Looking Back and Moving Forward

Time is flying by as I near the end of my time at CUCE-NYC! It has been a busy week of reflecting on our first program, planning the next one, and wrapping up my CUSP research project. We would like this week's trip to Governors Island to be smoother and more fun for all, so we have been brainstorming improved activities, a more appropriate schedule, and easier logistics. Now we just have to wait and see who shows up tomorrow. Every group of youth will be different. Our success might depend as much on our ability to adapt and facilitate activities as on our creativity ahead of time. And we keep checking the weather hoping for a dry day!

In preparation for my CUSP presentation next week, I have also been reviewing my coded transcripts and picking out general themes. And I was lucky enough to do one more phone interview last evening. That makes my (conservatively calculated) response rate 58%! So far I think I am going to focus on (1) sense of place and connections to home, (2) impact of new experiences, (3) learning that occurred during the experience, and (4) memory as research evidence and knowledge capital.

The best part of my week might have been getting access to the pictures from last year's program. I really enjoyed seeing what I have been hearing about. It was fun to see the lessons in action and to pick out specific interviewees based on their name tags. However, I realized that I am kind of glad that I did my interviews first and over the phone. I think the impersonal nature of the data collection method and of the data themselves might have helped the interviewees open up and helped me see themes across multiple transcripts. This way, I was less likely to let initial assumptions or non-verbal cues alter my interview questions, and I was more able to mix and match disconnected quotes. Now I am enjoying adding personalities to my coded interviews and am glad to have pictures to share in my presentation.