1. Alice in the Elementary School: Lessons From the Front Line Alice Symposium Duke University, Durham, North Carolina June 17, 2009 Kristin Bedell

2. School Background “Eagle Elementary” (pseudonym) is a high poverty school located in a rural area of North Carolina. Many students’ families are farm workers, involved in the service industry or work in local factories. However, there are also a number of students whose families work at one of the nearby universities. It serves approximately 470 students in Pre-K through 5 th grades. Students are ethnically, racially, economically and linguistically diverse.

3. Most Important Lesson of All Elementary students CAN program in Alice! 11 5 th graders signed up, including 2 students who signed up for both semesters 2 received services through Special Education 2 identified as “gifted” 2 identified as “nurturing” 5 students from the general education pool Students were ethnically, racially, economically, and linguistically diverse

4. Three Areas of Focus Program Structure Support Materials Computer Access Curriculum Materials Student Achievement Skills Content Affective Domain

5. Program Structure Fifth Grade “Enrichment Days” Every Friday during a normal week (e.g., 5 full days, no early release times) We ended up with about 7 sessions per semester, including an animation fair. Took place of normal specials at that time Students self-select from a variety of class offerings Students may be held back by their classroom teachers if they have incomplete work

6. Program Structure Pros All students had the opportunity offered to them Focus on creativity and student interest versus “school” Cons Irregular schedule Weather Absences Learning loss during the long breaks Much review and repeating ate valuable time Unable to tie school learning to Alice

7. Program Structure: Next Year Formal units of study as enrichment/extension for students who consistently demonstrate writing skills that exceed grade level expectations. Students will animate a piece of a narrative they’ve written Opportunity to integrate curriculum for more advanced students Small, targeted investigations to align with “enrichment” days and capture student interest. Use tutorials developed by Dr. Rodger & students

8. Support Materials Computer access Curriculum materials

9. Computer Access Access varied widely for students Home: Most students, but not all, had computer access at home. Age and quality of computers varied. At least two students were unable to successfully install/run Alice at home. School: The only guaranteed time students had computer access was during the classes in the computer lab. Classroom computers varied in their age, quality and condition, and teachers varied in their approach to using computers within the classroom.

10. Computer Access: Next Year Working with Tech Specialist at our school to create a mini-lab for Alice. Students participating in the full units will have access to computers in the mini-lab as part of their writing time. Arranging my schedule to be “in residence” with upper-grades teachers to help facilitate differentiation in the classroom.

11. Curriculum Materials First Semester: Tutorials were created as we went in order to try and address student interest and provide students with enough skills to create original animations. Modeled after tutorials from 2008 Teacher Institute at Duke Allowed students to see me work through programming using a “Think Aloud” technique Erratic schedule and student absences resulted in poor curriculum cohesion

12. Curriculum Materials Second Semester: Much smaller class, including some students who had taken the first semester of Alice Greater use of Dr. Rodger’s tutorials Students able to work at their own pace and get help from peers working on the same tutorial Students did not transfer the skills as easily to original projects

13. Curriculum Materials: Next Year For formal units: Use “writing workshop” model 10-minute mini-lessons that involve “Think Aloud” techniques to highlight a specific programming aspect  Create a series of Alice worlds around a personal narrative. Each world in the sequence stops at a critical programming moment to allow for the mini- lesson. Students apply mini-lesson to their original work Students conference with each other as well as with teacher

14. Curriculum Materials: Next Year For “enrichment” days: Continue to use Dr. Rodger’s tutorials. Provide a “challenge” for students to complete during the penultimate session. Animation fair during the final session each semester.

15. Student Achievement Skills Content Affective Domain

16. Skills All students were able to achieve some measure of success with Alice Navigating around the Alice screens Placing/sizing objects in the world Moving objects up, down, left, right Turn and roll Some students were able to manipulate the camera, add sound, and make objects invisible Two students worked on creating variables during the second semester using the timer tutorials

17. Content We were not able to integrate as much “school content” as I had hoped. Given the limitations of time, computer access, etc., our “school content” was mainly sequencing skills and storyboard planning. Next year, I hope to integrate Alice throughout the curriculum through the formal units.

18. Affective Domain Students enjoyed working with Alice and seeing their animations. Next year, I will gather more data about the impact of Alice on students’ self-concept with regards to STEM. Numbers of students who attempt a full unit after an enrichment class Fifth grade elective choices for middle school

19. Contact Information Kristin Bedell, AIG Specialist Email: kristin.bedell@orange.k12.nc.uskristin.bedell@orange.k12.nc.us Telephone: 919-563-5112 ext. 42900