Program Website: http://lcm.ucsd.edu/LaClaseMagica/Home.html
Principal Investigator(s):
- Professor Olga Vasquez, Department of Communication,
UC San Diego
- Professor John Valdez Multicultural Studies,
Palomar Community College
Contact: Griselda Velasquez, Program
Director
Site Description:
- Located in the northeastern corner of San Diego
County, The Lil’ Champs program at Pauma
Elementary School in Valley Center serves both
Latino and American Indian children from the Pauma
Band of Luiseño (Mission) Indians. In collaboration
with the Tribal Digital Village Project and GEAR
UP, this site, modeled after the original La Clase
Mágica site in Solana Beach, has been adapted
to serve the educational needs of the Pauma community.
Operating two days a week the program collaborates
with an ongoing language revitalization project
at the reservation. The goal of the project is
to work on computer-based and hands-on literacy
and skill building activities to help children
and their parents prepare socially and academically
for engaging in the schooling process and to provide
a continuity of experience between children and
their parents. Children learn multi-media and writing
skills by creating personal narratives about themselves,
their families, and their community. Undergraduates
participate by enrolling in the Communication 115
and 116, and/or Human Development 115 and 135,
a series of theory and practicum courses in the
Department of Communication and the Human Development
Program. This program is an ongoing collaboration
between faculty and students at Palomar College
and UC San Diego.
Courses:
Participants (based on 2005-06
data):
- Approximately 70 K-1st grade students per academic
year
- 70% Latino, 20% White, 10% American Indian
- 65% male, 35% female
- 20% ELLs
- Approximately 5 undergraduates per academic year
Collaborators:
- American Indian Tribal Council
- Tribal Digital Village Project & Hewlett-Packard
Digital Village Project
- GEAR-UP
- Pauma Elementary School in the Valley Center-Pauma
Unified School District
- Center for Academic and Social Advancement (CASA)
- UC San Diego Department of Communication and
Human Development Program
- UC San Diego Center for Research in Educational
Equity, Assessment, and Teaching Excellence (CREATE)
- Palomar Community College Multicultural Studies
Program
Goals:
- Increase participants’ basic English and
Spanish 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;
- Increase participants' love for learning and
ability to communicate in educational and professional
settings;
- 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;
- 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
- Analysis of participants' activity records, and
staff and undergraduate field notes to examine
educational progress over time
- Teacher evaluations
Research Focus:
- Sociocultural approach to language issues and
English language learning.
- Mediation of learning by material culture
- Impact of the social framing of program activities
on literacy (specifically vocabulary) development
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