Carleton Summer Science Fellows Program Check In Survey (2012)

As a member of Science Fellows, we would like to know more about your experiences in the program and in Carleton. Your answers to these survey questions will help us understand the impact of the program on student learning at Carleton and help us improve future Science Fellow programming.

Your responses will be kept confidential. When individual quotes are used to illustrate important points in program reports, publications, and presentations, your name and other identifying information will not be disclosed.

Please complete the form in a single session, as your responses cannot be saved for later.

Your name: (Your responses will be kept confidential, your name is an important tool to track change over time)

Part 1: Summer Science Fellow ProgramAs you are probably aware, the Science Fellows has the general goals of supporting student success in mat and the sciences through:

Summer research.
Meetings during the school year to prepare students for their research and for future careers in math and science.
Building a sense of belonging among students, in Carleton math and science departments, and in math and science communities outside of Carleton.

1. How successful is the program in meeting these three goals?

2. Please answer the following questions on a scale of 1-7 or Not Applicable (N/A)

1=Low (confidence, interest, etc.) and 7=High (confidence, interest, etc.)

a. How helpful do you find your Science Fellow advisor?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 N/A

b. How useful are the Science Fellow email discussions and updates?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 N/A

c. How valuable are the Science Fellow meetings?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 N/A

d. How has your research experience influenced your interest in a particular subfield in math or science?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 N/A

e. What impact has your research experience had on your level of confidence in math or science coursework?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 N/A

f. How has your research experience influenced your motivation to do well in math or science courses?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 N/A

g. Has your research experience helped you learn to be more patient when faced with research difficulties or complexities?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 N/A

h. Has your research experience given you more confidence in your ability to present your research findings in presentations?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 N/A

i. How has your research experience improved your ability to use scientific literature in research writing?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 N/A

j. Has your research experience enabled you to apply your coursework to studying a real-world problem?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 N/A

k. How has your research experience piqued your interest in discovering new knowledge about the world?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 N/A

l. Has your research experience improved your ability to get into graduate school?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 N/A

3. Do you have any further suggestions for improving the Science Fellows program?

Part 2: General STEM Learning at Carleton4. How often do you meet with a faculty mentor or advisor?

What's the most important thing that you have gained from you relationship with your advisor?

5. Where or to whom to you go to most for help when you have a particularly difficult assignment? (check all that apply)

Librarians
Math Skills Center
Career Center
Write Place
FOCUS faculty mentor
Course instructor
Advisor
Advisor in the major
Fellow classmates
Lab assistants
Teaching assistants
Class prefects
Others:

6. What Carleton experience, event, or circumstance has contributed the most to building your confidence in your ability to pursue a major in math or science?

7. Have any of the following problems affected your ability to pursue math and science studies at Carleton? (check all that apply)

Difficulty with time management
Difficulty developing productive strategies for studying
Lacking good faculty mentorship and/or advising
Lacking friends with the same academic interests (e.g. to provide advice about the classes)
Feeling isolated
Feeling like you do not belong
Financial needs/ concerns
Feeling underprepared for STEM coursework (or being worried about others may perceive you as underprepared for this work)

What other barriers have you encountered that are not listed above?

How have you overcome any of these barriers?

8. For each of these items, reflect on your perceptions and please rate each area using a 5-point scale:

1 = Not at all, 5= Very (fun, likely, easy, confident, curious)

a. How much fun is math or science for you?

1 2 3 4 5

b. How likely are you to do math or science problems that are not assigned?

1 2 3 4 5

c. How likely are you to read about math or science in your spare time?

1 2 3 4 5

d. How likely are you to talk about math or science outside of work you need to do for class?

1 2 3 4 5

e. How easy is it for you to get absorbed in solving math or science problems?

1 2 3 4 5

f. How much do you enjoy solving problems using mathematics?

1 2 3 4 5

g. How much do you like the hierarchical nature of math or science?

1 2 3 4 5

h. How confident are you in your ability to do math or science?

1 2 3 4 5

i. How curious are you about math or science problems?

1 2 3 4 5

j. To what extent do you consider yourself a mathematician or scientist?

1 2 3 4 5

k. How much math and science do you know?

1 2 3 4 5

Part 3: Science and Math Attitudinal Questions
9. For each of these items, reflect on your perceptions and please rate each area using a 7-point scale:

1=Low (confidence, perception, interest) and 7=High (confidence, perception, interest)

a. My level of knowledge about math and science is:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

b. I know where to find research resources.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

c. I feel comfortable in approaching faculty members when I need help.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

d. I am interested in talking about math or science outside of the work I do for my courses.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

e. I have confidence in my ability to get involved with student study groups.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

f. I have a sense of belonging at Carleton.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

g. I have a sense of belonging in the Carleton science and math departments.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

h. I am interested in taking more classes in math or science.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

i. I am interested in majoring in a math or science discipline.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

j. I am interested in a career in math or science.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

k. I see the value of math and science in everyday life.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10.Please tell us how strongly you agree or disagree with the following statements using a 4 point scale:
1 = Strongly Disagree, 2 = Disagree, 3 = Agree, and 4 = Strongly Agree

a. Even if I forget the facts, I'll still be able to use the thinking skills I learn in science and math.

1 2 3 4

b. The process of writing in math and science is helpful for understanding mathematical and scientific ideas.

1 2 3 4

c. I wish math and science instructors would just tell us what we need to know so we can learn it.

1 2 3 4

d. Creativity does not play a role in math or science.

1 2 3 4

e. Science and math are not connected to non-science fields such as history, literature, economics, or art.

1 2 3 4

f. I get personal satisfaction when I solve a scientific or mathematical problem by figuring it out myself.

1 2 3 4

g. Science and math are essentially an accumulation of facts, rules, and formulas.

1 2 3 4

h. I can do well in math or science courses.

1 2 3 4

i. There is too much emphasis in math and science classes on figuring things out for yourself.

1 2 3 4

j. Explaining science ideas or math ideas to others has helped me understand the ideas better.

1 2 3 4

k. If an experiment shows that something doesn't work, the experiment was a failure.

1 2 3 4

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