Principal Investigator(s):
- Professor Mary E. Brenner, Education Department,
Gevirtz Graduate School of Education
- Professor Richard Duran, Education Department,
Gevirtz Graduate School of Education
Contact: Mary E. Brenner, Professor, betsy@education.ucsd.edu
Site Description:
The Club Proteo
program offer an array of after-school experiences
for the children in the computer lab at the Goleta
Boys and Girls Club in Goleta. Club Proteo
features children using computer software and playing
board games to foster the acquisition of important
cognitive competencies in literacy, vocabulary development,
and mathematical problem solving. The Club
also features Internet communications with children
in other UC Links sites and field trip research projects
helping children learn about community institutions,
their functioning and use of technology, and connections
to higher education. In addition to computer
games and board games, the Club develops its own
group games, including Jeopardy word bingo, and other
activities that emphasize literacy development and
word skills and simultaneously develop more of a
community in the computer lab. Club Proteo
meets three times a week throughout the school year
and serves both children from the local, low-income
neighborhood as well as children in a paid after-school
program. Undergraduate students enrolled in
Education 124 serve as assistants, mentors, and role
models to the children.
Courses:
Participants (based on 2005-06
data):
- Approximately 230 K-8th grade students per academic
year
- 45% Latino, 25% White, 15% Asian, 15% African
American
- 65% male, 35% female
- 50% ELLs
- Approximately 55 undergraduates and 1 graduate
student per academic year
Collaborators:
- Goleta Boys and Girls Club
- UC Santa Barbara School of Education, Gevirtz
Graduate School of Education
Goals:
- Increase English language literacy and critical
thinking
- Increase technology literacy through computer-based
multi-media storytelling
- Increase participants’ knowledge and improve
attitudes and aspirations toward higher learning
for participating youth
- Provide participants’ with a safe learning
environment
- Improve the quality of graduate and undergraduate
education by connecting academic coursework to
practicum field experience
- Encourage undergraduates to explore the possibility
of a teaching career in urban, low-income communities
Activities:
- Collaborative learning activities using a wide
array of educational software, hands-on materials,
and board games which promote the development of
literacy knowledge and skills
- Daily online (email) communication and letter-writing
activities
- Fieldtrips to local community agencies, businesses
and resources
- Homework assistance and mentoring from undergraduate
participants
Evaluation:
- University of California Student Academic Preparation
and Educational Partnerships (SAPEP) Annual Performance
Report
- UC Links Reading Assessment
- Survey of undergraduate interest in pursuing
graduate or professional school studies
Research Focus:
- Sociocultural approach to informal learning and
literacy development
- Mediation of learning by material culture
- Impact of the social framing of program activities
on literacy (specifically vocabulary) development
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