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Cycle of Inquiry: 4H-Challenge Course at Camp Long: Attack the Gap

Cycle of Inquiry: 4H-Challenge Course at Camp Long: Attack the Gap. Ken Turner L4L5 Summer 2013. The ‘trust fall’ during facilitator training, March 2013 (Photo K.Turner ). Audience.

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Cycle of Inquiry: 4H-Challenge Course at Camp Long: Attack the Gap

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  1. Cycle of Inquiry:4H-Challenge Course at Camp Long:Attack the Gap Ken Turner L4L5 Summer 2013 The ‘trust fall’ during facilitator training, March 2013 (Photo K.Turner)

  2. Audience Teachers, principals, and other Seattle Public School leaders trying to close the achievement gap in middle/ high school. Interagency HS 9th graders on Tension Traverse (Photo: K.Turner)

  3. Challenge Course: LOW The 4H Challenge Course at Camp Long seeks to promote DECISION MAKING COMMUNICATION TEAMWORK/ COLLABORATION through 13 low element activities and initiatives. Greenworks students working on spotting sequence (photo G. Benedict)

  4. Challenge Course: HIGH And the high course encourages SELF-ESTEEM/ SELF-EFFICACY through 2 unique elevated structures. Facilitator Melissa practicing across split rail traverse (photo K.Turner)

  5. Locus of Control and Challenge Courses The WALL often represents a challenge or obstacle in a participant’s life. (photo K.Turner) Newberry and Lindsay found that just after an 8-hour low course experience , participants were ‘significantly more internally oriented’ than those not participated.

  6. Problem of Practice Since the opening of the Challenge Course in August 2011, only 3 different public school groups have used the course; about 60 students total. This is less than 5% of the total number of participants we have served. Interagency HS teen on Nitro Crossings (K.Andrews )

  7. Problem of Practice continued • Most groups have been private schools and universities. • Problem: Challenge Course was put at Camp Long to specifically work with underrepresented studentswho typically have an internal Loci of Control. We need to be working with more youth at risk!!! • The park has close proximity to Rainier valley and West Seattle and is on a major bus route.

  8. 3 Grants with 1 Purpose WSU Extension 4H granted Seattle Parks $40,000 to work with youth development in 2011 Department of Neighborhoods awarded $70, 000 in 2012 to work with local schools and youth programs and was matched by King County Parks with $50,000

  9. Achievement Gap in Seattle For 70+ years, an obvious achievement gap has continued between the North and South schools in Seattle. * Camp Long is marked red (Beadie2013)

  10. Theory of Action If leadership promotes Challenge Course usage and purpose, schools will bring students to the challenge course. If schools (teachers) bring students to the challenge course, students will strengthen their life skill development. If students develop strengthen their life skills development, the achievement gapcan be decreased.

  11. Claim Challenge courses participation can improve life skill development, thus decreasing the achievement gap Facilitator Anuja getting through the net at 40 feet! (Photo: K.Turner)

  12. Evidence Evidence 1: historic Challenge Course data Evidence 2: CSHS has some lower life skill data scores on Healthy Youth data than other SPS and the state average. Evidence 3: CSHS Life Skill Evaluation from their visit on April 5th, 2013 More Evidence 3: Interagency High School data from their April visits.

  13. Evidence 1:Historic Challenge Course data “Challenge courses are an effective tool for impacting a variety of educational and psychological constructs with a variety of participants” (Gillis/ Speelman 2008) Increased self-efficacy in middle school students (Conley, Calarella, and Young 2007) And Loci of Control study (Lindsay and Newberry 2000)

  14. Question 136: Youth Quality of Life Evidence 2: Healthy Youth data 2010 Cleveland High School students have the ‘worst’ personal rating of their quality of life. (Healthy Youth Data 2010, 10th grade HS)

  15. Evidence 3 CSHS (14) students spent ½ day on the Camp Long Challenge Course on Friday, April 5th and filled out this evaluation right afterwards.

  16. Evidence 3: Chief Sealth High School, mixed grade classFriday, April 5th (mean score changes) 14 participants (8 males, 6 females)

  17. Interagency High School (mean score changes)three different April visits 21 evaluations over 3 different visits (9thgraders based on credits, but various ages)

  18. Results We only have data from 14 CSHS students, as well as 21 Interagency High School students for 3+ hours, imagine working with ALL of them on both the Low and High elements for 12-16 hours.

  19. Next steps? Replace current Life Skills Evaluation to Pre and Post survey for better data collection Collect data on entire grades inside a school or the entire school over several visits

  20. Fantasy: 4 visits by same student cohort Elements Orca watch, Galloping Gertie, Nitro (Low elements) Deception Pass, Support Sequence, The Wall (Low) Mt Challenger: Vertical Play Pen, Power Pole The Enchantments: Hub and Spoke course with dual zip lines Outcomes Start breaking down barriers, promote support of each other, teamwork utilizing low-risk elements Continue breaking down barriers, promoting problem solving utilizing medium-risk elements Support peers’ challenges, more support and trust development, personal reflection on high course Promote self-esteem with success of team and self on hub and spoke high course, self-reflection and self-assessment

  21. Final Thoughts As Paul Tough argues in his new book How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character , “skills like perseverance, conscientiousness, and optimism” are often more important in a child’s success than scores on achievement test. (Tough, 2012) A student testing her tenacity on the high course (Photo K.Turner)

  22. Citation Camp Long/ WSU 4H data compiled from CSHS students (April 5-2013) and Interagency High School (April 4, 11, 25-2013) Conley, L: Caldarella, P; and Young, E. Evaluation of a ropes course experience for at-risk secondary school students. Journal of Experiential Education, 30 (1), 21-35 Gillis, H.L. and Speelman, E. (2008) Are Challenge (Ropes) Courses an Effective Tool? Journal of Experiential Education, 31 (2), 111-135 Lindsay, J.F. and Newberry, E.H. (2000) The impact of social skills training and challenge course training on locus of control of youth from residential care. Journal of Experiential Education, 23 (1), 29-42 Tough, P. (2012). Paul tough: writer and speaker. Retrieved from http://www.paultough.com/ Washington State Healthy Youth Survey 2010. (2011) Various Seattle area public schools. RMC Research Corporation.

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