Editor’s note: Both during and after the Digital Literacy for ALL Learners grant, we had two educators, Robert Stake and Hui-Lien (Sharon) Hsiao, observing the work happening at Tech Time at Kenwood Elementary School. Based on their observations and data gathering, they put together an evaluation story that demonstrates the work that was done during Tech Time. The story is below, along with links to other pages on this website. Robert Stake is Emeriti Faculty in Educational Psychology and Sharon Hsiao is an education specialist.
During most of the sessions, the two facilitators and one or two Tech Time volunteers walked around the classroom to observe student progress and provide support. Instead of giving direct answers, they offered inquiry-based guidance, directing students through layers of questions and allowing enough time for students to figure answers out by themselves.
Ricardo had caught my attention when I visited the classroom for the first time. He sometimes worked with two friends, Pedro and Miguel and sometimes worked on his own. Ricardo was not so excited about Minecraft games as his friends were. He was more interested in Lego and spent a lot of time listening and watching others. He was excited when the Robotic project was introduced by the after-school program facilitators, Mr. Russo and Ms. Sullivan.
Ricardo was almost jumping up and down when the Robot Lego box was handed him by Mr. Russo. Instead of working with partners, he chose to work on his own. Mr. Russo had demonstrated how to put the robot together at the beginning of the session. There were two layers in the box. The top layer was an organizer tray with dozens of small robot parts in each cell. Under the organizer tray were the bigger parts of the robot and a manual. Holding the Robot Lego box, Ricardo found space in the middle of the classroom. He sat on the floor and carefully opened the box. He put the top tray in front of him. With a big smile on his face, he took out the bigger parts from the bottom. He looked at the pieces and seemed to want to put them all together in the shortest time. He picked up two pieces and carefully examined them. Then, suddenly, he thought of something: The manual! At the end of the demonstration, Mr. Russo had said they should read the manual first.
Ricardo opened the manual, skimmed along, then stopped on a page having a picture of robot wheels. There were pictures of each part and the suggested sequences of assembly. He looked into the kit box and tray for the parts listed on that page. He was happy to find some parts and assembled them in sequence in a matter of minutes. Then he slowed down, looking in the tray. He tried to fit several pieces in a small hole, but none of them fit. Two minutes later, he looked around the classroom. I was near him looking at him. With eye contact, he said, “Can you help me?” I asked him, “What do you need?” Ricardo said, “I can’t find a piece. I don’t think I have it in this box.” I crouched down, looked at his manual and asked him, “Which piece are you looking for?” Ricardo pointed at a piece on the picture and said, “This one. I’ve been looking around. I don’t think I have it.” I looked around and could not find it either. There were so many pieces in the tray and some in the box as well. I said, “I don’t know where that piece is.” He realized that I was no help, so he called Mr. Russo.
Ricardo: Mr. Russo, Mr. Russo, I need help.
Mr. Russo was helping two students near the whiteboard. He heard Ricardo and said, “I will be right with you.”
Two minutes later, Ricardo was getting impatient. I could see that he was anxious to find that piece and move on. He kept looking at other students making more progress. He asked one of them to help him. That boy approached and said, “What do you need?” Ricardo said, “I am stuck. I can’t find this piece.” He pointed at the picture of that one small piece and said, “Oh, um….” He looked into Ricardo’s kit box for five seconds, and said, “I don’t know. You need to keep looking.” Ricardo was disappointed and called again, “Mr. Russo, please help me.” Mr. Russo walked over to Ricardo.
Mr. Russo: What’s wrong?
Ricardo: I can’t find a piece. I’m stuck.
Mr. Russo: What is the piece for?
Ricardo: I think it’s a piece in the wheels.
Mr. Russo: Have we read the manual?
Ricardo: Yes, I’ve checked it several times, but I still could not find that piece.
Mr. Russo: Okay. Maybe we can take a look at the manual together.
They looked at the manual there on the ground. Mr. Russo picked one piece from the floor and said, “This piece looks like a nail. Is it what we’re looking for?”
Ricardo: They looked very similar, but it’s not. I tried to put it in but it didn’t fit.
Mr. Russo: What are the differences between this piece and the piece that we are looking for?
Ricardo: The one I am looking for is half an inch longer and probably slightly thinner.
Mr. Russo: Are they the same color?
Ricardo: I think so.
Mr. Russo: Good! Would you like to look around in your kit box again? You might just be missing it.
Ricardo: OK.
Mr. Russo: You keep looking. I will need to check the others. I’ll be back soon.
Ricardo started to look more carefully in his kit box. In just about two minutes more, he shouted triumphantly, “Mr. Russo, I found it.”
Mr. Russo’s questions seemed simple but they were inquiry-based guidance. He helped students analyze the problem and look for solutions on their own. The strategy helped teach them to focus on missing details. It wasn’t nail-like. This is a powerful strategy. I considered it to have a long term effect, impacting student learning as they developed problem solving skills. In fact, I noted that many students were patient and tried to solve their problem on their own or to discuss it with their friends before they reached out to the facilitators. Most of the time, the facilitators were listening to student discussion and they interfered with critical questions only if necessary.
In addition to the inquiry-based guidance that the Tech Time facilitators gave, I was impressed with the harmonious and strongly-connected community that Tech Time formed. Ricardo did not know who I was before he asked help from me. He and the other children might have thought that I was one of the volunteers to Tech Time. It seemed they trusted any adult in the Tech Time area. They had found that these adults would help them when they had problems.
The children helped their friends spontaneously. When Ricardo asked help from me, his attitude was sincere, expectant, and patient. He looked forward to getting help from me. My interpretation of these “taken-for-granted” behaviors was a long time cultivation of the faculty, staff, grant funder, university researchers and resourceful members within the Kenwood community. They created an environment that not only helped develop children’s digital literacy but also brought the members together in ways of trusting, caring and supporting each other. Immersing and growing in this community, children in Tech Time program became key components of the community of school members, visiting resources, and neighbors to be a bigger family and a more resourceful society.
By Robert Stake & Hui-Lien (Sharon) Hsiao
March 22, 2016
Featured image by Adeel Zubair on Flickr Commons. Licensed under CC 2.0.
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