17 minute read
Real World Learning
Why are we doing this?
Students don’t wonder why their lacrosse team practices, or why they have to memorize the lines in a musical. They know that the goal is to win games or to bring down the house on opening night.
Building connections between classroom activities and the real world creates the same sense of purpose students love in their extracurricular activities—and it’s critical to the learning process. “People will learn deeply when they care about what they are learning and they understand the connection between what they are learning and the skills that they’ll want to have,” said Honors Ethics teacher Jed Silverstein. “They desire to learn something because they think that it matters, not because they were told to.”
The passion for learning becomes even more powerful when students have chosen the topics they want to explore and the problems they’re interested in solving. Derryfield teachers build these connections with intention. Knowing the content or skills they need students to learn, from historical events to advanced chemistry, they create opportunities to help develop relevant real world projects students are excited to pursue.
Real world learning goes hand in hand with project based learning. When teamed up, students first build an in-depth understanding of a challenge or problem, then test various ideas before ultimately finding a solution. “It was so rewarding to work with friends and colleagues and to corroborate on the direction and breadth of a topic,” said Molly Mahar ’22 of a Civil War Medicine website her group designed and built in AT American Public History.
Students enjoy that such projects let them choose their roles and responsibilities, which often build correlations to real world majors and even careers that they pursue as they grow. Although a student’s individual role might be as a marketer, a coder, or a visual designer, each person also builds the transferable skills like communication, problem solving, and working in groups, that are essential no matter what passions they hope to pursue.
Dr. Silverstein stressed that high quality project based learning always involves engagement with real world experts. “It includes people helping and giving you feedback on your work, and some type of culminating performative assessment.”
Derryfield is well positioned to excel in this aspect, because students are able to connect with the expansive network of Derryfield alumni, faculty, and parents to leverage their experience in a wide variety of real world pursuits. Students producing a podcast on the commercial and industrial applications of nuclear fusion recently collaborated with James McLean ’82, a professor of physics at SUNY Geneseo. During his Independent Senior Project, Ryan Barto ’21 paired with banking professional Graham Duck ’00 to explore the idea of a new skiing-centered lifestyle brand.
Derryfield students are engaged learners who know they’re ready for the world beyond campus, because they’ve already been experiencing it.
“During my college process lots of schools have stressed that they’ll be doing a lot of group work and projects with real world connections,” said Julia Hardy ’21. “Derryfield has been doing that since freshman year. I feel like I’m already entering college with a lot of those skills.”
IN THE CLASSROOM
Designing for EPCOT
Sam Mandeville’s sixth grade students found a unique way to learn about other countries in the real world without ever leaving New Hampshire.
Walt Disney World’s Epcot World Showcase is currently home to pavilions representing 11 nations like Italy, France, and Japan. For their group project the geography students were asked to propose and design a pavilion exhibit for a potential 12th country.
“It’s not just a report about a country, it’s about how we’re going to present that information for a specific purpose,” Ms. Mandeville explained. Students started by learning which countries are already represented at the Disney park, and what it was about them, from their food to the possible souvenirs they might offer, that made them appealing to visitors. “We want to learn about an interesting country but at the same time we’re proposing to Disney, so it was also fun to think of ourselves as business people,” Ms. Mandeville said. “We want to be authentic but we also have to consider what’s going to make our company money at the same time.”
Melissa Valiquette, VP of Magic Kingdom Park, joined the class via Zoom to help the students understand what Disney executives would look for in a new pavilion. “To learn about the process of designing, planning, and building the pavilions from a person whose profession is working for Disney was amazing,” said Maddy Solso ’27. “And it definitely helped with our project, it put us in the mindset of making an actual Epcot pavilion.” Solso’s group eventually proposed Argentina. “I thought it would be a good fit because I didn’t know a lot about my chosen country so it was something I could explore,” said her teammate Racquel Markusic ’27.
The students loved that the project made them apply what they’d learned to real world situations. They mapped out an entire pavilion and created posters of Argentina’s physical geography. Using what they learned about Argentine food, they made model restaurants complete with full menus of traditional fare that would still appeal to American palates—and sampled one in class. They designed merchandise they hoped would be both authentic and appealing to tourists. “Not only did I learn about Argentina, and Disney’s Pavilion process, but I also learned more about planning, building, sketching, and teamwork,” Solso said. “Overall I loved this entire project and would do it again just for fun with a new country.”
Nuclear Chemistry Podcasts
How can students experiment with nuclear science in an independent school setting? “Obviously, it’s not the kind of thing where you can just do a lab,” laughed teacher Mary Ann Watt. Instead of splitting atoms Ms. Watt’s students used podcasts to present their research on hotly debated topics including “Nuclear Radiation: Energy or Enemy?”
Eryn Richards ’22, Emma Losey ’22, and Shawna Lesmerises ’21 had all experienced medical imaging to diagnose injuries. Their podcast explored the differences between various types of imaging and investigated the question of whether some, like CT scans, might be overused, exposing people to unnecessary radiation.
In the process students tapped into a community network. Dr. Jesse Smith, Derryfield parent and diagnostic radiologist at Portsmouth Hospital, provided direction. Collaborating with Dr. Smith “allowed us to understand the intricate workings and real-world application of the subject we were studying with a thoroughness we likely wouldn't have been able to achieve without his expertise,” said Eryn Richards.
Sam Evans-Brown, longtime host of NHPR’s Outside/In podcast, also visited Ms. Watt’s class. “He talked through his approach for doing a podcast, how he does collaborations, and tips for the reporting process,” Ms. Watt explained.
The format catered to a wide target audience, including entry in an NPR podcast contest. “We learned that a successful podcast engages your audience through tools such as humor, a guest speaker like Dr. Smith, or making it seem like a casual conversation,” Emma Losey explained.
Collaborating was also a rewarding experience for Dr. Smith. “I could not believe how insightful their questions were! After just a short period of research and investigation, they developed an understanding of many different factors and considerations far exceeding the majority of people actually undergoing these tests, which was very impressive.”
Advanced Topics American Public History
To bring the past to life, AT American Public History students created a way to help people experience what it was like through the eyes of those who were there.
One group used the writings of health providers from the Civil War to build a website that engaged users by having them assume the role of a Civil War nurse, surgeon or patient, and follow that person through their real medical experience. “We wanted to ensure we were illustrating a whole and engaging historical experience, approaching the research and process from multiple angles,” said Molly Mahar ’22. “We found the patient perspective to be one of the most moving by finding and researching first-person accounts of the state of healthcare.”.
Mr. Tanner-Read said such projects illustrate his goals for the class. “We want students to understand American history, and how it relates to the present. We also want them to be able to interpret those pieces of information and create something that’s shared out to the community.”
To practice public history students create museum exhibits, documentary films, podcasts, or websites, and they pursue topics that excite them, which deepens learning.
“What I loved so much was that I could be creative, and offer my own analysis on a specific topic that maybe we didn’t get to delve into as much in the lesson plans,” said Julia Hardy ’22, who focused on women in history.
One group produced a digital and physical art show about the development of drag shows, from 1920 to the present, and their intriguing role in growing advocacy for LGBTQ rights. Other students did a podcast on the role of religious belief on the emergence of slavery—and discovered that faith was also a powerful tool for enslaved people.
When designing these projects students must think about how best to convey information and ideas to the public. They do so together as a team, in which different roles come together for a common goal, and they work together to solve problems that come up along the way. The result makes it clear that the events of the past still have a place in our present. “It’s really putting what we learned into action,” said Hardy, “which I think is something special.”
Crime Scene Investigation
How do real life forensic science crime fighters stack up to the stars of popular TV shows like Bones and CSI? A pair of seniors with career aspirations in criminology and forensic science got the chance to find out during their ISP.
Sydney Sieper ’21 and Lexie Petron ’21 went to the Nashua Police Department to learn how to think like detectives and learn specific techniques used to help solve crimes—from bullet trajectories to blood splatter analysis.
“We had the opportunity to look through current cases, they brought us through how they approach solving them and even took us into the evidence warehouse and walked us through some of the analyses they go through with the actual evidence,” said Sieper. It was really interesting.” A computer forensics specialist explained how companies like Google use location tracking to deliver targeted ads to their users, while law enforcement can use that same information to track criminals.
The duo also studied classic texts of forensic science and created a blog investigating historic cases from Lizzie Borden to Elizabeth Smart. They analyzed and reported on cutting edge techniques of forensic science like evidence preservation, forensic psychology, and DNA phenotyping, which allows investigators to predict much of an unknown suspect’s appearance based on scraps of DNA left behind at a crime scene.
Sieper, who last year enjoyed a Malone Schools Online Network course taught by forensic scientist Carrie Lopez of Trinity Prep in Orlando, Florida, said her ISP experience cemented her confidence that she’d like to pursue forensic science as a career. She’ll do just that at the University of Alabama’s acclaimed criminal justice program.
“Overall, this was such an eye-opening experience for Lexie and me on how technology is really useful in helping to solve crimes,” Sieper said. “And also on how you need to take your favorite crime TV shows with a grain of salt.”
Malone Schools Online Network CSI Class
CSI: Forensic Science has been one of the more popular courses offered to Derryfield students by the Malone Schools Online Network each year. The course, led by a teacher at Trinity Preparatory Day School in Winter Park, FL, is a mix of lab experiments, demonstrations, and guest speakers.
Middle School CSI Exploration Block
Taught by Latin teacher and Director of Security & Crisis Management Gil Roberts, the middle school exploration block Crime Scene Investigation introduces students to various techniques, including hair, fingerprint, and footprint analysis as well as blood spatter patterns and bullet trajectories.
INDEPENDENT SENIOR PROJECTS
The Great American Road Trip
Technology like the internet and Zoom calls enables Derryfield seniors to expand their ISP projects to include people and places from around the nation. But one group of friends thought it might be more fun to do that with a car full of camping gear and 500 gallons of gas.
Will Veenstra ’21, Micah Johnson ’21, Derek Wagner ’21, and Lucas Gendron ’21 travelled cross country on a mission. They visited America’s iconic National Parks to see the challenges of human impacts there, and evaluate the environmental practices that can help protect them.
“I’d absolutely recommend doing something big for your ISP,” said Will Veenstra. “And doing something with your friends. We got a lot closer on the trip.”
To make it possible, they also had to practice the logistics needed to plan and execute the epic journey. The group made and refined packing lists, slogged through budgets, charted some complex navigation, prepared camping gear, and figured out how to keep themselves well fed the entire time. To pull it off they learned how to take on individual roles and still work together as a team.
The foursome packed an incredible amount of adventure into a month on the road, 8,600 miles and visits to half of the 50 states. Highlights included Niagara Falls, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Badlands, Mt. Rushmore, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Sequoia, San Francisco, the Pacific Coast Highway, Death Valley, Zion, Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde and many other unforgettable spots.
At each stop they studied environmental information and talked to rangers for a review of how different parks around the country are dealing with environmental issues. “We found out that the issues aren’t the same, and that some parks are doing a better job than others,” said Veenstra.
Inevitably, the trip featured a few roadblocks. A car window was smashed in San Francisco and a bag of electronics was stolen. But overcoming the incident, and the more mundane challenges of organizing life on the road, turned out to have silver linings. Will Veenstra said the friends learned that while proper planning is key, so is the ability to be flexible when life doesn’t go according to plan. “As a result, we all got better at problem solving, talking through our issues as a team, and also returning to good spirits after we worked through problems.”
Working with Detainees Facing Deportation
New Hampshire’s ICE Detention Center is ‘home’ to those facing deportation, people who are often unable to speak English and are largely isolated by their incarceration during COVID-19.
Ellie Small ’21 and Ruthie Zolla ’21 turned awareness into action and dedicated their ISPs to reaching out a helping hand to those being held at Strafford County Department of Corrections.
The pair wrote repatriation guides for undocumented immigrants facing deportation to El Salvador, Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala. According to these seniors, during the pandemic detainees received little to no legal or social aid.
The guides, written in English and Spanish with visual components for the illiterate, can be uploaded to the detainees’ tablets to help inform them what steps they can take when facing deportation, providing a crucial set of helpful resources that are specific to each individual’s country.
“It felt energizing and urgent to wake up every day with the expectation that we would be actively serving the undocumented community during one of the most harrowing life experiences one can have,” Zolla wrote in her project summary. At the same time she found it deeply upsetting that the guides might be the only aid afforded to detained immigrants before they were deported.
The hardships helped the group realize that not every endeavor is successful, at least not at first, and that persevering through challenges and setbacks brings its own rewards. In this case, they found a shared love of spending time in the mountains and the place it can occupy in their lives.
The pair’s work was steered by mentors with the American Friends Service Committee, who had collaborated with ICE and other authorities for over a year and a half to get approval for the creation of the guides. Small and Zolla spoke with officials from consulates and embassies, human rights groups, and attorneys to compile each guide. They also worked with undocumented immigration experts like Ruth Gomberg-Muñoz, of Loyola University Chicago, who shared valuable contacts and reviewed their entire Mexico guide.
Small said hands-on learning about the infrastructure of our immigration system reaffirmed her interest in pursuing public policy and the legal fields of social justice. “Before this experience, I knew that I was interested in pursuing work in the criminal justice field and trying to help fix the broken policies of our justice system. After this project, I now feel even more confident in this interest.”
Aiming High: Climbing the 4000 Footers
When it’s time to choose an ISP, some Derryfield seniors use internships to get a head start at climbing the corporate ladder. Katherine Gage ’21, Andrew Watson ’21, and Andrew Leblanc ’21 set their sites on an totally different kind of climb— tackling New Hampshire’s iconic list of 4,000-foot peaks.
“Originally I felt like the ’good student’ thing to do was trying out some possible future career.” Said Katherine Gage. But after a year of nonstop schoolwork, athletics, and 20 grueling college applications she shifted gears with no regrets. “I definitely don’t feel like I lost anything by not doing an internship. And I’d never seen a sunset from the top of a mountain before. When there is a creative or fun ISP that people want to do I would definitely recommend it.”
During the project Gage developed a much-appreciated recipe for a 7-layer energy bar, and she also published a companion article in The Concord Monitor spurred by her advocacy with Citizens’ Climate Lobby. The amusing and thought provoking story was an observation that rising sea levels may soon knock a few shorter 4,000 footers from the list—which is measured from that baseline.
Completing the NH’s 4000-foot summits in such a short time was a very ambitious physical and logistical challenge that was complicated by injuries and the notoriously fickle White Mountain weather. While the team bagged dozens of New Hampshire peaks they came up a bit short of the full 48—for now. The trio was still working to finish the rest over the summer. “We will definitely finish, there’s no doubt in my mind,” Gage said.
The hardships helped the group realize that not every endeavor is successful, at least not at first, and that persevering through challenges and setbacks brings its own rewards. In this case, they found a shared love of spending time in the mountains and the place it can occupy in their lives.
