How Bigelow Laboratory Measured Broader Impacts: The Case Study of the Evaluation of the Keller BLOOM Program (Invited)

In this presentation we discuss the impetus for, the results of the short and long term effects, and the impacts of the Keller BLOOM Program, hosted by Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences of West Boothbay Harbor, Maine. Each May, for the last 21 years, 16 bright high school juniors, one from each county in Maine, have been invited to spend five days with the research scientists at the lab conducting and reporting research on the bottom layers of the ocean’s food chain: phytoplankton and zooplankton. Bigelow has chosen to evaluate BLOOM through a series of questionnaires delivered during the program, and long term tracking of participants after the program, in order to better understand the impact of the program on participants. The short term effect of the experience, measured at the end of the week, found that participants are able to: 1) develop testable research questions, 2) collect multiple water samples from a local estuary, 3) measure various characteristics of those samples with the sophisticated instruments in Bigelow’s labs assisted by their research scientists, 4) analyze and integrate the results from the various labs, and 5) present their findings to a non-scientific audience. To measure long term participation effects, a random sample of 40 of the 332 participants were interviewed resulting in the following findings: 100% attend college; 62% have STEM majors; 88% graduate from college; 57% pursue STEM careers; and 60% live and work in Maine. Bigelow scientists include a description of the BLOOM Program and the evaluation results in their NSF Broader Impacts statements to demonstrate that their research activities are being integrated into a successful STEM education program. Evaluation results are also used by Bigelow scientists and program administrators to refine program content and delivery, to promote the program to potential applicants, and to strengthen proposals to funding agencies when seeking financial support for BLOOM.