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by Laurel Molloy
To determine the impact of your camp program, you too may be considering
subjecting your campers to school-like testing conditions. Fortunately,
there are alternative methods of data collection — methods that
are less stuffy, more practical, equally as effective, and sometimes even
fun.
So if you would like to measure the benefits of your program without
using written surveys or tests — FEAR NOT! Here are a few suggestions
for alternative ways to measure camp's benefit based on lessons learned
by creative camps and youth development agencies.
Camper Passports
Attending camp is an extremely interactive experience. Often there are
many new adventures upon which campers will embark for the first time.
So why not give them a passport to capture their achievements in a fun
and interactive way?
Develop a simple paper passport with an individual page dedicated to
each of your core program areas. Supply every camper with a passport at
the beginning of your camp session. Then stamp the corresponding passport
page every time a camper successfully demonstrates competency in a particular
area.
Of course, you will have to determine what competency in each area looks
like. Perhaps to earn a stamp in "Nature," campers have to name
eight out of ten trees that grow locally. Or, to earn a stamp in "Outdoor
Adventure," campers have to conquer the high ropes course. Perhaps
you will have different criteria for your campers depending upon their
age or how many summers they've attended your camp. Those decisions are
up to you.
But once you make them, you can be assured that you will be gathering
concrete data on every camper's progress — while giving them a keepsake
of their success. And if you maintain a log in each area of who has had
their passports stamped, you will also have a sense of your overall programmatic
success.
Distribution of Beads
Distributing beads to campers who demonstrate competency in certain
areas is another way to capture information on your campers' success —
while giving them a concrete reward they can keep and even display. In
this instance, different color beads could represent achievement in each
of your core areas. Or bead colors could indicate a certain level of achievement
(i.e., red for beginner, gold for advanced).
Of course, you don't need to use beads. You can opt for whatever small
token you deem appropriate and in keeping with your camp's culture. Again,
as was the case with the passport example, you should make the specific
decisions about what represents camper competency in each of the designated
areas. Moreover, you should use a log to track what beads were distributed
to whom. This information can later be compiled to get a sense of the
overall achievement of your entire camp population.
Interactive Game Shows
Sometimes, in order to get information about what your campers have
learned, you have to ask questions. That does not mean it has to be done
in a stuffy #2 pencil-manner. In fact, putting on an interactive game
show can be a great way to assess your campers' knowledge, while also
building camp community and morale.
Think about the sort of questions you would be tempted to include on
a test, and then ask them in a game show-style format. If you're looking
for individual results, you can have your campers keep track of their
answers and turn in a "score sheet" at the end of each round.
Ultimately, you will be collecting answer sheets not unlike those used
on tests, but without all of the anxiety.
Or, if overall group performance is what you're after, you can give
your campers blue and red poker chips. Let the blue chips represent "true"
and the red chips represent "false." Then ask a series of true/false
questions. Designate a basket for each question, and ask the campers to
put the chip they believe represents the correct answer into the corresponding
question's basket. At the end, you can count up the number of correct
chips in each basket to see how well the group did.
In both of these examples, you will have the opportunity to recognize
your campers' success — perhaps even reward those with the highest
scores. You may also be afforded the opportunity to re-teach certain concepts,
if that seems to be necessary. In any case, you can gather your campers
together for a fun activity that won't even feel like a test — and
still get the valuable information you need to measure their learning.
Writing Letters
It's always important to get testimonials from your campers. These in-depth
insights can complement and often help explain the numbers-oriented data
yielded by surveys and tests, as well as all of the aforementioned data-collection
methods.
Getting campers to convey this information verbally through interviews
or focus groups can be time-consuming and requires someone to record what
they say. A simpler, yet very effective way to collect the information
you want is to have campers write a letter to someone (i.e., a prospective
camper or the camp director). This allows for the sharing of such details
in a child-friendly format.
Be sure to guide your campers in their writing. Instruct them to convey
what they learned during the session or how they have changed because
of camp. That way you can ensure that they are sharing outcome-related
information. You might even consider starting sentences that they have
to complete like, "At camp, the most important thing that I learned
that I didn't know before was: ________________."
Surveys, Surveys, Surveys
Although there may be drawbacks to administering surveys during your
camp session, there are definite benefits to having survey data. Asking
parents to complete a survey after some time has passed since their children
returned home from camp is a great way to determine whether your program
had any lasting impact. They can assess through observation whether their
children's attitudes and behaviors have improved since attending camp.
Similarly, if your camp has a partnership with a school or after-school
program, you could survey staff members at affiliated sites to determine
if they have observed any change in your campers.
Lastly, administering a survey to your campers can be very worthwhile.
Yet, developing a survey that can be easily understood and completed by
children can be quite challenging. So when creating your own camper survey,
be mindful of the W.E.L.L. elements: word-choice, environment,
layout, and length.
- Word-Choice: If the questions included on the survey confuse
your campers, you will not get the valid data you are seeking. Be sure
to use age-appropriate words. Furthermore, consider using pop-culture
terminology to make the survey questions more conversational and therefore
less intimidating.
- Environment: Try to create a physical environment to administer
your surveys that does not feel sterile and institutional. Basically,
use a space that is as camp-like as possible. And don't forget, environment
is affected by tone, so set a positive one. Make sure your campers understand
that you are surveying them to learn what they like about camp and what
might improve the experience for them. Bottom line — if they feel
comfortable in their environment, they will likely feel comfortable
answering your questions.
- Layout: If a survey looks unappealing, your campers will be
turned-off by it before they even start answering the questions. Use
child-friendly fonts; make sure it's clear where the respondents should
supply their answers; and pay particular attention to spacing.
- Length: Since a multi-page survey can intimidate even adults,
try to keep your camper survey to one page (front-and-back, if necessary).
Additionally, make sure it doesn't take longer than ten-to-fifteen minutes
to complete. Otherwise, you will likely lose your campers' attention
and decrease the likelihood that they will have thought through every
answer.
When deciding on which questions to include, always ask yourself what
the results will tell you once the data is compiled. Aim to include only
those questions that will yield the most pertinent data. If necessary,
brainstorm a list of potential questions and then weed them down accordingly.
One Last Bit of Advice
Children attend camp for many reasons — likely none of those reasons
include the opportunity to take tests. So minimize the degree to which
your data collection interferes with your regular program. As the aforementioned
examples demonstrate, there are many ways you can collect meaningful data
as part of your daily operations. Apply the same creativity you use in
program development to your data collection strategies, and you will be
well on your way.
Originally published in the 2004 July/August
issue of Camping Magazine. |
