The Adventures of Jasper Woodbury

Description: The Adventures of Jasper Woodbury is a collection of 12 video-disc based scenarios that engage students in real-life, collaborative problem solving and critical thinking. Each episode begins with a 12-minute video segment that places Jasper and his friends in a situation to confront as a team. The scenarios provide an opportunity for students to work together as a team, asking pertinent questions, researching issues, returning to the video to review the data, applying mathematics and science to real-life situations. They reflect on the evidence, present hypothesis as to solutions, and together come up with solutions.

The 12 adventures fall into four categories:

• Complex Trip Planning
• Statistics and Business Plans
• Geometry
  
• Algebra

Developer:
Vanderbilt University

Publisher:
LEARNING, Inc.; of Lawrence Erlbaum Associates

Grade Levels: 5+

Cost: $275 - $360/unit

Effectiveness Research
As summarized by University of California, Berkeley
commissioned byNCREL and Metiri Group (2000)

Since it was developed in the 1980s, the effectiveness of the Jasper series has been continually and thoroughly researched. The ongoing formative assessments have informed ongoing development and improvement of the series. A 1990 U.S. study involved a diverse population including special needs students (e.g., gifted, learning disabled, ESL) in sixteen schools from nine states. The following summary is excerpted from a University of California, Berkeley study:

"Classes using three or four Jasper adventures over a school year were compared with control classes on several measures. Aggregate pretest scores were equivalent for both groups. Post-test data indicate Jasper students performed as well as or better on standardized tests, even though the Jasper classes had spent three or four weeks less on the regular math curriculum. Jasper students also demonstrated superior performance on one-, two-, and multi-step word problems. Finally, Jasper students scored much higher on planning and sub-goal comprehension problems than their control counterparts. In attitude surveys Jasper students showed less anxiety toward mathematics and were more likely to see mathematics as relevant to everyday life. Jasper students were also more likely to appreciate complex challenges."

"Post-test data indicate Jasper students performed as well as or better on standardized tests, even though the Jasper classes had spent three or four weeks less on the regular math curriculum."

-Vanderbilt University

21st Century Skills

The 21st century skills addressed by the Jasper series include:

• Visual Literacy
• Scientific Literacy
• Higher Order Thinking and Sound Reasoning
• Teaming and Collaboration
• Adaptability and Managing Complexity

Academic Content Areas

• Primary: Mathematics and Science
• Secondary: Social Studies and English

"Higher scores reported on students' planning and sub-goal comprehension problems than their control counterparts. Jasper students were also more likely to appreciate complex challenges."