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The Harvard Family Research Project separated from the Harvard Graduate School of Education to become the Global Family Research Project as of January 1, 2017. It is no longer affiliated with Harvard University.
Program Description
Overview | The Comic Book Project (CBP) is a program focusing on reinforcing urban youth’s literacy skills through students’ development of original comic books, particularly in after school and school supplemental settings. CBP’s goal is to engage children in the creative process as a pathway to the basic skills and life skills that children need for success in school and in life. Piloted in a number of New York City after school programs, CBP used students’ creative development of comic books as an alternative pathway to learning literacy skills. |
Start Date | completed (developed April 2002; piloted from October to December 2002) |
Scope | local |
Type | after school |
Location | urban |
Setting | public school, community-based organization |
Participants | elementary and middle school students (grades 4–8) |
Number of Sites/Grantees | 33 from October to December 2002 |
Number Served | 733 from October to December 2002 |
Components | Each site volunteered to be part of the pilot, and each selected the children who would participate. Most of the participating children were identified by their sites as academically low performing, and more than half were identified as English language learners. Participating site staff received a 2-hour training workshop. Site staff led children through the process of creating their own comic books (i.e., brainstorming, outlining, designing, sketching, and writing), either as individuals or in teams. Each participating site devoted between 12 and 20 total hours to CBP. The children used materials published by Dark Horse Comics to create their comic books. |
Funding Level | $25,000 |
Funding Sources | Fund for the City of New York, Partnership for After-School Education, the After-School Corporation, and Teachers College, Columbia University |
Other | CBP is hosted by Teachers College at Columbia University with materials published by Dark Horse Comics. The mission of the project is to help underserved children (grades K–12) forge alternative pathways to literacy. CBP defines an alternative pathway as one that inspires learning by integrating the arts and entertainment that children pursue outside of the classroom. The pilot program in New York City was adopted by three intermediary organizations that advocate for after school education: the After-School Corporation (TASC), the Fund for the City of New York (FCNY), and the Partnership for After-School Education (PASE). These three organizations agreed to administer CBP at some of their after school program sites, and provided technical support, training facilities, and quality assurance for participating sites. Since the completion of the pilot project, CBP has expanded and now also serves high-school-aged youth and operates in some in-school settings in addition to after school programs. In the 2003–2004 school year, CBP was implemented in New York City and Cleveland. The New York City project, based on the theme of the environment, was funded by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, implemented in 40 after school programs supported by the After-School Corporation (TASC), and served 10,000 children. The Cleveland project, based on the theme of conflict resolution, was funded by the Cleveland Foundation, implemented in 50 public schools, and served 10,000 children. In 2004–2005, CBP has a national theme of leadership and will be implemented in New York City, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Seattle, and potentially in four additional cities. This national outreach is expected to reach approximately 50,000 children. |
Evaluation
Overview | The evaluation was designed to investigate the effectiveness of the CBP pilot project. |
Evaluator | Dr. Michael Bitz, the Comic Book Project |
Evaluations Profiled | The Comic Book Project: Pilot Assessment Report |
Evaluations Planned | Each project implementation results in an evaluation. The 2003–2004 projects in New York City and Cleveland will result in independent evaluations, and the results will be released in the fall of 2004. |
Report Availability | Bitz, M. D. (2003). The Comic Book Project: Pilot assessment report. New York: Center for Educational Pathways. Bitz, M. D. (2004). The Comic Book Project: Forging alternative pathways to literacy. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 47, 574–588. |
Contacts
Evaluation | Dr. Michael Bitz Project Founder and Director The Comic Book Project Teachers College, Columbia University 525 West 120th Street, Box 139 New York, NY 10027 Tel: 212-330-7444 Email: meb53@columbia.edu |
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Program | Dr. Michael Bitz Project Founder and Director The Comic Book Project Teachers College, Columbia University 525 West 120th Street, Box 139 New York, NY 10027 Tel: 212-330-7444 Email: meb53@columbia.edu |
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Profile Updated | September 2, 2004 |
Evaluation: The Comic Book Project: Pilot Assessment Report
Evaluation Description
Evaluation Purpose | To examine the effectiveness of CBP in helping youth make literacy connections through pictorial representations and improve reading and writing skills. |
Evaluation Design | Non-Experimental: Data were collected at all sites from youth participants, staff, and program administrators. |
Data Collection Methods | Document Review: Evaluators collected the comic book work that children created during CBP in order to assess participants’ work in comparison to state standards in English Language Arts. Interviews/Focus Groups: Youth participants and staff were interviewed during site visits. Questions focused on the storylines the children were creating in their comic books and on the perceived effectiveness of CBP. A total of 243 youth and 18 staff were interviewed. Observation: Evaluators visited each site at least twice to observe the progress and implementation of CBP. Surveys/Questionnaires: Every youth and staff member who participated in CBP received a one-page anonymous survey. Surveys were collected from 546 youth and 26 staff. The youth survey asked children to think about and report on what they learned and achieved through CBP, and also whether and how CBP helped them with their literacy skills. The staff survey asked staff members to analyze what participants learned through CBP and whether the program helped children with their literacy skills. Both surveys also asked what participants liked most and least about CBP. Test/Assessments: Three independent consultants assessed youth participants’ work in the program in light of the relevant New York State Learning Standards in English Language Arts (NYSLS-ELA), numbers 2 through 4. The standards are an accompanied by a scoring rubric ranging from 1 to 4, which was used in the evaluation. The three standards assessed were: The student performance assessment was designed to align as closely as possible with the procedures and rubrics of the mandated statewide achievement tests, which are administered to New York students in grades 4 and 8. Evaluators used the same rubric that is used to score writing on the state test. This rubric provides a score from 1 to 4 in each of the following categories: focus, development, organization, and writing style (including spelling and mechanics). The combined raw scores are converted into an overall scaled score (also ranging from 1 to 4), which measures students’ overall writing performance. The scores represent the following levels of mastery: |
Data Collection Timeframe | Data were collected from October to December 2002. |
Findings:
Formative/Process Findings
Satisfaction | Participating children and staff reported in interviews that they thoroughly enjoyed CBP as a whole. |
Summative/Outcome Findings
Academic | On the NYSLS-ELA standard 2, which states that students will be able to read, write, listen, and speak for literary response and expression, CBP participants scored an average of 2.8. On the NYSLS-ELA standard 3, which states that students will be able to read, write, listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation, CBP participants scored an average of 3. On the NYSLS-ELA standard 4, which states that students will be able to read, write, listen, and speak for social interaction, CBP participants scored an average of 3.1. The majority of youth reported positive reading outcomes as a result of the program. According to youth surveys, as a result of the program, youth knew more words (82%), needed less help with reading (78%), spent more time reading for fun (78%), got better at reading (76%), liked to read (72%), liked to read aloud (70%), and understood almost all of what they read (69%). The majority of staff reported positive reading outcomes as a result of the program. According to staff surveys, youth knew more words (85%), liked to read (77%), got better at reading (73%), understood almost all of what they read when reading by themselves (73%), spent more time reading for fun (69%), needed less help with reading (69%), and liked to read out loud (69%). The majority of youth reported positive writing outcomes as a result of the program. According to their surveys, as a result of the program, youth liked to write their own stories (92%), spent more time writing for fun (80%), got better at writing (76%), liked to write (74%), and needed less help with writing (70%). The majority of staff reported positive writing outcomes as a result of the program. According to staff surveys, youth liked to write their own stories (92%), got better at writing (73%), spent more time writing for fun (73%), liked to write (69%), and needed less help with writing (65%). The majority of surveyed youth reported other positive outcomes as a result of the program. According to their surveys, as a result of the program, youth liked to draw pictures to go with stories (92%), liked to tell or make up their own stories (92%), and looked at pictures for clues to stories (87%). The majority of surveyed staff reported other positive outcomes as a result of the program. According to staff surveys, as a result of the program, youth liked to draw pictures to go with stories (96%), looked at pictures for clues to the story (92%), and liked to tell or make up their own stories (92%). According to youth and staff interviews, both youth and staff perceived that CBP helped improve youth’s reading and writing skills. |