From: Duane Cleghorn
Submit: Post Field Note
VisitDate: 10/16/96
Adult-Run:
Children-Run:
Collaborative: Selected
Unclear-Philosophy:
Bottom-up:
Top-down: Selected
Unclear-Approach:
Informal: Selected
Formal:
Unclear-Type:
Date: 25 Oct 1996
Time: 16:43:25
Remote Name: ss1-pc13.ucsc.edu
Marissa was playing the "lion king" on the computer when I sat down. I asked her if she knew how to play, it seemed that she wasn't actually playing but watching the graphics and wanting to play, and she said she and a friend played on her friend's computer after school a lot. I watched her for a while, this was the first time I had seen cd-rom games, and she seemed to know how to move around and push the buttons, but not how to get into the game. I suggested that she click on the pictures in the middle and when she did, there appeared puzzles that she started to put together. I believe that through this interaction, Marissa learned how to get into the game and now she will be able to tell others that don't know. I think that if some other kid would have seen her having trouble, they might have helped if they knew how. I think that the kids see us undergraduates as people they can look to for help, not as if they would admit that they needed help or not. Through this interaction, i learned what she learned, being as how i had never seen the cd-rom game.
As this is the first time i have worked with kids, i am learning that being an adult seems to be a clue to children that i know more than they do and they can look to me for guidance. At first, i was nervous about working with the kids, but now that i see how it is, it is a lot easier for me. The kids seem to want my help, and this is totally different from the same-age people that usually want to just tell how it's to be. I find that working in a collaborative setting is a lot more satisfying, since me and the kid i'm working with are both experiencing learning.