Fitness, Conditioning & Outdoor Activities Camp-Summer Collaboration

Burgess B.E.A.TBoosting Exercise & Activity Time

Stacia Miller, Ph.D.Jennifer Ahrens, Ph.D.

Sandra Shawver, M.Ed.

Objectives

• Discuss the conception and design of the B.E.A.T. Summer Camp Field Experience.

• Present the findings from the mixed methods research.

• Discuss the project limitations and conclusions.

• Share future directions.

Why Field Based Experience?• Field based experiences include observation, reflection, modeling,

and demonstration of effective practices to improve student learning.

• Recognizing this, the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) has enacted specific standards requiring that pre-service teachers have the experience of working with adults and students from different cultures, racial/ethnic, gender, and socioecomonic groups (NCATE, 2008).

• Learning through immersion into groups is explained and supported by the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) (Bandura, 1986; 1999)• Behavior• Environment• Personal Factors

Why Summer Camp?

• Research has shown that although 1 out of 5 children participate in camps, only 5.4 percent of those were from a low SES background (ECLS-K, 2002).

• White children or adolescents were more likely to participate than non-white children and adolescents (CDS-PSID, 2002).

• Studies done by the American Camping Association (2005) have established significantly positive impacts on children who have participated in summer camps. Camp experiences have been found to increase positive identity, social skills, enhanced psychomotor skills, and leadership skills in young children as reported by both the parents and the children.

• Back to back summer courses in a 4 hour block.• Facilities and amenities on campus. • Lack of field experience in a physical activity

setting. • Difficulty with contextual factors and

accommodations. • Available grant money through the West

Foundation.

Selection of a School

• The selection of Burgess Elementary was based on several factors:– North Texas United Way Project – TEA Rating of Unacceptable (over several years)– 90% Economically Disadvantaged– Professional Colleague

Home of the Burgess Beagles! 

• West Foundation in Wichita Falls, TX– Educational Research Funds

• Requested funds for:– Camp Goodies (i.e. shirts, water bottles, snacks, drinks)– Transportation – Camp Equipment

• Benefits of Funding:– Camp was 100% FREE for ALL CAMPERS

Selecting & Enrolling Campers• Teacher’s nominated students going into 5th or 6th

grade in 2012. • Packets were sent home with these students. • 25 packets were distributed; 17 packets were

returned. • 11 kids attended on average (Maximum 13)

MSU Students’ Role

• 24 MSU Students Participated• Student Intern- Camp Director• Students enrolled in KNES 3333-Outdoor

Education• Students enrolled in KNES 3103- Fitness &

Conditioning Activities• Daily Responsibilities• Lesson Planning & Teaching

Research Design• Mixed Methods• Pre- and Post-data through focus groups• Focus group data were analyzed using interpretational

analysis by reading, interpreting, rereading, coding, categorizing, and identifying themes.

• Pre- and Post-data of Cultural Competency Survey- Validation in progress.– Liang, X. & Zhang, G. Indicators to evaluate pre-service teachers’

cultural competence. Evaluation & Research in Education, 22(1), 17-31.

• Survey data were analyzed using Dependent Sample T-Test– Chronbach Alpha pre/post questions

Demographics of sampleN=21

Variable NGender

Male 14

Female 7

Ethnicity

White/Caucasian 15

Hispanic 1

Black/African American 4

Arab 1

First Language

English 20

Arab 1

Age Category

21-25 19

26-34 2

Qualitative Findings

• The researchers solidified four major categories, each containing subcategories:– Concerns & Expectations

• Unsure of what to expect, & Management and Behavior

– Experience Gained• Planning, Time management, Adapting, & Experience working

with kids

– Creating a Successful Camp• Fun, Teacher enthusiasm and mentoring, Engagement &

Retention

– Recommendations for the Program• Practice teach, Planning, & Video reflection

Category 1: Concerns & Expectations• Unsure of what to expect:

– “At first I didn’t think it was going to be all that great because we didn’t have a lot of room, or a lot of stuff to work with.”

– “ I was concerned they weren't gonna have fun.”– “ I kind of had a concern going in when trying to do the tire flips,

because originally…are they gonna be able to do it? So coming in I was nervous.”

• Management & Behavior: – “ I was concerned how everything was gonna flow like from one

thing to another.”– “ I was afraid they weren't going to like working out and sweating

all day and not doing enough focus on games.”– “ I was kinda worried that they weren't’ gonna do what you told

‘em to do.”

Category 2: Experience Gained• Planning:• Time management:• Adapting:

– “Not everything went the way I wanted it to. And so, but, in a way that’s a good thing, because I was able to adapt and change things up…”

• Experience working with kids:– “And so we had to know how to communicate in their way for

them to understand…So that helped us to communicate with them better.”

– “…how we treated them, and how we taught them, how we dealt with discipline issues, and everything, it just was a good experience all around for everybody.”

Category 3: Creating a Successful Camp• Fun:

– “ One of the kids wrote on the card, “best week ever”…everyone had fun…none of the kids complained.”

• Teacher enthusiasm and mentoring:– “I didn’t necessarily like the compass and orienteering, but the

kids actually enjoyed it because if you're enthusiastic about it , then they were, and the same with fitness.”

• Engagement: – “ We kept them busy the entire time…so, I don’t even think they

had time to act up…”• Retention:

– “ I guess you could say that them just coming here every day, that’s a success for them to be motivated to get up to come to this.”

Category 4: Recommendations for the Program

• Practice teach:– “ I wish we’d done one trial run before our kids had shown up.”– “ A practice run going into it, just to get a better feel for it.”

• Planning:– “We should have the kids fill out an info thing about what they

like.”– “ I think we could use more time…we had to learn our stuff for

outdoor education…we had to write lesson plans and get ready mentally as well…”

• Video reflection:– “ I learned a lot watching my video, and there are a lot of tings I

can improve on…”– “…once I watched the video, I was like, “ I can do this, this is

pretty cool”.”

Quantitative findings• Survey- sample questions 2. Teachers need to adapt their instructional strategies and materials to meet the needs of culturally diverse students ( 4.82 / 5.12; p=.452)

4. I must examine my own cultural beliefs and attitudes to determine how they might impact my interactions with students. (5.18 / 4.82; p=.318)

9. The United States is a class-less society where each individual is able to rise to the level of her/his own innate ability. (4.00 / 4.29; p= .463)

13. My attitude towards linguistically diverse students will impact the learning outcomes of these students. (4.12 / 4.24; p= .727)

16. U. S. public schools provide an equitable education to all students regardless of their economic level. (4.59/4.59; p=1.0)

18. Teachers need to adapt their instructional strategies and materials to meet the needs of socio-economically diverse students. (5.00 / 5.00; p=1.0)

33. I know I will treat all children equally, despite their race, culture, and language differences. (6.00 / 6.12; p=.778)

Means/Significance table

(a) indicates a significant change from pre to post; α= .71(pre) α= .83(post)

Significant findings…

• #3. People with disabilities need to be included in mainstream society.(6.06/5.35; p=.006)

• #7. I realize that I can’t expect high achievement in students from low SES backgrounds. (2.47/3.29; p=.05)

• #21. Teachers need to make a conscious effort to give equal attention and constructive feedback to both male and female students. (6.18/5.47; p=.041)

Lessons Learned- Implications for Future

• Paradox between qualitative and quantitative data?

• Survey Issues• Cultural Competency• Lesson Planning• Summer 2013 Camp

Contact Information

• stacia.miller@mwsu.edu; 904-397-2804• sandra.shawver@mwsu.edu;940-397-4941• ja27@txstate.edu; 512-245-2908