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Paper Picker Press Evaluation Findings: The first 3 years. Liz Gruenfeld, Ed.M. Education Consultant Program Evaluator. Overview:. Evaluation design Trends in the Findings Student work!. The Big Ideas:. Creativity as incentive to mastery of literary concepts/devices
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Paper Picker Press Evaluation Findings:The first 3 years Liz Gruenfeld, Ed.M. Education Consultant Program Evaluator
Overview: • Evaluation design • Trends in the Findings • Student work!
The Big Ideas: • Creativity as incentive to mastery of literary concepts/devices • Demystifies “elite” literature • Personal Authorship • Reading Enjoyment => literacy development through play
The Challenge: • How to measure PPP program impact? • How does creative engagement with literature (play) impact critical thinking, literacy development & reading enjoyment? • Our Solution: • Create New Instruments! (& adapt prior ones) • Qualitative & Quantitative Design • Control Groups • Comprehensive Studies
Boston Public Schools, 2008 • Evaluation: 2nd Grade, after-school program
Evaluation Design • Qualitative Interviews: Read, Discuss, Create • Duckworth Theory, Critical Exploration • Quantitative Analysis: Read, Write, (Create) • Reading Enjoyment • Elementary Reading Attitude Survey, McKenna & Kear, 1990. • Literacy Development • Word recognition; Perceived ease reading • Critical/Higher Order Thinking Development • Elementary => High School • Boston & Mexico (8 sites; 5 evaluations)
Higher Order Thinking Development • Bloom’s Taxonomy: • Invert the Pyramid! Thinking critically is thinking creatively
Findings: Chalco/Puebla, Mexico 2008-09 • Chalco, Mano Amiga School: 3-7th Grade, after-school program • Puebla: • Bachillerato San Lares de Alfonso: high school; Museo Amparo: elementary school
Positive impact on Critical Thinking, Creative Expression • Increased inventiveness, collaboration Control Group 3/4th Grade Program Group 3/4th Grade
Control, 5th Grade Program, 5th Grade Control, 6/7th Grade Program, 6/7th Grade “My thoughts are bigger now”
Reading Enjoyment • Increased interest, attention in school, ease “Any book can let the imagination fly. All books have something to teach. I understand things that I didn’t before”
=> Literacy Development • Perceived Ease while reading increased; • Word recognition increased • “Now with the words I don’t understand, I try to look for their logical meaning and relate them to my feelings. Now… the text fits together well for me and it’s easy to understand”
Improved commitment to Reading & School • Students as teachers “I’m the oldest. Before, I said to my younger sibling, ‘do this, do that’. Now… I teach him with games and songs”
Psychosocial Gains • Socialization, self esteem, confidence, voice, emotion regulation, decreased anxiety, consequences “I learned to mold the world to my imagination”. “Now I express myself better, and value myself more… have more confidence in myself, and know that we are more valuable than others think.”
Findings Boston Programs 2009 • Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center (BCNC) • Inquilinos Boriquas en Accion (IBA) • Summer Programs • Non school settings • Middle & High School Level
Findings were consistent in categories, by site: Outcomes were highly Positive and limited “I realized there’s no right answer; it’s not like school”
“I learned that there are many ways to see something; it helped me think outside the box. Creativity is art and literature”
Findings across contexts & Lessons Learned: • Clear positive trends across most contexts in all categories • including psychosocial indicators & artistic development • Best success when strong partnership is present: site/staff/artists/youth/outside institutions • Negative outcomes without committed partnership • Sluggish results in non-academic summer program • Responded with collaborative re-design • Complements academic interventions
In Conclusion, a thought on Arts Integration… “When will we stop with all the justifications and start facing the fact that if academics were more like the arts, more kids might show up and stay in school?” (Why Our Schools Need the Arts, Hoffman Davis 2008)
Contact Info: Liz Gruenfeld, Ed.M. Education Consultant & Evaluator lizgruenfeld@post.harvard.edu (206)334-6234 Skype: lizgruenfeld