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Fifth Dimension Overview The Fifth Dimension in Whittier, California, USA, near Los Angeles, is one in a network of Fifth Dimension sites that extends across the USA and around the world. Founded in 1993, Whittier's is now the oldest, continuously running Fifth Dimension site. It is sustained by a partnership of Whittier College, the Boys & Girls Club of Whittier, and the BCM Foundation (formerly the B. C. McCabe Foundation). As other Fifth Dimensions do, Whittier's meets during after-school hours and serves children of
socially and economically marginalized groups. Its primary
goals are (1) to extend
children's cognitive and social development through computer-mediated activity;
Despite constant evolution and innovation over the years, the Whittier Fifth Dimension remains faithful to all the core design principles of the prototype Fifth Dimension model initially developed during the 1980's at the University of California, San Diego's Laboratory of Comparative Human Cognition (LCHC). These design principles are based in a family of theoretical perspectives including cultural-historical activity theory and sociocultural psychology. In line with these perspectives, the Fifth Dimension motivates children's participation and situates their learning in everday cultural activities, especially play. Whittier Fifth Dimension play and learning unfold through educational computer games, telecommunications tasks, and Internet investigations that require reading, writing, mathematics, and logical problem solving. All are set in a fanciful activity system overseen by the Wizard, a mythical figurehead said to be the Fifth Dimension's founder and patron. The Wizard corresponds with children regularly, complimenting their progress, responding to their personal stories, offering hints and encouragement, and arbitrating Fifth Dimension rules.
Whittier Fifth Dimension activity is organized by two tabletop mazes, each about a meter square. One is called simply the Maze and has 21 rooms. The second, with 13 rooms, is known as the SuperMaze. Each room in the Maze and the SuperMaze gives access to two or three different activities. About 85 percent are educational computer games (the Carmen Sandiego games, Oregon Trail, the Cluefinders and I Spy series) or telecommunications activities (Internet research, digital storytelling with PowerPoint or video, etc.). The remainder are board games that involve strategic thinking, math, and reading, e.g., Othello, Mankala, Clue, and Boggle.
Children begin their Fifth Dimension journey by "entering" the Maze through one of four outside doors, using a small "creature" to represent them and mark their location. They choose one of the activities available in the Maze room that they have entered. Adventure cards designed for each activity specify challenges to be completed at one of three levels of expertise: beginner, good, and expert. (Whittier's adventure cards and other materials are printed in both Spanish and English.) The child selects a level of expertise and pursues the chosen activity, trying to fulfill the adventure-card challenges listed for the selected level of expertise. A college student "Wizard's Assistant" (WA) plays as the child's partner following the Prime Directive: Help as little as possible-- but as much as necessary for the child to make progress and have a good time. Nearly every adventure-card challenge includes writing: often a letter to the Wizard or Hints for the Hints Books, sometimes a letter to kids in another Fifth Dimension. Children have to complete these writing activities, along with other challenges listed on the adventure card, before moving on to another room.
The Fifth Dimension's structure provides a variety of inducements for children to continue play and accept greater challenges. Movement to a new room in the Maze or SuperMaze depends upon the level of play completed -- beginner, good, or expert. Completing the beginner level gives no choice: only one room is available to visit next. Completing the good level results in a few choices. Completing the expert level in a room gives a citizen many choices of rooms to visit next. Consequences maps on the wall -- one for the Maze, one for the SuperMaze -- show the "next room" options from every room, for each play level.
In addition, games that children find especially attractive are distributed throughout the mazes, but children can only reach them by completing the activities situated in previous rooms. Completion of the loop of rooms that can be accessed at one play level enables children to "transform" their "creatures": that is, to trade in their current maze marker for a more attractive one. Completion of all Maze rooms, including 10 at the expert level, earns the child the privileged position of Maze Magician. Maze Magicians are entitled to enter the SuperMaze and continue play there, proceeding through SuperMaze rooms and activities in the same manner as in the Maze. Children who complete the SuperMaze can petition for the privileged position of Young Wizard's Assistant (YWA). YWAs wear a special tee shirt, assist new Fifth Dimension "citizens" with their play, and engage in special activities designated by the Wizard. Other goals become personally meaningful for children, too: developing a relationship with a caring college student; getting to play a favored game before a friend does; displaying computer or game expertise to older (and sometimes less adept) college helpers; or handling flashy, high-tech equipment. Free passes and other documents dispensed selectively by the Wizard give players greater latitude of movement in each maze. Reference books and maps helpful in many of the games are always available. Each child also keeps a journey log, recording completed rooms and activities.
The Wizard is the central figure in the Fifth Dimension. It is said that she or he or it (no one really knows!) appeared once upon a time to take charge of the Fifth Dimension when adults could not cope with all the problems of running it. The Wizard is the author of the Fifth Dimension Constitution, the provider of software and games, the arbiter of all disputes, and a valuable source of game hints and strategies. Absent-minded and whimsical, she (he, it) is also reputedly the force behind any and all technological problems. The Wizard dwells only in virtual space and so is regularly accessible only through electronic mail. Occasionally, however, the Wizard also conducts "live" computer chats with Fifth Dimension citizens.
Nearly every Fifth Dimension site is sustained by a partnership between a college or university and a community institution. The Whittier Fifth Dimension provides one example of how these partnerships work. Whittier's English-Spanish bilingual Fifth Dimension was opened in 1993 at the Boys & Girls Club of Whittier, an affiliate of a nationwide, youth-service organization in the USA: The Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Today, the Whittier Fifth Dimension takes place in two rooms at the club every Monday through Thursday, 4:00 to 5:30 p.m., throughout the Whittier College academic year. The club's location provides easy access for children from five elementary and two middle schools. Many families in the neighborhoods around the club use it for inexpensive, after-school care. Boys & Girls Club members from ages 7 through 12 years participate in the Fifth Dimension on a voluntary basis, choosing it from among the club's other afternoon activities. Although children can leave whenever they wish to, most remain for the entire hour-and-a-half session. During the 2008-2009 school year, 228 children (118 girls, 110 boys) took part in the program. About 85 percent were from Latino families.
The Boys & Girls Club's Executive Director, its Program Director, and its Director of Activities work closely and supportively with Whittier College Department of Education and Child Development faculty who oversee the Fifth Dimension and related programs. The club maintains the Fifth Dimension's physical facilities and helps with the cost of program software and other supplies. Whittier College Instructional Technology Center staff provide technical support and maintain equipment. Whittier College undergraduate students assist children with their Fifth Dimension activities, playing alongside them one-to-one as partners throughout every session. The BCM Scholars Team, a specially selected group of outstanding Whittier College undergraduates, is essential to the Whittier Fifth Dimension. In addition to assisting children one-to-one with program activities, team members coordinate daily operations and ongoing program development (software selection, materials design, procedural revisions, etc.). Other Whittier undergraduates have participated in the Fifth Dimension as a field-experience requirement for a teacher-education class: Education 406, Learning and Learners. During the 2010-2011 academic year, two new Whittier College courses will be based in the Fifth Dimension: Education 66, Community-Based Teaching Practicum (for undergraduates), and students Education 545, Advanced Internship in Community-Based Education (for graduate students). The BCM Foundation, a philanthropic organization located in Whittier, supports the Whittier Fifth Dimension through a generous grant to the Whittier College Department of Education & Child Development. The greatest portion of the grant provides college financial aid for the BCM Scholars Team. The McCabe grant also provides Fifth Dimension hardware and software and supports the other BCM Community Education Programs, which are also coordinated by the Scholars team. As a participant in the University-Community Links (UC Links) network, the Whittier Fifth Dimension collaborates with other Fifth Dimension sites in California, across the United States, and around the globe. Cross-site site activities for both children and undergraduate students are part of the program, and Whittier has participated in UC Links annual evaluations of children's and undergraduates' learning.
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