EOT Activity Planning Document
Revision date: 2/11/2013
The form must be used to request approval for any EOT activities conducted at NEES Sites after February
1, 2013 (exclusive of funds for the NEES REU). Requests must be sent to NEEScomm at eot@nees.org.
NEES Site: _Oregon State University in collaboration with Howard University___________
Point of Contact (name, email, phone #): ___________________________
Location (if other than the equipment site): ____________________________
Name of Activity: _Discover Engineering Family Day 2013 Mini-Wave Flume Activity__________
Date(s) of activity: February 16, 2013
Type of activity (check one):
□ Education: Activities that increase the literacy and potential of learners to engage in inquiry activities
that emphasize high-level thinking, problem solving, and collaboration.
X Outreach: Activities that increase participants’ awareness of, and interest in, earthquake engineering
and the science associated with the research and development work conducted by NEES
□ Training: Activities that increase learners’ ability to use tools, resources, and data associated with
NEES facilities and cyberinfrastructure (e.g. NEES.org and the NEESacademy).
Target Audience (check all that apply):
X K-12 students
□ undergraduate students
□ graduate students
□ researchers
X general public
X K-12 teachers
□ undergraduate faculty
□ graduate faculty
□ practitioners
□ other (describe):
Please indicate which appropriate regulatory approval is attached:
□ IRB Level I Exemption (Attach Exemption document)
□ IRB Level II Approval (Attach Application and/or approval form)
X IRB is not required for evaluation of this activity.
Expected number of participants (approximate): 9,000-12,000
How are participants recruited? Participants are not recruited and participate voluntarily at this
public venue.
List any partners in development and delivery of activity: National Science Foundation and
Howard University
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EOT Activity Planning Document
Revision date: 2/11/2013
Description of EOT Activity (provide a general description of the activity)
The mini-wave flume activity will be one of several “booths” run by various organizations at the
Discover Engineering Family Day at the National Building Museum in Washington DC. The
activity has three stages
1. Introduction: activity leaders provide a brief introduction about tsunami hazards and
engineering and explain the Lego building portion of the activity to participants
2. Building: Participants build their structures
3. Testing: Participants test their structures in the mini-flume
If time allows, participants can rebuild their structures. This helps reinforce the design-build-testevaluate process that is the foundation of engineering.
On February 14, Alicia Lyman-Holt will train the NSF volunteers and Howard students on how to
present the tsunami hazards introduction and how to run the structure building and testing
activity. She and the Howard students will help set up the mini-wave flume at the National Building
Museum on Friday February 15, 2103
Describe plan for broadening participation by groups underrepresented in STEM (African
American, Hispanic, Native American, Pacific Islander, and women):
This outreach activity draws upon ambassadors from Howard University to run the flume. Most of
the ambassadors are African American. Continued work with Howard University (HBCU) and
inviting Morgan State University (HBCU) to participate directly broadens participation. NEES
Ambassadors deliver education and outreach at NEES laboratories, at K-12 schools, and at freechoice learning venues such as science fairs and festivals. The Ambassador Programs have a
beneficial impact on the participating ambassadors through development of leadership skills,
professional skills, self-confidence, exposure to NEES research, and the satisfaction of giving back
to the community. Thus working with and supporting the Ambassador Programs at HBCUs has a
direct impact on broadening participation by under-represented groups in STEM.
Responsible Staff (For each staff member please describe their duties. For student assistants you may
describe them as a group, e.g. 3 graduate students etc. Under qualifications indicate if students receive
training)
Staff Name
Duties
Qualifications
Alicia LymanHolt
Train and supervise Howard
University students
EOT Coordinator at OSU. Has run
activity for 4+ years
Claudia Marin
Supervise Howard students
Howard University faculty
5+ NSF Staff
Deliver activities
Will receive on-site Training
12+ Howard
students
Deliver activities
Will receive on-site Training
NEES Site EOT
Coordinator
(Reno)
Deliver activities
Will receive on-site Training
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EOT Activity Planning Document
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Activity Goals (Describe the desired result, e.g. a tour is an outreach activity to increase awareness of
NEES capabilities and NEES research. For a middle school visit the goal might be to increase awareness
of how engineering is used to mitigate the impacts of earthquakes or tsunamis. For a workshop with
researchers the goal might be to increase the use of NEEShub. An activity can have more than one goal
and possibly more than one target audience. Refer to Guidelines for Evaluation and Assessment of NEES
EOT Learning Experiences found at https://nees.org/resources/5422)
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Participants will gain an understanding of what engineers do.
Participants will understand that engineers design structures to mitigate losses in tsunamis
Participants will increase their interest in STEM
Activity Objectives (These should be measureable accomplishments with a process and target and if
possible a timeline to achieve your goal. An activity goal of reaching 1000 participants underrepresented
in STEM might have an activity objective of partnering with a school district. For a tour with a goal of
increasing understanding of NEES research, might have an activity objective of understanding how a
centrifuge models gravitational forces by completing hands-on activities. For a workshop with a goal of
increasing use of the Project Warehouse, an activity objective might be completing a data upload to the
Project Warehouse. An activity can have more than one objective.)
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Understand the basics of tsunami impacts and that engineers work to mitigate them, through
listening to a 10 minute presentation
Apply the engineering the design cycle (design, build, test, evaluate) by protecting a Lego
“person” from a model tsunami in the mini wave flume
Target Metrics (Describe the metrics that will be used to measure the success of the activity. Both
measures of reach and measures of quality must be included. Examples of reach are number of
participants and number of underrepresented participants. Examples of quality are number (or %) of
participants that meet or exceed the learning outcomes as measured with the assessments.)
Reach
Number of participants ~9,000-12,000.
Estimated under-represented participants is expected to be roughly 40-50%
Quality of Experience
% of students meeting or exceeding learning outcomes. Outcomes from two previous assessments
will be used as well as a few new questions collected on a random sample of participants. These
questions are designed to address the “Expected Learning Outcomes” as stated below and under
the “Evaluation Plan”.
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EOT Activity Planning Document
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Expected Learning Outcomes (Learning outcomes should be in the form of what a participant should
know at the end of the activity. e.g. for a tour: “Participants will be able to describe what the NEES site
does.” For a school visit: “Participants will be able to explain that bracing reduces structural damage in a
building.” For a workshop “Participants will be able to upload sample data into the Project Warehouse. “
An activity can have more than one learning outcome.)
Cognitive:
1. Participants will be able to describe, in general, how engineers work to keep people safe
from tsunamis
2. Participants will be able to describe, in general, the basic engineering design cycle
3. Participants will be able to state and explain that the mini-wave flume is a scaled version of
a larger research facility
Affective:
1. Participants will should be able to articulate an interest in pursuing a STEM career
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Description Evaluation Plan (Describe how the activity is going to be evaluated. How will learning
outcomes be assess? Attach a copy of the assessment instrument or assessment questions.)
Multiple methods are used to evaluate achievement of the cognitive and affective measures of the
participants. Participants are randomly selected to participate in a short interview questionnaire
conducted by one of the Ambassadors running the program. All participants will be told that
participation in this survey is strictly voluntary and that no identifying or personal information will
be collected. As participants wait in line they will be asked
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


Grade Level, M/F
What they think engineers do?
What are the steps that engineers use to solve problems?
How do you think engineers’ research tsunami impacts and solutions?
A second set of participants will be interviewed as they finish the exhibit and asked questions such
as
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


Grade Level, M/F
After doing this activity, what do you think engineers do?
What are the steps that engineers use to solve problems?
How do you think engineer’s research tsunami impacts and solutions?
Would you like to participate in other engineering activities like this one?
Did the wave activity help you understand how engineers work to keep people safe?
After doing this activity, are you more interested in being an engineer when you grow up?
These results will be analyzed with the assistance of NEEScomm and tabulated for the quarterly
and annual report.
This activity has been assessed previously several times. It was assessed with the help of NSF in
2012 at the National Building Museum and again at the Folk life Festival in summer 2012. The
activity has shown itself to be effective in meeting both cognitive and affective learning outcomes
for a 15-minute outreach activity. A copy of the previous assessment results is attached. A paper
summarizing the finding is being submitted to the American Society of Engineering Education
(ASEE) annual meeting in 2103.
The impact on Howard students of participating in this activity has been assessed and will be
presented at the 2013 ASEE meeting.
Using the survey/response technique within a public venue eliminates the need for an IRB approval
as no personal data or identifiable information is collected. Additionally marketing surveys and
surveys to assess participant satisfaction do not require IRB review and approval because these
surveys do not contribute to generalizable knowledge and the purpose is to guide marketing
decisions to help improve the activity. It should be stated that FERPA (the Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act) and the PPRA (Protections of Pupil Rights Amendment) are the two major
laws governing the protection of student and family privacy. Two other important federal laws, the
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act
(CMPPA) need to be complied with as they pertain to the data the federal government collects
directly from individuals.
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EOT Activity Planning Document
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Budget (total budget request + itemized budget you may include the cost of staff time)
Total = $XX,XXX.XX
Alicia Lyman-Holt, Salary Wages and Fringe = XXXXX total for 6 days
Travel and per diem for Alicia Lyman-Holt = $XXX.XX
Kelly Doyle, Salary Wages and Fringe = $XXX.XX for 6 days
Travel and per diem for Kelly Doyle = $XXX.XX
Claudia Marin, Salary Wages and Fringe = $XXX.XX total for 3 days
Transport flume = $XXX.XX (part of Howard sub award)
Student Stipends = $XXX.XX (part of Howard sub award)
Supplies and Services at Venue = $XXX.XX
F&A costs (34% OSU, 31% Reno, 14% Howard) ~$XXX.XX
Budget Justification (justification of items in budget)
Alicia Lyman-Holt – 6 days $XXX.XX/day = $XXX.XX Travel 2 days, training/set up 2 days,
activity 1 day. Other planning in house 1-day.
Travel Alicia Lyman-Holt
Plane ticket $XXX.XX
Hotel DC per diem $XXX.XX 4 nights = $XXX.XX
DC food per diem $XXX.XX X 5 days= $$XXX.XX
Luggage $XXX.XX
Taxi $XXX.XX
Ground transport $XXX.XX
Travel Kelly Doyle
Plane ticket $XXX.XX
Hotel DC per diem $XXX.XX X 2 nights = $XXX.XX
DC food per diem $XXX.XX X 3 days= $XXX.XX
Luggage $XXX.XX
Taxi $XXX.XX
Ground transport $XXX.XX
12 Howard students x $XXX.XX /hour x 10 hours (120 student hours) = $XXX.XX paid from
Howard Student Aid.
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