This presentation was given by Tsivia Cohen at the 2008 ASTC Annual conference. It was part of the Digging Deeper session chaired by Sue Allen. Copyright 2008 Chicago Children's Museum

1. Making Learning Visible: Documentation and Reflection Tsivia Cohen Chicago Children’s Museum Exhibit and Research sponsored by NSF

5. Construction Exhibit Design: Gyroscope Fabrication: Redbox

6. Skyscraper Challenge photo-narrative experience Combines hands-on activity with computer program Family (adult-child) component Multi-Step Experience Program: Marc Bjorkland

8. Hi there, kids--and adults, too. Welcome to the Skyscraper Challenge. Here’s a chance to see yourselves at work and think about how you solve problems together. First, your team’s going to build, while I take pictures of you. Then you can use those pictures to tell me the story of your building.

9. Goal: Build a Skyscraper (can be changed) Time Limit: 12 minutes plus 3

10. Select 6 out of 10 pictures

11. Narrative Reflection

16. Findings Prototype: What do caregivers see? (Cohen & Arsenault, 2007) Pilot: Does the narrative experience increase or change what caregivers see? (Gaskins, NEIU Students, 2008) Evaluation: What are families talking about in their narratives? (Randi Korn, 2008)

18. In 74% of families, caregivers mentioned STEM content Solving stability problem (52%) Acquiring/using tool or hardware related skills (39%) Both (17%) STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering, Math

26. Suzanne Gaskin’s students: Karie Pappa, Brenda Roman, Peter Sullivan, Stephanie Wishnoff Northeastern Illinois University, 2008 Does the photo-narrative experience increase or change what caregivers see?

29. Photo-narrative didn’t increase adults’ spontaneous mention of learning. .

30. Increase in mention of learning process but decrease in mention of learning content.

33. Randi Korn and Associates Stephanie Downey, Lead Evaluation: What are families talking about in their narratives? Preliminary Analysis of Narratives from 43 Families with Children 5-10

38. About Problems How to make a stable structure: 33% How to use materials or pick right pieces: 33% Not having enough time or materials: 33% The triangle pieces wouldn’t fit. I kept putting the nuts on the wrong way. (Our building) wasn’t braced correctly so it could still wobble and move up and down. Not enough materials to complete our masterpiece.