A Comparison of Evaluation Techniques for in-School Programs vs. Adult-Oriented Planetarium Programs

Abstract:

Children in school are familiar with constant testing, and the test is often a gate to a desired goal (e.g., certification of completion of a particular grade level). However, adults in a planetarium setting are often nonchalant about learning in this informal venue, and can be almost offended when asked to complete a test of their knowledge, even when the "test" is called a "survey", the emphasis is on how well the presenter explained the material, and a space-oriented handout is offered as a premium for completing the survey. In this presentation, surveys given during 2019 and 2020 will be shared, along with answers from the respondents. These will be compared with surveys returned following an in-school presentation. An example question from the planetarium survey, with a few answers follows: "Did you learn anything new from this presentation, and if so, what was it?" Answers included: names of patterns/shapes of collections of stars, star locations, how sun and stars work in southern hemisphere. Future work will involve assessing programming for the planetarium at the University of North Alabama, which is used for college-level students and for the general public. For comparison, identical (or nearly so) surveys will be administered to attendees of Von Braun Astronomical Society's (in Huntsville, Alabama) programs.