DPS Afterschool Reading Study

Thank you for your interest in hosting me as a researcher-in-residence in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

What we’ll be doing:

Over the last 5 years we’ve partnered with after school clubs like the Boys & Girls Club to co-create great reading experiences together. We’d like to partner with your after school program and students to create new reading experiences.

During your afterschool session, Dr. Elliott Hedman will be working with individual students one-on-one when they are available. He will be bringing a specialized, evidence based reading program specifically built to target struggling readers.

We’d like to invite groups of 1 to 3 students to read with us for 30 to 45 minutes. During this time they will receive one on one instruction and will be given various digital and physical tools that will keep them motivated and attentive.

Ideally, students are at a 2nd to 3rd grade level and come from a variety of grades. We’ll be testing 2-3 groups each day. We can conduct the study any where that is convenient (in the back of a class or in the hallway). We will work around your scheduling and program needs.

After each reading session, we will modify our reading program to make a better experience for your students. It is our hope that our interventions and individual intention will help further grow student’s reading skills.

As an example of one of our reading interventions, students are given a competitive game like Kahoot (www.wonder.io) where they read and play simultaneously. Another intervention we are working on is having children read a book while building a LEGO set. We’ve worked with kids at the Boys & Girls Club on these interventions for the last 5 years. Students who hated reading at the beginning started telling their parents they had to wait in the car until they are finished.

My highest priority is to make sure staff and administration view this project as a positive part of your program. To that end, if I can do anything to make a better experience for you or your staff, please let me know.

If you have any questions or want to find out more, feel free to call me at 970-389-3047 or email me at hedman@media.mit.edu

About the Lead Researcher Dr. Elliott Hedman

Elliott builds great experiences by helping organizations understand the emotions of their customers. He earned his PhD at the MIT Media Lab using psychophysiological sensors to measure emotions in a new, objective way. Previously, Elliott worked at IDEO as a design researcher, where he learned how to combine sensors, design, and emotions. Today, he runs mPath, a design consulting firm. Elliott has had the privilege of designing a vast range of emotions, from the excitement of using Google, to audience engagement of the Blue Man Group, to customers’ confidence at Lowe’s Home Improvement, to the anxiety of children with autism in therapy. By looking at the detailed experiences of customers, Elliott shows companies new ways of innovating and adding value through the customer experience. When not pondering emotions, Elliott is often found playing board games with his two brothers or painting a Chinese landscape.