Survey Instruments to Measure Learning Outcomes


Beginning in 2010, our team of researchers at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology set out to create a toolkit of resources for helping project leaders measure participant learning outcomes. As part of this effort, the DEVISE project (Developing, Validating, and Implementing Situated Evaluation Instruments) developed a set of constructs and associated instruments to measure outcomes such as interest, motivation, self-efficacy, and skills. Below is the list of evaluation instruments developed under DEVISE, and referred to in the User’s Guide. Information on development of these constructs is available in the Phillips et al. 2018 publication.

All instruments have been tested with adult audiences, unless otherwise specified. Testing with youth audiences is underway. Each instrument comes with instructions for use and scoring.

Currently Available Instruments are listed below.

Click Here to Request These Scales

  • The Engaged Science Learner (youth) – Available from ATIS
  • Interest in Science (adult; adapted from ATIS)
  • General Environmental Stewardship Scale
  • Self-Efficacy for Science*
  • Skills of Science Self-Report*
  • Self-Efficacy for Environmental Action*
  • Motivation for Science* 
  • Motivation for Environmental Action*

*These instruments are also available in a customizable version that can be modified to address a particular topic or issue.

Please submit a request to use available scales. In the request form, we ask for basic information that will allow us to provide you with the correct instrument and also enable us to track and understand their use.

This work is supported by the National Science Foundation under grant No. 1010744: DEVISE (Developing, Validating, and Implementing Situated Evaluation Instruments). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in these materials are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.