Why get the SPIRIT?Outreach Partnerships to

Improve Student Achievement in High Need School Districts

Tom Babayan, SPIRIT Program Coordinator, UC Irvine LibrariesStephanie Davis-Kahl, Public Services Librarian, Illinois Wesleyan University

Cathy Palmer, Head, Education & Outreach Dept., UC Irvine Libraries

Association of College & Research Libraries National Conference, Minneapolis

April 9, 2005

Trends in Education• Boyer Report (1998)

– Focused attention on undergraduate education in distinct areas

• Stanford Bridge Project (2001)– Highlighted need for connections between

educational systems

• No Child Left Behind & National Science Foundation partnership (2002 ->)– “National effort to unite activities of higher

education, school systems […] in support of preK-12 students and teachers.”

Initiatives from Librarianship

• “My High School Student is Your First Year College Student” presentations

• Academic Library Outreach Discussion Group (ALOUD)– http://www.iwu.edu/~sdaviska/aloud

UC Irvine

• Strong tradition of outreach in UC system, at UCI & within libraries

• Center for Educational Partnerships– School University Partnership Grants– NSF Math Science Partnership Grant

•FOCUS! Program– Compton Unified School District Contract

UC Irvine Libraries

Dept. of Education & Outreach Mission: Addresses student learning developmentally and

sequentially as appropriate to the student's level and discipline in order to build information literacy and life-long learning skills.

Provides a variety of venues, modes, opportunities, and activities in order to recognize and accommodate different learning styles and capitalize on the teachable moment.

Actively seeks and responds to outreach opportunities in order to have a positive influence on the academic careers of students.

SPIRIT MissionSPIRIT seeks to:

– Teach information literacy and life-long learning skills to high school students and teachers, increasing student understanding and confidence in their ability to locate and use information appropriately;

– Facilitate student and teacher access to, and use of, scholarly electronic resources;

– Assist students in becoming eligible and competitive to enroll at the University of California, to thrive academically while there, and to graduate.

Outreach ProgramsSchool Partnerships in Research & Information Technology (SPIRIT)

• Faculty Outreach Collaborations Uniting Scientists, Students and Schools (FOCUS)– Funded by NSF/Math Science Partnership

Grant

• Compton Teachers Information Literacy Institute (CTILI)– Funded through No Child Left Behind Act

UCI Libraries Outreach Approach

• Engage in new or different research experience

• Customize to meet California State Educational Standards

• Focus on Information Literacy Skills & Concepts

• Foster connections & partnerships within campus and beyond

• Advocate for pre-college users

How SPIRIT Works With Students

• SPIRIT Team members discuss topics, assignments, desired outcomes and logistics with interested school teachers

• Research is integrated into the class’ assigned curriculum.

• Pre and post activities are planned.

UCI SPIRIT Student Visits

• Research skills session– 90 minutes - 2 hours– Instruction– Research Time– Presentation Preparation– Student Presentations– Evaluations

• Lunch at residential dining hall • Hands on learning activity

Assessment

• Qualitative feedback from both teachers and students

• Quantitative feedback includes students’ plans for college and ethnic background

SPIRIT Student Feedback

• Student comments– Liked Best: “The part in which we

were welcomed to ask questions about anything”

– Liked Least: “The part in which we had to present in our own words - I liked the research part”

– Improve Session: “For me to eat breakfast before.”

Teacher/Librarian Feedback

• Santiago HS Teacher:– Comments: “Excellent workshop - my

students actually got valuable info and some will be back to dig deeper. NOT just an oooh-ahhh show.”

• Santa Ana HS Librarian:– Most useful: “The students doing hands-

on research.”– Comments: “SPIRIT Program is an

excellent opportunity for high school students.”

How TILI WorkNumber of SPIRIT Students

1,150

1,509

230

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

2002-03 2003-04 2004-05

Year

Nu

mb

er

of

Stu

de

nts

SPIRIT Student Ethinic Breakdown(2003 - 2005)

75%

20%

2%

2%

1%

Hispanic

African American

White

Asian

Other

Future Improvements• Further assess program's impact

– Pre/Post tests capturing the program’s impact on student perceptions

concerning the study of math and science at the college level

– Expansion of pre/post activities that support the research session’s goals

• Strengthen and increase partnerships

Get Your Own SPIRIT

• Where are you on the Outreach continuum?– Resources – Partners

• Where do you go want to go from here?

• How are you going to get there?

Readings & Resources

• Boyer Commission on Educating Undergraduates in the Research University. (1998) “Reinventing Undergraduate Education: A Blueprint for America’s Research Universities.” Online: http://naples.cc.sunysb.edu/Pres/boyer.nsf/. Accessed March 28, 2005.

• Faculty Outreach Collaborations Uniting Scientists, Students and Schools (FOCUS!). Online: http://focus.web.uci.edu/. Accessed April 6, 2005.

• Kirst, Michael et al. (2003) “Betraying the College Dream: How Disconnected K-12 and Postsecondary Education Systems Undermine Student Aspirations.” Online: http://www.stanford.edu/group/bridgeproject/. Accessed March 28, 2005.

• National Science Foundation. (2002) “Math and Science Partnership.” Online: http://www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/news/02/fsmathscipart.htm. Accessed March 28, 2005.

For More Information About SPIRIT

• Contacts:– Tom Babayan, tbabayan@uci.edu– Cathy Palmer, cpalmer@uci.edu– Stephanie Davis-Kahl, sdaviska@iwu.edu

• Visit our web pages:http://course.lib.uci.edu/ed/outreach/spirit/

Download Presentation and Handouts

https://webfiles.uci.edu/xythoswfs/webui/cpalmer