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How Youths' Experiences of Connected Learning Cluster: Results From a Longitudinal Survey Study

Sat, April 18, 2:45 to 4:15pm, Sheraton, Floor: Ballroom Level, Sheraton V

Abstract

Objectives
Relating distinct patterns of experiences to outcomes is a key first step in understanding how experiences relate to learning and development. This study examines how youth’s experiences of the principles of connected learning in youths’ interest-related activities cluster.

Theoretical Framework
Drawn from ethnographic studies of youths’ experiences with digital media (Ito, 2009; Salen, 2008), connected learning is evident when “a young person is able to pursue a personal interest or passion with the support of friends and caring adults, and is in turn able to link this learning and interest to academic achievement, career success, or civic engagement” (Ito et al. 2013, p. 4). This study seeks to elaborate the model of connected learning by examining what combinations of five of the six principles of connected learning (elaborated below) best differentiate between youths.

Data
Data for this study comes from a survey developed specifically to measure connected learning. The survey measures five principles of connected learning which characterize youth’s experiences as production centered (α=0.49), having a shared purpose (α=0.79), openly networked (α=0.61), interest powered (α=0.77) and peer supported (α=0.67).

The survey was administered longitudinally in two waves, once in the spring of 2013 with 479 youth aged 13-17 from 19 different program sites and again in the fall of 2014 with 267 of the original 479 youth. This study uses data only from the 267 youth that took the survey in both waves.

Methods
First, k-mean clustering was applied to scale scores for the principles (5 in all) from wave 1, but only for youth who took both waves of the survey. K-means clustering aims to group the youth into k clusters by iteratively minimizing the sum of squares on the observed variables within each cluster. To select the number of k factors, thirty different indices of fit were compared and the plot of within groups sums of squares were inspected.

Results
On the basis of the 30 indices, as well as the plot of within cluster sums, a 2-cluster solution fits the data. The two clusters (cluster 1, n = 147; cluster 2, n =117) describe similar profiles of the connected learning principles, except for the openly networked scale. These results suggest that any differences between the two clusters are primarily driven by differences in the ON scale. The next steps, which will be completed by the conference, are to estimate the HLM models mentioned above using these two clusters.

Significance
No study has conducted an analysis of connected learning across time and sites to this scale before. Finding that the openly networked principle was the most variable across youth and also differentiated between clusters of students helps focus further qualitative work on that principle, especially in terms of how programmatic changes, could increase the opportunities for youth to have openly networked experiences.

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