Past Projects

  • 360° Feedback for K-12 Educators

    RISE contracts with local, state, national, and international school districts to provide feedback on performance to teachers, administrators, and other school district personnel.

    Read More


  • Achieving Maximum Potential (AMP) Program

    The Research Institute for Studies in Education was hired by Youth and Shelter Services, Inc. (YSS) to conduct an assessment of the AMP program. The Program & Activity Assessment Tool (PAAT) is used to measure how much and how well the program provides its members a learning experience that promotes positive youth development.

    Read More


  • Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Senior Exit Surveys

    RISE is collaborating with the Iowa State University Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering to evaluate the undergraduate program by asking graduating seniors to respond to exit surveys.

    Read More


  • Biological Materials and Processes (BioMaP) Research Experiences for Undergraduates

    The BioMap REU is a summer research program in which undergraduate students become active members of interdisciplinary groups and work with faculty members, post-doctoral researchers, graduate students, and industry. Annual evaluation of the BioMaP REU program includes pre- and post-program surveys. The evaluation of the program has been informed by other studies of REU students…

    Read More


  • Cases for Teaching Responsible Communication of Science

    RISE conducts the evaluation focusing in student pre and post responses of their understanding of ethical issue in science communication and instructor ratings of usefulness of the case study approach.

    Read More


  • CBiRC Research Experiences for Teachers (RET)

    Brandi Geisinger and Mari Kemis, in collaboration with Karri Haen, are leading the evaluation of the NSF Center for Biorenewable Chemicals (CBiRC) Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) program at Iowa State University. The evaluation was informed by the literature on the constructivist sociocultural professional development model, evidence of inadequate science teacher preparation, and evidence of…

    Read More


  • CBiRC Research Experiences for Undergraduates

    Brandi Geisinger and Mari Kemis serve as evaluators for the NSF Center for Biorenewable Chemicals (CBiRC) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program, which particularly focuses on undergraduate student research training. Annual evaluation of the REU program includes pre- and post-program surveys, annual focus groups, and follow-up surveys.

    Read More


  • CBiRC Summer Academy for Middle School Teachers

    Brandi Geisinger and Mari Kemis serve as evaluators for the NSF Center for Biorenewable Chemicals (CBiRC) Summer Academy for Middle School Teachers program. The Summer Academy program evaluation involves annual pre-program and post-program surveys, as well as a focus group at the end of the program.

    Read More


  • CBiRC Young Engineers and Scientists

    Brandi Geisinger and Mari Kemis serve as evaluators for the Young Engineers and Scientists (YES) program, which is a Center for Biorenewable Chemicals Program sponsored by the NSF. Evaluation of the Young Engineers and Scientists (YES) program includes the administration of a pre-program survey to determine student interest and knowledge of relevant scientific principles, a…

    Read More


  • CenUSA Bioenergy Internship

    Brandi Geisinger serves as the lead evaluator for the USDA-funded CenUSA Bioenergy Internship program, which is an eight-week research program that helps address the bioenergy value chain. The evaluation of the CenUSA program utilizes pre-program and post-program surveys and post-program focus groups.

    Read More