Rogers and Gosine–Boodoo, Part 9
Results
Classroom Engagement
Session I of the skills instruction program was offered from 14 November 2006 to 1 February 2007; Session II ran from 13 February 2007 to 30 May 2007 and the Summer Session was held over six weeks from 18 June 2007 to 27 July 2007. One hundred participants enroled either as students or student interns for the three sessions. They were between the ages of 8 and 18 and came from four of the five public and private schools targeted in the Frederiksted area.
A total of 308 program hours were completed in the Fall and Spring After–school Sessions and the Summer Session. The teaching team included instructors, senior adult assistants and student interns, with the latter providing added guidance and mentorship. One admirable example of teaching support was the 90–year–old senior assistant, Mrs. Ethel Harris, who offered tools to live by in her sessions on “The Virtues.”
Ten arts and crafts classes were offered in all. Three classes were held in the Fall (Cultural Arts and Crafts, Storytelling and Sewing), three in the Spring (Jewellery Making, Cultural Sewing, and Crafts and Textile Design), and four in the Summer (Textile Design, Traditional Dance and Music, Drawing/Sculpting/Painting and Jewellery Making/Arts and Crafts). In each session, students learnt at least three new artistic skills and completed one or more projects related to their cultural heritage.
Students participated in an estimated 30 hours of research, deepening their knowledge about the history of the art form, its evolution in the USVI and the achievements of key local culture bearers. Forty presentations, some live and some recorded, were conducted on a number of topics such as art, cultural heritage, entrepreneurship, USVI history, and literacy. During the after–school sessions, the students completed 10 research project boards with the support of library volunteers and staff.
Community Engagement
The Summer Session offered a stimulating package of activities where students were taken on seven field trips that included the local museum, a public library, a senior citizen recreation centre and a nature hike. Another highlight was an “Entrepreneurship Day” where personnel of the Small Business Development Centre in St. Croix illustrated the start–up of a small business, using oral presentations and skits that engaged students in role–play. Yet another event which excited participants was an essay competition through which entrants could demonstrate some of the literacy skills, library research skills and values that they had learnt.
Student Learning Outcomes
PLTTA’s learning objectives for the students were to have them improve the following: their attitude towards writing; knowledge about research; comprehension of specific aspects of information literacy; reading assessment scores; their understanding of the connection between the artistic skills learnt and their cultural heritage; and their application to and mastery of artistic skills.
To test the outcomes of these objectives, eight students were selected from a group that had completed two or more sessions. The criteria for selection were the duration of program involvement and availability for testing. Although small, the sample was considered representative of the larger group which had similar levels of participation.
Objective #1: Fifty percent of the students will improve their attitude towards writing.
Indicator: Number and percentage of target group that answered “yes” to the interview question: Do you feel your attitude about writing and research has changed for the better from being in this program?
Data Source: Recorded post—interview questions given at the end of each session.
Outcome: Seven out of eight students or 87.5 percent answered “yes.”
Objective #2: Fifty percent of the students will demonstrate improved knowledge about research.
Indicator: Number and percentage of target group that was able to answer the interview question sufficiently: What do you know about research that you didn’t know before joining this program?
Data Source: Recorded post—interview questions given at the end of each session.
Outcome: Eight out of eight students or 100 percent answered sufficiently to indicate improved knowledge about research.
Objective #3: Forty percent of the students will show improved comprehension of specific aspects of information literacy (based on the information literacy rubric of the School Board of Broward County (USA)).
Indicator: Number and percentage of target group that showed any improvement based on their information literacy interviews taken at the beginning and ending of each session.
Data Source: 4–point rubric scale, where 0 = not effective, 1 = somewhat effective, 2 = effective and 3 = very effective.
Outcome: Seven out of eight students or 87.5 percent showed an improvement on their scores in at least six out of the ten questions asked in their pre– and post–session surveys.
Objective #4: Thirty percent of students’ reading assessment scores will demonstrate a marked improvement.
Indicator: Number and percentage of target group that showed improved reading assessment scores after completion, in comparison with their performance before the programme.
Data Source: Gates–MacGinitie Reading Assessment Test administered to USVI students at their school at the beginning and ending of each school year. The test was comprised of 45 vocabulary questions and 48 comprehension questions totaling 93 questions.
Outcome: Four out of eight students or 50 percent showed the desired improvement increasing their overall scores by at least 10 points.
Objective #5: Sixty percent of the students will understand the relationship between their acquired artistic skills and their cultural heritage.
Indicator: Number and percentage of target group that was able to answer the interview question sufficiently: How do the artistic skills and projects that you learnt relate to your cultural heritage?
Data Source: Recorded post–interview questions given at the end of each session.
Outcome: Five out of eight students or 62.5 percent answered sufficiently to indicate an understanding of how the artistic skills learnt related to their cultural heritage.
An additional objective was established for students enrolled in the Summer Session to assess achievement of artistic skills. The sample consisted of 29 students and included students assessed in the other five objectives. The final objective was as follows:
Objective #6: Ninety percent of the students will demonstrate achievement in both application and mastery of artistic skills.
Indicator: Number and percentage of target group that indicated an improvement based on an artistic skills assessment. At the beginning and ending of the Summer Session each instructor was asked these questions:
(a)Did the student successfully apply the skills and techniques learnt in relevant art forms?
(b)Did the student master the use of tools of the trade in order to complete assignments?
Data Source: 3–Point Student Artistic Skills Assessment Survey, where 1 = not observed, 2 = observed occasionally and 3 = observed regularly.
Outcome: Twenty–seven out of 29 students or 93 percent enrolled in the Summer Session were said to have shown improvement.
Product Demonstrations
Achievements from the skills program were showcased to government officials, parents, school administrators and the community at large at appropriate settings: