UCLinks at UCIrvine - the Cosmic Dimension

Introduction

UCLinks is dedicated to improving the quality of education by children living in urban communities near the university so that their chances of attending college here are improved. One of similar projects at locations throughout California, the nation and the world, our program uses technology and structured after school play to support the academic and personal development of participating children, bringing undergraduates together with children, parents, and the community to assure the children's access to the higher education pipeline.

What is UCLinks?

UCLinks at UCI is part of a network of outreach programs situated on campuses throughout the UC system, other states in the US and other nations. At UCI, it is the Cosmic Dimension After School Computer Club meets at Wilson Elementary, the site of the community fieldwork requirement (160L) for Ed160, Practicum in After School Learning and Inquiry. As a university student who is considering teaching, UCLinks provides you with real-world experiences working and playing with children and assisting them in learning the academic skills they will need for higher education. Your experiences at the Club will reinforce class topics of instruction and allow you to experiment with strategies that will enhance your instructional competence. You will learn how to relate to children on a personal level and "make a difference," and your fieldwork writing assignments will help you develop important professional observation and writing skills.

For university researchers, this after school collaboration between the university and the community creates incomparable opportunities for research on children's formal and informal learning, language acquisition, the uses of technology, gender issues involving technology, community empowerment through education, and other subjects.

What is the Cosmic Dimension and Who is El Maga?

At the Cosmic Dimension Club, you will offer the children one-on-one friendship and mentoring on a weekly basis. Your focus will be both social and academic as you develop strong personal ties with your children as you work and play together in activities designed to enhance the children's skills in technology, reading and writing. Your conversations with them about university life will encourage them to pursue higher education, and provide valuable support for their academic studies.

In the Cosmic Dimension, you will guide the Cyberkids through a maze of literacy, kinesthetic and computer activites. Each room in the maze has specific activities that must be completed successfully before you move to another room. El Maga is the wizard of Cyberspace who rules the Cosmic Dimension, keeping watch over the Cyberkids and Cyberguides and directing you all likes the Cyberkids to write, poems, letters and other literacy projects for his/her amusement. Occasionally the Cosmic Fly appears to play havoc on schedules, computers and the like, so obviously he/she is responsible for any problems that arise.

Logistics

Attendance: On the first day of the club you will meet the children in the UCLinks room (the Music Room, bungalow #16). After that you and the children must responsibly sign-in for your attendance on your scheduled day and time every week that school is in session. The children assigned to you will count on you being there every week and you must let the site coordinator know if you'll be late or absent.

Who: Wilson Elementary students, grades 2-5 who are not currently participating in another after school program, most of them English learners. Two to three children will work with each UCI volunteer "cyberguide" on the afternoon that you can regularly schedule for them. Students have been recommended for this program by their teachers and parents have been contacted for their permission. Your activities are coordinated by Site Coordinators with Cosmic Dimension experience.

What: Both you, as a "cyberguide" from UCI, and the children will be sign in, pick up their passports, and choose an activity in the maze. On crowded days, student groups will rotate to use the computers at 40 minute intervals. Group formation and rotation will be at the direction of the Site Coordinator. Each participant trio will choose a room in the maze and within that room pick an activity. They may pull a task card on that activity and decide together the difficulty level to use. Each room will have a set number of software activities (ranged difficult to easy), a literacy activity or a book buddy option or homework help option, a board game choice, and a "kinesthetic challenge" option. The children must accomplish 4 of these at a good or expert level in order to go to the next room. Snacks will be provided by the school and will be scheduled into the rotation. A recess will also be scheduled between rotations or at intervals. Children and cyberguides will get their passports stamped and sign out before leaving.

Volunteer Guide

Relax, and have fun; nobody expects you to be an expert.

Enthusiasm, sincere interest in the children and a willingness to learn are key ingredients for successfully volunteering in this program. You have many qualities you probably don’t even realize, and your friendship will be the best thing you offer these children.

After-school programs provide a balance of educational, social and recreational opportunities for children to learn in a safe, fun way, and there are many important ways you, as an academically based volunteer, can be really helpful.

Becoming a mentor, or simply a friend to a child, gives you a unique opportunity to be a role model who can help:

* Create environments that enhance children’s self-esteem.

* Personally support and help children to achieve their full potential.

* Promote cultural awareness and appreciation of cultural and linguistic differences.

* Value children and encourage them to believe in themselves.

* Create a positive interpersonal environment.

* Help children to develop positive self-concepts.

Tips on Tutoring

* Only go into tutoring if the child requests help, and still spend a little time socializing first.

* Give clear directions.

* Assess the student's understanding of the subject or assignment. Let the student tell you their perception of what they are supposed to do. It is important to find out exactly what the student knows before jumping in to help.

* Break the task into small pieces if possible, allowing the student to focus on one thing at a time.

* Ask questions. This will help the child think about specific aspects of the lesson and will provide children and youth opportunities to arrive at an answer through their own efforts. This is highly motivating!

* When working with a group of students avoid calling on the first person who raises his or her hand. This will indicate that you are willing to give everyone time to think about the answer.

* Look for ways to motivate children and youth so that they are actively involved in the lesson or activity.

Tips for Giving Feedback to Children and Youth

Providing feedback refers to reflecting back to a child, without judgments about the effectiveness of their performance or behavior. Good feedback identifies what was done well and what needs improvement.

Feedback Checklist

* Give appropriate positive feedback and recognition immediately.

* Let the student know it is all right to try even if they're unsure of the outcome. Show the children and youth that you are confident to try new things if sometimes a little nervous. This will help them attempt new situations, too.

* If a student doesn't try to answer a question, calmly ask the question again, give a hint, or ask another question that might elicit the same answer. Be patient and encouraging!

* Encourage children and youth to think out loud and talk through their responses. Model your own reasoning processes.

* Always try to get a right answer before going on to the next problem.

* If the student's answer is incomplete, ask additional questions or offer clues to help the student arrive at a complete response.

* If a student answers incorrectly, be sure he understands what the error was. Give another opportunity later to repeat the question and answer so that the correct answer is reinforced. Stories about how you learned hard problems like these help put the children at ease.

* If a student consistently gets the wrong answer, review the different ways you might involve the student and try another approach until you find one that provides success.

*Always end the session with appreciation and mention the pleasure it has been to spend time with the children.

Check out resources

There are many resources available that will help you feel more confident. Recommended resources include:

*Read*Write*Now! Partners Tutoring Program Manual http://www.udel.edu/ETL/RWN/Tutorman.html

* Tutoring Techniques http://www.gallaudet.edu/~engwweb/tutoring/index.html