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A Profile of the Evaluation of Fifth Dimension/University-Community Links

Program Description

Overview	The Fifth Dimension/University-Community (UC) Links is an approach to after school programming used by Boys and Girls Clubs, YMCAs and YWCAs, recreation centers, and public schools across America, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, Denmark, Sweden, Spain, and Russia. It provides a way to increase the educational programming of such institutions without substantially increasing the costs of operation. Beginning in 1986, the overarching goals of the Fifth Dimension approach were to: (1) create sustainable activity systems that increase understanding of the cultural mediation of mind and the processes of cognitive and social development, (2) provide contexts for children to master knowledge and skills mediating changes in their everyday practices, (3) deepen understanding of how the social and individual create each other, and to (4) provide a context in which undergraduates from disciplines such as teacher education, developmental psychology, and communications have opportunities to connect theory with practice and deliver services to children. In 1996 the University of California Office of the President provided seed funding to expand this model throughout California. The UC Links network was established to promote the university eligibility and academic preparedness of underserved youth throughout California using the practices developed by Fifth Dimension programs worldwide. The intent was to broaden the base of K–12 learning, by providing access to educational resources to those youth who are not yet on the path to higher education. The statewide program has three major objectives: (1) to improve the educational opportunities and aspirations for diverse California youth from low-income communities throughout the state, so that more of them will become eligible for the University of California in years to come, (2) to improve undergraduate education by providing living laboratories where students can integrate theory and practice, and (3) to pioneer new ways of collaborating that bring together institutions like universities, communities, and K–12 schools in long-term, sustainable programs for underserved K–12 youth.
Start Date	1986
Scope	international
Type	after school
Location	urban, suburban, rural

Setting	community-based organization, public school, recreation center
Participants	elementary, middle, and high school students (ages 5–18)
Number of Sites/Grantees	over 50 worldwide sites (2003)
Number Served	The number of children per site will vary according to setting. In a public school setting, as many as 80 children may be served in any week.
Components	Fifth Dimension programs take place in a computer club that may or may not be associated with the child's school and are located near university campuses since most are affiliated with colleges and universities. Participants are often from low-income homes and many attend on a regular basis through high school. At some sites, high schoolers who attended return and act as mentors for the younger children. Children typically visit a Fifth Dimension on a drop-in basis, although in most public school Fifth Dimensions children attend on a daily basis. Some children spend four to six hours per week of after school time participating in the Fifth Dimension, while others may come once a week for a few hours. Opportunities and constraints vary across locations, seasons, populations, and sites. Many children enter the Fifth Dimension directly after school or homework sessions. The main activities center around off-the-shelf educational programs selected for appropriateness, appeal, and educational value. In a prototype Fifth Dimension system (local names vary), a dozen or more children encounter a large variety of computer games, noncomputer games, and telecommunications activities on a regular basis over the course of a school year. As a rule, Fifth Dimensions contain a variety of kinds of computers at a ratio of one computer for every two to three children. Computer games, such as Carmen San Diego and the Secret Island of Dr. Brain, the Magic School Bus series, and noncomputer games, such as Origami, chess, and Boggle are a part of a make-believe activity system. Task cards that accompany each game or activity enable children and their mentors to negotiate goals for playing games and coordinate activities. Learning is collaborative with children often working together or with adult mentors called Wizard's Assistants. Students with extensive experience are given the opportunity to achieve the status of Young Assistant to the Wizard. The child's participation is voluntary and self-paced; there is no traditional teacher-student structure. Each Fifth Dimension has a site coordinator who is trained to recognize and support Fifth Dimension's pedagogical ideals and curricular materials. Undergraduate students are there to learn and play with the children. The site coordinator monitors the balance of education and play in interactions between children and undergraduates.
Funding Level	varies by local program
Funding Source	The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation provided funding for field-testing and evaluation of the original three programs begun in 1986. In 1996 the University of California Office of the President began funding the UC Links network of after school programs in California. Each local Fifth Dimension program negotiates operating resources from the university, community participants, and other outside funding agencies.

Evaluation

Overview	Evaluators developed collaborations for evaluation at three Fifth Dimension sites: Appalachian State University (ASU), California State University at San Marcos (CSUSM), and University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB). The ASU team evaluated Fifth Dimension sites that were operated as part of an after school program at four elementary schools in Boone, North Carolina. The CSUSM team evaluated a Fifth Dimension site operating at the Boys and Girls Club in Escondido, California. The UCSB team evaluated a Fifth Dimension site operating at the Boys and Girls Club in Goleta, California. Evaluators wanted to assess changes in children's literacy that can be attributed to participation in the Fifth Dimension, specifically: (1) does learning to use educational software on computers improve a child's mind? and (2) what kinds of cognitive changes, if any, occur over the course of a year in which computer-naïve children learn to use a series of educational programs in an informal and nonthreatening environment? The outcome measures tapped changes in student literacy, broadly defined, including changes in computer literacy, language comprehension, problem-solving strategies, and academic achievement. The primary research method was to assess relevant cognitive skills of students before they began the Fifth Dimension program and after they had extensive experience in the program (e.g., more than 10 or 20 visits over the course of the academic year), and to compare their pretest to posttest changes with those of similar students who did not participate. Separate evaluations were also conducted of the Expedition after school program, a Fifth Dimension program with an archaeological learning framework in Oakland, California. Expedition involves University of California at Berkeley (UCB) faculty, staff, and students directly with sixth graders through a service learning course, Anthropology 128, Archaeological Practice in a Sixth Grade After-School Program. These evaluations sought to measure the program's success in achieving a number of youth outcomes, as well as UCB undergraduate students' goals.
Evaluators	William E. Blanton, Gary B. Moorman, Bobbie A. Hayes, and Mark L. Warner, Appalachian State University Miriam W. Schustack, Rachelle Strauss, and Patricia E. Worden, California State University at San Marcos Richard E. Mayer, Richard Durán, Amy Lavezzo, Roxana Moreno, Jill Quilici, David Sanchez, Rebecca Simon, and Scott Woodbridge, University of California at Santa Barbara Tamara Lynn Sturak, UC Links Program, Graduate School of Education, University of California, Berkeley
Evaluations Profiled	Effects of Participation in the Fifth Dimension on Far Transfer (ASU) Learning About Technology in a Non-Instructional Environment (CSUSM) Cognitive Consequences of Participation in a Fifth Dimension After-School Computer Club (UCSB) What is Learned in an After-School Computer Club? (UCSB) Evaluation of Expedition – Computers and Archaeology After School (UCB) Expedition – Computers and Archaeology After School: Year-End Report, 2000–2001 (UCB)
Evaluations Planned	Evaluations are ongoing.
Report Availability	Note: This is just a sampling of reports available. Many of these reports, as well as others, are available at: www.education.miami.edu/ blantonw/5dclhse/publications/pub1.html. Summary Reports Mayer, R. E., Blanton, W. E., Durán, R., & Schustack, M. W. (1999). Using new information technologies in the creation of sustainable afterschool literacy activities: Evaluation of cognitive outcomes. Available at www.psych.ucsb.edu/~mayer/fifth_dim_website/ HTML/res_reports/research_reports.html. Mayer, R. E., Schustack, M., & Blanton, W. (1999). What do children learn from using computers in an informal collaborative setting? Educational Technology, 39(2), 27–31. Mayer, R. E. (1997). Out-of-school learning: The case of an after-school computer club. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 16, 333–336. Underwood, C., Welsh, M., Emmons, C., Lerner, D., & Sturak, T. (2002). University-Community Links to higher learning: Program impact report. Berkeley: University of California at Berkeley, Office of the President, Educational Outreach Department. Available at: www.uclinks.org. ASU Blanton, W. E., Moorman, G. B., Hayes, B. A., & Warner, M. L. (1997). Effects of participation in the Fifth Dimension on far transfer. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 16, 371–396. CSUSM Schustack, M. W., Strauss, R. & Worden, P. E. (1997). Learning about technology in a non-instructional environment. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 16, 337–352. UCSB Mayer, R. E., Quilici, J., Moreno, R., Durán, R., Woodbridge, S., Simon, R., et al. (1997). Cognitive consequences of participation in a Fifth Dimension after-school computer club. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 16, 353–369. Mayer, R. E., Quilici, J. H., & Moreno, R. (1999). What is learned in an after-school computer club? Journal of Educational Computing Research, 20, 223–235. UCB Sturak, T. L. (2000). Evaluation of Expedition – computers and archaeology after school. Berkeley: Interactive University Project, University of California at Berkeley. Available at www.mactia.berkeley.edu/aop/activity/expedition.pdf (Acrobat file). Sturak, T. L. (2001). Expedition – computers and archaeology after school: Year-end report, 2000–2001. Berkeley: Interactive University Project, University of California at Berkeley.

Contacts

Evaluation	UC Links Mara Welsh Mahmood UC Links Statewide Office 615C University Hall Berkeley, CA 94720-1040 Tel: 510-643-7349 Email: mwelsh@uclink4.berkeley.edu ASU William E. Blanton, Ph.D., Professor of Teaching and Learning University of Miami, School of Education Merrick 324-A 5202 University Drive Coral Gables, FL 33146 Tel: 305-284-5053 Email: blantonw@miami.edu CSUSM Miriam W. Schustack, Ph.D., Professor Department of Psychology California State University 320 University Hall San Marcos, CA 92096-0001 Tel: 760-750-4095 Email: mschusta@csusm.edu UCSB Richard E. Mayer, Ph.D., Professor Department of Psychology University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA 93106 Tel: 805-893-2472 Email: mayer@psych.ucsb.edu UCB Tamara Lynn Sturak, After School and Community Coordinator UC Links Program School of Education University of California at Berkeley 615 C. University Hall Berkeley, CA 94720-1670 Tel: 510-643-7349 Email: tamara@uclink.berkeley.edu
Program	UC Links UC Links Statewide Office 615C University Hall Berkeley, CA 94720-1040 Tel: 510-643-7349 Email: uclinks@socrates.berkeley.edu ASU Walter P. Oldendorf, Ph.D., Coordinator Reich College of Education Appalachian State University Edwin Duncan Hall: EDH 04 730 Rivers Street Boone, NC 28608 Tel: 828-262-7279 Email: oldendrfwp@appstate.edu CSUSM Miriam W. Schustack, Ph.D., Professor Department of Psychology California State University 320 University Hall San Marcos, CA 92096-0001 Tel: 760-750-4095 Email: mschusta@csusm.edu UCSB Lupe Arteaga, Club Coordinator Club Proteo 5701 Hollister Avenue Goleta, CA 93117 Tel: 805-967-1612 Email: marteaga@education.ucsb.edu UCB Tamara Lynn Sturak, After School and Community Coordinator UC Links Program School of Education University of California at Berkeley 615 C. University Hall Berkeley, CA 94720-1670 Tel: 510-643-7349 Email: Tamara@uclink.berkeley.edu
Profile Updated	May 20, 2003

Evaluation 5 (UCB): Evaluation of Expedition – Computers and Archaeology After School

Evaluation Description

Evaluation Purpose	To examine how some of the program's objectives were met for both the sixth grade and UCB undergraduate participants during the first year of the Expedition program. Specifically, the evaluation measured success of youth on a series of desired outcomes. These outcomes stated that students will: (1) have fun and want to participate; (2) have a safe place to learn and play after school; (3) learn basic computer skills, such as mouse, interface, and file manipulation, and how to play games; (4) increase their reading and writing skills; (5) learn how to work cooperatively in groups; (6) learn how to teach others; and (7) have hands-on experience with archaeology materials. The evaluation also looked at goals of the program for the UCB students. These goals state that undergraduates will be provided with opportunities to: (1) participate in service that directly impacts the educational experience of sixth graders and contributes to neighborhood development; (2) gain experience in alternative educational/pedagogical approaches; (3) gain experience in the development of teaching tools; (4) develop and hone skills in participant observation, the creation of field notes, and the development of research questions to be answered with field data; (5) build teaching and communication skills, particularly within a strongly multicultural environment; and (6) positively impact children's lives at a crucial developmental stage by providing them with college-age role models/mentors.
Evaluation Design	Non-Experimental: UCB undergraduate students served as participant observers, collecting ethnographic data on participants in the Expedition program, a Fifth Dimension program based at Roosevelt Middle School in Oakland, California's San Antonio neighborhood.
Data Collection Methods	Observation: UCB undergraduates wrote extensive field notes following each day of their after school experience. These observations provided a view of the behaviors and accomplishments of the sixth grade participants over time, as well as the reflections and learning objectives of the UCB students. The UCB students kept “Expedition Logs” that documented each child's activities throughout the school year. Secondary Source/Data Review: Demographic data were collected for the sixth grade participants on their ethnicity/nationality and the primary language(s) spoke at home. However, these data were not available for about half of the participants because the survey asking parents to specify ethnicity and home language was not completely filled out by all parents. Program attendance data were also collected on the sixth graders.
Data Collection Timeframe	Data were collected during the 1999–2000 school year.

Findings:
Formative/Process Findings

Activity Implementation	Thirty after school activities were designed and put into practice by the 43 UCB students who completed an Anthropology course over two semesters. Some of the activities involved computer games, some focused on CD-ROM resources exploring a particular country or culture, such as Peru or the Maya, and others were hands-on archaeology activities. Some activities were improvised in order to meet children's individual needs. Of the 30 activities, 25 involved writing, 18 incorporated reading, 16 integrated computer games with ancient history/archaeology, 7 involved hands-on archaeology skills, 4 were web-based, and 3 explored computer skills. During the first year, sixth graders completed a total of 592 activities over 18 weeks. Each activity incorporated three levels of difficulty: beginner, good, and expert. Of the activities completed during the first year, 259 were beginner level, 208 were good level, and 125 were expert level. The children's expedition logs documented the completion of a total of 149 writing tasks for all participants. The children were required to read daily in the program, and some received individual help with reading. One UCB student noted that the program provided the sixth graders with “a lot of focused, individual attention.”
Program Context/Infrastructure	Literacy is a major challenge at Roosevelt Middle School, with 57% of the students in LEP (limited English proficiency) status. More than 50% of the families in Oakland's San Antonio neighborhood are at or below the poverty level.
Recruitment/Participation	A total of 61 sixth graders, ages 10–13, were served by this program over a total of 902 hours. Aside from a few children who moved away over the course of the year and a few who dropped out, the evaluator found overall retention to be good, with about 25 children participating for the full year. New children joined the program throughout the year. Aside from the 25 yearlong regulars, a large number of latecomer kids stayed with the program to the end. Of the participants for whom data are available, the ethnicity/nationality of participants are as follows: 11 were African American/Black, 7 were Chinese/Chinese American, 4 were not specified, 2 were Mexican American, and there was one student from each of the following groups: Vietnamese, Bosnian, Latin American, Tongan, Mien, and Cambodian. This diversity reflects the diversity of the neighborhood; San Antonio is the most culturally diverse region of Oakland, with a large population of recent immigrants. Of the participants for whom data are available, the language(s) participants spoke at home are as follows: 12 speak English, 6 speak Cantonese, 4 speak Spanish, 2 speak Spanish and English, and one student each speaks each of the following: Bosnian, Laotian, Vietnamese, Tongan and English, Mien and English, and Cambodian and English. Data on the participants' computer access and experience indicate that 50 children had used a computer before, 19 had a computer at home (31 did not), and 5 had never used a computer.
Staffing/Training	A UCB student indicated that the process of writing field notes was beneficial, “The field notes served as the most rewarding aspect of the class in terms of connecting all the components. While writing the field notes, I was forced to question the motivations behind my actions.”

Summative/Outcome Findings

Youth Development

Field notes provide evidence that students learned how to work cooperatively in groups and how to teach others. For example, a UCB student describes one such interaction between two of the sixth graders, “After [Sheila] had completed the game, we joined up with her friend, Rita, and played Carmen San Diego. Rita has had more experience playing this game and made most of the decisions. However, she was not bossy. Rita explained all of the moves to Sheila, and took Sheila's ideas and thoughts into consideration.”

Field notes provided evidence that the sixth graders gained hands-on experience with archaeological materials and were highly engaged in the activities. A UCB student describes this phenomenon, “We could not choose a task card fast enough for them—they wanted to handle and play with whatever was placed before them … They envisioned possibilities for our task cards that even I could not have imagined. They asked us if they could bring their own bag of artifacts, or their own garbage and analyze them…”

Field notes suggest that youth were learning empowerment and independence through the Expedition activities. One UCB student noted that “free-form activities such as writing to the Supernova and choice-based activities such as exploring the study in Cartoon History of the Universe, helped develop feelings of empowerment and independence in many of the sixth graders. In order to better foster these feelings, mentors should (and often did, according to my observations) allow their young partners to make mistakes and discover solutions on their own.”

Field notes suggest that the mentoring relationship was beneficial to both youth and mentors, as this field note illustrates, “My experience with Loretta has been positive for both of us. Loretta is a girl who truly loves to learn … I think she loved having a nonauthoritative mentor to help her one-on-one. At first, she was a little shy about asking questions and reading aloud. Towards the end, however, it was questions, questions, questions! … My experience with her has only strengthened my desire to teach community college someday.” Another UCB student noted that, “being able to interact with the futures of our world and play a substantial role in their development was very exciting.”

A Profile of the Evaluation of Fifth Dimension/University-Community Links

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