VI. Evaluation
Research was conducted at a series of checkpoints to determine base knowledge, to assess learning over time, and to determine the final impact of the exhibition and the mini-course on student learning. The evaluation project tested differences and similarities between the control group (75 middle-schoolers who did not take the mini-course) and the 15 students who did.
View the complete Franklin Remixed Project Evaluation (160k pdf download)
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Executive Summary
(prepared by Beth Twiss-Garrity)
An evaluation of the Franklin Remixed project indicates that intensive interdisciplinary and multi-media activities supplementing field trip experiences constitute a successful method for enhancing content acquisition and affective change in middle school students. During this project, fifteen middle school students from The Philadelphia School, Philadelphia, PA, visited two exhibitions about Benjamin Franklin, and then participated in a three-week mini-course comprised of a mix of teacher-facilitated discussions, small group activities, and hands-on multimedia design work. The course resulted in an online exhibition designed and developed for middle school students by middle school students (http://www.franklinremixed.com). An additional 75 middle school students from the same school attended the field trips, but did not participate in the Remixed project, providing further insights into the efficacy of field trips while serving as a control group for the Remixed study.
In evaluating the program against six content goals, it is clear that all of The Philadelphia School students began with more previous knowledge than one might expect of middle school students. Nonetheless the visits to the two exhibitions were instrumental in knowledge procurement for all students in four of the goals: Franklin’s scientific, writing, civic, and political achievements. Also, the middle school students’ perception of Franklin as a smart and influential person in American history was increased by the field trip experiences. Students began to see how Franklin may have influenced their lives, especially through his inventions, but few were moved to see that they themselves could emulate Franklin’s diplomacy, inventiveness, or intellectual curiosity. Those aspects of the exhibits that tried to make these abstract points, in general, were not well understood, and three months after the field trips, while specific content gains were maintained, there were no long-term affective gains for the control group.
Mini-course students, on the other hand, not only maintained their content knowledge, but some of them became inspired by Franklin’s actions and could begin to identify personally with his traits. At the end of the project, they indicated they did not think they learned major new facts about Franklin, but they clearly now understood nuances of and context for his life. While at the beginning of the project, students had wanted to explore what they identified as the less flattering aspects of Franklin’s actions and views, by the project’s end, the mini-course students said that they now saw how Franklin had been a product of his times and that he was able to grow and change his opinion over his lifetime. This action was in itself perhaps the most inspirational quality they saw in Franklin, versus the anticipated goals of inspiring civic activism and diplomatic qualities.
In addition to enhancing knowledge and inspiring Franklin-like qualities, the mini-course students saw positive results in understanding how to glean cultural information from objects, how to create an exhibit, and how to use Web 2.0 technology. The blending of subject matter learning with mastering new communication tools so that the information could be shared with other students deepened these middle school student’ understanding of the subject and engendered a deep pride in their teaching abilities. While the course was not perfect, and the students provided insightful comment on how to improve it, the project overall was seen as successful by the students, teachers, and adult facilitators.