I have finally finished grading the pre and post tests from Troy and have entered that data into a spreadsheet. Unfortunately, the data I have is not the complete set from the summer. My house was burglarized and my backpack with most of the pre and post tests from the summer were taken. I had not gotten a change to digitize these before this happened, so everything that was in my bag was lost.
The initial pre test that was administered at the very first session was the only one I had that was not in my backpack when it was stolen. I was able to administer that test at the final session to try and recover some of the data that was lost, but I don't think it was replicated quite the same way as the original tests. Since the post test was administered six weeks after the pre test, and three weeks after the conclusion of the sessions applying the concepts on the test, some concepts could have already been forgotten.
The program also started with 18 students, while at the end there were only seven, so the little data I gathered may not have been representative of the whole group. One of the students present at the last session began the program a few sessions later than the rest. Of the six people who were present during the course of the whole program, only two of them had improved scores over the pre test, while the other four had slightly lower scores than they did on the pre test.
As I mentioned before, I think the length of time between the administration of the post test and the conclusion of the sessions applying those concepts could have been one of the reasons for the poor post test scores. Another reason could have been due to the kids' attitudes towards the tests. I administered many tests over the course of the program: one at the beginning of each session and one at the end, so there was a test almost every two to three sessions. The farther into the program we got, the more complaints I received about the tests. Eventually, some of the kids would rush through the tests without trying to apply themselves or answer the questions. Some of them tried to do the same thing on the final post test, even after I explained my situation to them.
I would still like to comment about the success of some of the other sessions, even though I do not have any official conclusive data. Some of the students had said at the end of our final session that cultural history was boring, but I think that in the long run it kept them more interested in the math concepts than they would have been if I had just tried to teach them the material. The interactivity of the CSDTs really helps to interest the kids in what they are doing, rather than focusing on the math concepts.
One of the things I did notice about my teaching that I would like to improve upon is that the kids were able to understand the concepts behind the math, but they weren't necessarily able to apply that to answering the questions that were on the pre and post tests. I would have liked to help them better make the connection between the concept and answering the questions.
I think the program in Troy was an overall success, even if we don't have hard data to support that. Even though the students were not able to retain all the knowledge they had gained over the summer, I still think they benefited from the program. If I can improve my teaching skills to allow the students to apply the concepts they learn, I think the students will learn much more and be able to retain the information.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Final Thoughts and Suggestions
For the last session, I administered a final post test to the kids and then asked them what they liked and disliked about the program, and what things could be changed in the future. I wanted to try and get as much information as I could so the CSDT program can continue to improve.
Almost all of the students said that rhythm wheels was their favorite tool. They really enjoyed making and listening to the beats, as well as the CD that was made for each of them. Some of the others enjoyed working with the graffiti grapher and creating the shirts from their designs.
The biggest thing the students disliked were the pre and post tests. They thought there were too many and that they were too hard. Some said they liked the tests because it was quiet during that time. Another thing some disliked was the reading of the cultural and historical backgrounds behind the tools because they felt it took too long. It was good to hear that they wanted to jump right into the tools, but i think the cultural references help the kids make more of a connection and learn better from the material.
One of the suggestions they had to improve the program was to make the tests easier and to ask more arithmetic questions rather than some of the conceptual questions that were asked on the tests I administered. Another they suggestion they had was to go on field trips to places like the New York State Museum in Albany, the zoo, or Puerto Rico.
I think it would be fun for the kids to find a way to incorporate learning about math and the CSDTs into a field trip they would enjoy. If I had to change something about the way I ran the program, I would try to use crafts that were more interactive for the kids for some tools. The kids liked all the physical artifacts they were able to create, but there are things that could be done to improve each one.
Weaving the baskets was very engaging for the kids, but it was difficult to incorporate their digital designs into their physical baskets. The kids were very excited to see their shirts with their graffiti grapher designs on them when they were finished, but I think it would have been more engaging if the shirts could have been done while the kids were present, or even let them help with some of it. This would add to the magic of creating their own shirt with their own design. The kids also liked the CDs that were created with their beats, but if there were a way to involve the kids more in the creation of the artifact I think they would enjoy it that much more.
Having looked at the NYS math requirements for each grade and having worked with these kids for eight weeks, I think the CSDTs are better targeted towards students in fifth to eighth grades. Many of the kids I worked with this summer were going into third or fourth grade, so they had barely experienced many of the math concepts we covered in the program. They had a much more difficult time understanding the math concepts in general than did the older students who were 11 or 12 and going into fifth or sixth grade.
Another thing I might change about the program is the venue. The program I taught this summer was strictly voluntary, so it was difficult to maintain enrollment. It was also during the summer, and many of the kids are not in "learning mode" and are less receptive to being taught. If the program was taught at a school as an after school program or something similar, the kids might be more receptive to learning. I think a program taught during the school year will also have greater success than one taught during the summer.
I am still working on digitizing my data from the summer, but once I am done I will post again and make a final conclusion about the success of the program.
Almost all of the students said that rhythm wheels was their favorite tool. They really enjoyed making and listening to the beats, as well as the CD that was made for each of them. Some of the others enjoyed working with the graffiti grapher and creating the shirts from their designs.
The biggest thing the students disliked were the pre and post tests. They thought there were too many and that they were too hard. Some said they liked the tests because it was quiet during that time. Another thing some disliked was the reading of the cultural and historical backgrounds behind the tools because they felt it took too long. It was good to hear that they wanted to jump right into the tools, but i think the cultural references help the kids make more of a connection and learn better from the material.
One of the suggestions they had to improve the program was to make the tests easier and to ask more arithmetic questions rather than some of the conceptual questions that were asked on the tests I administered. Another they suggestion they had was to go on field trips to places like the New York State Museum in Albany, the zoo, or Puerto Rico.
I think it would be fun for the kids to find a way to incorporate learning about math and the CSDTs into a field trip they would enjoy. If I had to change something about the way I ran the program, I would try to use crafts that were more interactive for the kids for some tools. The kids liked all the physical artifacts they were able to create, but there are things that could be done to improve each one.
Weaving the baskets was very engaging for the kids, but it was difficult to incorporate their digital designs into their physical baskets. The kids were very excited to see their shirts with their graffiti grapher designs on them when they were finished, but I think it would have been more engaging if the shirts could have been done while the kids were present, or even let them help with some of it. This would add to the magic of creating their own shirt with their own design. The kids also liked the CDs that were created with their beats, but if there were a way to involve the kids more in the creation of the artifact I think they would enjoy it that much more.
Having looked at the NYS math requirements for each grade and having worked with these kids for eight weeks, I think the CSDTs are better targeted towards students in fifth to eighth grades. Many of the kids I worked with this summer were going into third or fourth grade, so they had barely experienced many of the math concepts we covered in the program. They had a much more difficult time understanding the math concepts in general than did the older students who were 11 or 12 and going into fifth or sixth grade.
Another thing I might change about the program is the venue. The program I taught this summer was strictly voluntary, so it was difficult to maintain enrollment. It was also during the summer, and many of the kids are not in "learning mode" and are less receptive to being taught. If the program was taught at a school as an after school program or something similar, the kids might be more receptive to learning. I think a program taught during the school year will also have greater success than one taught during the summer.
I am still working on digitizing my data from the summer, but once I am done I will post again and make a final conclusion about the success of the program.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
TBGC Session 11
Some changes and additions have been made to the graffiti grapher applet, so I had the kids experiment with the applet again. Since they had used it before, I didn't need to do much instructing. I just answered questions when they had some.
The younger groups seems to give up and lose interest more quickly than the older group. The older group is able to focus on the task at hand and is more interested in seeing what their changes will produce. The young group just gets frustrated when it doesn't produce what they want.
I noticed that the "CLEAR EFFECT" and "Create Object" buttons do not yet work. This may be because they are new features that haven't been perfected in the core, but I will still bring it up in our weekly meeting. When the "CLEAR EFFECT" button is working properly, it seems that it will perform the same function as the "STOP" button after begin has been pressed. I think the "STOP" button should be removed, because the kids were a bit leery of clicking on it because they were worried their work would disappear.
I also noticed that the codelets must now be removed one by one if they are no longer wanted, and the "CLEAR" button is not working as it should still. They will disappear when the button is clicked, but they will reappear if you click on the spray can.
I have not been able to find a way to draw with two spray cans yet. Some of the kids have wanted multiple spray cans to draw at the same time. I even tried creating a second spray can and launching it in the code for the first can, and I still wans't able to succeed.
One of the students suggested that the draw speed be variable. Sometimes they just want the can to draw quickly, but other times they would like to see how it does it.
Thursday will be the last day for the program this summer. I will administer a final post-test, and then try to talk to the kids about the things they liked, didn't like, and what they might like to see changed. The rest of the summer will be devoted to processing data and compiling my final comments about the summer.
The younger groups seems to give up and lose interest more quickly than the older group. The older group is able to focus on the task at hand and is more interested in seeing what their changes will produce. The young group just gets frustrated when it doesn't produce what they want.
I noticed that the "CLEAR EFFECT" and "Create Object" buttons do not yet work. This may be because they are new features that haven't been perfected in the core, but I will still bring it up in our weekly meeting. When the "CLEAR EFFECT" button is working properly, it seems that it will perform the same function as the "STOP" button after begin has been pressed. I think the "STOP" button should be removed, because the kids were a bit leery of clicking on it because they were worried their work would disappear.
I also noticed that the codelets must now be removed one by one if they are no longer wanted, and the "CLEAR" button is not working as it should still. They will disappear when the button is clicked, but they will reappear if you click on the spray can.
I have not been able to find a way to draw with two spray cans yet. Some of the kids have wanted multiple spray cans to draw at the same time. I even tried creating a second spray can and launching it in the code for the first can, and I still wans't able to succeed.
One of the students suggested that the draw speed be variable. Sometimes they just want the can to draw quickly, but other times they would like to see how it does it.
Thursday will be the last day for the program this summer. I will administer a final post-test, and then try to talk to the kids about the things they liked, didn't like, and what they might like to see changed. The rest of the summer will be devoted to processing data and compiling my final comments about the summer.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Final Albany Session
The kids in Troy were on a field trip today, so I used the time to install Java updates on all the computers so they would be able to run the programmable graffiti grapher applet. Now that the applet works on all the computers, I am hoping that our next session I will be able to let each kid use their own computer to make their own design.
With only a few computers working the last two sessions, the kids had to double up on a computer, and I think that they will be more focused on creating their own design and experimenting with the program if they each have their own computer to work on.
Today was our final session in Albany. We distributed posters to the kids who had made them. Then we had everyone take the post-test. Once they finished their post tests we allowed them to make designs with any of the CSDTs.
With only a few computers working the last two sessions, the kids had to double up on a computer, and I think that they will be more focused on creating their own design and experimenting with the program if they each have their own computer to work on.
Today was our final session in Albany. We distributed posters to the kids who had made them. Then we had everyone take the post-test. Once they finished their post tests we allowed them to make designs with any of the CSDTs.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
TBGC Session 10
I was finally able to get a link to the most recent version of the programmable graffiti grapher applet. It is much less buggy and has some additional features the kids really liked. They enjoyed being able to change the color of the background, as well as the shape the spray can draws.
Unfortunately, there were only two computers at the BGC that were able to fully load the applet. I'm not sure if this was because of an issue with the applet, or an issue with the computers not having the most recent version of Java installed. A similar thing happened at our last session in Troy, but the applet was able to load on different computers, which makes me think it may be an issue with the applet or the server on which it is hosted.
The default script that appears when the applet is loaded and the drawing it creates is visually striking, and many of the kids thought it was cool. However, it doesn't encourage them to branch out and try other codelets. Most of the kids just changed the values around in the existing codelets, making slightly modified versions of the default script. When they did this, they would sometimes try to input the largest number they could create. This would often result in the majority of the drawing being off the screen or the screen being full of a single color due to large repetitions of the same pattern. I think there should be some way to limit the input values so they are not too large.
I finally was able to convince some kids to try to make their own creations without using the default script. Their first step would always be to change the color of the spray can. After this, I noticed multiple kids using the "Call Spray Can ( )" codelet. When I asked them why they did this, they said they were trying to name their spray can. They didn't seem to understand that this codelet would call an already existing spray can, even after I tried to explain the concept to them.
A bug I noticed is that when the spray can is first clicked on and the default script appears, there is no scroll bar in the codelet panel until the user clicks inside the panel. Until then, there is no way to scroll down and see the full script.
Another bug I noticed was that the toolbar where the "Begin" and "Clear" buttons is located is not locked. When the user clicks and drags the right spot on the toolbar, he or she can theoretically move it to another location, but once he or she tries to place it in that location, the toolbar disappears. This makes it impossible to run or clear any more scripts until the applet is reloaded.
We were informed that the kids at the Albany BGC would be on a field trip and would not be present, so our ABGC session had to be cancelled. Our final ABGC session for the summer will be on Thursday.
Unfortunately, there were only two computers at the BGC that were able to fully load the applet. I'm not sure if this was because of an issue with the applet, or an issue with the computers not having the most recent version of Java installed. A similar thing happened at our last session in Troy, but the applet was able to load on different computers, which makes me think it may be an issue with the applet or the server on which it is hosted.
The default script that appears when the applet is loaded and the drawing it creates is visually striking, and many of the kids thought it was cool. However, it doesn't encourage them to branch out and try other codelets. Most of the kids just changed the values around in the existing codelets, making slightly modified versions of the default script. When they did this, they would sometimes try to input the largest number they could create. This would often result in the majority of the drawing being off the screen or the screen being full of a single color due to large repetitions of the same pattern. I think there should be some way to limit the input values so they are not too large.
I finally was able to convince some kids to try to make their own creations without using the default script. Their first step would always be to change the color of the spray can. After this, I noticed multiple kids using the "Call Spray Can ( )" codelet. When I asked them why they did this, they said they were trying to name their spray can. They didn't seem to understand that this codelet would call an already existing spray can, even after I tried to explain the concept to them.
A bug I noticed is that when the spray can is first clicked on and the default script appears, there is no scroll bar in the codelet panel until the user clicks inside the panel. Until then, there is no way to scroll down and see the full script.
Another bug I noticed was that the toolbar where the "Begin" and "Clear" buttons is located is not locked. When the user clicks and drags the right spot on the toolbar, he or she can theoretically move it to another location, but once he or she tries to place it in that location, the toolbar disappears. This makes it impossible to run or clear any more scripts until the applet is reloaded.
We were informed that the kids at the Albany BGC would be on a field trip and would not be present, so our ABGC session had to be cancelled. Our final ABGC session for the summer will be on Thursday.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
TBGC Session 9/ABGC Session 12
There were only a total of six kids between both sessions at the program in Troy today. We introduced them to the programmable graffiti grapher applet. I was unable to find the most recent version of the applet, but I found a link to an older version, so I was still able to use it with the kids. The older version was buggy and did not have all the features the newest version does. I hope to have a way to access the newest version by Tuesday so I can get more relevant feedback from the kids.
Unfortunately, all the kids who were present today were younger and did not have the attention span of the older kids. It was very difficult to instruct them on how to use the applet when it was being buggy. The kids would want to give up and not try to work it out. I will wait until I have access to the newest version before talking about bugs that can be fixed. The biggest piece of input I will give right now would be to make the titles of each codelet and input fields more intuitive. It was especially difficult for the kids to experiment when they had a hard time determining what each codelet and input field did.
We had spent the evening yesterday creating CDs for the kids with the beats they had made using the rhythm wheels software. When one of the kids received her CD, she threw a very uncharacteristic temper tantrum because she did not like the color combination we had chosen to write her name on the CD. Fortunately we presented the CDs to them at the end of the session, because she was very upset and would not do anything we suggested after that point.
In Albany, the kids made posters using Paint.net. Their instructions were to create a design using one of the CSDTs they had used previously, then they had to incorporate this into a poster with four colors and a positive slogan. The kids worked very diligently because there was a reward of cookies at the end of the session for those who completed their posters satisfactorily.
Unfortunately, all the kids who were present today were younger and did not have the attention span of the older kids. It was very difficult to instruct them on how to use the applet when it was being buggy. The kids would want to give up and not try to work it out. I will wait until I have access to the newest version before talking about bugs that can be fixed. The biggest piece of input I will give right now would be to make the titles of each codelet and input fields more intuitive. It was especially difficult for the kids to experiment when they had a hard time determining what each codelet and input field did.
We had spent the evening yesterday creating CDs for the kids with the beats they had made using the rhythm wheels software. When one of the kids received her CD, she threw a very uncharacteristic temper tantrum because she did not like the color combination we had chosen to write her name on the CD. Fortunately we presented the CDs to them at the end of the session, because she was very upset and would not do anything we suggested after that point.
In Albany, the kids made posters using Paint.net. Their instructions were to create a design using one of the CSDTs they had used previously, then they had to incorporate this into a poster with four colors and a positive slogan. The kids worked very diligently because there was a reward of cookies at the end of the session for those who completed their posters satisfactorily.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
TBGC Session 8/ABGC Session 11
The number of kids at Troy have been dwindling slowly over the past few weeks. There were only a total of six kids today. Some have lost interest and quit the program. It seems that there are also other activities at the BGC the children can choose to partake in, and they will sometimes choose these other programs over ours. This makes for horrible data collection and harder to analyze results, but at least the kids who stick around are really enjoying the program and are definitely there for that reason.
Today, the kids worked on creating new beats with the rhythm wheels software. I saved all their work to a flash drive so I can burn their beats to a CD and give it to them on Thursday. On Thursday I will administer the post-test for the rhythm wheels software, and then we will start experimenting with the programmable version of the graffiti grapher software.
The kids at Albany were better than normal today, but not quite as good as they were yesterday. There were fewer kids today, so there were fewer distractions. We had them create their name using one of the CSDTs we had used in the past as well as Paint.net, which we will later turn into a stamp.
The kids always seem to be more interested in using Paint.net than they do in the CSDTs. I think this may be because it is less structured and they don't have to think as hard about how they are going to create what they want. They can just draw what is in their mind rather than having to transform that into points on a grid.
We learned that the ABGC will be closing on August 13 to undergo renovations, which means that our program will be coming to a close a bit sooner than we expected. Troy may be ending a bit sooner as well because the kids are progressing faster than anticipated.
Today, the kids worked on creating new beats with the rhythm wheels software. I saved all their work to a flash drive so I can burn their beats to a CD and give it to them on Thursday. On Thursday I will administer the post-test for the rhythm wheels software, and then we will start experimenting with the programmable version of the graffiti grapher software.
The kids at Albany were better than normal today, but not quite as good as they were yesterday. There were fewer kids today, so there were fewer distractions. We had them create their name using one of the CSDTs we had used in the past as well as Paint.net, which we will later turn into a stamp.
The kids always seem to be more interested in using Paint.net than they do in the CSDTs. I think this may be because it is less structured and they don't have to think as hard about how they are going to create what they want. They can just draw what is in their mind rather than having to transform that into points on a grid.
We learned that the ABGC will be closing on August 13 to undergo renovations, which means that our program will be coming to a close a bit sooner than we expected. Troy may be ending a bit sooner as well because the kids are progressing faster than anticipated.
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