Summer 2015 West Virginia State University Forensics Science Student and Teacher Post Evaluation Results

Program Highlights Significant differences found between this year and last year’s camp in following areas: INTERACTION WITH MENTORS & FSCs LEARNING FROM TOOLS USE OF TOOLS

To what extent do you agree or disagree with following about Mentors Indep. T-Test between 2015/2014  =4.24 s.d.=0.95 N=74  =3.69 s.d.=1.28 N=94 t-stat=3.10 df=166 p. value =.0023 Treated Students Equally  =4.05 s.d.=0.26 N=74  =3.33 s.d.=1.22 N=94 t-stat=4.33 df = 166 p. value =.000 Feel Important  =3.86 s.d.=1.10 N=72  =3.40 s.d.=1.24 N=94 t-stat=2.47 df = 164 p. value =.0146 One on One Interaction

The Field Site Coordinators treated all students equally.

ABOUT THE LEARNING TOOLS INDEPENDENT T-TEST BETWEEN MEANS HOW MUCH DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE LEARNED FROM THE FOLLOWING? T-STAT = DF = 166 P-VALUE = LEADERSHIP IN COMMUNITY RESEARCH T-STAT = 2.61 DF = 165 P-VALUE = HANDWRITING/ CHROMOTOGRAPYY TWO SAMPLE T TEST BETWEEN PERCENTAGES WILL YOU USE THE LEARNING TOOLS DURING THE UPCOMING YEAR? 43.2%73.4%T-STAT = DF = 166 P-VALUE =.0001 LEADERSHIP IN COMMUNITY RESEARCH

Most and Least Liked Workshops MOST LIKED DNA, Blood typing (63.5%/2015)vs.(39.4%/2014) Fingerprinting/Trace Evidence (13.5%/2015) vs. (10.6%/2014) LEAST LIKED Fiber and Hair Analysis (33.8%/2015) vs. (33%/2014) Leadership in Community Research (23%/2015) vs. (11.7%/2014)

General Questions About Stay At West Virginia State University Mean=3.96 S.D.=1.04 Mean=3.61 S.D.=1.08

Key Comments (For Improvements) It was a little disorganized. Whenever it rain and the original plan got cancelled it seemed like their were no backup plans. That and most of the activities are geared towards athletes. Camp is about trying something new but if you already play sports or don't enjoy them you would feel left out or bored. Move dinner to 5 or 6. Let people who want to go to bed earlier than 11 go to bed earlier than 11. Some people, like me, need more than 7 hours of sleep and I was lucky if I got that … Let us go back to our rooms at 10 so everyone can shower before 11 and actually go to sleep at 11. Quit banging on our doors in the mornings. We are young adults. We know how to work alarms. Teach the mentors how to do their job instead of yelling at us and sending us to our rooms when we have questions. I love HSTA just not a huge fan of this camp. There were nights when I was so stressed because everyone was getting on my nerves that I wanted to cry. I know you all are all about getting to know people but I refuse to get to know people who are RUDE AND DISRESPECTFUL. But I mean most of the mentors are rude and have attitudes. The mentors were pretty helpful but for the most part, I feel like they were as unsure of where and when to be somewhere as we were. Being in the same class almost all day, every day was tough. If they are going to have speakers everyday, they shouldn't have them right after breakfast because no one could stay awake through that

Key Comments (Positive) I enjoyed this campus and all staff members seemed concerned with my well being and overall happiness. They also showed extreme kindness to me and succeeded at making me feel welcome here on campus. The guest speakers and labs were very interesting. I've wanted to be a psychiatrist for about 4-5 years now and this is the first time I've ever considered looking into different fields of study (such as Forensics). I've always found Forensic Science to be interesting but, getting to experience what some of the professionals do first hand, was amazing. …I did like the last speaker that we had because she was interactive with us and gave out Frisbees, t-shirts, and a cup if we got an answer right.

Final Comments  Overall enjoyment of and satisfaction with the program remained steady from last year to this year.  2015 Enjoyment (75.7%) vs Enjoyment (72.3%)  2015 Satisfaction (  =3.70) vs Satisfaction (  =3.48) Ratings for teacher and faculty interaction remained relatively steady. 57.5% feel they are “Extremely Prepared” to “Prepared” to complete their Community Research Project. Finally, 41.1% are more interested in pursuing a STEM career.

Teachers Post Summer Institute Results

Significant Difference for this question: After having completed the Summer Institute, how comfortable do you feel about using DNA, Blood Typing? 2015 Mean=4.71 SD=0.49 /N= Mean=3.78 SD=1.09 /N=8 Independent T-TestT-statistic=2.10; DF=14P-value=0.054

To what extent do you agree or disagree that the HSTA Summer Institute contributed to the following: N= N= N=10 Science Content Knowledge N= N= N=10 Math Content Knowledge N= N= N=10 Forensics Content Knowledge

Which Techniques or Resources Do You Feel Will Be Most Useful & Least Useful For HSTA CLUB & CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION Most Useful Techniques MOST USEFUL HSTA CLUB Leadership in Community--- 75% MOST USEFUL CLASSROOM DNA, Blood Typing--- 50% Least Useful Techniques LEAST USEFUL HSTA CLUB Fingerprinting/Trace Evidence & Handwriting/Chromotography % LEAST USEFUL CLASSROOM Fingerprinting/Trace Evidence & Fiber & Hair Analysis %

Program Highlights The teachers are “Extremely Prepared” to “Prepared” in helping students to conceive and carry out HSTA CLUB SCIENCE PROJECTS (  =4.63) and in completing their COMMUNITY RESARCH PROJECT (  =4.75). And 100% of the teachers noted that they gained ideas for Science Club Projects. For the most part, comfort level with teaching methods remained steady. Although not significantly different the following areas received higher ratings this year: SI helped improve teaching (4.13 vs. 3.70) Satisfaction with SI (4.63 vs. 4.00) Competence of HSTA Faculty in Leading Instruction (4.38 vs. 3.80)

Key Comments DJ did an excellent job at planning evening activities for our students! He and his staff were very pleasant and always working directly with the students! The best year so far! I enjoyed the HSTA Summer Institute At WVSU. It was very beneficial to the students. The only thing I missed with the dinner that we have had in the past years. Even though all the teacher, staff, etc., have a special relationship at WVSU, I feel this dinner brings all the involved parties closer together. HSTA does a good job. I believe that HSTA teachers would benefit in gaining understanding the value in studies that do not involve a typical science experiment---things like interventions and public health studies (epidemiology). In general, a lot of us need help in selecting the best statistical test and understanding its value. I believe there has been discussion about the assessment of student projects so that the complexity of the project is considered, the time and effort required, and whether all partners contributed equally to projects. I believe that all HSTA teachers deal with these issues in their clubs. I support the efforts by HSTA staff to make the assessment of student projects more rigorous and more equitable.

Final Comments Overall, most teachers were/are Extremely satisfied or satisfied with the overall SI. Enhanced their professional development when interacting with other teachers. Able to help students conceive and carry out their HSTA Club Science Projects and gained ideas for projects.