Prior Knowledge Questionnaire - California Academy of Sciences

California Academy of Sciences
Institute on Conservation Education & Sustainability
Prior Knowledge Questionnaire (Session 1 Homework)
Adapted from John Falk’s, Personal Dimensions of Learning Class, Oregon State University, 2010
About the Questionnaire: In the backwards design process we start with trying to understand what
visitors know about the topic that we are going to design an educational activity around. This can help
us understand the audiences’ perspectives around the topic.
What to do: After you’ve selected the topic, conduct 10-15 of the following interviews (or work with a
group to get that many total). Try to get a diversity of people, preferably folks from different
backgrounds and ages. You may interview a small group of people (2-4) at a time if they are all hanging
out together.
Notice: In addition to taking notes on the answers, notice how different people talk about the topic, and
if the language they use matches up with the scientists language.
Approach Someone: Smile, be friendly, make eye contact. If you are aiming this activity toward s a
specific age group, make sure to ask those people (i.e. why interview adults if your activity will
ultimately be delivered to school groups). If you want to hear from kids, interview the family together.
Introduction: We’re doing some research as we plan a new activity, and are trying to figure out what
people know about the topic, and what questions they have. Can you (and your family/ friends) spare a
few minutes to help me out?
1. What do you know about _____________? Do you consider yourself knowledgeable or not on
this topic?
2. How did you learn about it? From what source(s)?
Continued on next page….
Contact Lindzy Bivings (lbivings@calacademy.org) for more information
1 | P age

California Academy of Sciences
Institute on Conservation Education & Sustainability
3. Are you interested in this topic? Why or Why not?
4. What questions do you have about it? Where would you go to find answers to your questions?
(note: you do not have to answer the questions)
5. Can you think of anything that would help address this issue?
6. Demographics (collect for each person):
Age: ____________
Profession: __________
Gender: ______________
Contact Lindzy Bivings (lbivings@calacademy.org) for more information
2 | P age

California Academy of Sciences
Institute on Conservation Education & Sustainability
How to Synthesize Information from Prior Knowledge Surveys
(Session 2 Activity)
This is for you, the educator to answer.
How many people
had never heard of,
or were clueless
about the issue?
How many people had
heard of the issue, but
were somewhat
unconfident or had
some misinformation?
How many people were
confident in their
knowledge about the
issue?
Other?
Words Scientists Use (or ways of describing
things in the articles)
Words Laypersons Use
Continued on next page….
Contact Lindzy Bivings (lbivings@calacademy.org) for more information
3 | P age

California Academy of Sciences
Institute on Conservation Education & Sustainability
What other patterns did you notice?
What other questions do you have?
What do you think this means for you as an educator?
Contact Lindzy Bivings (lbivings@calacademy.org) for more information
4 | P age

California Academy of Sciences
Institute on Conservation Education & Sustainability
Educator Action Planning Tool (Session 2 Activity)
This is for you, the educator to answer.
Though it may seem backwards, we begin with asking people about our ideas for planning a
conservation action before we actually get too far into designing a whole education plan
around it. The point of asking first is to avoid putting hours (or days or weeks) of time into
designing something that people won’t even consider doing. To help ground the action in
something that is impactful to an issue, read through the questions below, and then try to
answer them.
(1) What environmental issue do you wish to address?
(2) Why do you think this important?
(3) What might you ask people to do in order to address this issue? Put a star next to the things
that you think will be most impactful. Or, put a question mark if you are not sure.
Contact Lindzy Bivings (lbivings@calacademy.org) for more information
5 | P age

California Academy of Sciences
Institute on Conservation Education & Sustainability
Continued on next page….
(4) Can you refine that idea into a “non-divisible” behavior, or “end-state” behavior (i.e. having
someone do a home energy audit is not an end-state behavior, but having someone put
insulation in their attic is)?
(5) What do you think the barriers and benefits to this action/behavior are?
When you’ve been able to ask these questions to your liking, input your action into the “Feasibility of
Actions Questionnaire” and conduct another set of interviews to see what your audience thinks of it.
Contact Lindzy Bivings (lbivings@calacademy.org) for more information
6 | P age

California Academy of Sciences
Institute on Conservation Education & Sustainability
Feasibility of Actions Questionnaire (Session 2 Homework)
Adapted from the Azjen’s Theory of Planned Behavior http://people.umass.edu/aizen/tpb.html
Use this survey with the targeted visitors you wish to address, and make an ask of.
Perceived Behavioral Outcomes
(1) What do you see as the advantages/ benefits of doing _______________________?
(2) What do you see as the disadvantages of your doing ______________________?
(3) What else comes to mind when you think about doing ______________________?
Personal Control Factors
(1) In the past three months how often have you done ______________________, or something
similar?
Continued on next page….
Contact Lindzy Bivings (lbivings@calacademy.org) for more information
7 | P age

California Academy of Sciences
Institute on Conservation Education & Sustainability
(2) What factors, circumstances, or tools would make it easy or enable you to _________________.
(3) What factors or circumstances that would make it difficult or prevent you from doing
______________________ .
Social Norms & Personal References
(1) Sometimes, when we are not sure what to do, we look to see what others are doing.
What individuals or groups are most likely to do ______________________?
(2) Who do you think are least likely to do ______________________?
Contact Lindzy Bivings (lbivings@calacademy.org) for more information
8 | P age

California Academy of Sciences
Institute on Conservation Education & Sustainability
How to Synthesize Information from Feasibility Questionnaire
(Session 3)
How many
interviewees
already do this?
What benefits
did they cite?
What barriers
did they site?
What would help
them do your
action?
What would
prevent them
from doing it?
What other patterns did you notice?
What other questions do you have?
What do you think this means for you as an educator?
Contact Lindzy Bivings (lbivings@calacademy.org) for more information
9 | P age