarctica. In collaboration with the Engaging Antarctica team, Multimedia Research developed a written online questionnaire to provide the project with a baseline understanding of adult and middle school students' knowledge of content associated with the project.

Our national adult sample (N = 102) is a science-attentive NOVA-viewing group, who is interested in the subject of Antarctica but does not feel well informed and is, on average, neutral about Antarctica's importance in their lives. Our public school 7th graders (N = 92) from California and Virginia do not feel any better informed about Antarctica than the adults but are less interested in the subject and feel Antarctica is less important to their lives. Gender does not influence either interest, knowledge or importance ratings. Both age groups expect to hear news about Antarctica most likely through television and the Internet. Adults tend to be more knowledgeable than students; specific differences are referenced in the full report.