FINAL: Piterson Completes a Half-Skeleton

Piterson began to feel the effects of senioritis as winter gave way to spring.  He was visiting his skeleton less frequently, so he saw his sculpting progress begin to slow.  He was cognizant of this change, too, for he spoke of it during one of his many check-ins with the IP faculty.  "OK," the team responded.  "What do you feel like you still need to accomplish while here? How do you want to leave?"

This moment of guided self-reflection proved the necessary component to spur Piterson.  Immediately following this conversation, he renegotiated his IP work schedule in order to grant himself time to visit his skeleton every day.  Soon we saw very little of him at all, for he began to spend several hours of the morning as well as the entire afternoon in "The Makers' Space."

Piterson made tremendous strides with his newfound discipline.  At one point during the spring, he approached the IP team because he was having difficulties with the smoothness of a portion of the pelvis (although he did not know the name of the bone, he was referring to the lilac fossa).  We suggested posterboard material, but Piterson configured an inventive (and more aesthetic) workaround using a variety of materials.  He bent supple twigs gradually in order to form a curved frame; using this piece as an outline, he then mapped and cut plywood to form the lilac fossa.  He glued this to the outline and repeated the process for the second half of the pelvis.

Throughout his process, Piterson launched intensive research with a heightened sense of precision. He evinced exemplary visual acuity and engineering by translating a 2D image into a 3D piece.  Perhaps he best applied these skills while wrestling with the textures of the spine.  Using various computer programs to project and rotate images on a large flatscreen TV, he noticed that the posterior view revealed two different shapes.  Although he did not know the names "cervical vertebrae" and "thoracic vertebrae," he concluded that the top bones (the former) were flatter and more rectangular while the bottom bones (the latter) were shaped almost like "W's" or teeth.  The top bones, too, appeared darker for their close approximity to one another.  Piterson therefore went about creating these two bones, using a dull cardboard for the top bones and a lighter plywood for the bottom.  He produced and connected his spine to the pelvis, creating a piece that startled the IP team for its beauty.


Piterson strove to complete the skeleton before he left.  The year ran out before he could target the skull, however, so he was only able to complete half of the skeleton.  True, he did not finish the project that he set for himself.  However, that fact does not, of course, invalidate the project that he did create or the process in which he engaged.  As the IP faculty and students cleaned up "The Makers' Space" at year-end, we happened to put together the parts of Piterson's skeleton in order to approximate its shape.  The finished piece was even more awe-inspiring than we had anticipated.  In that moment, as this humanoid figure taller than 6 feet was erected before us, faculty and students alike grasped Piterson's true progress.  These products transcended the definition of the "models" as which they were originally conceived; they now constituted true works of art. No less importantly, although Piterson did not know the names of every bone he handled, he nevertheless came to understand them - their shape, their relationship to the bones around them - for having fashioned them himself.

Piterson created a multi-faceted sculpture, but he also laid the groundwork for an anatomical knowledge that he will inevitably call upon as he pursues personal training in the future.  We are proud of his progress and maturation this year, and we invite you to celebrate his work with us by posting in the comments section below.

Description of images:  All photos taken by the IP faculty.

FINAL: Paige Explores Gamification

Paige demonstrated stellar tutoring instincts as she finished her phonics notebook.  She distilled her research into Orton-Gillingham by compiling  appropriate reading lists, and she looked to her own experience as a student to devise learning activities that visually exceeded the traditional emphasis on multi-sensory processing.  No less importantly, she did not lose sight of her intended  audience:  an elementary school student.  Early on she realized that she had to incorporate fun into her lessons:  "I started to think of the best way to make a student understand what I wanted to teach them. I wanted to make it fun because trying to teach a student - just sitting there, going over the rule - wouldn’t have been fun." She set off to bend her lessons towards a mock student's interests in order to build rapport and help solidify the lesson's content.

In order to reach these targets, Paige began to explore gamification.  According to The Engagement Alliance, this term refers to "the process of using game mechanics and game thinking in non-gaming contexts to engage users and to solve problems. Gamification leverages game design, loyalty program design and behavioral economics to create the optimal context for behavior change and successful outcomes."  If we break this definition down, gamification allows individuals to transform non-gaming scenarios using elements of games (e.g., points, tokens, virtual/​simulated reality, etc.).

As journalist and NYU (@nyuniversity) professor Adam Penenberg (@Penenberg) relates in a Forbes article, CEOs and companies have given this approach much attention in recent years so that they might improve employee competence and morale.  Indeed, as Penenberg relates, "Google (@google) engineers have been able to spend an in-house currency called 'Goobles' on server time—often a scarce resource at Google—or use it to bet on certain outcomes."  Microsoft (@Microsoft), too, "released a game, 'Ribbon Hero,' to teach users how to make better use of its Microsoft Office software."  In education, however, gamification is perhaps merely a new name for an old practice.  Teachers have long designed games in order to help students remember their timetables and alphabet, after all.  That said, their tools - and the applications for games - have changed with the advent of iPad classroom initiatves, MinecraftEdu (@MinecraftEdu), and video games more generally.

Paige began to design her Orton-Gillingham/phonics-based games with a healthy dose of design thinking.  She meditated upon their purpose and asked herself, "What should they accomplish?"  After concluding that the games would best serve her students in proving their understanding of a given language concept, she sequenced these recreations to the end of her chapters.  For the rest of the process, we invite you to consult Paige herself:

My first game [focused on] the rule of short and long vowels. At first I had no idea on what I was going to do. Then I thought I could make "Chutes and Ladders." After putting all the words [in], Mr. Bisson and I decided to play, but he wasn’t being himself. He was acting like a elementary tutoring student. He was all over the place. He was really excited and he wanted to get up and act some of the words out. This really showed me what my students might be like in class.

The next game I made focused on soft-c. This one was a little harder to try to come up with. I first thought I was going to do a tic-tac-toe game, but I couldn’t [figure out] how to make it work. Then I came up with just putting the words up and down, moving around the board that way, rolling 1-6, and having to do something based on the number you got (such as if you rolled a 4, you had to name different types [of the word]). I played with Mr. Bisson again, and this time was a lot different. He was a student that just didn’t want to do anything. He was against playing the game or even reading the words. So, I had to be very patient and not force him to play the game. I also just needed to give him time. He started to warm up a little, but he was still hard to work with. This showed me that I don’t need to always stay on the lesson plan I have. I can get off it because some days they might just be having a bad day and just can’t work.

Paige not only designed games but also tested them and grasped the value of remaining flexible as a teacher.  Having facilitated these learning experiences for herself - and as a high school student no less - she has laid the groundwork for an insightful career in education.  We are proud of Paige's progress and maturation this year, and we invite you to celebrate her work with us by posting in the comments section below.

Description of 1st image:  A graphic rendering of gamification.  Picture found at gravity4.com.  Kildonan and its Edge / IP program claim no ownership over the photo above.

Description of 2nd and 3rd images:  Screenshots of Paige's games, taken by Paige and shared with the Edge / IP staff.

FINAL: Brad - The Antithesis of Senioritis

Leading up to graduation, many members of the Class of 2015 complained of senioritis.  Not Brad.  After rebounding from a period of procrastination in the late winter, he developed an inspiring work ethic.  He pushed towards year's end at full throttle, and at graduation he showed no sign of letting up.

Just what was Brad up to? On one hand, he continued the intensive process of crafting his fishing lures.  As his Edge and art teacher Sandy Charlap writes:

He researched the techniques and materials needed for making bucktail jigs for striper casting. He procured Heat and Drip Powder Paint and was pleased with the high gloss, one coat finish he was able to achieve on his jig heads. He was also working to perfect his technique for adding bucktail flairs to his jigs.

He used his hands and smaller tools in order to craft these pieces, but he also began to dramatically alter his process once he purchased a lathe.  He did not at first know how to use the machine, but he demonstrated initiative by setting up the device and teaching himself how to handle it.  He grew increasingly proficient on the machine, so much so that he began to drill longer vertical holes in order to craft larger lures.  Finally, he learned various techniques of lure construction from a specialist.  Every Friday for the last few weeks of the academic year, he left school early and traveled to a tackleshop on Long Island to apprentice with its owner.  By seeking out various working conditions, technologies, and mentors, Brad constructed an independent experience for himself that has allowed him to become a formidable specialist on the subject of lures.

On the other hand, Brad also fulfilled his vision for the end of the year by planning and executing a five-day fishing trip with a friend.  For more information on this subject, we refer you to Brad himself:

---

"A few weekends ago I went fishing with my friend August as part of my IP project. We went fishing based on the moon and tide. Because I wrote a research paper on it, I used my paper as a guide on what days and times to fish.

"The only thing that I had to find out when I got home was where the fish were. One stop at the Rocky Point Fishing Stop put me on the right track. I went in with August and talked to Stan. He told me that there were monster blues at Smith’s Point under the Birge on the bay side. Later that night we geared up and headed out. We got to the beach at dark, and I felt ready to fish right away. I got one on the beach, but I lost 8 others by getting tangled up.

"The next day we went on a party boat out of Port Jeff for the opening day of the fluke season. It was terrible, plain and simple. I caught two small fish and one sea robin. In my opinion, it’s not looking good for the fluke season on the north shore for this year. Later that night we went to the beach and tried throwing plugs for a little while on the incoming tide. I was dead, though, so we gave it up after about an hour or two (the bugs were getting pretty bad, anyway).

"The next day we went back to Smith’s Point. I got there at about 11 or 12, and I fished until 5:30. The weather could not have been better, for there was not too much wind and a lot of cloud coverage. The only bad thing is that we missed the bite. For the rest of the day, it was pretty dead. I caught two other fish, but that was it.

"On Wednesday morning we got out at 5 and were out of the house by 6:15 in order to try and get in on the morning bite. We fished for an hour and a half. It was dead. There was nothing. That is when we saw people move to the other end of the beach. We went to check it out, and the fish were everywhere. On my first cast into the school, I caught a 12-pound blue fish. Shortly after I got him, August hooked his first blue fish from the surf.

"It was one of the best days of fishing I have ever had. I caught about 10 or 15 fish from 5 to 12 pounds. August had about 7 fish from 3 to 12 pounds each. In the end, we had to leave early because I had to catch a train back to school. Otherwise, we would have caught more fish. We left them biting."

---

We are proud of Brad's progress and maturation this year! If you have thoughts to share on his work and/​or his description of the trip, please post in the comments section below.

Descriptions of images:  Brad holding his catch, top right.  Brad instructing his peers on how to fashion lures, middle left.  A view from the Great South Bay, bottom right.  Middle photo taken by the Edge /​ IP faculty.  Top and bottom photos taken by Brad during his fishing trip.

Piterson: The Legs Emerge

After focusing exclusively on aquarium management for a time, Piterson realized that he had inadvertently abandoned his wooden skeleton.  He spoke with the IP faculty, who in turn suggested that he bring his work into "The Makers' Space":  the upstairs, art-meets-IP studio in the IP building. If Piterson positioned himself in a workspace, we explained, perhaps he might see new routes for his project.

Since this move, Piterson has admirably regained momentum.  He began to gather sticks in earnest from the woods surrounding Kildonan.  He also received the support of the entire community in acquiring a saw table; the cleanness of his creations immediately improved due to the clamps and equipment that came with this tool.  He blew up pictures of the leg and projected them upon a giant flatscreen TV in the studio, rotating 3D models  of bones using software on his computer.  Ultimately, he moved forward using a combination of the visual and kinesthetic:  adding to his skeleton using the saw table, studying an image, spinning it, finding another, studying that, and continuing to build.

All of this diligent work allowed Piterson to present a surprise to the IP team:  two finished legs (upper, lower, feet, and toes).  He should feel proud of his creations, for they are not only beautiful works of art but also the products of an emerging understanding of the human body.  And...where will he go next? He is already traveling up the body to consider the construction of the pelvis.

Have a thought to share? Please post in the comments section below.

Description of the image:  Piterson holding his skeleton's legs.  Photo taken by IP faculty.

Bull's "Cacophony"

Inspired by his tentacle piece, Bull decided not too long ago that he was ready for another project.  It would need to extend his whimsical streak, certainly, but it would also have to prove more rigorous in prompt.

Ms. Charlap hit upon a suitable option in no time.  Having advised Kildonan alumnus August Hunt through a successful application to The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (@cooperunion), she proposed a simulation of the Cooper Union home test.  This evaluation is an integral part of the application to Cooper Union's School of Art.  As described on the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section of Cooper Union's website, the home test "consists of a number of visual projects to be completed in approximately 3-4 weeks and returned to The Cooper Union for review."  Interested students choose from a number of prompts, respond to one directive through a multimedia project, and submit their work for consideration.

Ms. Charlap offered this undertaking to Bull, who - after examining several prompts - chose to represent the word "cacophony."  To flesh out his project, he worked with a limited number of resources under a strict deadline.  At week's end, he submitted a quirky yet heady project.  Sound waves, graphed and visually represented, played across the various surfaces of a box.  Random resources - cardboard feet and plastic tubing, for instance - were re-appropriated for anthropomorphic effect.  Overall, the piece was an eclectic, humorous, and interdisciplinary hodgepodge of math and art.

To share your thoughts on Bull's piece, please post in the comments section below.

Descriptions of four images:  A front view of "cacophony," pictured top right.  Top left shows the project's top view (note the sound wave graphed with pins).  Bottom right reveals the Newton-Laplace Equation, a calculation used by Bull to graph the speed of sound.  Finally, bottom left pictures a rear view (note the tubed tail).

Ned: Repurposing a Truck

After months of patient waiting and research, Ned finally located and purchased a suitable truck.  He has recently begun to apply his knowledge of automotive studies by repurposing the vehicle.  Here are the specs on the truck, affirmed by Ned himself:

The truck is a 1983 C10 Chevy Scottsdale Stepside with 5.0 L V8 engine (brown).  It was used as a scrap truck for a garage in South Norwalk, CT.  The vehicle "runs like a Swiss watch"; there are no significant problems affecting it, the frame is perfect, and everything - on the whole - is solid.

Toward what end is Ned repurposing this truck? He reports that he will restore it halfway and then customize it with a - 2.5 in. drop on the front and a - 4.0 in. drop on the back.  He also plans to increase the horsepower from 305 to 440.  He wishes to replace the rims with a straight black or gun metal set, and he will apply a new color (once he weeds through the myriad of choices that await him).  Overall, he states, he wants to transform the vehicle into a genuine muscle truck.

Ned conducts this work every school day.  After checking in with the IP team, he works throughout the morning with the Maintenance Crew to refurbish the bed, run stress and exhaust tests, etc.  When he is not actively working on the truck, Ned pours over automotive catalogs in search of parts and otherwise continues to explore automotive studies (by reading Stephen King's Christine, for instance).

               

What do you think? Do you have a recommendation for Ned or a question that you would like to ask? Please post in the comments section below.

Description of images:  All photos taken by Ned on site with the Maintenance Crew.

Micki: An Installation Space Emerges

Micki is increasingly exploring the universe and cosmological entities (such as supernovae and black holes) according to her strengths:  visual art and poetry.  Her inquiries have provided her - and the IP community - with profound artistic representations of the unimaginable. Now she wishes to capture the same experience for Kildonan students, faculty, and community members.

Micki quickly realized that she needed a small room, a studio with which she could realize her vision of three-dimensional experiences.  After some initial inquiries, the IP faculty are happy to report that a space has been located!

Kildonan's administration has proven gracious by granting Micki exclusive access to a room that the IP community has affectionately termed "Room 9 3/​4" (a sly reference to Harry Potter).  This area is located next to Ms. Gross's Spanish class (Room 10) on the second floor of the Schoolhouse.  The pictures accompanying this post were taken during a recent exploration of the room by Micki, Ms. Charlap, and Mr. Bisson.

Do you have thoughts on Micki's space or research? Please post in the comments section below.

Cameron Herold: "Let's raise kids to be entrepreneurs" @ TEDxEdmonton

Speaker, author of Double, Double:  How to Double Your Revenue and Profit in 3 Years or Less, and an influential source in increasing the revenue of 1-800-GOT-JUNK? from $2 million to $106 million in just six years, Cameron Herold (@CameronHerold) is - first and foremost - an #entrepreneur.  Four years ago, he delivered a TED Talk (@TEDTalks) at TEDxEdmonton (@TEDxEdmonton) during which he called upon parents and teachers to alter their rearing and educational practices in one fundamental way:  by instilling entrepreneurial skills in ALL children.  Herold, after all, "has been a entrepreneurial innovator since launching his first company at the age of 21" (passage taken from Herold's bio); he began acquiring business strategies at a very young age, so he understands the importance of nurture AND nature in developing an entrepreneurial mindset.

Herold goes on to frame a sort of psychological and educational profile of entrepreneurs.  Does this sound familiar...?

I just came back from speaking in Barcelona at the YPO global conference, and everyone that I met over there who's an entrepreneur struggled with school. I have 18 out of the 19 signs of attention deficit disorder diagnosed. ... Attention deficit disorder, bipolar disorder. Do you know that bipolar disorder is nicknamed the CEO disease? Ted Turner (@TedTurnerIII)'s got it. Steve Jobs has it. All three of the founders of Netscape had it. I could go on and on. Kids -- you can see these signs in kids. And what we're doing is we're giving them Ritalin and saying, 'Don't be an entrepreneurial type. Fit into this other system and try to become a student.' Sorry, entrepreneurs aren't students. We fast-track. We figure out the game.

Are our dyslexic students/​children predisposed to greater entrepreneurial prowess? Do you have a strategy, lesson plan, etc. to help our kids practice innovation in life and in the classroom? Please write in the comments section below.

Description of image:  Herold delivering his "Let's raise kids to be entrepreneurs" @ TEDxEdmonton.  Picture located at static.squarespace.com.  Kildonan and its IP program claim no ownership over the above photo.

Will Richardson: "Education Leadership" at TEDxMelbourne

 
American educator, parent, author, speaker, blogger, and co-publisher of Educating Modern Learners (EML) Will Richardson (@willrich45) has been called "a trendsetter in education" by The New York Times.  He has spoken to tens of thousands of educators in more than a dozen countries about the value of online learning networks.  Two years ago, he presented at TEDxMelbourne (@TEDxMelbourne), an event that encouraged educators, parents, and students to think about the "changing nature of education and how technology can shape the future of learning" (passages taken from YouTube description of Richardson's talk).

Richardson raises some valid points that we in education must begin to discuss:

We have to start thinking differently about what school is. There's a great quote that I read by a guy by the name of Justin Reich (the Richard L. Menschel HarvardX Research Fellow, based in the Office of the President and Provost at Harvard University: @bjfr) who's a teacher at Harvard.  And he said, 'You know, the problem right now is that we're paying so much attention to the measurable part of learning that we risk neglecting the immeasurable part of learning."  And it's that immeasurable part that - right now, in a world where we have access to so much stuff - it's that immeasurable stuff, that hard-to-measure stuff that's much more important. It's that creativity, that gritty problem-solving, that persevering disposition that we have toward learning.  All that stuff that's really hard to measure? That's the stuff that our children need right now.

For a post discussing Richardson at TEDxNYED (2011), please click here.

"Ozymandias," by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Bull's passage reminds me of a piece that Matthew Philipose introduced in the beginning of the year:  "Ozymandias," by Percy Bysshe Shelley.

I met a traveller from an antique land, 

Who said—'Two vast and trunkless legs of stone 

Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand, 

Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, 

And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, 

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read 

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, 

The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;

And on the pedestal, these words appear:

My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; 

Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair! 

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay 

Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare 

The lone and level sands stretch far away.'

Go, IPians.  Go.  Continue to strive as scholars and - in the process - surpass revered authorities and incarnations of Ozymandias.

For Shelley's poem, please follow the next link:  http:/​/​www.poetryfoundation.org/​learning/​poem/​175903.  Or, to hear Tom O'Bedlam's reading of the poem, please consult the video below:

(An illustration of Ozymandias.  Picture located at "Invisible Children" blogspot.  Kildonan and its IP program claim no ownership over the above image.)

Micki: Neil Harbisson's "I Listen to Color" (2012)

Undoubtedly, inspired by her tutoring work and by her explorations into color phenomena during last year's installment of IP, Micki is currently considering a sort of technological synesthesia via the TED Talk below.  Perhaps a "colorful" poetry reading or song is forthcoming...?

"Artist Neil Harbisson (@NeilHarbisson) was born completely color blind, but these days a device attached to his head turns color into audible frequencies. Instead of seeing a world in grayscale, Harbisson can hear a symphony of color — and yes, even listen to faces and paintings."

Bill Evans: Conceptualizing Learning

Though he writes solely on his experience learning jazz, pianist and composer Bill Evans certainly has a message to impart to IPians with his words below: (The man pictured is Bill Evans.  This image was located on tumblr.com.  Kildonan and its IP program do not claim any ownership to this photo.):

The whole process of learning the facility of being able to play jazz is to take these problems from the outer level in, one by one, and to stay with it at a very intense, conscious-concentration level until that process becomes secondary and subconscious. Now, when that becomes subconscious, then you can begin concentrating on that next problem, which will allow you to do a little bit more.

I don’t consider myself as talented as many people but in some ways that was an advantage because I didn’t have a great facility immediately so I had to be more analytical and in a way — that forced me to build something.

Most people just don’t realize the immensity of the problem and, either because they can’t conquer it immediately, think that they haven’t got the ability, or they’re so impatient to conquer it that they never do see it through. If you do understand the problem then you can enjoy your whole trip through.

People tend to approximate the product rather than attacking it in a realistic, true way at any elementary level — regardless of how elementary — but it must be entirely true and entirely real and entirely accurate. They would rather approximate the entire problem than to take a small part of it and be real and true about it. To approximate the whole thing in a vague way gives you a feeling that you’ve more or less touched the thing, but in this way you just lead yourself toward confusion and ultimately you’re going to get so confused that you’ll never find your way out.

It is true of any subject that the person that succeeds in anything has the realistic viewpoint at the beginning and [knows] that the problem is large and that he has to take it a step at a time and that he has to enjoy the step-by-step learning procedure. They’re trying to do a thing in a way that is so general [that] they can’t possibly build on that. If they build on that, they’re building on top of confusion and vagueness and they can’t possibly progress. If you try to approximate something that is very advanced and don’t know what you’re doing, you can’t advance.

Taken from Maria Popova's "Jazz Legend Bill Evans on the Creative Process, Self-Teaching, and Balancing Clarity with Spontaneity in Problem-Solving."  http:/​/​www.brainpickings.org/​2014/​10/​30/​the-universal-mind-of-bill-evans/​

For the full documentary, Universal Mind of Bill Evans, please watch below:

Don Buckley: "Kildonan School students use design thinking to drive their own course of learning with faculty as support systems" (4/​30/​2014)

I’ve been teaching many design thinking workshops this year for NYSAIS (@NYSAISnow), helping faculty and administration understand how this creative problem solving process can be used in education. Most schools still follow a 19th century industrial model – the observation followed by a proposal to try some unproven system with the idea of preparing students for the 21st century. Design Thinking on the other hand is used as a problem solving methodology in many 21st century organizations. It’s always great to hear what people do with this creative problem solving process after they leave my workshop and head back to their schools to apply what they’ve  learned. Part of the Kildonan’s School (@KildonanSchool) curriculum is The Independent Project –  an inquiry-based, self-directed approach to learning. Here’s a great example of design thinking applied to engage students and deepen their learning:

Sandy from the Kildonan School relayed the following to me:

I got a lot out of your presentation and took one aspect of the work you did with us back to a program I initiated at my school.  It’s called the Independent Project, and students in the program drive their own course of learning with faculty as support systems, not teachers.  That has been an amazing experience for the kids because for the first time, they feel empowered by their minds and choices.  As to be expected, they also ran into “problems” being the at the helm of their own ships.  Using your template, I posed the ‘draw your problem‘ to them, and the results were remarkable and quite moving.

The conversations between students and faculty as a result of their drawings were far more revealing and complex than verbal communication alone.  Their images brought depth to their understanding of their problems and opened up better pathways for verbal communication.  One student commented on the importance of recognizing, confronting, and grappling with her problem.  She felt without that process, she would not be able to move forward and grow in meaningful ways.  In some respects, it’s a new form of educational therapy!

http:/ ​/​donbuckleyblog.wordpress.com/​2014/​04/​30/​ killdonan-school-students-use-design-thinking-to-drive-their-own-course-of-learning-with-faculty-as-support-systems/ ​

Is it happening yet?

At 8:15 this morning, The Kildonan School officially started The Independent Project Week.  Faculty advisors were given copies of the student action plans and a master schedule of everyone’s whereabouts throughout the day was posted outside Mr. Zolet’s office.  The student groups were broken up without concern for question topic; the only deliberate action that was taken was to make sure the grade levels were evenly dispersed.  In my home group, I had two seniors, one junior, one sophomore, and two freshmen.  The topics being researched in my room ranged from juice cleanses to astrophysics.  I was pretty excited when I sat down to get started.

At 8:25 this morning, my excitement was tested.  The student sitting next to me, who was researching the process of creating and publishing an App, turned to me and said, “I gotta be honest.  I’m not too excited about this.  I don’t think I can do this.”  I gave him a pep talk and sent him back to his question.  Five minutes later, a fellow faculty member walked in, looking distressed.  “Are they supposed to be this quiet?” he asked.

Thus began a long morning of reassuring students, faculty, (and myself) that it was okay to be nervous, that our students were capable of independent learning, and that it was to be expected that in the early stages of research the room wouldn’t be loud and calamitous.  As I walked from group to group, students were quietly reading on their iPads, watching documentaries and how-to videos, taking notes on their findings, and searching for more information.  Some students took the time to interview experts on their topics (many of which were Kildonan faculty members) and it looked like the information was starting to pile up.

At 10:15, the same student who had told me he “couldn’t do it” started to explain to me why identifying your user audience was so important before developing an app.  Within the next two hours, he had learned about copyright law from Mr. Pendergast and was starting to play around with a game Mr. Stark suggested that developed an App for you.  Another student in my group was discussing the possible outcomes of using alternative ingredients, such as molasses or agave nectar, in place of white sugar in his chocolate chip cookie recipe. 

As the day reached its end, I was back to feeling good.  The students were certainly in varying degrees of comfort, but I’m a strong believer in the idea that real learning happens at moments of relative discomfort.  It’s certainly true for me as a teacher.  I’m a big fan of large projects, all of which are characterized by a chaotic “middle period” where I curse myself for ever planning something so big and vow to never try it again.  But then, tada!  My students pull ahead and the project is a hit.

So as day one of IP week comes to a close, I’m forced to reflect on the fact that learning is uncomfortable, unpredictable, inconsistent, and at times, down right scary.  I’m looking forward to tomorrow, and judging by the amount of work that was done in a day, I’m excited to see what our students have in store for us.

Getting Started

Last summer, Sandy Charlap sent me an email with a link to a YouTube video about a small group of students who had successfully built a “school within a school.”  They called it “The Independent Project.”  The idea was simple:  break down the system of isolated classes and allow high school students to focus on one question at a time, for one week at time; simultaneously work on an individual endeavor so large in scope it would take you the entire year to complete.  For me, it was love at first sight.  I couldn’t let the idea go.  So I sent her an email back... “Let’s do it!”

What started as a couple of teachers exchanging ideas on education grew into a mammoth proposal for a curricular overhaul.  I spent the summer with my laptop (literally!) on the beach with me.  I was emailing folks back in Amenia multiple times a day, contacting the school who had piloted the program featured in the video, and tweaking the ideas to fit our student population.  There were issues of standards, staffing, funding, space, and logistics that I didn’t know existed.  But I was in love with the idea, so I kept pushing.  When the school year started, I was presenting to administration, faculty, parents, and students in a dizzying cycle of auditoriums, offices, and classrooms.  The excitement was growing, but a few big questions remained.  Could Kildonan pull this off?  Were our high school students and faculty ready to take on such a dramatic shift in mindset?  Were we equipped for the challenge?

I’m a strong believer that learning happens through experience, and I’m lucky to work for a school that shares that belief.  So we’re giving it a go!  As I write this, we are one day away from a week-long trial of the program.  The entire high school is dropping everything and asking one question.  Math teachers are serving as advisors on history questions, literature teachers are getting involved in financial planning, and language tutors are weighing in on nutritional regiments.  Our roles are shifting, our expectations are expanding, and the school is giving it a try.  Some of us will experience success in ways we haven’t before.  Some of us will experience failure in our attempt to try new things.  However, all of us will learn.  Of that, I am sure.