WHAT CHANGES ARE IMPLIED IN CAREER EDUCATION?
ACADEMIC SUMMER PROGRAM by
Mark L. Hanson
The Nome Agency, Title I Academic Camp was held at Willow, Alaska, 70 miles North of Anchorage, May 27-June 14th, 1974.
Students from ten BIA village schools surrounding Nome were chosen to attend the Camp. The 76 students in the Agency with the most academic need in reading and math were selected. The students were in grades 4-7.
The proposal submitted to Title I early in February called for .2 of a years growth in three weeks. In order to produce these results the following schedule was followed each day.
8:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m. Reading. Each child received thirty minutes of one-to-one help in areas of difficulty. Thirty minutes were spent in one of the five learning centers. The final hour of reading time was devoted to work in one of the six Formula Phonics Dialog Groups. 10:00 a.m.-10:15 a.m. Break
10:15 a.m.-11:00 a.m. Math Students were assigned to teachers according to Math test results. They worked with their teacher in areas of Math difficulties on a one-to-three teacher, pupil ration.
11:00 a.m.-11:15 a.m. Break
11:15 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Math The students returned to their math group for more work in math areas. Many math games and materials were available in the Math Centers from which the teachers could select materials relevant to their students' needs.
12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m. Lunch
1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m. Prescription Time. During the student's one-to-one session they were given a written prescription to take with them to a particular learning center, or they were told to return to their one-to-one teacher for continued concentrated work.
The five Reading Centers were the Individualized Reading Center (equipped with many and varied sets of books), the Listening Center (equipped with cassette players and tapes with accompanying books), the Reading Games Center (equipped with six
S.R.A. Learning Centers), the Language Experience Center, (the students were given a chance to write about their experiences at Camp and record them on a tape recorder.)
∗ An Eskimo word was chosen to convey the spirit of learning at the camp. BILGURUT, an Eskimo term,
The five Math Centers were made up of various S.R.A. materials designed to help students in their problem areas. There was a Math Games Center also, and all supplies were available for check-out.
Regular Program teachers and Title I aides from the villages were the instructors. Five specialists from outside the Bureau were hired to assist at the Camp.
Objectives for Reading were as follows:
Objective 1 Any child who grew in his letter sounds by 5 to 7 or more, using the stick test of 49 sounds as a tool. Gates McKillop standards indicate that sounds are a continuum that grows about seven sounds per year.
Number of students having Objective 1 as a goal 13 Number of pupils who gained 6 or more sounds 11 Percent of pupils who gained 6 or more sounds 85
Objective 2 Any child who grew in his recognition of the Formula Phonics pals by 10 or more.
Number of pupils having Objective 2 as a goal 24 Number of pupils who gained 10 pals or more 23 Percent of pupils who gained 10 pals or more 96
Objective 3 Any child who grew in word recognition on the Dolch list by 15 or more.
Number having Dolch list as a goal 27
Number of pupils who gained more than 15 words 24 Percent of pupils gaining more than 15 words 88
Objective 4 Any child who grew .2 of a year or more on the Spache Diagnostic Instructional Level.
Number of pupils pre- and post-tested 74
Number of pupils who gained .2 of a year or more 68 Percent of pupils who gained .2 of a year or more 92 Number of pupils who gained a year or more 35 Percent of pupils who gained more than a year 47
Objective 5 Any child who grew .2 of a year in reading, as measured by the Wide Range Achievement Test.
Number of students having Objective 5 as a goal 74 Number of students who gained at least .2 on WRAT 57 Percent of students gaining .2 or more 77 Number of students who gained more than one year 27 Percent of students who gained more than one year 36
In conclusion, the project was an overall success. The Mean gain in reading was .9 of a year as measured by the Spache and .8 of a year as measured by the Wide Range Achievement Test. The Mean gain in Math was .8 of a year as measured by the Wide Range Achievement Test.
We were very happy with the measurable academic gains that took place with these students. We observed many other changes that did not show up on the test, but we are sure that they will be long-lasting and will make a difference in how these children feel about themselves. We also expect to see a change in how these students approach their school work this next school year.
GROWTH IN READING Pre-Test Post-Test Spache Spache Reading Reading Gain Pre-Test Post- Test W.R.A.T. Gain Fourth Grade 3.0 3.6 .6 4.4 4.9 .5 Fifth Grade 3.9 4.9 1.0 4.0 5.0 1.0 Sixth Grade 4.1 5.2 1.1 4.7 5.7 1.0 Seventh Grade 4.6 5.7 1.1 5.4 5.9 .5 GROWTH IN MATH Pre-Test Post- Test Gain Fourth Grade 3.2 4.1 .9 Fifth Grade 4.1 5.1 1.0 Sixth Grade 4.4 4.9 .5 Seventh Grade 5.0 5.6 .6
SUMMARY OF PROGRAM RESULTS IN READING Number Percent Children in the Reading Program
with Pre-Test Scores 76 0
Children Not Post-Tested Due to Illness 2 0 Children Who Grew .2 of a Year as
Measured by the W.R.A.T. 57 77
Children Who Grew .2 of a Year as
Measured by the Spache 68 92
Children Who Grew One Year or More as
Measured by the W.R.A.T. 27 36
Children Who Grew One Year or More as
WAS THE CAMP A SUCCESS?
The following survey was given to the students participating in the camp. Their answers, reinforced by collective objective data, illustrate the academic effectiveness.
N O M E T I T L E I S U M M E R C A M P PUPIL SURVEY
Y e s N o 1.
Do you feel Do you have learned more about reading and math during the camp? 76 0 2.
Did you like Did you like working with a teacher 1 to 1? 76 0
3.
Do you feel Do you feel that working in the Learning Center helped you to learn? 76 0 4.
Was listenin Was listening to the stories in the Listening Center fun? 76 0 5.
Were the bo Were the books in the Individualized Reading Center good books? 75 1 6.
Did you like Did you like the reading and math games in the Reading and Math Games Center? 76 0 7.
Did you enj Did you enjoy your work in the Language Experience Center? 76 0 8.
Was the S.R. Was the S.R.A. Center well-equipped and did you learn from working there? 71 5 9.
Did you like Did you like the books and the materials you used this summer? 76 0 10.
What was y What was your favorite part of the school work? Most common answer: 1 to 1 with teacher 11.
How many How many books did you read? (During 3 wee k camp) Average 12.