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Research Design Process
Through our learning in the program, I began to realize how the SITE Model truly applied to the heart of what I was trying to accomplish: the value of learning. After working with parents, an after school club, and with siblings to help Kindergartners achieve more, I have found an unexpected desired outcome: joy surrounding the activity of learning outside the classroom. If we plant a seed in the relationship between parent and child, the seed will grow. The seed represents the value of learning, and we can plant these seeds in a variety of relationships our students have outside the classroom. We may be able to measure an amount of growth now, but my hope is that the value placed on learning outside of school will carry on for years to come, affecting our students, and students in generations to come. I know it’s a big dream, but why not?
Sociocultural Perspective This model brings the content to students through family, role models, siblings, and peers. The learning is integrated into the student’s environment in a way that it embeds itself into the values of his/her network. Learning the alphabet letter names and sounds means spending time with parents before bed, playing a game with an older buddy at the after school program, or figuring out how to beat the next level online with a big brother or sister. Having fun and spending time with family and others outside the classroom as you learn puts a value to learning that cannot be taught solely by the teacher. Educational and Informational Perspectives One of the first strides towards literacy in young children is letter-sound fluency. When students are able to identify and produce the sounds of letters with automaticity, they are one step away from being readers. Research shows that letter-sound knowledge is a strong predictor of success in early reading performance (Schatschneider, Fletcher, Francis, Carlson, & Foorman, 2004). Games, activities, and online sites are geared toward alphabetic knowledge. Parents, community partners, and siblings are valued as collaborators and stakeholders in students’ learning. Students are able to access information and knowledge from the sources better under the conditions of this model: time spent with family, role models, siblings, or peers. These experiences that bring learning to students’ sociocultural settings help make learning itself relevant and valued in real life, combatting “situated cognition,” or “inert knowledge” that is referred to in the SITE Model as learning that cannot transfer to situations outside the classroom. Technical Perspective The ways and means for students to achieve learning is both through the opportunity of time spent with family, older students, and siblings and through game play. Games and activities as simple as card memory matching, listening and repeating sounds, finding letters, and online action games that involve strategy. All games and activities are designed around learning letters and sounds through the simple skills of memory and recall through repetition. In each scenario, tutors are equipped with simple reproducible games and activities, or vetted online games along with clear instructions on how to support the students’ learning. |
Research
Support and Next Steps
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Capstone Website Design Process
Several guiding questions from the "DESIGNING PROTOTYPES Think Sheet" helped me to explore all of the variations for potential partners, settings, and solutions to the problem of Kindergartners lacking early literacy skills. I used the Bubbl.us online application (my favorite visual organizing tool) to create a Mind Map as I developed answers to these questions. If you want to develop a program of your own, I highly recommend looking at these questions and using the bubbl.us app to articulate your ideas.
Name and Logo Design Process
Selecting a name and logo to represent the blood, sweat, and tears you've put into your masters work is, to say the least, daunting. How do I choose a name, complimenting phrase, symbol, colors, and font that will express potential for growth, community, collaboration, diversity, and fun? That is hard.
For the name of my project, I originally wanted "It Takes a Village," but worried that it was a copyrighted title. So instead, my daughter helped me to come up with an alternative, "Kids ConnectEd." It was a great idea, and led to some fun ideas around links for my logo. However, it wasn't my first choice. Finally, someone in class mentioned "It Takes a Village" and researched to discover that the phrase is an old proverb, therefore not copyrighted. I was thrilled and ready to go back on the hunt for a logo design.
I began with a few ideas in mind. I wanted to incorporate a rainbow, yet I wanted simplicity at the same time--not busy graphics. It should have a “village” feel. I knew I also wanted my logo to look contemporary. I like tropical, bright and fruity colors-and love a rainbow to represent diversity. I was attracted to the professional look of Adobe products, so I settled into the Canva program to design my logo. I adored the image and font I found, and played around with it until I had a final product that I love. When I look at it, it reminds me of working together with all the different students, families, and community members, and it makes me smile.
For the name of my project, I originally wanted "It Takes a Village," but worried that it was a copyrighted title. So instead, my daughter helped me to come up with an alternative, "Kids ConnectEd." It was a great idea, and led to some fun ideas around links for my logo. However, it wasn't my first choice. Finally, someone in class mentioned "It Takes a Village" and researched to discover that the phrase is an old proverb, therefore not copyrighted. I was thrilled and ready to go back on the hunt for a logo design.
I began with a few ideas in mind. I wanted to incorporate a rainbow, yet I wanted simplicity at the same time--not busy graphics. It should have a “village” feel. I knew I also wanted my logo to look contemporary. I like tropical, bright and fruity colors-and love a rainbow to represent diversity. I was attracted to the professional look of Adobe products, so I settled into the Canva program to design my logo. I adored the image and font I found, and played around with it until I had a final product that I love. When I look at it, it reminds me of working together with all the different students, families, and community members, and it makes me smile.
References
Schatschneider, C., Fletcher, J. M., Francis, D. J., Carlson, C. D., & Foorman, B. R. (2004). Kindergarten prediction of reading skills: A longitudinal comparative analysis. Journal of Educational Psychology, 96(2), 265.
Zill, N., & West, J. U.S. Department of Education, 2001. National Center for Education Statistics, Entering Kindergarten: A Portrait of American Children When They Begin School: Findings from The Condition of Education. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, NCES 2001–035.
Zill, N., & West, J. U.S. Department of Education, 2001. National Center for Education Statistics, Entering Kindergarten: A Portrait of American Children When They Begin School: Findings from The Condition of Education. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, NCES 2001–035.