Impact of Youth and Adult Informal Science Educators on Youth Learning at Exhibits

Figures & data

Table 1. Intra-class Correlation Coefficients (ICC) accounting for site and exhibit level variance in key dependent variables.

Dependent variable	Site ICC	Exhibit ICC
Exhibit learning	0.14	0.32
Topic interest	0.02	0.04
Educator engagement	0.17	0.12
Conceptual knowledge questions	0.08	0.08

Table 2. Bivariate correlations between key variables.

Variable	1	2	3	4	5	M	SD
1. Age	—					8.84	2.88
2. Exhibit learning	−0.05	—				4.63	1.48
3. Topic interest	−0.22**	0.40**	—			4.08	1.07
4. Educator engagement	−0.16**	0.46**	0.40**	—		3.75	0.98
5. Total correct questions	.24**	.05	.06	−.05	—	1.61	1.02

** Indicates correlation significant at p < .01 level (two-tailed).

Table 3. Independent sample t-tests based on educator age for the three composite questions underlying the educator engagement score.

Variable	Educator age	M	SD	t-value	df	p
Time with educator	Adult	1.98	0.96	−0.93	370	0.35
	Youth	1.88	1.05
Like talking to educator	Adult	4.86	1.34	−0.74	399	0.46
	Youth	4.75	1.38
Learn from educator	Adult	4.73	1.46	−2.69	398	0.007
	Youth	4.30	1.72

Figure 1. Educator engagement as a function of participant age and educator age (w. standard error bars, * indicates p <.05, N.S. = nonsignificant).

Figure 2. Educator engagement as a function of participant gender and educator age (w. standard error bars, ** indicates p <.005, N.S. = nonsignificant).

Figure 3. Moderation of self-reported exhibit learning by educator engagement and topic interest.

Figure 4. Correct conceptual knowledge questions as a function of participant age and educator age (w. standard error bars, N.S. = nonsignificant).