Project A Academy A Evaluation
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Prior to attending the AA Academy, nearly all the participants
considered that they had a pretty good idea of what they would
be doing. For those with previous experience in an in-school or after school program, similar
activities were anticipated but with more time and resources.
For those with no prior experience, teachers and in a few
cases friends and parents appear to have been effective at
describing the program and at depicting it as something likely
to be of interest. For example, one girl said of her teacher:
My teacher told me... where it is going to be located, what
you were going to be doing… like you were going to be
doing programming, making robots, presenting them and stuff
(8th grade beginner girl)
Nearly three-quarters of the participants found out about
the AA Academy directly from a teacher or through a general
school announcement. A few (15%) found out through a family
member, typically mothers and grandmother, and a few others
found out through other adults or same age friends, including
in one case a participant in last summer's academy.
Table 1, which allows for multiple responses, shows students'
motivations to attend the AA Academy for each of the two sessions.
Table 1. Students' motivation to attend the AA Academy by
session.
| Motivation to Attend |
Overall
(n=27)
|
Girls only
Beginner
Session
(n=16) |
Mixed,
Intermediate
Session
(n=11) |
| Previous interest/experience |
29.6%
n=8
|
31.2%
5
|
27.3%
3
|
| Like robots |
29.6%
n=8
|
25.0%
4
|
36.4%
4
|
| Sounded fun |
25.9%
n=7
|
31.2%
5
|
18.2%
2
|
| Wanted to learn |
22.2%
n=6
|
18.8%
3
|
27.3%
3
|
| Like building |
22.2%
n=6
|
25.0%
4
|
18.2%
2
|
| Parent promoted |
14.8%
n=4
|
18.8%
3
|
9.1%
1
|
| Computer related/programming |
14.8%
n=4
|
12.5%
2
|
18.2%
2
|
| Something different/novel |
14.8%
n=4
|
18.8%
3
|
9.1%
1
|
Other responses included: friend and past participant recommended;
will help me with science; like to design; chance to meet
new people; will help me with future career pursuits.
Boys often cited interest in building, robots, and programming
as prompting them to participate:
I just came here to learn more about robots and
program different things with the computer (7th grade intermediate
boy)
I like building robots, it's fun (7th grade intermediate boy)
I like robotics, I don't know how, I don't know
why, I just like the fact that you can put a little piece
of machinery together, add a bit of oil to it, flick a switch
and that little piece of machinery comes to life. That, by
the way, is by <name of famous author>, but I like using
it. (6th grade intermediate boy)
Since I was in school I really liked to build stuff
and see how it works so I just
thought it would be great (8th grade intermediate boy)
One older boy connected his participation in the academy
to future career interest:
Umm, because to be a video game [programmer], I
mean to build video games and be a computer programmer...
I want to make the video games realistic, make it like the
real world (9th grade intermediate boy)
Practical concerns about future school success and education
trajectories were also implied in several girls' responses.
For example:
I thought it was fun when I went to the after school
program. I like robots and stuff, and I think it will help
me better with science and stuff and its really fun. (7th
grade intermediate girl)
For some girls, the connection between the AA Academy and
future learning and educational success was established and
perpetuated by significant women in their lives, predominately
mothers but also grandmothers:
Usually I do something fun and my grandma had this
on her list... she works here...1 thought it would be fun
because when I came [to University Y] for mother/daughter
day it was fun (6th grade beginner girl)
I had a good time doing it in school and it teaches
me more how to use the computer. And I have fun building the
robots and I think it's a good experience, not all kids get
to do this, so, my mom said you should go for the experience...
She wants me to learn more. Like she told me to be the
best that I can be so she signs me up for a lot of stuff like
this. And she signs me up for cultural activities and learning
activities, like I'm supposed to be going to this camp where
we can learn about the city of Philadelphia this summer...
(7th grade intermediate girl)
[My parents] say it's good for you to go there...
and my dad says I've done it before so I should know what
I'm doing and it's a very good school [i.e., University Y]
so its nice to have on my portfolio or profile...(7th grade
intermediate girl)
[My mom] thought this was nice and she was glad
that I was doing something different. [Interviewer: Different
than what?] Like summer camp. I usually go to my reading or
math class because I really like math. [Interviewer: Is this
an enrichment program?] Yes [Interviewer: Sounds like you're
busy in the summer] Yeah, totally busy, not home watching
TV ...I know how I can get, I can be lazy (7th grade beginner
girl)
My mom thought it would be good and me too... [She
thought it would be a] good thing for me to do instead of
just staying at home all summer. She said maybe you could
learn some more stuff and go to like robotics high school,
something like that (8th grade intermediate girl)
One girl recounted her mother's initial role in motivating
her daughter to stick with the school's after school robotics
program long enough to make an informed judgment about whether
she liked it:
I was interested because I was in an after school
club at my school, School C, and they said [about the club
that] you can build machines, different robots and
machines, and try to find it as a career. At first I didn't
like it and I asked mom if I can quit but then she said just
go and see, go for a little more and see how I like it. And
so I went for another week and I liked it and I started building
a whole lot of things that I like, and I wanted to stay there.
That's why I'm here. (7th grade intermediate girl)
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All but a few students had some prior formal or informal,
and direct or vicarious experience with robots prior to attending
the academy. Allowing for multiple responses, Table 2 shows
students' prior robotics experience for each of the sessions.
The category 'sort of' includes vicarious experiences in which
students had seen a demonstration of robotics, either at school
or at a local science center, or had engaged in some robotics-like
activities at home (such as using Knex, a Lego-like kit with
batteries). The majority of those with no previous robotics
experience (3 of the 5) were 8th grade girls.
Table 2 Students' previous
experience with robotics.
Previous
Robotics
Experience |
Session
|
|
Overall
|
Girls only
Beginner
|
Mixed
Intermediate
|
| Yes |
66.7%
n=18
|
43.8%
7
|
100.0%
11
|
| Sort of |
14.8%
n=4
|
25.0%
4
|
0
|
| No |
18.5%
n=5
|
31.2%
5
|
0
|
| Totals |
100.0%
n=27
|
100.0%
16
|
100.0%
11
|
Table 3 shows the breakdown of the kinds of previous experience
with robots participants had.
Table 3 Type of previous experience
with robotics.
| |
Previous Robotics Experience
|
|
Overall
|
Yes
|
Sort of
|
In-school
program |
54.5%
n=12
|
66.7%
12
|
0
|
After-
school club |
22.7%
n=5
|
27.8%
5
|
0
|
Informal/
home |
18.2%
n=4
|
16.7%
3
|
25.0%
1
|
Demo by
teacher |
9.1%
n=2
|
0
|
50.0%
2
|
Similar to last year's findings, two of the participants,
both boys, with informal at home experience cited "taking
things apart":
...If there is something no body wants I try to
take it apart [Interviewer: Do you ever put it back together?]
If I don't want to get in trouble I sometimes put it back
together (7th grade intermediate boy)
At home, I take apart stuff...and put it back together
and do like mechanical stuff with it [Interviewer: What kind
of stuff?] Toasters, old toys, see if I can fix them (7th
grade intermediate boy)
Participants with some in-school or after-school robotics
experience were readily able to compare and contrast their
school-based experience to that of the academy. The academy
was observed to afford a more extended and advanced experience
in contrast to school:
It started out the same as with the robotics club...
It is the same because we do the same stuff, have the same
tools and also same because, like we have to work in groups
and have to do certain things. It is different because we
have more time, can accomplish more and do more things in
a day (7th grade intermediate girl)
It is the same because they both used Mindstorms.
It is different because this is more advanced. (7th grade
intermediate boy)
In school we built the mouse and the Robobot, that's
all we did... [This is] different because we got more pieces
and we could make more things. We have a long period of time.
In school it's only 45 minutes. (8th grade intermediate boy)
The majority of AA Academy participants (60%) did not know
anyone in their lives who does the kinds of things that they
had been doing during the session. Most who did know someone
cited a parent or other family member-uncle, aunt, grandfather,
cousin, sibling-who is or was involved in building/construction
(n=3), computer programming/building (n=2), electronics/wiring
(n=2) or engineering (n=2). In only a very few instances did
students say that they regularly interact with this person
around the robotics-related substantive area.
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