Publishing Web for Students' Final Papers
Publishing Web for Students' Final Papers |
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From: Valerie Boes
Email: vboes@cats.ucsc.edu
Course: Psych101: Informal Learning and Technology
College: Crown college, UCSC
Instructor: Eugene Matusov
ClassWeb: http://www.ematusov.com/psych101.demo
ChildrenObservations: Yes
Date: 13 Dec 1996
Time: 14:47:29
Remote Name: hart1102-21.ucdavis.edu
How do differences in language effect the dimensions of relationships between college undergraduates and children in an after school program called local Santa Cruz Latino Youth Center? The collaboration of U.C. Santa Cruz and the local Santa Cruz Latino Youth Center provides an environment where this and other questions can be answered. The local Santa Cruz Latino Youth Center is a "National coalition against gang warfare and violence" (E.L. 1996). It offers children and teenagers a place to go after school as an alternative to the streets. U.C. Santa Cruz's role with the local Santa Cruz Latino Youth Center is to provide undergraduates who are enrolled in various psychology and education courses to work side-by-side with the children who choose to attend the local Santa Cruz Latino Youth Center. This paper focuses on the first group of undergraduates and children who participated in this after school activity. The undergraduates have all been raised in English speaking homes, while a majority of the children have been raised in household where Spanish is the first language. The language difference coupled with differences in backgrounds created an unique learning environment for the children attending the local Santa Cruz Latino Youth Center as well as for the undergraduates. This paper illustrates how the undergraduates and the children worked collaboratively to identify and solve, when possible, the differences in language.
Introduction
After school programs to facilitate learning have existed for years. They evolve with the new technologies, philosophies, and social practices in our communities. Over the last decade or so, UCSD in collaboration with missions, centers, and organizations in San Diego have experimented with programs in which undergraduates work with children in after school settings. One program, named the 5th Dimension, was originated by Michael Cole in 1981(Verenikina, 1995). He explains the 5th dimension as a "specially designed cultural medium for promoting the all around intellectual and social development of 6-12 year old children while introducing them to computers and computer networking" (Verenikina, 1995). The children at the 5th Dimension work with undergraduates who try to work with their zone of proximal development. The zone of proximal development as defined by Lev Vygotsky is "the difference between a child's "actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving" and the level of "potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers""(Griffin & Cole 1994). La Clase Magica is another program in San Diego that "is designed to create zones of proximal development as children and adults collaborate in problem-solving interactions around literacy-mediated activities supported by computer and telecommunications technology"(Vasquez, 1994). Hearing about the success of these and other programs prompted UCSC to collaborate with the local Santa Cruz Latino Youth Center in order to create their own after school program. The local Santa Cruz Latino Youth Center is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to "stopping the violence". The majority of the people who attend the local Santa Cruz Latino Youth Center are Latino. In this study I examine the relationship between the undergraduates (more capable peers) and the children given the differences in languages.
Method
Sample
There were 13 undergraduates and 32 children who attended the local Santa Cruz Latino Youth Center fall quarter of 1996. Within the undergraduates, one was bilingual and four had taken one or more years of high school Spanish. Both of the Teachers Aides were fluent in both English and Spanish. Fieldnotes and observations from myself and other undergraduates, showed that the majority of the children were comfortable speaking both English and Spanish but were more apt to speak Spanish when conversing with friends. There were four children who spoke little to no English to the undergraduates. There were 32 children who were split into two groups; one group met on Monday and Friday afternoons while the other group met on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons. Similarly, the undergraduates were split into two groups.
Materials
The local Santa Cruz Latino Youth Center provided two rooms for the children and the undergraduates to work in. One of the rooms had computers lining the walls and the other had tables where one could color, write letters, or do homework. There were various games and c.d. ROM's that could be played on the computers. If a child decided they didn't want to work on the computers, there were board games, cards, markers, and other materials provided.
Procedure
The local Santa Cruz Latino Youth Center has an informal atmosphere. The children choose their own tasks and the undergraduates assist them if they need help or ask for it. The undergraduates were not formally trained. They acted as more "knowledgeable others" rather than as teachers. They were open to learn from the children and didn't primarily give yes or no answers, but worked together with the children to find solutions. The undergraduates drew from previous experiences, readings and discussions from class, and their instinct to work with, assist, and guide the children. A good portion of the readings revolved around Vygotsky's Zone of proximal development and the collaborative learning/teaching approach. The undergraduates were to write fieldnotes describing what they observed, what type of learning they think took place, any reflections and inquiries they had. The fieldnotes written by the undergraduates contained many examples of the zone of proximal development and other types of assisting.
Analysis
The majority of the children that attend the local Santa Cruz Latino Youth Center have been raised in primarily Spanish speaking homes and have learned English as their second language. As mentioned earlier, only one of the undergraduates is bilingual and four others have taken one year or more of high school or college Spanish. Not speaking the same language posed problems for the undergraduates and the children. In the reflections section of a field note entitled "language barriers", one undergraduate wrote, "I've had a difficult time with learning language in my life. It was very intimidating to help a student who could not understand me, and vice versa"(J.T 10/09/96). In another fieldnote a discouraged undergraduate expressed her frustration when working with Lisa, a 13 year old who doesn't know much English. "I couldn't really explain to her how to play it (hangman) and it's sort of important to be able to spell in English to play hang man" (V.B. 10/16/96). A different undergraduate worked with Lisa and noticed the wall that language can create in learning. "I quickly realized that she did not speak a word of English, and I saw that she was very frustrated by the computer" (J.T. 10/9/96). The undergraduate tried to show her how to play the game but it did not help her much. "She could not read the words given by the computer about what to do, and I could not tell her either, so she just moved the little man around the screen for about ten minutes". Language is one way of communicating and the language barriers at the local Santa Cruz Latino Youth Center proved as an obstacle for teaching games on the computers, keeping a child interested in a game, showing strategies for playing games and so on.
On the other hand, language barriers also served as a learning tool. Through the struggles of not being able to communicate orally, the undergraduates and children found other methods of communication. In the same fieldnote that dealt with Lisa, the undergraduate wrote "It was great to be separated by language yet be able to communicate. It made me realize that there are so many other ways to express yourself. Nina reminded me of when I use to baby-sit. You have to try different ways of doing things before you realize what will work and what won't" (V.B. 10/16/96). By finding ways to surpass the obstacle of language, the undergraduates learned new ways to assist learning. Both undergraduate and child learned how to communicate without relying solely on language. In another fieldnote, with the help of a translator, an undergraduate was able to use the child's language as a learning experience for himself. "I read the names (on her computer screen) out loud, and I asked her if I was right. I thanked her in Spanish for helping me pronounce the names and she seemed very pleased. I then loaded a word program on the computer next to me, and wrote, yo my llamo J. She smiled, and I asked her how to write my mother's name is...on her computer so that I could type it on mine" (J.T 19/9/96). Before working with Lisa, this undergraduate did not know how to say my mother's name is.. in Spanish. After working with Lisa he did. Olga Vasquez points out that "children learn if they can comprehend the linguistic or cultural underpinnings of a didactic interaction." Because the local Santa Cruz Latino Youth Center was new and not equipped with technology for Spanish speaking children, opportunities to learn were lost . The fall quarter was the first time the course had been offered, so there were some glitches-one being lack of appropriate software. There were two c.d.Roms games that had the choice of English or Spanish. This left the Spanish speaking children with few chances to "comprehend" a game: "At first we tried to play grandma and me but we couldn't get the computer to talk in Spanish (Lisa doesn't know English). We decided on the Charlie Brown game. The Charlie brown game speaks English so Lisa was confused" (V.B. 1996). There wasn't another option so instead of the undergraduate and child working together to learn, both were discouraged.
Conclusion
Language is an important part of our lives. It is especially useful when one is trying to teach or learn. At the local Santa Cruz Latino Youth Center language was a problem. At time child and undergraduate could not communicate. Other times they relied on translators. Even with these barriers, both child and undergraduate learned. They learned how to find paths around the walls, they learned other forms of communication. The collaboration of the local Santa Cruz Latino Youth Center and U.C.S.C. has the potential to be great. Learning took place between the undergraduates and the children, friendships were formed, and the children had a place to go to after school. What now? Now we need to take what we learned in the first quarter at the local Santa Cruz Latino Youth Center and try to improve it. We know that the majority of the children that attend the local Santa Cruz Latino Youth Center are Latino, now we need to get software that is appropriate. We need to look at ways to get past language barrios that will allow learning to take place.
Refernces
Boes, V. (1996) Fieldnotes
Cole, M. & Griffin, M. Current Activity for the Future: The Zo-ped.
McDevitt, A. (1996). Fieldnotes
Thyne, J. (1996). Fildnotes
Vaszuez, O. (1994). The magic of La Clase Magiiica: enhancing the learning potential of bilingual children.
Verenikina, I. (1995). What's the 5th Dimension.
