Studying Scale in the Chicago Cities of Learning

• In Event: Scaling up Digital Media Innovations

Abstract

Objectives

This paper presents an approach to analyzing the scale of a learning ecology, that is, the distribution of and connections among learning opportunities in a community (Barron, 2006). It focuses on the Chicago City of Learning (CCOL), a year-round initiative that connects youth (from 4 – 24) to on-site and online activities that enhance and reward learning in non-traditional environments and experiences. More than 100 organizations, including parks, museums, and community organizations, have united to support young people through skill-building experiences that prepare them for the classroom, college, and careers.

Perspective

Most cities have a large number of organized activities outside of school that support youth development (Hansen, Larson, & Dworkin, 2003). Youth participation is not equitably distributed (Covay & Carbonaro, 2010), and little is known about how inequity is related to the landscape of programs. An “ecosystem” perspective to analyzing that landscape is one that focuses on characterizing the diversity of opportunities available to young people, the connections among them, and their accessibility to youth (e.g., Traphagen & Traill, 2014). From this perspective, the scale of the ecosystem is characterized along these dimensions, rather than by the sheer number of programs.

Methods and data sources

We employ a range of educational data mining techniques (Maull, Saldivar, & Sumner, 2011) to characterize the infrastructure of the Chicago Cities of Learning (CCOL) project. Data mining techniques included characterizing the diversity of opportunities by zip code and analyzing accessibility through the use of Google maps data on transit modes and times from Chicago neighborhood centers to all programs in the city.

All data came from activities conducted on and program activities listed on the CCOL web site and from Chicago Public Schools, with which CCOL has a partnership. Data include program and badge offerings by organization, zip code, and category; student program participation; badging history; and searching patterns linked to student and school demographic data.

Results

Although there are a large number of learning opportunities in the city, these opportunities are not equitably distributed, nor are they necessarily well matched to youths’ interests. There are disproportionately more traditional opportunities, particularly sports, available to youth in all neighborhoods. By contrast, digital media programs are less likely to be offered in neighborhoods. While there are a good number of online opportunities for youth to pursue computer science interests, there are very few face-to-face computer science learning opportunities in low-income neighborhoods. Finally, neighborhoods vary widely with respect to how many programs and what types of programs are accessible to youth.

Significance

Most analyses of learning focus on a single setting of learning. Most studies of scale focus on the fidelity or integrity of efforts to replicate features of those settings. By contrast, our ecological approach to analyzing scale considers the diversity and accessibility of opportunities in a geographic area. This approach can be applied in future studies to help explain inequity of participation in organized youth activities.

Authors

• Nichole D. Pinkard, DePaul University

• William R. Penuel, University of Colorado - Boulder

• Ugochi Cynthia Acholonu, DePaul University

• Katie Van Horne, University of Colorado - Boulder

• Ogheneovo Dibie, University of Colorado - Boulder

• Arafat Sultan, University of Colorado - Boulder

• David Quigley, University of Colorado - Boulder

• Tamara Sumner, University of Colorado