The Computer Clubhouse undertakes a number of methods to measure the impact the learning model and programme is having on young people. In summary these are:

 

Assessment Evaluation. Each Computer Clubhouse carries out six monthly assessment evaluations; this data is sent electronically via the Intel Computer Clubhouse Networks intranet back to Boston and aggregated into downloadable reports. The assessments are formative evaluations that assist each Clubhouse in their planning, and quality control. It is a broad report that provides information on

•  Youth demographics and attendance data from each Computer Clubhouses sign-in database

• Capacity and support to operate the Clubhouse, including financial reporting, Governance, right through to the strength of partnerships that the Clubhouse has with its immediate community

Youth Impact Longitudinal Study. Since 2004, the Center for Technology in Learning at SRI International in Menlo Park, California, has been conducting quantitative assessments of the effect of Computer Clubhouse participation on youth members, particularly on their socio-emotional attitudes, academic attitudes, and technology use. To extend this analysis to a broader range of outcomes and provide a rich look at the environment in which these outcomes develop, SRI recently conducted a qualitative study drawing on the large body of documentation gathered over several years by the Clubhouse Network and supplementing this with site visits to Clubhouses and interviews with staff from around the world.

 

 The resulting analysis, combining quantitative and qualitative findings, provides descriptions of how the types of activities, relationships, and experiences members have in the Clubhouse can promote the impacts we identify. SRI’s findings show three broad types of behavioral outcomes for Clubhouse members:

-  Their use of 21st century skills, including technological fluency;

-  Their capacity to follow pathways to success

-  Their commitment to community and service.

Research is conducted in situ of each Computer Clubhouse, and the reports include a local Clubhouse report for each Computer Clubhouse and aggregated reports across all Clubhouses around the world.

Download research findings

On a local level the Computer Clubhouse in New Zealand has also supported NZ-based research & academic peer review as a vital tool in providing empirical evidence on the impact the learning model has on New Zealand Youth; This along with “Participatory Action Research” such as the “Clubhouse 274 Three Year Evaluation 2009”, provides an insight into how the Computer Clubhouse sits within the context of Asset Based Community Development.

 

Clubhouse 274 evaluation

 

HAPS paper

For more information on the Computer Clubhouse story, you can purchase the recently published book “ The Computer Clubhouse: Constructionism and Creativity in Youth Communities”:  

~ Yasmin B. Kafai (Author), Kylie A. Peppler (Author), Robbin N. Chapman

Purchase from Amazon click here