| What
kids say about Talk It Out Kids:
"You really squeezed a lot of
information out of us but you didn't pressure us to give a right
or wrong answer."
"The skits were things that really happened to us in real life
so it helped to know that my friend and I weren't the only ones
with these problems."
"This kind of activity really gets you thinking."
"Since we had so much fun, we would love to do this again with
you wonderful people because we would probably learn a little bit
more every time."
"I had fun expressing my feelings
and talking about situations made me think really hard."
"I thought the questions were very easy. The answers were the
hard part."
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What
teachers say about Talk It Out Kids:
Please
note that Talk It Out Kids
was formerly called Van Go Radio.
"From
the moment of the opening notes of the song to the last sound of
the credits, I had a captive group of listeners, participants and
most importantly, learners."
"If
all aspects of my professional life were like Van Go Radio there
would be 'no child left behind.'"
"I have never seen our students listen so well as they do when
they are listening to Van Go Radio. It is inspiring as a language
arts teacher to see them listening so well. Likewise, their involvement
in the discussion is amazing. Your hosts are great at helping the
students voice their opinion. I don't believe I have ever seen a
language arts program that develops these skills as well."
"The activities that were included in the Teacher's Guide were
used extensively. My principal and curriculum coordinator appreciated
the link to the Massachusetts Frameworks."
"As in many
new situations, the class was apprehensive about talking on air,
but once the show got going the hosts put them at ease and speaking
was easy."
"I think this opportunity for the 5th graders to think through
their feelings on issues, express themselves succinctly and experiment
with the immediacy of the radio media has been an extremely rewarding
experience for each student involved."
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What
parents say about Talk It Out Kids:
"You have performed such a valuable
service, and given such a fabulous opportunity to our young people
- letting them know that what they do CAN make a difference!"
"The children have learned about cooperation, concern for others,
and that each person's opinion matters to others!"
"I appreciate the fact that you use creative activities such
as this to stimulate the children's learning."
"My son has been so excited about his participation 'on the
radio' that he has been inspired to think and work together with
his peers to write plays, poems and situations for the children
to solve. He can't stop talking about it!"
"What a unique and positive high-tech learning experience for
our daughter. These young students have gained first-hand experience
with electronic teleconferencing that will surely be required in
future careers."
"I commend you for your involvement in developing "life
skills" for our children and providing such an interesting
and motivating avenue for expression."
"I believe my daughter's participation in the Talk It Out Kids
project helped her gain confidence and helped her work together
as a team with other students."
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Evaluation
Results School Year '05-'06
Please
note that Talk It Out Kids
was formerly called Van Go Radio.
Results:
The
2005-2006 academic year was the Van Go Radio Project’s eighth
year of production and second year of Internet Radio broadcasts.
Although we offered one less series than in the previous year, we
increased the number of children served. Many classrooms took advantage
of our synchronous and asynchronous discussion features. And despite
some technical difficulties, feedback from both teachers and students
indicated they liked emailing during the broadcasts (synchronous
discussion) and between broadcasts (“Continue the Conversation”
asynchronous discussion).
Four hundred and ninety two (492) students from twenty one different
schools in six states participated during the 2005-2006 school year—ninety
more than in the previous year. Sixteen of the participating schools
were in Massachusetts and five were in other states: Maine; New
York; North Carolina; Illinois; and Maryland. Seven of the schools
participated in two series. Five of these sites participated with
different children, and two sites participated twice with the same
children. Types of schools represented included traditional public
schools (urban, suburban, small town, and rural, including two island
locations), special programs (such as a public school for emotionally
disturbed boys), independent schools, and an after-school program.
About half of the thirty educators involved were classroom teachers,
while the other half were in other positions—librarians, media/technology
specialists, adjustment/guidance counselors, health teachers, special
education teachers, social workers, a behaviorist, and an administrator.
Valuing feedback from both educators and students, Van Go Radio
included Student Evaluation and Program Evaluation forms in materials
sent to each school and conducted follow-up interviews with educators.
Three hundred and sixty (360) students returned evaluations, 122
more respondents than last year. Thirty educators returned Program
Evaluations, ten more than last year. Both groups provided feedback
about students’ learning and enjoyment, effectiveness of the
hosts, relevancy of issues and characters in the skits, and whether
they would participate again. Additionally, educators rated the
usefulness of materials and resources. Students used a three point
scale (3 = yes, 1 = no) throughout. Educators used a five point
scale (5 = strong agreement, 1 = strong disagreement) for most questions,
and a 3 point scale for a usefulness of materials and future participation.
Both forms invited written comments and suggestions as well.
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Learning:
Van
Go Radio aims to help students improve their ability to effectively
express ideas in a public forum, think in different ways about a
problem, explore varied solutions and their impacts, and demonstrate
empathy for others. There was a high level of agreement among educators
(average rating, 4.6 on 5 point scale) that their students improved
in each of these areas. Students also agreed that Van Go Radio helped
them learn these skills (average rating, 2.4 on 3 point scale).
These ratings were almost identical to last year’s ratings.
Further
support for learning comes from the fact that students and educators
thought the hosts were effective in stimulating thinking. In the
evaluation section on co-hosts’ effectiveness, students and
educators rated how well they thought the co-hosts helped students
think and encouraged different ideas. For helping students think,
the average student rating was 2.5 and the average educator rating
was 4.7. For effectiveness in encouraging different ideas, the average
student rating was 2.6, and the average educator rating was 4.6.
All of these ratings were almost identical to last year’s
ratings.
One
educator summarized the value of the learning this way: “This
is a great language arts activity incorporating reading, writing
(email), listening, and speaking. I wish we could do this on a more
regular basis.”
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Enjoyment:
Feedback
indicated students enjoyed the various components of the program.
Students rated how well they liked each of six aspects of the program.
Not surprisingly, they most enjoyed the live radio elements: talking
on the air (2.6); listening to the radio skits (average of 2.5);
hearing other children on the air (2.4), and emailing during the
broadcasts (2.4). They liked emailing between shows the least (average
rating of 1.94, although 37% of the respondents did not rate this
component). Wanting more participation was the theme common to many
student comments. Suggestions to make the show longer, have more
shows, give more students chances to talk, and read more emails
on air seem to indicate students enjoyed participating. Furthermore,
students agreed they could relate to the issues and characters in
the radio skits (2.25). One student even commented, “Keep
helping kids with their school troubles.”
Educators’ responses further confirm that the children enjoyed
participating in Van Go Radio—the average rating for how well
educators thought students liked the six elements of the program
was 4.3. Educators rated talking on the air as what students liked
best (4.9), followed by listening to the radio skits (4.5), emailing
during the broadcast (4.3), listening to other children on the air
and to “What’s your View?” responses (both 4.2),
emailing between broadcasts (4.2), and discussing skits in class
(4.1). Additionally, educators agreed their students easily related
to both the issues and characters (4.3). One teacher summarized,
“Great program! My students enjoyed all aspects of Van Go
Radio—they were upset that our 3 weeks were over!”
Participation at one school required returning to school during
time off and at another, missing recess. Giving up free time to
participate may be considered indirect evidence of enjoyment. Commenting
on how scheduling difficulties impacted participation, one educator
added, “they really do enjoy and learn a lot.”
Further indication that children liked participating in Van Go Radio
comes from information about their attentiveness. Educators’
average rating for student attentiveness was 4. One educator said,
“My students really enjoyed the novelty of a live broadcast.”
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Materials
and resources:
Overall, educators
found the materials and resources provided to be very useful. On
a three point scale (3 = very useful, 2 = Somewhat useful, 1 = not
useful) the overall average rating was 2.6. Educators received technical
help via written information and individualized assistance by phone
or in person. The average rating for these resources was 4.8 on
a 5 point scale, indicating that educators valued this assistance.
One person said, “I appreciate the prompt and personal attention
when I call needing help of any kind. Thank you!!” Comments
indicated teachers were becoming more comfortable with the technology
and were interested in continuing to expand their use of it. “I
enjoy the Internet delay time—the kids love hearing themselves.”
Another educator said, “Hopefully, if we’re able to
participate again, we’ll have the email up and running!”
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Success:
The
evaluation tools did not ask students or teachers to directly rate
Van Go Radio’s success. However, some information about the
program’s success comes from how educators and students rated
interest in future participation and from educator’s comments.
Both groups answered a question asking if they would participate
again with yes (3), maybe (2), or no (1). Of the thirty educators
who completed the Program Evaluation 27 indicated they would like
to participate next year, one responded “maybe” and
two did not answer. Students’ average response was 2.6. This
strong interest in future participation indicates success.
Comments offer other insights into the program’s success.
“I think even if the kids are shy they should try it and they
will like it.” This student comment seems to speak to the
program’s ability to help children gain confidence in a fun
way. Another student suggested, “Keep having fun.” Comparing
Van Go Radio to a program with similar goals, one educator commented
she preferred Van Go Radio because “it is more ‘kid
friendly’.” She added, “everyone has an idea to
share . . . your discussions provide meaningful thought.”
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Summary:
In
summary, Van Go Radio continues to be successful. It provided children
from varied schools, communities, and geographic regions with a
relevant, enjoyable learning experience. Students learned valuable
skills. Materials and resources provided were useful, and the hosts,
effective. Internet radio and an enhanced web site added value,
and more students participated. There was strong interest from teachers
and students in future participation.
In conclusion, these comments from educators speak to the value
in this unique radio program:
“The students were very eager participants and the program
was effective in validating the students. We feel that they appreciated
having their opinions heard and respected.” “I see excited,
nervous, and interested kids begging to be allowed to speak. Some
are shy, but with prompting and encouragement they do a great job
on the phone! Thanks for a wonderful year of learning.”
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Evaluation
Results School Year '04-'05
Please
note that Talk It Out Kids
was formerly called Van Go Radio.
Results:
In
this seventh year of the Van Go Radio Project, expanded use of technology
allowed some exciting changes. The project switched to Internet
radio and further developed its web site. These changes expanded
the interactive nature of the program. While some children were
speaking on the air, others could also participate in the broadcast
discussion via email. And the new “Continue the Conversation”
feature of the Van Go Radio web site allowed children to have an
asynchronous discussion between broadcasts as well. Web site enhancements
also made listening live available to more people. Effort also went
into improving the curriculum materials in the Teacher’s Guide
and offering individual help to educators in navigating the new
technology.
Four
hundred and two students from twenty one schools in six states participated
during the 2004-2005 school year. Fourteen of the participating
schools were in Massachusetts and seven were in other states: two
schools in Maine; two in New York; and one each in North Carolina,
California, and Illinois. Participants included students in traditional
public schools (urban, suburban, small town, and rural, including
three island locations), special programs (such as a public school
for emotionally disturbed boys), independent schools, and an after
school program. About half of the thirty-one educators involved
were classroom teachers, while the other half were in other positions—librarians,
media/technology specialists, adjustment/guidance counselors, health
teachers, special education teachers, social workers, a behaviorist,
and an administrator.
Recognizing the importance of feedback from both educators and students,
Van Go Radio included Student Evaluation and Program Evaluation
forms in materials sent to each school and conducted follow-up interviews
with educators. Of the 402 students participating, 238 returned
evaluations. Twenty of the 31 participating educators returned Program
Evaluations. Both groups provided feedback about students’
learning and enjoyment, effectiveness of the hosts, relevancy of
issues and characters in the skits, and whether they would participate
again. Additionally, educators rated the usefulness of materials
and resources. Students used a three point scale (3 = yes, 1 = no)
throughout. Educators used a five point scale (5 = strong agreement,
1 = strong disagreement) for most questions, and a 3 point scale
for a usefulness of materials and future participation.
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Learning:
This
year’s curriculum materials and discussion format included
changes designed to help students generate varied points of view
and weigh possible choices and actions. Evaluation data in two areas
suggests these changes paid off.
Van Go Radio aims to help students improve their ability to effectively
express ideas in a public forum, think in different ways about a
problem, explore varied solutions and their impacts, including why
some may be preferable, and demonstrate empathy for others. There
was a high level of agreement among educators (average rating, 4.7
on 5 point scale) that their students improved in each of these
areas, an increase over last year’s average rating of 4.4.
Students also agreed (average rating, 2.4 on 3 point scale) that
Van Go Radio helped them learn these skills.
The
fact that students and educators believed the hosts were effective
in stimulating thinking lends indirect support for student learning
on the learning outcomes related to thinking in different ways and
exploring varied solutions. In the evaluation section on co-hosts’
effectiveness, students and educators rated how well they thought
the co-hosts helped students think and encouraged different ideas.
For helping students think, the average student rating was 2.6 and
the average educator rating was 4.6. For effectiveness in encouraging
different ideas, the average student rating was 2.6, and the average
educator rating was 4.5. All of these ratings were higher than last
year, providing an indication that improvements to curriculum materials
and discussion format provided benefit.
Comments from some educators highlight aspects of student learning.
One educator said, “My children have learned to disagree and
have heated discussions with a purpose” and to “listen
to and respect others’ opinions, but expect to be heard in
return.” Another educator said her students “were able
to expand their own ideas about why problems were occurring and
how to solve them by listening to their classmates’ reactions.”
She was also proud hearing her students “think on their feet.”
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Enjoyment:
Not
only did students learn from Van Go Radio, they enjoyed all the
elements of the program. Students rated how well they liked each
of six aspects of the program. Overall, they rated their enjoyment
at 2.4. Not surprisingly, they most enjoyed the live radio elements:
listening to the radio skits (average of 2.5); talking on the air
(2.5); and hearing other children on the air (2.4). They also liked
emailing during the broadcasts and emailing between shows (rating
each of these components at 2.3). Furthermore, students indicated
they could relate to the issues characters in the radio skits (2.1).
Educator responses further confirm that the children enjoyed participating
in Van Go Radio—the average rating for how well students liked
the six elements of the program was 4.1. Educators rated talking
on the air as what students liked best (4.7), followed by listening
to the radio skits (4.3), hearing other children on the air (4),
emailing during the broadcast (4), emailing between broadcasts (3.9),
and discussing skits in class (3.7). Additionally, educators agreed
their students easily related to both the issues and characters
(4.5).
Further
evidence that children liked participating in Van Go Radio comes
from information about their attentiveness. Educators’ average
rating on attentiveness was 4. One educator described her class’
attention this way: “I found that the children were completely
captivated: everyone was completely involved in the skits and the
discussions.” Another said, “The students were very
engaged. They anticipated the class activity and felt proud they
were able to go on air to discuss social problems.”
Students’ most frequent suggestions were to make the show
longer; have more broadcasts in a series; and include more schools,
another indication of their enjoyment. And student comments like
“Keep going like this. It rocks!” and “Never ever
quit Van Go Radio. It was the coolest thing ever.” illustrate
student enthusiasm.
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Materials
and resources:
Overall,
educators found the materials and resources provided to be very
useful. On a three point scale (3 = very useful, 2 = Somewhat useful,
1 = not useful) the overall average rating was 2.7. This year’s
changes in technology meant including new technology support. Educators
received written information about the new technology along with
individualized assistance by phone or in person. The average rating
for these resources was 4.8 on a 5 point scale.
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Success:
The
evaluation tools did not ask students or teachers to directly rate
Van Go Radio’s success. However, some information about the
program’s success comes from how educators and students rated
interest in future participation and from educator’s comments.
Both groups answered a question asking if they would participate
again with yes (3), maybe (2), or no (1). Educators who completed
the Program Evaluation responded unanimously they would like to
participate next year. Students’ average response was 2.5.
This strong interest in future participation is one indicator of
the program’s success.
Educators’ comments offer other insights about other successes
within the program. One educator said “I have contacted the
school in NYC and hope to establish a relationship with that school
and North Haven [Maine].” This interest in developing the
relationship between a city school and a rural school is an example
of success in furthering understanding among children from different
backgrounds.
Commenting on the new technology that allowed children to email
during the show and continue the conversation via Internet afterwards,
an educator said, “It was very helpful for them to reflect
on their verbal expression, rethink their answers and then be able
to follow up with written expression in an email.” Another
educator mentioned two benefits of the new technology she observed:
more parents had listened to broadcasts; and, students used the
web site to continue discussing issues between broadcasts.
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Summary:
In summary,
Van Go Radio 2004-2005 had a successful year. Changing to Internet
radio and making improvements to the web site helped expand the
program’s reach and benefits. Van Go Radio provided children
from diverse schools and communities in Massachusetts and other
parts of the country with a relevant, enjoyable learning experience.
Changes in materials and in discussion format were beneficial, and
students learned valuable skills. The hosts were effective. Teachers
found the materials and resources helpful. There was strong interest
from teachers and students in future participation.
In conclusion,
these comments from educators speak to the value of this unique
radio program:
“This is a great introduction to radio and a good way to look
at and discuss important topics.” “The amount of work
we accomplish, the level of student involvement and attention are
far greater than in other areas of the curriculum because the show
is novel, interesting, spontaneous and best of all ‘no one
is ever wrong.’” And finally, “I cannot wait to
involve next year’s class in this continually evolving and
constantly improving program. It’s exciting to discover where
the Van Go van is heading next.”
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Evaluation
Results School Year '03-'04
Please
note that Talk It Out Kids
was formerly called Van Go Radio.
Results:
Van Go Radio’s
sixth year was an exciting one. Concerted outreach efforts along
with Internet technology helped make it possible to reach more schools
and more children than ever before, and to include varied types
of school settings and personnel.
During the 2003-2004 school year, the project expanded to include
twenty-seven schools, twenty-two in Massachusetts and five in other
states (Maine, New York, Maryland, Illinois, and California). Participants
included traditional public schools (urban, suburban, small town,
and rural), special programs, including a small public school for
emotionally disturbed boys, and a few independent schools. This
year Van Go Radio expanded its reach to include an after school
program. Some schools used Van Go Radio as a supplement to existing
conflict resolution and anti-bullying programs or peer mediator
programs. About half the educators involved were classroom teachers,
while half were educators in other roles: media/tech specialists,
adjustment/guidance counselors, social workers, health teachers,
librarians, peer mediator coordinators, administrators, and even
a music teacher.
Of the twenty seven schools participating during the 2003-2004 school
year, eight participated in both fall and spring. Five of these
eight schools participated with different students fall and spring,
and three, with the same students. In the fall, 319 children participated,
and 435 children participated in the spring, for a total of 754
students. The number of educators involved was thirty-five.
Van Go Radio understands the importance of both quantitative
and qualitative assessments and values feedback from both students
and educators. Program materials included Student Evaluation and
Program Evaluation forms. Van Go also conducted in-depth follow-up
interviews and/or site visits with many of the educators. Of the
754 student participants, 475 returned evaluations. Twenty-eight
of the 35 participating educators returned Program Evaluations.
Both groups provided feedback about students’ learning and
enjoyment, effectiveness of the hosts, relevancy of issues and characters
in the skits, and whether they would participate again. Additionally,
educators rated the usefulness of materials and resources. Students
used a three point scale (3 = yes, 1 = no) throughout. Educators
used a five point scale (5 = strong agreement, 1 = strong disagreement)
for most questions, and a 3 point scale for a few.
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Learning:
Students
and educators each responded to a question asking their level of
agreement about whether students improved their ability to: effectively
express ideas in a public forum; think in different ways about a
problem; explore varied solutions and their impacts, including why
some may be preferable; and demonstrate empathy for others. There
was a high level of agreement among educators (average rating, 4.3)
that their students improved in each of these areas. Likewise students
agreed (average rating, 2.4) that Van Go Radio helped them learn
these skills. The following table summarizes educators’ and
students’ opinion about learning.
Outcomes
Improved
ability to: |
Educators’
Average Level of agreement
(1=
disagree, 5 = strong agreement) |
Students’
Average Level of Agreement
(1
= disagree, 3 = strong agreement) |
| a.
Express ideas publicly |
4.5 |
2.2 |
| b.
Think differently |
4.2
|
2.5 |
| c.
Explore varied solutions |
4
|
2.5 |
| d.
Demonstrate empathy/respect |
4.3
|
2.6 |
| |
Average
rating = 4.3 |
Average
= 2.5 |
Further
support for learning comes from the fact that students and educators
thought the hosts were effective in stimulating thinking. In the
evaluation section on co-hosts’ effectiveness, students and
educators rated how well they thought the co-hosts helped students
think and encouraged different ideas. For helping students think,
the average student rating was 2.5 and the average educator rating
was 4.2. For effectiveness in encouraging different ideas, the average
student rating was 2.5, and the average educator rating was 4.3.
One educator described her students’ learning commenting,
“As a result of the show, I have seen my students being more
cooperative with one another. Fights and scuffles have decreased,
because the class is putting Van Go learning into action. Many times,
I have heard my children say, ‘That looks and sounds like
a Van Go Radio topic.’”
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Enjoyment:
Not
only did students learn from Van Go Radio, they enjoyed all the
elements of the program. Students rated how well they liked each
of six aspects of the program. Not surprisingly, they most enjoyed
the live radio elements: listening to the radio skits (average of
2.5); talking on the air (2.4); and hearing other children on the
air (2.4). The average rating on each of the other elements, discussing
skits in class, hearing students’ letters and phone calls
on the air, writing or phoning ideas was the same (2.2). Furthermore,
students indicated they could relate to the issues (2.3) and to
the characters in the radio skits (2.4).
Educator responses further confirm that the children enjoyed participating
in Van Go Radio—the average rating for how well students liked
the six elements of the program was 4.3. Educators rated talking
on the air as what students liked best (4.7), followed by listening
to the radio skits (4.5), discussing skits in class (4.4), hearing
other children on the air (4.1), hearing students’ letters
and phone calls on the air (4.1) and writing or phoning ideas (4.0).
Additionally,
educators agreed their students easily related to both the issues
(4.3) and the characters (4.5). Further evidence that children liked
participating in Van Go Radio comes from information about their
attentiveness. Educators rated students’ attentiveness on
a three point scale. The average rating was 2.6. One educator noted
that her class seemed more attentive to radio than to video.
Three frequent suggestions that students made for
next year offer evidence of their enthusiasm: make the show longer;
have more broadcasts in a series; and include more schools. Here’s
how one educator described her students’ enjoyment: “Students
love participating in Van Go Radio. I have fourth graders who have
asked what fifth grade [classroom] will be doing it next year so
they can hope for that teacher. The kids who have participated enjoyed
it so much that they talked about it at recess, on the bus, and
at home—generating interest with other students.”
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Materials and resources:
Overall, educators
found the materials and resources provided to be very useful. The
following table illustrates how useful educators find Van Go Radio’s
materials and resources.
Materials
and Resources in Descending
Order
of Usefulness
|
Average
Usefulness Rating
(1=
not useful, 3 = very useful)
|
| Written
materials |
2.9 |
| Toll
free phone line |
2.9 |
| Van
Go Radio website |
2.8 |
| Audio
tapes |
2.7 |
| Contact
Us and On Air Posters |
2.6 |
| Email
|
2.5 |
| Ground
mail |
2.4 |
Overall
usefulness of materials and resources
|
2.7 |
An additional
resource area that evolved this year was technical and logistical
support, although the Program Evaluation did not include a “technical
and logistical support” category. Verbal feedback from individual
educators indicated that this support was critical to schools that
were participating via the Internet.
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Success:
The evaluation
tools did not ask students or teachers to directly rate Van Go Radio’s
success. However, information about the program’s success
comes from how educators and students rated interest in future participation
and from educator’s comments. Both groups answered a question
asking if they would participate again with yes (3), maybe (2),
or no (1). The average educator response was 2.8 and the average
student response was 2.7. This strong interest in future participation
indicates success, as does the fact that eight schools that participated
in the fall chose to do so again in the spring. And, several educators’
comments illustrate different types of successes noted. A library
media specialist commented, “By allowing the kids to express
themselves in a public forum, they become much more confident.”
A teacher wrote, “This is a real community builder for my
class each year. They support each other’s ‘performance’
on radio so well.” And an administrator commented, “I
found this program to be wonderful as it successfully discussed
numerous conflict resolution strategies! In addition, it incorporated
technology and media resources!”
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Summary:
In
summary, Van Go Radio 2003-2004 was a successful venture. The program
increased the number of schools and children served. Van Go Radio
provided children from different types of schools and communities
in Massachusetts and other parts of the country with a relevant,
enjoyable learning experience. Students learned valuable skills.
Materials and resources provided were useful, and the hosts, effective.
And finally, there was strong interest from teachers and students
in future participation. One educator summarized this way, “This
is a wonderful, thought-provoking, and challenging program. I enjoyed
participating in Van Go and would do it again.”
top
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Talk It Out Kids, The Van Go Project, Inc.
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