Association For Interactive Media Education, St. Louis, MO
GRG conducted formative and summative evaluation for the Association for Interactive Media Education’s (AIME) ATETV.org project. ATETV aimed to broaden the reach and impact of the existing Advanced Technology Education (ATE) community by producing interactive web-based video to promote awareness and expand dissemination of ATE efforts. Project goals were to reach, recruit, and retain more ATE students, educate policy-makers, and encourage industry involvement in ATE programs. GRG’s evaluation goals included monitoring the link between program activities and intended outcomes during video development and production, and determining effectiveness of the project in meeting its goals once the website was accessible by the public. (2008-2010)

Blue Cross Blue Shield of MA, Trustee Advantage, Boston, MA
Trustee Advantage was a grant program designed and sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts to help the Boards of Trustees at five Massachusetts hospitals advance the governance of quality and safety improvement at their institutions. This one-year program provided funding for three components: a coaching engagement, an in-depth experiential practicum, and participation in an ongoing peer learning community with other grant recipients. As part of our process evaluation, GRG collected data from Board members, coaches, and learning community facilitators to understand how the program is unfolding. GRG’s outcome evaluation focused on intermediate outcomes such as Board members’ commitment to improved quality and safety and understanding of their role in quality and safety governance, the extent to which Boards implement or plan to implement changes in service of these goals, and the facilitators of and barriers to such efforts going forward. (2008 - 2010)                                              

                      

Education Development Center, Waltham, MA
GRG conducted both process and summative evaluation of the National Infrastructure of Support for Extended Explorations in Science and Engineering in After-School Programs. This NSF-funded program is designed to train and support educators at community based organizations to conduct more effective hands-on science and engineering projects with children. GRG examined the extent to which the proposed train-the-trainer model supported community based organizations and informal educators in promoting children’s science inquiry skills.  (2006 - 2009)

Franklin Institute Science Museum, Philadelphia, PA

GRG conducted formative and summative evaluation of Community Ambassadors in Science Exploration (CASE), a three-year NSF-funded project designed to develop and establish a model museum-community partnership that provides hands-on science experiences for underserved families in the Philadelphia/Camden area. (2006 - 2009)

The Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR), Danville, VA
GRG conducted formative, process, and summative evaluation of the Dan River Information Technology Academy (DRITA). A major goal of DRITA wass to implement a youth program that will “provide opportunities for promising students of color to: 1) develop solid Information Technology skills; and 2) acquire the background and encouragement needed to enable them to pursue higher education in STEM fields.” The academy courses included basic IT skills and a range of topics including programming, converged wireless technologies, and robotics. Our evaluation collected data over the three project years from youth participants and their families, DRITA instructors, and key staff members at participating organizations and externship sites.  (2007 - 2009)                                                               

Jim Joseph Foundation, San Francisco, CA

GRG conducted evaluation of the Jim Joseph Foundation’s Bar Ilan University Fellows Program. The Fellows Program was in its first cohort, which consisted of 14 Jewish educational leaders from around the U.S. who were selected from a pool of 220 applicants. The program was a two-year professional development experience that provided participants with leadership development, enriched Jewish learning, and in-depth training on how to build online communities of practice (CoPs). Each Fellow was expected to facilitate at least one online CoP with educators in their respective fields. Evaluation activities included observations, focus groups, one-on-one interviews, and online surveys. GRG researchers conducted evaluation activities at the Boston Retreat in early October and also at the 10-day seminar which took place in Israel in December. (2010-2011)

Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, Landsdowne, VA

GRG conducted an evaluation of the outcomes for students who received a grant from the Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer (JKC-UT) program or were highly competitive nominees for the grant.  The Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer program annually awarded grants designed to help high-achieving students transfer from community colleges to selective four-year schools.  Our study examined the outcomes for students who received the grant as well as those who did not by tracing their paths and achievements in order to identify the factors that facilitated or hindered their academic and professional success.   (2008 - 2009)      
     

                   

Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation (MHIC), Boston, MA

The Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation (MHIC) is a community development entity in Boston, Massachusetts. In February 2009, the MHIC contracted GRG to conduct an analysis of the impacts that four of MHIC’s projects were having on the City of Boston through semi-structured interviews of project stakeholders. These interviews were used to write a report about the MHIC projects’ impact and to revise the data collection instruments that the MHIC uses to monitor the successes of each project.  (2009)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Metropolitan Opera, New York, NY                                                                                   

For three years in a row, GRG conducted an evaluation of HD Live in Schools, the Metropolitan Opera’s initiative to bring the Met’s live HD performances to high school students across the country. During the first two years, GRG’s evaluation activities included an online survey for all teachers who had been trained and used the curriculum materials, and paper and pencil surveys with a sample of students after their attendance at the operas and their participation in the follow-up activities. GRG’s evaluation during the third year focused on qualitative data from the teachers – anecdotal evidence and real experiences during implementation of the program. GRG also conducted phone focus groups with 23 teachers participating in the program. (2008 - 2011)

                                                                           

Michigan Family Independence Agency (FIA), Lansing, MI
GRG collaborated with research partner Mills Consulting Group to conduct a market rate study for Michigan Family Independence Agency of the Michigan child care work force. The survey of child care centers, group day care homes, family day care homes, day care aides, and relative care providers was designed to gather information about rates charged for care for children ages zero to 2½ and children 2½ to 13; hours for each age group; market rate at the 75th percentile by county, by age break out and by provider type; and establish a county rate, a state rate, and a shelter area rate.  (2009)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

National Academy of Engineers, Washington, DC                                                                                                                       GRG carried out an evaluation of the Engineering Equity Extension Services (EEES), a comprehensive research-based consultative and peer mentoring infrastructure that supported enhanced gender equity in engineering education in the U.S. The evaluation included both formative and summative components. The purpose of the evaluation was to: gather formative feedback from the Experts and Extension Agents involved in the initial professional development workshops, gather formative feedback from the Extension Agents and Clients involved in professional development through the extension services, assess Clients’ perceptions of program impacts on their gender equity knowledge base and on their capacity to implement activities in support of women in engineering, and assess the influence of the extension services on the recruitment and retention of women in engineering.  (2005 - 2010)                                                                                     

National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA), Chicago, IL

GRG worked with the National Association of Charter School Authorizers to evaluate their School Portfolio Network program, a partnership whereby authorizing agencies partner with NACSA to receive comprehensive and sustained support for up to three years, in an effort to improve authoring practices. We provided a comprehensive analysis of current policies and practices, including an internal audit and a survey of stakeholders. The data gathered through this survey was used in conjunction with other data gathered by the NACSA team to determine the authorizing practices that will be addressed as part of the partnership. A similar survey was also used at the end of the partnership to determine whether stakeholders noticed changes in key areas.  (2007 - 2009)
     

RESOLVE, McLean, VA

   

SAE International (Society of Automotive Engineers), Warrendale, PA
GRG recently completed the fifth and final year of a longitudinal outcome evaluation for SAE International of A World In Motion (AWIM). With over 18 years of distribution to elementary and middle school (and now high school) teachers, the interdisciplinary curriculum supplemental materials are designed to promote science, engineering, and mathematics literacy among students by engaging them in challenging engineering and design activities.   (2004-2010)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Shelburne Museum, Shelburne, VT

GRG conducted an evaluation of Passport to Learning program created and implemented at the Shelburne Museum. The program intended to introduce and engage K-8 students in art, language arts, math, science, and social studies through exploration of the Shelburne Museum. The evaluation activities included an educator survey implemented in the Spring and Fall of 2010 and the Spring of 2011. GRG also visited the Museum to observe program implementation. (2010-2011)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

University of California, Jacobs School of Engineering, San Diego, CA
GRG has conducted both formative and summative evaluation of an NSF ITEST project (Information Technology Engineering and Environmental Education Tools -- IT-E3) that features the use of environmental sensors, and includes: 1) a teacher training program with ongoing support; and 2) a curriculum that will be developed by teacher participants. Formative evaluation gathered feedback from teachers and students to improve the professional development, curriculum, and online game. Summative data gathered throughout the project was used to determine the influence the program is having on teachers and their teaching practices, as well as the influence of the program on students’ interest in and knowledge of STEM. (2007-2010)                                                                                                                              

University of California, Los Angeles, CA
A Systems Response to Improving Education on Aging in California (SAGE), a gerontology core curricula, was developed by UCLA for gerontology, social work, and nursing programs in both two- and four-year colleges. This U.S. Department of Education FIPSE-funded project aimed to address the need to prepare a skilled and representative workforce to provide quality services and care to older Californians. GRG conducted evaluation of many aspects of the project, including the management structure developed for the project, the Manual of Procedures, and the faculty development program. (2007-2010)                                                                                                                                                                                  

University of Massachusetts, Lowell, MA
GRG recently completed the three-year evaluation of iCODE, an NSF ITEST-funded project that used intensive, hands-on IT activities in a collaborative on-line environment. The primary aim of iCODE was to increase the likelihood that participating middle and high school students from racially diverse and economically disadvantaged communities in Boston and Lowell would pursue IT and STEM careers. The summative evaluation assessed the influence of the program on participating students' IT attitudes, career aspirations, and skills over the three years. Data collection each year included pre and post surveys, focus groups, and content quizzes for students, interviews and surveys of educators, and site observations conducted by GRG researchers. Evaluation results indicated that the iCODE program was highly successful and can serve as a model for other ITEST initiatives that feature programmatic efforts to make hands-on, inquiry-based engineering and programming experiences available to underrepresented groups in the middle and high schools.  (2007 - 2010)

WETA, Arlington, VA
In 2008, with funding from the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, GRG conducted an external evaluation of the website, BrainLine.org. The BrainLine website is part of a national multimedia project to disseminate authoritative information about preventing, treating, and living with traumatic brain injury (TBI). BrainLine’s target audiences includes people living with TBI, family members and friends of people living with TBI, healthcare professionals, active duty service members, reservists, veterans, and anyone else with an interest in TBI. As such, the purpose of this evaluation was to assess these population’s opinions regarding quality, ease of use, effectiveness of graphics/interactive features, and perceived usefulness of this new website. The client (WETA) sought feedback about the strengths of the site, what needed to be improved, and areas for potential growth. To answer these questions, GRG conducted a two-part evaluation comprised of both a web-based survey for site visitors and a paper-and-pencil comparative survey in which survey participants (from BrainLine’s target audience; recruited by GRG) compared aspects of BrainLine.org to those of two other websites about TBI. (2008 - 2009)

WNET / Thirteen, Boston, MA
GRG conducted a formative evaluation of The Music Instinct – an NSF-funded 2-hour PBS television program that aimed to convey the strong evidence of the connections between music and science as well as a deeper understanding of these two fields. The overall project consisted of the PBS program, a web site, and ancillary educational materials. The formative evaluation obtained timely information to support and guide producers as they make decisions regarding the design, content, and format of project components. Pre-production evaluation activities included an online survey of PBS viewers and music aficionados that explores the likelihood of watching such a show. Production evaluation activities included four focus groups of target audience members, an online survey of formal and informal educators and PBS viewers about the website, and a written survey of educators (middle school, after-school, and museum) about the ancillary materials, which included a tool kit and a museum guide. (2008 - 2009)

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