THE NIGHTINGALE INITIATIVE:
PHASE 1 REPORT
CONTENTS 7 welcome to nightingale 15 opportunity assessment 53 what we’ve learned 59 stakeholders 75 precedents 89 phase 2 outline
INTRODUCTION
Conceived in a partnership between Commonstudio, The Pearson Foundation’s New Learning Institute, and the community of Nightingale Middle School in Los Angeles, this report is the first chapter of an unfolding story. At a crucial point of transition for public education in America, we are coming together with a common vision:
To create a context on campus that allows students to articulate and pursue their interests through real world projects.
PARTNERS: Nightingale Middle School Commonstudio The New Learning Institute Pearson Foundation
The research that follows was compiled over the course of eight intensive weeks, and reflects a process of working directly with teachers, students, parents, and community members to better understand and align their diverse perspectives, needs, and voices. The purpose of this report is to provide a broad overview of the inherent challenges and opportunities both on campus and off, an understanding of all stakeholders involved, and a strategic approach for the development of a long term project-based learning program capable of operating in the context of Nightingale on a sustained basis.
WELCOME TO NIGHTINGALE
HOME OF THE Founded in 1937 in the Los Angeles community of Cypress Park, Florence Nightingale Middle School has witnessed the many dynamic political, cultural, and economic shifts that have changed the face of LA over the last 60 years. Currently serving 6th, 7th and 8th grade students, Nightingale has a long tradition of academic and athletic achievement, music and arts programs, and a vibrant sense of school spirit that have made a lasting impression on many members of the community who continue to live in the surrounding neighborhoods to this day. As the local and national landscape continues to shift, today Nightingale is facing many of the same contemporary
challenges affecting our public schools nation-wide. In the midst of severe budget cuts, lack of teachers, and competition with charter schools, many of the elective programs that students have traditionally relied on as outlets for their creative aspirations have recently had to close their doors. Regarded by some as necessary and by others as tragedy, we’re only beginning to understand the short and long-term implications of this phenomenon. Collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking-these are capacities and skills supported by once vibrant and diverse electives. These are also increasingly valued as the essential qualities needed to attain the jobs and rise to the
NIGHTHAWKS challenges of the 21st century. Often, they are the very same qualities that are insufficiently developed in many students upon graduation. What effect does this lack of options have on students? What effect will it have on our economy? Our collective future? And most important-what can or should be done in response? Starting on a local level, understanding the complexities of Nightingale will provide the foundation necessary to begin answering many of these questions.
In an environment of budget cuts, shrinking enrollment, and lost electives, what should be done to support creative learning at Nightingale?
9
MIDDLE SCHOOL PERFORMANCE BY DISTRICT
DISTRICT 5 API PERFORMANCE 2009-2010
D2
el
se
re no
ni gh tin
ga
le
(AVERAGE % of students testing proficient or advanced across ELA, MATH, HISTORY AND SCIENCE)
708
652
ith gr iff
ev en so n be
lv ed
ck
659
st
625
691 627
698 698
D7
ca rv er
cl
D6
ad am
D5
s
ho lle
nb e
D4
in to n
3
D3
er e
D1
568
561 1000 800 (LAUSD TARGET)
D8
The Los Angeles Unified School District is the second largest public school district in the nation, serving approximately 700,000 students and containing 730 schools. LAUSD is divided into 8 distinct geographical districts, with Nightingale occupying local District 5. Following the Public Schools Accountability Act of 1999, one of the key metrics used to determine the performance and progress of schools in California is referred to as the Academic Performance Index (API), ranging from a low of 200 to a high of 1000. The interim state-wide API target is currently set at 800, and each year schools receive an
0
API number determined by student performance on a series of standardized tests. According to the LAUSD’s “School Report Card 2010”, only 27.5 percent of students in District 5 were considered “proficient” or “advanced” in English Language Arts, Math, History and Science-among the lowest in LAUSD. However, in the context of District 5, Nightingale is the highest performing middle school, earning an API of 708 in 2009-2010 school year. This Nightingale student population is primarily of Latino and Asian decent (70 and 28 percent
FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE MIDDLE SCHOOL
STUDENT DEMOGRAPHICS
3311 North Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA est. 1937
1,100 STUDENTS 70 % LATINO
25%
“achievement gap” (% of students scoring “proficient”or “advanced” in Math and English across student groups.)
28% ASIAN
63.5%
2% OTHER
respectively). A more subtle reading of Nightingale’s performance among these demographic groups reveals an achievement gap in which Asian students significantly outperform Latino students in all measured areas of academics.
Can new learning opportunities address the “achievement gap” that currently exists between Latino and Asian students?
11
HISTORICAL ENROLLMENT, ELECTIVES ENROLLMENT
2200
1,000
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
NIGHTINGALE LOCAL CHARTER SCHOOLS
G N G KI N O TI O RI C CE W AN VE I D AT RE Y C A M APH R RA G D T AS TO
C
AD
O
PH
O
BR
Y
G
P
O
LO
O
N
H
T
AR
C
TE
C SI
SH
D
O
O
U
M
W
ELECTIVES
As a result of recruitment from local charter schools, Nightingale’s student population is shrinking. Principal Enrique Gonzalez explains that “We are losing roughly five students per day to charter schools.” He believes this phenomenon is increasingly fuelled by the perception of public schools as dangerous and ineffective, coupled with the inability of public schools to compete with the promotion and marketing strategies of charter programs, which often promise parents and students a more nurturing alternative educational environment, more engaging personalized curriculum, and in some cases promises of guaranteed college acceptance. Further contributing to Nightingale’s contraction is the
loss of many dedicated elective classes that once included metal shop, plastics, home economics, art, ceramics, and percussion. Electives still in place on campus include Guitar, Choir, and Woodshop. Some teachers have also been attempting to host improvised arts electives for gifted students. After school programs such as the LA Conservation Corps also continue to provide loosely structured creative and athletic outlets for students. However, participation in the various after school programs is currently estimated at 1020 percent, with many parents and teachers citing parental concerns regarding neighborhood safety and supervision
R K
COMMUNITY CONTEXT A R K P S EB
IL E M
M
R K
R IV
R K A
.5
Local Gang Activity:
P
A
P
EE T
N IA
EY C LA
EE W FR 5
S
A
TR
Y
YS EL
M IU D TA S D
O
G
ER
E
4
ER
G
A
1/
(montecito heights)
IL
R D
C
EN
P
YP
A
R K
R ES
S
P
A
1 +A 10 R FR R E O E YO W S AY EC O
R K
R IO
LO S
D
LA
A N G
R IV
EL
ER
ES
P
A
(mt. washington)
1M
IL
E “Avenues” Gang
as among the main reasons more students aren’t taking advantage of these resources. Despite this perception, many long term teachers and long standing members of the community report that local gang activity, especially the rivalry between the “Avenues” and the “Cypress Park” gangs, seems to have dramatically declined in recent years. The larger community of Cypress Park, given its proximity to many existing and planned infrastructural projects (including the Los Angeles River Revitalization Master Plan), has foregrounded its cultural and economic potential as a vital contributor to the future of Los Angeles. Can we combat shrinking enrollment by offering
Cypress Park Gang
new resources to students and teachers? Can we change the negative perceptions of public school with new programming that benefits the local community?
Shrinking enrollment is a challenge at Nightingale. What new resources can be offered to students and teachers? Can we change the negative perceptions of public school with new programming that benefits the local community? 13
OPPORTUNITY ASSESSMENT:
MOTIVATIONAL
GO GREEN! Nightingale’s deeply rooted sense of school spirit and identity is perhaps best exemplified in a series of annual athletic events. We talked to Tom Acevedo, the Chair of the Kinesthesiology Department who has been involved in facilitating these activities for many years, and described their role in culture of the school. “We at Nightingale are very proud of the fact that we have three wonderful events for our students. In the fall we have our 70 year traditional Football Carnival...[And in the spring] our 65th annual track meet. In 1989 our department started another annual event. In the last 22 years we have averaged over 500 runners yearly at our Nightingale Middle School 5K. This event brings together
students, staff, alumni, and the community.” Behind the success of and the enthusiastic participation in these events has been the parallel tradition of dividing the students into two “rival” teams--one represented by blue and the other by green. Each student is assigned a color according to his or her homeroom, and will usually retain this color for the duration for the three years of middle school. In anticipation of the yearly events, students dress and adorn themselves in their respective colors and cheer on their teams in the events. Debbie Acevedo, who also teaches Kinesthesiology, explained to us that these colors become a powerful semiotic that shapes how students identify with
GO BLUE! the legacy of the school and with each other, noting that “People always remember their color, even years after they graduate.” This was confirmed by most of the students we spoke to, for whom their team color was clearly a source of pride and identity. Other students (especially the less athletically inclined), although they can recall always being excited to attend the events, mentioned that they wished their colors could be used in “more than just sports.” The use of school colors are being foregrounded here as a simple yet powerful motivational strategy that is already deeply ingrained in the culture of Nightingale.
Understanding the role that healthy competition currently offers to athletic activities can shape future efforts to reinforce and extend this spirit into other areas of the learning experience where active participation will be a necessity.
17
ROLE MODELS
What do these role models reveal about the underlying aspirations and motivations of Nightingale students? Understanding the existing values of students was a central focus of our research. If the ultimate goal of new programming is to provide learning experiences that empower students to become the citizens, professionals, and people they aspire to be, the first step was to gain a better sense of what currently shapes their aspirations and values. To gain a broad perspective, we asked them a series of questions
that included: Who do you admire? Who do you respect? Why? As many values are inevitably shaped by experience, their responses were very closely tied to their daily lives as students. In general, the group of students we surveyed spend the majority of their time either at school, with friends and family, or engaged in various forms of digital mediaT.V. Video games, Facebook, and YouTube were consistent themes. The responses above fall roughly into the three categories of Pop Culture, Family and Friends, and Nightingale community role models. Most figures from popular culture included famous musicians, actors, or
sports icons admired primarily for their physical, financial, or social prowess. “Pretty“ and “Millionaire” were recurring adjectives. Nightingale teachers and administrators were also mentioned in some of the student’s lists. Mr. Gonzalez, for example was considered to be a “Motivational decision maker.” Parents, siblings, grandparents, and friends were in some cases admired for their accomplishments or qualities such as “honesty” and “intelligence”, but in many cases also for the material support they provide: “makes me food” and “buys me stuff” were used to explain the “why” in many cases.
Perhaps the most obvious insight that arises from this exercise is the role that material status and reward currently plays as a motivating factor for most students. Career ambitions such as “doctor”, “lawyer”, “vice” were often cited in relation to contemporary television shows and perceived salaries rather than an expressed interest in medicine, law, or criminal justice. Conversely, many personal interests or hobbies seemed to be disconnected from the ability to identify relevant role models in those areas.
19
RELEVANT STUDENT PERSONALITY TYPES
1. THE INTELLIGENT INTROVERT
2. THE ENGAGED EXTROVERT
3. THE RELUCTANT ACHIEVER
-Often academically gifted. -Less vocal or socially uncomfortable. -Feels misunderstood or undervalued. -Has trouble making friends.
-Socially savvy with many leadership qualities. -Not always strong academically. -Loves attention. -Often disruptive but engaged in subject matter.
-Strong academically, but less likely to actively participate in activities or discussion. -Tends to open up in one-on-one conversations or smaller groups.
COMPREHENSIVE ACCOMMODATION
TARGETED ACCOMMODATION
4. THE DISENGAGED UNDERACHIEVER -Quiet and unresponsive, often won’t participate even when asked directly. -Often has other learning challenges. such as language barriers. -Most engaged with friends (eg. sports during lunch or after school).
5. THE EXTROVERTED UNDERACHIEVER All students are different. Finding ways to engage -Constantly tests behavioral boundaries. and accommodate the -Often disruptive or disrespectful to broad range of personality teachers or peers. types at Nightingale is a -Struggles academically. challenging but necessary -Energetic, with trouble staying on task. goal.
21
CONVENTIONAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
Understanding the difference between “intrinsic” and “extrinsic” motivation as it relates to the learning process can serve as an introduction to the potential role that design thinking might play in an educational setting. The strict hierarchies and teaching methods of a traditional classroom can be generally defined as an extrinsically motivated form of learning--driven by the risk of punishment or the promise of reward. Some teachers we spoke to referred to this as the “Drill and Kill” technique of repeating, memorizing, and recalling prescribed material. Many teachers at Nightingale are already employing more active ways of teaching and have expressed interest in developing
COLLABORATIVE, PROJECT-BASED LEARNING
new techniques and curriculum to more effectively engage students in the learning process. We believe that defining, understanding and leveraging the intrinsic motivations of students themselves will be an essential part of this challenge. Though a precise definition is difficult to pin down, “design thinking” can be broadly understood as an actionbased mode of creative problem solving that involves a specific process. From the initial spark of an idea, to the refinement of a concept, to the deployment of an appropriate response, the design process is capable of empowering students to apply the content of their core curriculum in a
LEARNING+ TEACHING DESIGN THINKING
CRITICAL THINKING
IDEAS
INSIGHT IMPACT
COLLABORATION
ACTION
EXPERIMENTATION
“DESIGN IS NOT JUST THE APPLICATION OF SKILLS, BUT A WAY OF THINKING.” -CHRIS PULLMAN
hands on, creative environment that encourages independent thinking that is responsive to their interests. Design projects enable students to engage in real world challenges that are meaningful to them and relevant to their community both on campus and off through a process of experimentation and self discovery that emphasizes collaboration, creative critical thinking, and imparts new skills. While extrinsic motivation may provide results in the short term, nurturing intrinsic motivation sets a foundation for life long learning beyond the classroom.
While extrinsic motivation may provide results in the short term, nurturing intrinsic motivation sets a foundation for life long learning beyond the classroom.
23
OPPORTUNITY ASSESSMENT:
SPATIAL
THE SURROUNDING NEIGHBORHOOD
12
9 10
13
11
14
1
8 7
6
15
5 4
3
1 2 15
Nightingale is located on a 8.9 acre site, bound by North Figueroa to the south, Cypress Avenue to the west, Jeffries Avenue to the north and Isabel Street to the east. The immediate neighborhood is primarily residential with several small businesses and commercial buildings on North Figueroa. The school is half of a mile away from the 110 freeway and in close proximity to the intersection of the 110 and 5 freeway. Many of the local residents and business owners we spoke with expressed a strong sense of identity
and pride in the local community. Gustavo Lizarde, the owner of an auto repair shop just a couple of blocks from the Nightingale campus described Cypress Park as having a “small town feeling”, with many lively and social families as well as a vibrant culture of independently owned and operated businesses. These sentiments were echoed by many other members of the community that we spoke to, who emphasized the deep cultural “roots” and “progressive potential” of the neighborhood.
1
4
7
10
13
2
5
8
11
14
3
6
9
12
15
What can the already active and vibrant community of Cypress Park offer to Nightingale? What role can Nightingale play in the community at large?
27
LOCAL VACANT LOTS 5
3 4 1
2
1
Even a casual walk around the neighborhood of Nightingale reveals an extensive patchwork of vacant lots, containing a variety of physical and ecological conditions. Some are steep or terraced, some have overgrown vegetation, and some appear to already have been partially appropriated and maintained by neighbors. An interesting example of this is the family we observed growing a small crop of corn and beans just outside of Nightingale’s southeast fence. Some of these lots are clearly privately owned or posted with aging “for sale” signs, and others appear to be publicly owned but under-utilized. One such city-owned site in particular was pointed out to us by a local resident. It is a large plot of vacant
land directly adjacent to the 110 freeway, just three blocks from the Nightingale campus, and one block from Loreto Elementary (1). Just as the under-utilized spaces on campus contain many opportunities for more engaging and productive forms of use, these landscapes are being highlighted here for their latent potential. Drawing upon a wider movement across L.A. to activate interstitial spaces in unexpected ways, the vacant land surrounding Nightingale (which represents many acres) can be viewed as the physical pretext for expanding student involvement in projects beyond the confines of the campus to catalyze and support local community development.
1
=
3
5
2
2.5 ACRES OF USABLE LAND
4
Rather than eyesores, can these spaces begin to be viewed as productive assets to students, families, and the larger community of Cypress Park?
29
UNDERUTILIZED SPACE ON CAMPUS
2
7
8
4 11
6 9
5 1
3
10 3
The Nightingale campus is comprised of seven core buildings that cradle a large, paved central playground area and that students often call the “football field.” Although there have been many recent successful campus improvement projects aimed at beautifying the aging buildings and grounds, one common concern among students is the general lack of shade and seating available to them during nutrition (break) and lunch time. With only a limited number of shady spots in which to sit and hang out, some students indicated that their social activities are nomadic rather than confined to a specific territory. Many of the peripheral and planted areas of campus
are officially off limits or currently inaccessible to students. One example is an area once referred to as the “Nighthawk Nest” (11) -a triangular courtyard space formed between the auditorium, choral building and an adjacent apartment complex. Although the trees and vegetation of the space are being maintained voluntarily by staff, the “Nest” appears to have been cut off from student access by a locked fence for many years, and was most recently used primarily for storage. On the northwest corner of the campus, another larger open space may soon to be available upon the pending removal of several aging portable classrooms, which are slated to be demolished and cleared by early 2012.
1
4
7
10
2
5
8
11
3
6
9
13
These spaces offer immense potential for more active uses in the future, including community or student-run gardening projects, interactive learning games, outdoor classrooms, and informal performance or gathering areas. 31
STUDENT CAMPUS FEEDBACK
“The flowers by the student store are nice because they are colorful” “The side of the science building has really nothing at all but dead plants :/ “The volleyball court is good because it has a lot of shade”
“THE GOOD”
“The inside of the buildings are ugly because they’re colorless”
“The blacktop is very hot” “The football field should have grass”
“We need more trees near the gates to the blacktop”
“Our hallways need more art”
“THE BAD”
The benches are O GEE ;P (awesome)! “The grassfield is good because you can do multiple activities there like speedoway” “The grass field is always yellow, or muddy” “Cafeteria is bad because it’s crowded” “The back of the school is ugly because there’s no bleachers or shade”
We also encouraged students to provide their own direct feedback on the physical conditions of the Nightingale campus, through an exercise we called the “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.” Facilitated by Nancy Chou from The New Learning Institute, this was an activity in which a group of 7th and 8th grade students used iPhones as cameras to document and respond to their most and least favorite areas on campus. Some of the results of the activity are shown here. Many students focused on areas of the campus that lacked physical comfort or visual appeal. The lack of shade on the blacktop was a recurring theme. Tagging and littering were also a concern for many students. One other interesting
“THE UGLY”
insight was the issue of lockers. Because they are no longer used for the purpose of student storage due to district-wide regulations, the extensive banks of green lockers that line many of the hallways of Nightingale seem to be increasingly viewed by the students as a useless eyesore, and many of the students and administrators were quick to share their own ideas for how these spaces could be put to better use (for example, removing the lockers and using the space as a display case for student work). This exercise, which was very well received by students (who were eager to use technologies typically forbidden during school hours) provides an initial example
of how students can begin to view their relationship to their surroundings in a more active, personal, and critical way.
We believe activities such as this one can eventually become the first stage of a larger design process that encourages student to propose, develop, and deploy creative responses to the challenges they identify, both on campus and off.
33
ROOM 243
1 3
4
5
0 1
Located on the second floor of Nightingale’s “Industrial Arts” building, room 243 is an approximately 1600 s.f. classroom formerly used as a computer lab. It’s currently serving as an interim space for conducting our research, interviews and activities with students, faculty, and parents. Room 243 is divided in four spaces. The first is a large open area fringed by computer stations. Toward the northeast corner of the space are three small rooms, the first of which is currently used to house the school’s server network. The second is a small office and storage area, and the third is a smaller space accessed by sliding glass doors. In the center of the main space is a raised platform with
5
2
10
integrated casework that once served as a secondary work station and pulpit for instruction. This room has been made available to serve as the command central for the long-term implementation of a new project-based learning program. Key considerations driving the transformation of the space will include the question of how to provide an inclusive environment in which students feel comfortable, inspired, and engaged while being programmatically flexible enough to accommodate a variety of uses and projects at various times of the day. One challenge is the continued perception of the space as a “computer lab”, and the desire among students
4
5
1
2
3
and teachers to utilize it as such. Although many of the associated computer technologies will likely continue to be provided from this room, we have been encouraging teachers to view the space as a more active and expansive resource for project-based learning. Schematic designs for the renovation of the space will begin in subsequent phases of the project and will include collaboration and input from all stakeholders. Preliminary clean-up and preparation are currently underway.
Room 243 will serve as the physical context for the conception and deployment of student projects in the future. How can it be transformed into an alternative learning and teaching environment that offers new resources to Nightingale? 35
OPPORTUNITY ASSESSMENT:
PEDAGOGICAL
STUDENT FEEDBACK “The best ways to learn are....”
The process of opportunity assessment continues with many vital and complex pedagogical questions that need to be addressed. How do students currently feel about their educational experience? What subjects are they currently struggling with? What are the most effective ways to learn from the perspective of both students and their teachers? To better understand these issues, we engaged a diverse group of 30 students from Nightingale’s Leadership elective class, and many of their teachers in a series of interviews and activities intended to help us better understand their values, needs, and goals. In one activity entitled “How do You Learn?”, we
“The worst ways to learn are....”
facilitated a brainstorming exercise in which students were encouraged to write down as many “ways to learn” as they could think of, and then arranged these methods along a spectrum from “best” to “worst”. While the results are of course varied, what begins to emerge is at least two very distinct types of learners. The first responds well to of memorization, note-taking and studying. The second appears to respond more positively to the methods of hands-on experimentation, games, and discussion. In another activity, students were asked to complete a 2x2 matrix rating their current core classes according to the “most fun,” “least fun,” as well as “easiest” and “hardest.” In
CURRICULUM FEEDBACK MOST FUN
MOST FUN
PE
SCIENCE
EASY
HARD
EASY
HARD T) RGE (TA
MATH
ENGLISH (T
G AR
ET
)
LEAST FUN
LEAST FUN HISTORY
LATINO STUDENTS
BOYS
GIRLS
aggregating the results according to gender and ethnicity, there are several other insights that arise. Latino girls generally tended to find science and math to be the least fun and hardest. Latino boys tended to find science to be easy and fun, but also rated math to be hardest and least fun. In contrast, Asian girls enjoyed math more and found it easier, but appeared to struggle more with History. With few exceptions, Kinestheology was generally regarded to be the most fun.
ASIAN STUDENTS
BOYS
GIRLS
Can project-based learning engage students who already respond better to hands-on methods while supplementing curriculum they may struggle with in a traditional classroom? 39
OPPORTUNITY ASSESSMENT:
STRATEGIC
SCHEDULING OPPORTUNITIES
8am
9am
10am
TYPICAL SCHOOL DAY PERIOD 1 PERIOD 2
HOMEROOM +
NUTRITION
11am
PERIOD 3 PER
OPPORTUNITIES
1) ELECTIVE OR INTERVENTION
56
2)
4) EVERY TUESDAY, SHORT DAY FOR “PROFESSION
5) WEEKENDS Assessing strategic opportunities to implement projectbased learning at Nightingale begins with the question of scheduling. How might new programming complement the existing schedule of Nightingale students during the school day? What other opportunities exist for teachers, parents, students, and volunteers after school or during the weekends? The diagram above shows several opportunities that exist in the typical schedule of a nightingale student. During a regular school day, class periods are just under one hour long. Although core classes are mandatory, it is important to note that many students are currently enrolled in what is referred to as an “intervention period” which are
8 HOURS+
taken during a period that would otherwise be dedicated to electives. During this time, students receive an additional class in a subject that they struggle with (sometimes referred to as a “double-math” or a “double-english”). Mr. Bergeron, a Math teacher at Nightingale, described that some students continue to struggle with curriculum despite the additional instruction time offered by the intervention period. He believes that students could benefit from the ability to learn the same content in different ways. Lunch time is also another potential opportunity to provide new learning opportunities during the school day. Weekends offer the potentially longest block of
12am
1pm
2pm
3pm
4pm
5pm
RIOD 4 LUNCH PERIOD 5 PERIOD 6
6 MIN.
LUNCH 30 MIN.
NAL DEVELOPMENT�
1.5 HOURS 3) AFTER SCHOOL
uninterrupted time in which to propose new programming, but students expressed mixed feelings about coming in during this time. Some were strongly opposed, but others were open to the idea especially if this included the potential for field trips. Every Tuesday is currently set aside as a shortened day for professional development. Students are let out at 1:30, but teachers remain on campus until 3:00. Traditionally this is a block of time to be used for teachers and administrators to meet, coordinate, and share. However many teachers we spoke to indicated that the professional development days currently lack structure and most teachers rarely meet
2-3 HOURS
with each other during this time. Each of these opportunities entails a unique set of time constraints that will affect potential outcomes.
How might new programming complement the existing schedule of Nightingale students during the school day? What other opportunities exist after school or on the weekends? 43
EXISTING AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM: LACC
The potential to engage with students after school is of particular relevance, as it provides an uninterrupted block of three hours. Budget cuts have dramatically reduced hourly pay rates offered for overtime, which has in turn dramatically reduced the number of teachers who stay after school, leaving much of the programming to be determined by various after school programs such as Students Run L.A., Noble Youth, and Clarity and LACC. As mentioned before, participation in these programs is very low, approximately 10 to 20 percent. One relatively popular set of programs are those offered by LACC (Los Angeles Conservation Corps), which provides a series of enrichment activities and tutoring
opportunities to students after school on a daily basis. LACC is a privately and publicly funded organization that must meet minimum participation targets to receive funds. To encourage students to participate, LACC engages in extensive campus flyering and offers free snacks everyday to all students who enroll. We visited on a typical day and observed a series of organized sports activities, art projects and many students playing video games such as “Guitar Hero.” When we asked students why they don’t participate in after school programs like LACC, they often cite a lack of variety as among their main concerns.
RESOURCE GUIDE
(click for links)
FUNDING MATERIALS VOLUNTEERS PARTNERSHIPS KICKSTARTER
TRASH FOR TEACHING
“TIME BANKING”
WHOLE KIDS GARDEN GRANTS
WOLLY POCKETS GARDEN PROGRAM
NIGHTINGALE PARENT GROUP
NEA GRANTS FOR TEACHERS
LOCAL COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
LA WORKS
MUSEUM OF JURASSIC TECHNOLOGY LANGE FOUNDATION HEAL THE BAY 826 LA HAMMER MUSEUM (THURS.)
LACC
ACE GALLERY MOCA (THURS.) HUNTINGTON LIBRARY BIKE OVEN SOUTH CENTRAL FARMERS LA GUERILLA GARDENERS SUMI INK CLUB OF LA HOMEBOY INDUSTRIES A PLACE CALLED HOME LA URBAN RANGERS FALLEN FRUIT CONTINUUM
The links above provide an initial list of potential resources to aid in the development and implementation of the D3 Lab. Funding opportunities include online crowd funding platforms such as kickstarter.com, which allows individuals to make small contributions to projects they believe in until a goal is met. In addition to funding already available for campus improvements (approximately $80,000 according to Principal Enrique Gonzales) grants such as those available through the Whole Kids Foundation and others can provide vital funding for specific students projects when they are ready for implementation. Funding
will also be necessary for the spatial transformation of room 243. When direct funding is unavailable, improvisation may become necessary. Rather than a limiting factor, material or budgetary constraints can become a means of encouraging students to be more imaginative about the ways in which their projects are realized. Recruiting capable long and short term volunteers can also play a vital role in sourcing mentors, supervisors, facilitators and speakers.
45
“
D LAB 3
D3 is a creative mindset that can empower students throughout all stages of their education and lives. The D3 lab is a place where these new skills and capacities are nurtured. The tentative physical and pedagogical context for project-based learning at Nightingale is currently being explored under the title “D3 Lab.” In collaboration with several willing teachers on campus, a series of “Beta” projects are already underway. Instruction is based on a flexible process
”
that guides students through a series of project stages that reflect the design methodology we call Dream It, Design It, Do It. The goal of this methodology is to provide a general framework that is capable of accommodating a broad range of group structures and project types and expanding the range of potential project outcomes. The D3 model is still in a nascent stage. Our preliminary experience with the “Beta” projects has revealed that capacities such as collaboration, critical thinking, research techniques, and ideation do not come easily to most students and must be introduced at a small and legible scale. The D3 Lab will supplement the resources already provided in room 243 and become more than just a physical
D
3
DREAM IT ! 1. DISCOVER., EXPLORE, UNDERSTAND
2. DEFINE IDEAS
DESIGN IT ! 3.
TEST, EXPERIMENT
DO IT !
4.
5.
6.
REFINE THE DETAILS!
CREATE!
SHARE!
- collaborate -build -assemble -produce
- present - celebrate - enjoy
(EVALUATE, EVOLVE)
- think critically - take pictures - interviews - measure - think about problems + opportunities
- brainstorm - be inspired - collaborate - write a proposal
-draft -sketch -draw -build a model -create a storyboard
space at the school. It will represent an approach to learning in which students explore their interests, work with adults to define and refine their project ideas based on proven design principles, and then implement their ideas in the school or larger community. Programs will take place during school, after school, in classrooms, in outdoor spaces, in the community, and in the D3 Lab itself. Although the D3 lab has already generated excitement among the students and teachers involved in the various Beta projects, there are still many layers of resistance and skepticism among other faculty and administrators at Nightingale who seem to be largely confused about what is happening in the D3 space. We believe the long term viability
-get & give feedback - test & gather materials -create a schedule
of the program will rely on the ability to create a model that is flexible and easily accessible to students and teachers on campus as well as partners off campus. Visible results will be key. Consistent, transparent and effective communication will be necessary to demonstrate what is happening, how to get involved, and why it matters. A clearly defined criteria for assessing the relevance, progress and outcomes of the program will also play a vital role in keeping student projects on track.
47
D3 PRINCIPLES
1.
2.
The following 10 points (in no particular order) are intended as a toolkit for program facilitators. They provide an initial set of guidelines that can inform the development of D3 projects in the future.
FOCUS ON H E A L T H Y PROCESS COMPETITION
Dream it. Design it. Do it.
Remember that D3 is a “Mindset” rather than a specific project or product. Don’t rush, let the stages of the design process determine the best way forward. Encourage students to look beyond fist assumptions and single ideas.
Consider dividing groups into homeroom color. Use time limits to push students to make definitive progress.
6.
7.
EMBRACE
SHARE ASSESSMENT
PERSONALIZE
YOUR EXPERIENCE Communicate your successes and challenges to others to help the program evolve and improve. Bring in other collaborators and mentors to observe and assist.
Consider letting students define their own learning and assessment criteria. Emphasize personal accountability for actions and progress.
3.
4.
5.
GIVE STUDENTS START& SMALL
DOCUMENT
When working in groups, consider allowing students to select some members. Consider defining classroom rules and regulations democratically. Tailor content, technologies, and outcomes to their interests. Ask students for their feedback. Don’t give easy answers, deflect overly generalized questions with other questions.
Don’t start out with overly ambitious or unrealistic expectations. Consider starting with quick exercises or demonstrations.
Take photos at every stage of the process, save sketches and notes. Create an organized project folder that contains all content for a specific project. Show, don’t tell.
8.
9.
10.
POWER G
R O W EVERYTHING
B R I N G T H E B R I N G T H E ACKNOWLEDGE
INSIDE OUT OUTSIDE IN DIFFERENCE Seek, define, understand, and nurture students’ inner motivations. Encourage students to express ideas in a variety of ways. Consider field trips when possible. Find opportunities on campus, in the local neighborhood. Emphasize topics that are shared within the larger community on campus and beyond.
Consider reaching out to community partners for support and expertise. Encourage students to research relevant precedents for inspiration. Be resourceful-funding opportunities and materials are always available.
Assign specialized tasks to team members based on observed personality traits and skills. Offer multiple ways for students to engage with content. Be flexible with instructional techniques.
PROJECT TYPES
TEACHERS
STUDENTS
(PCS) PROJECT-BASED CIRRICULAR SUPPLIMENT WHY? offers teachers resources to support core cirriculum WHEN? class period during the school day
COMMUNITY
CAMPUS
D3 LAB
(MTC) MULTIPLE TEACHER COLLABORATION
(CLW) COMMUNITY LEADER WORKSHOP
WHY? facilitates faculty collaboration and cirricular overlap, learning synergies for students WHEN? Class period during the school day
WHY? connects students with local community leaders with relevant skills that support alternative learning WHEN? after school or weekends
(OCP) OFF-SITE COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP WHY? engages students with local issues off campus, interface with local leaders and partnerships WHEN? school day or weekends
(OCI) ON-CAMPUS PROGRAM INTEGRATION
(SOP) STUDENT ORGANIZED PROJECT
WHY? supports existing volunteers and partnerships on campus WHEN? after school
WHY? empowers students to pursue collaborative, intrinsically motivated projects at their own pace WHEN? lunch or after school
(SSP) SOLO STUDENT PROJECT WHY? supports individual interests of students who want to develop unique projects on their own WHEN? lunch or after school
(OCW) ON-SITE COMMUNITY WORKSHOP WHY? raises awareness and participation by providing relevant resources or events to the local community WHEN? weekends
WHAT WE’VE LEARNED
GOALS
PROVIDE NEW RESOURCES REVERSE NEGATIVE TRENDS Despite Nightingale’s impressive track record of overall “performance,” there is still a sharp achievement gap between Asian and Latino students. We believe that this gap can begin to narrow by actively engaging students in a range of new experiences that make the learning process more relevant to their interests.
ACCOMMODATE ALL
There are many personality types among students at Nightingale. Some are vocal, some more reserved. Some work better in groups, others work better solo. Some excel academically, and some struggle. Many students have language and cultural differences. Finding ways to engage and accommodate this diversity is imperative.
Nightingale is losing 20 percent of its student population per year to charter schools. The negative perception of public schools continues to drive this trend. Demonstrating the value of Nightingale in the community through local projects will be a crucial step toward shifting public sentiment and participation.
NURTURE NEW MINDSETS More than merely a set of skills, techniques or projects, we believe “design thinking” is a creative mindset that can benefit students through all stages of education and life. This mindset focuses on the ability to think critically, research, experiment, and collaborate effectively to bring ideas to life that have positive impact on the world. D3 will empower students to create a brighter future.
MOTIVATE FROM WITHIN Getting students motivated is key. Getting students to motivate themselves is even better. There are many motivational opportunities that are already deeply rooted into the culture of Nightingale that can be appropriated to serve new purposes. Use of “team colors” is one example. Tapping into this spirit and embracing healthy competition can keep students excited and engaged.
LEVERAGE LOCAL ASSETS Cypress park is a vibrant and dynamic community that contains many latent assets. These include currently untapped facilities, resources, spaces and pools of human capital upon which to draw. We believe that connecting with and harnessing these localized opportunities will lead to more relevant, locally resonant projects and contribute to the long term viability of the program.
CREATE PATHWAYS
The values and aspirations of Nightingale students appear to be inextricably linked to what they are exposed to in their daily experience at school, with friends and at home. Effective project-based learning will reinforce the interests and goals they currently have while exposing them to a new range of creative career paths, role models, and options that can help them shape the visions they set for their futures.
KEEP IT REAL
Students engage more easily with content when it’s relevant to the tangible realities they face every day. Understanding how they use technology, how they spend their time, and what’s important to them in the context of Nightingale as well as their lives outside of school is vital to maintaining their interest and participation.
GOALS
CREATE A CONTEXT
LISTEN TO STUDENTS
INSPIRE PROJECTS
FACILITATE VARIETY
Developing the physical context of the D3 lab is very important. Room 243 must be transformed into an inviting, fun, and inspiring space for students, teachers and eventually the community. It must add value and resources to all stakeholders. It also needs to provide a highly flexible creative working environment capable of facilitating a range of project types, class sizes, events and activities.
For long-term sustainable impact to occur at Nightingale and beyond, a flexible methodology for project-based curriculum must be developed, refined, and eventually embraced by students and facilitators. This will provide an adaptable framework that can be easily applied across a wide array of scales, mediums, and subjects. Achieving this goal will require an iterative process of trial and error in which different methods can be tested on smaller “beta” projects.
Nightingale students learn in different ways. Sometimes the subjects they struggle with are those they find the least interesting. Other times, they enjoy a class more simply because they feel challenged. They all have opinions and preferences. To create a model that works best for them, all content, criteria and methods should be informed by direct feedback from students themselves.
There are many unique challenges and requirements that must be considered to effectively deploy new programming during school, after school and on the weekends. The program should be accessible through multiple “points of entry” and allow for a series of project types and collaborative partnerships to emerge both on campus and off.
START EARLY
Getting students to be comfortable with projectbased learning will not happen immediately and will be further complicated by the often vast social and behavioral differences between 6th and 8th grade students. Long term implementation may require more structured, adult-driven projects to be introduced at the 6th grade level, with increasing levels of complexity, scale, and freedom phased in gradually through the course of their entire experience at Nightingale.
DON’T ADVOCATE, INTEGRATE Introducing new programming into the existing culture of the school will need to be strategic, transparent and eventually self-sufficient in the absence of outside advocates and facilitators such as NLI. Students, teachers, and potential community partners will need to be empowered with flexible systems and tools that support effective communication and project development. All stakeholders will need to stay updated on what’s happening, why it matters, and how they can get involved.
APPENDIX 1:
STAKEHOLDERS
PRELIMINARY STAKEHOLDERS OVERVIEW COMMUNITY
NEW LEARNING
INSTITUTE COMMONSTUDIO
PARENTS
ENRIQUE (PRINCIPAL)
TEACHERS
PEARSON FOUNDATION
ADMIN
STUDENTS
NIGHTINGALE
The Nightingale community contains a multitude of diverse voices and perspectives-from students and teachers, to administrators, parents and members of the local community. In order to better understand the needs, concerns and potential role of all stakeholders involved, we engaged in a series of interviews and activities that allowed us to actively listen to and carefully consider the diversity of perspectives they represent. This process also allowed us to experience and observe first hand some of the unique challenges of working with and instructing middle school students. We met with a group of 30 students twice a week during their 5th period Leadership class, and over the course of four weeks
the students became increasingly comfortable with our presence and open with our feedback. Among many other things, we learned about how they spend their time both on campus and off, their motivations, their aspirations, their feelings about their education, and their neighborhoods. This ethnographic engagement with students as well as with teachers, parents, administrators and community members offers vital insights that can directly shape the criteria by which programming can be assessed and deployed in the future. We believe that the most appropriate and successful responses will be those that are capable of integrating into the existing fabric of the school while
ETHNOGRAPHY PROCESS
satisfying the needs of as many stakeholders as possible. With this goal in mind, what follows is a distillation of this research in the form of individualized “user cases.”
Deep understanding of the needs of all stakeholders provides the foundation for appropriate responses. The goal of the following “user cases” is to provide program coordinators with insights on how to effectively engage with students, teachers, and the community. 61
“Individually look at the students you have not all the students are the same you can’t treat them all the same.”
Loves her new Promethian smart board, “It’s like a huge iphone.”
USER CASE:
TEACHER
Project idea: Use narrative based video games to inspire boys to engage with story telling techniques.
Ms. Moreno- English
EXPECTATIONS FROM STUDENTS:
CHALLENGES:
-Respect for others, individuality.
-“Boys tend to struggle more with writing.” -Getting students to be more descriptive and detail-oriented.
TEACHING METHODS: -Consistency, Fairness. -Starts with smaller activities. -Curated group work, student presentations. -Positive feedback.
62
NEEDS: -More access to technology for students. -Alternative ways to support critical thinking and writing skills. COMMUNICATION:
Email is best!
Tom and Debbie have been teaching at Nightingale for over 30 years. “Consistency is key for students.”
“Consequences for actions are important.”
USER CASE:
“They want us to perform the miracles, but we can’t do it all.”
TEACHER
“Buy-in from parents is crucial.”
Mr. & Mrs. Acevedo- Kinesthesiology EXPECTATIONS FROM STUDENTS:
CHALLENGES:
-Discipline, consistent work ethic.
-Coordination with other teachers.
TEACHING METHODS:
-Mixing ages and ethnicities.
-Clearly defined and enforced codes of conduct.
-Encouraging leadership and responsibility.
-Fostering personal connections.
NEEDS:
-Encouragement.
More and better facilities. COMMUNICATION:
63
Come talk to us.
Mr. Carillo has been teaching for 10 years-7 of which have been spent at Nightingale.
Project example from Mr. Carillos Science class: Making vehicles out materials such as pasta to demonstrate the laws of physics.
USER CASE:
TEACHER
Encourages students to be present during parent conferences.
Mr. Carillo-Science
EXPECTATIONS FROM STUDENTS:
CHALLENGES:
Motivated, hard working, and engaged.
-“Girls usually struggle more with science.” -Lack of communication between teachers. “ I wish I could do more for the least engaged.
TEACHING METHODS: -”Mini labs”, with hands on projects. -Projects structured around the scientific method. -Curated group work. -Encourages independent discovery.
64
NEEDS: -Ways to engage with collegues: “I wish I knew what they are doing.” COMMUNICATION:
Email is best!
Comes from a family of teachers.
“A good school starts with leadership - fair and ethical.”
“The reward is when the light bulb goes off.”
USER CASE:
TEACHER
“Behind every great student is a great parent.”
Mr. Bergeron-Math
EXPECTATIONS FROM STUDENTS:
CHALLENGES:
Respect, participation.
-Lack of parental accountability and involvement.
TEACHING METHODS: -Consistency, good classroom management. -Students do examples in front of the class. -Often seats students alternating boy and girl, drastically reduces talking. -Parents must sign each graded test.
INSIGHTS: -Believes intervention classes can benifit from alternative methods. COMMUNICATION:
65
Come talk to me.
Thinks the best way to spread awareness about school activities is through word of mouth... “Start a rumor”.
Wants to learn more about baking. “A cupcake war between green and blue teams would be cool.”
USER CASE:
“The after school programs are boring because they do the same thing every day.”
STUDENT
Brenda Moreno-7th Grader ASPIRATIONS:
LEARNING:
Cake Designer.
-Seeing examples is best, hearing is worst. -Favorite teachers are those who use humor. -Enjoys all classes except Algebra and English.
MOTIVATIONS: -Social life is very important. -Asserting her individuality. -Curiosity.
66
DO’S AND DON’TS: -Variety helps. “Keep it fresh.” -Group work is best when she can choose at least some of the members.
“Class is pretty much the same always.”
“Staying after school sounds boring.”
USER CASE:
Has fond memories of builing castles out of cardboard and glue in elementary school.
STUDENT
Adrian Rios-6th Grader ASPIRATIONS:
LEARNING:
Marine or Police Officer, but also loves soccer.
-Loves Kinesthesiology, doesn’t like Math. -Enjoys computer games such as “Whale Evolution.”
MOTIVATIONS: -Connects easily with friends, less with teachers. -Time with family is important, he plays sports with his father every weekend.
DO’S AND DON’TS: -Would rather work with others than alone. -Field trips=fun.
67
Taught himself English primarily from watching T.V.
USER CASE:
“Having my parents here [to participate in the program] would be wierd and akward.”
STUDENT
Peter Ma-8th Grader ASPIRATIONS:
LEARNING:
Pharmacist. MOTIVATIONS: -Admires Stephen Hawking for being a “stong visionary” and a “deep thinker.” -Finds Kinesthiology class (P.E.) to be the “least fun.” -Likes to keep a low profile socially.
-Likes “Seeing” and “doing.”
68
-Doesn’t like “Hearing” and “Research.” DO’S AND DON’TS: -Not interested in proposing his own projects, but would participate if “something interesting” was already happening. -Open to after school and weekends if his parents are ok with it.
Jin is the 4th Generation in a family of Chinese doctors.
“Peter never needs help with his homework, and he does it very fast.”
USER CASE:
“Peter is much more motivated than his older sister.”
PARENT Jin Lin Ma-Peter’s Father
CONTEXT: -Works in building maintenance. -Was formerly a Doctor in China. -Has lived in China Town for 30 years. -Speaks Mandarin and Cantonese
-Has “total trust and respect” for his son Peter. -Wants him to find “his own path.” -Says college is necessary.
VALUES: -Family is very important. -Takes pride in his local community.
-Supports his son’s involvement “if he wants” but doesn’t think he needs it. Parental involvement: -Weekends, especially Sundays would work. 69
EXPECTATIONS:
INVOLVEMENT:
“The key to education is personalization.”
Strong advocate for “Real World Learning.”
USER CASE: ADMINISTRATION
“I want students to be empowered to become active, opinionated, adults who can choose to continue their education as long as they want to...We must give them the tools face in the future.”
Mr. Gonzalez-Principal CONTEXT:
CHALLENGES:
In his second year as principal at Nightingale.
-Retaining students, “We lose approximately 5 students every day to charter schools.”
GOALS: -To engage the community. -To improve the Nightingale campus. -To get students excited about their education. -To continue to increase API scores.
70
-Community perception-Dealing with the negative portrayal of public schools in the media. -Aligning his vision with other stakeholders.
“The gangs used to be a bigger problem in the past, they don’t mess with me.”
“Nightingale is too closed off from whats happening outside.”
USER CASE:
COMMUNITY
Yancy has spearheaded many street improvments to the local neighborhood including murals, planters, benches, and soon will be expanding the coffee shop to an adjacent building.
Yancy Quinones-Owner of Antiguas Coffee House OUR NEIGHBORHOOD IS: ”Beautiful, family oriented, progressive.”
VALUES: -Believes small businesses have a resposibility to make the community cleaner and more vibrant.
INVOLVEMENT: - Is actively involved in other local organizations. -Would be interested in offering his space and equipment to students for projects or field trips.
-Believes in the power of art and design.
71
Jonathan grew up in and works in the neighborhood at a local auto repair shop.
“This neighborhood has a lot of history, people stick around.”
USER CASE:
COMMUNITY Jonathan Shephard-local resident
OUR NEIGHBORHOOD IS: ”Full of family roots and potential.” VALUES: -Loves biking and being outside.
72
INVOLVEMENT: -Engaged in other community activities already, for example working with other residents to make Figueroa more walkable. -Weary of Nightingale due to negative reputation of “some teachers”, but open to volunteering opportunities for projects involving gardening or sustainability.
Stephanie is a former Nightingale student and still lives in the neighborhood.
“People in this neighborhood are always nice and friendly, everyone says hi.”
USER CASE:
COMMUNITY
Stephanie Reyas-Manager at Metro PCS OUR NEIGHBORHOOD IS: “Playful, respectful, and busy.” VALUES: Interested in the local history of Cypress Park, often visits “Heritage Square.” Feels responsible to her younger sister, who is currently a Nightingale student.
INVOLVEMENT: -Volunteers at the local elementary school through the organization “L.A.’s Best.” -Interested in volunteering opportunities at Nightingale.
73
APPENDIX 2:
PRECEDENTS
PRECEDENT 1:
STUDIO H “Design is problem solving with grace and foresight.” -Emily Pilloton
Started in 2010, by designers Emily Pilloton and Matthew Miller, Studio H offers students a hands on “design/build” curriculum in the context of a public high school in Bertie County, North Carolina. The mission of the program is to “Spark rural community development through real-world, built projects.” By learning through a design sensibility, applied core subjects, and industry-relevant construction skills, students develop the creative capital, critical thinking, and citizenship necessary for their own success and for the future of their communities. Over the course of one calendar year, students earn high school and
college credit, and are paid a summer wage to build the community project they have spent the year designing and prototyping. We interviewed Emily Pilloton to get a better idea of the most effective methods they use. METHODS
For most students, Studio H is a first introduction to critical design thinking and fabrication skills, with many foundational understandings and techniques, such as model making and spatial visualization imparted in the first two months of courses, referred to as “Design Boot Camp.”
Upon moving into more structured projects, Emily emphasized the importance of dividing the class into collaborative teams, ideally groups of two or three students that have complimentary personalities-with periodic reshuffling as needed. This strategy not only minimizes the potential for “social chaos,” but adds variety to the project outcomes, with teams often developing several optional or unique schemes for the same design challenge. This approach also allows construction tasks to eventually be allocated to specialized groups. Students are encouraged to expand their thinking beyond initial assumptions and ideas at every stage of the design process. As the rigorous nature of the projects requires a much higher degree of active participation and engagement than many of the other core classes than the students are used to, Emily noted that keeping the students motivated and focused is sometimes very challenging. Continuous
77
PRECEDENT 1: STUDIO H feedback and insight from the professionally trained instructors of Studio H, as well as peer assessment in which students grade the performance of their classmates, encourages active participation and ensures that progress is being made toward a final, actionable design response. CHALLENGES Although integrated into the physical context of the public school campus (with mandatory participation as two blocks of the high school day) The Studio H curriculum is self-funded by Project H Design, with grant money from the W.K. Kellog Foundation and the Adobe Foundation. College credit is offered via Pitt Community College, where Emily and Matt have sought adjunct faculty
status to teach architecture and design courses on the Bertie campus, and students also earn high school Career and Technical Education units. Throughout the first year of the program, Studio H was met with various levels of resistance from administration and other faculty and lacked active support from the local school board. Much of this was due to the loss of the previous superintendent, who originally invited Project H to develop the curriculum, but was fired four weeks before Studio H was to begin. This continues to be an ongoing challenge despite the excitement and support from many students and their parents, and the community at large. Emily believes that the long-term viability of Studio H and the potential impact it can have in Bertie County will ultimately be dependent on the willingness of the school administration to financially invest in the program
so that it can be more sustainable within the greater mission of the school district. EXAMPLES Public Chicken Coop: Following a series of workshops and exercises in design ideation, systems thinking, sustainable material sourcing and fabrication, three teams of Studio H students each designed and built a unique chicken coop, which were then gifted to members of the surrounding community.
smart, and inspiring for users and visitors.” In addition to a series of structural design exercises and iterative design workshops, students and instructors worked together to conduct local community surveys to understand the unique functional and programmatic requirements of the pavilion. With a materials budget of $70,000 and a 60’x60’ site near a highly visible local intersection, the pavilion was constructed over the course of a summer and opened to the public in October of 2011.
Windsor Super Market: The challenge of this project was to “Design a functional, beautiful open-air pavilion-like structure for the Town of Windsor to house a community market. The structure must be responsive, adaptive,
79
PRECEDENT 2:
ANVIL “Knowledge is constructed through interaction.” -Randy Schultz
Anvil (acronym for “A New Vision in Learning”) was an alternative educational program for 6th and 7th graders that operated independently on the campus of Tomkins Elementary School in the Tehachapi Unified School District of Kern County from 1996 to 1999. Randy Schultz, one of two developers and instructors for the program cited his frustration with the rigid bell schedules and prescriptive curriculum of the traditional classroom as the impetus for starting the program. He also looked to other programs such as the Montessori school, Summerhill, and Sudbury Valley for inspiration, all of which emphasize the roll that students can play in taking charge of their own educational experience. One key foundational element for the program
was based on Howard Gardner’s notion of the “Multiple Intelligences,” which had been successfully implemented at the Key Renaissance School in Indianapolis throughout the early 1990’s. Rather than receiving letter grades, Anvil students were given individualized verbal feedback and student centered parental conferences assessing their engagement with the many intelligences which included the Logical, Linguistic, Musical, Spatial, Interpersonal (social skills), Intrapersonal (knowledge of self), and body-kinesthetic.
METHODS With a targeted class size of 56 students and two instructors, the Anvil program was structured around a series of interactive exercises that were prompted and supervised by the instructors as well as uninterrupted class time for students to freely pursue their own curiosities and projects, referred to as “Flow Time.” Learning outcomes relied heavily on the
intrinsic motivations of students. Mr. Shultz noted that “Rather than looking for ways to motivate students, the goal was to provide a context in which the students could motivate themselves.” He also emphasized the role of “Not teaching at them but learning with them, and the importance of “letting the frustration happen,” when students were faced with a challenge they were struggling with. Most decisions and policies, including the official policy for homework, were decided democratically in “family meetings” that allowed all students to voice their opinions and preferences. The physical arrangement of the classroom included tables instead of desks, a bank of computers for student use, couches for fostering informal conversation, and an outside garden maintained by students. Parents of Anvil students were required to volunteer for 30 hours per term, and often helped with the planning of events such as dances and plays. “Umbrella Time” was a weekly event in which members of the community talked to the class about
81
PRECEDENT 2: ANVIL a range of topics, helping students develop listening and questioning skills.
CHALLENGES Although behavioral issues at Anvil were limited, Mr. Schultz recalls that it took time to build the trust of the students, who often tried to push the boundaries of what was an acceptable use of class time. Anvil also struggled to rectify a reputation as a place where “anything goes.” The freedom afforded to students in the program, such as the ability to chew gum on campus, were often at odds with the official rules and policies of Tomkins Elementary, which resulted in friction between outside faculty and staff. With no operating budget other than the salaries of the instructors, the program relied heavily on the
sustained resourcefulness, recruitment and vision of the two founding instructors. Mr. Schultz notes that when his participation and availability became limited due to other obligations, new instructors were unable to maintain the momentum of the program. This, coupled with ongoing competition with the social allure of the local Junior High resulted in dropping enrollment rates, ultimately impacting the ability to sustain The Anvil program on a long-term basis.
EXAMPLES In the fall of 1996, Anvil students performed a theatrical production of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth.” Students went through a rigorous process of memorizing and rehearsing lines, auditioning for roles and even choreographing the various sword fighting scenes. Both parents and students were involved in every aspect of the production, which included
props, hand made costumes, and a dynamic stage set. The play was finally performed in the auditorium of Tomkins Elementary and was open to the entire local community to attend. Mr. Schultz mentioned that students who were involved in the Macbeth production went on to test significantly higher in Language Arts. The “paper bag” exercises. One of these included a timed exercise in which teams were handed a paper bag filled with various objects (ranging from paper clips, to rubber bands and Popsicle sticks). Teams would then collaborate to use the objects in creative ways-for example as musical instruments to write and perform a song in front of the class.
Howard Gardner’s “Multiple Intelligences”
Nature Smart
People Smart
Number Smart Picture Smart
(Interpersonal)
Self Smart
Body Smart
Music Smart
Word Smart
(Body Kinesthetic)
(Musical)
(Linguistic)
(Intrapersonal)
(Logical)
(Spatial/Visual)
(Naturalist)
83
SUDBURY
PRECEDENT 3:
“Learning is best achieved when it is self-initiated. When you want to learn something you’re going to learn it best.”
-Daniel Greenberg
Sudbury Valley School was founded in 1968 by Daniel and Hanna Greenberg, Mimsy Sadofsky, and Joan Rubin. The school is located in an old stone mansion and a converted barn on the mid-nineteenth century Bowditch estate in Framingham, Massachusetts. The ten acre campus adjoins extensive conservation lands which are open to students to explore at will. Sudbury is based on the tenets of educational freedom and democratic governance. Open to children age 4 to 19, the program is a fully accredited to award a high school diploma upon graduation. However, students are never segregated according to age and do not receive any form of grades, assessment or evaluation from adults. The learning process is entirely dependent on
the intrinsic motivations of students through selfinitiated activities in which they are encouraged to take responsibility for their own outcomes, priorities, and resources, and work with others to shape the course of their education. Proponents of The Sudbury School emphasize that trust and respect are crucial to the educational process, noting that “Through being responsible for themselves and for the school’s operation, students gain the internal resources needed to lead effective lives.”
METHODS At Sudbury, classes arise only when an individual creates them, and staff are not expected to offer classes as any sort of curriculum. It is also believed that age-mixing among students promotes growth in all members of the group. The role of play is also a central feature of the learning process. Daniel Greenberg, one of the founders of Sudbury states that “Play should not be envisioned as a preparation
for some, more mature adult activity. Play is a mature activity. Play is a complete activity. Play is something very valuable to the human spirit.” All decisions and policies are decided by a democratic School Meeting where the students and staff participate exclusively and equally.
EXAMPLES Sudbury Valley School has published two studies of their alumni over the past forty years. They have learned, among other things, that about 80% of their students have graduated from college, and that they have gone on to become successful in many areas of life. There have, as yet, been no formal studies of graduates of other Sudbury schools, which have since grown to 30 campuses throughout the world. There is however an extensive body of positive testimonials and anecdotal evidence of the success of the program from Alumni.
85
PRECEDENT ANALYSIS CREATIVE 3
an v
il
su
db
ur
st ud
y
io
h
D Lab (target range)
STUDENT LED
ni
gh tin
ga
le
ADULT LED
ACADEMIC
The precedents outlined here reveal three distinct approaches to project-based education that entail different degrees of adult involvement. Sudbury Valley School is clearly based on a self-guided form of learning. The Anvil program in practice was a mode of learning facilitated and directed by adults, while Studio H is currently best described as a mode of empowerment led by experts. Rather than attempt to replicate any single approach, we believe that each of these models can offer relevant inspiration to draw upon in for the development of the D3 Lab. Student-led curriculum appears to be most effective when it can operate in the context of an immersive,
autonomous, and long term program such as Sudbury, where a culture of mutual trust and respect can arise gradually over time. Outcomes regarding student projects are inherently much less predictable, and a standardized form of assessment is much more difficult. Although not entirely suited for easy integration into the context of a public school such as Nightingale, there are several relevant features that may be useful to draw upon. First, there is understanding the “power of play� in which core subjects can be can be supported by more physical activities; second, the mixing of ages to support cooperation; and finally the notion of democratic process, in which decisions and policies
SELF-GUIDED
MENTOR DIRECTED
are both formed and enforced with the input of the students themselves. Perhaps the most relevant aspect of Anvil’s model is the notion of freedom within parameters, in which instructors provide the initial framework for projects to get started and act as mentors to students as they work through the process on their own, encouraging independent thinking at every step along the way. This also provides insight on the nature of group work, in which instructors help students identify the inherent strengths and skills that each student can offer to the collaborative process. Finally, Studio H serves to emphasize the importance
EXPERT LED
of instructors as co-creators capable of exposing students to a range of new experiences, perspectives and skills. As in the case of Studio H, this model necessarily requires an increased degree of specialization and time commitment from instructors who can ensure that projects are meeting the range of technical requirements that may easily be overlooked by students. Although outcomes can be more ambitious and potentially achieve a greater impact on the larger community, sustained participation from students may require extrinsic incentives.
87
APPENDIX 4:
PHASE 2: AN OUTLINE
PHASE 2 OVERVIEW Following Phase 1, we now understand many of the needs and opportunities that exist within the Nightingale community and the role that project-based learning can potentially play. We believe it is now very important to carefully establish an identity and presence on campus and to demonstrate that “D3” is a viable and valuable pursuit for students and teachers. With these goals set, Phase 2 will focus on further testing and refinement of the D3 Methodology, developing systems for effective communication, and staging initial transformations within the D3 lab space.
1.METHODOLOGY In order for the D3 Methodology to become an actionable framework for a range of potential project types, we must first ensure that it is flexible, legible, and effective
for students and teachers. A series of short term, small scale “beta” projects are already underway which are aimed at testing the application of the “D3” framework and building trust between teachers and students. Beta project examples include the transformation of the “Nest” with Mr. Cugley’s 6th grade Art elective, the D3 logo design competition with Mr. Shuton’s leadership class, the development and construction of the “Learning Landscape,” and others that will address the lunch and after-school time slots. These projects will provide insight as to how the methodologies can be refined and improved. In phase 2 we will also begin to apply and test various levels of adult involvement to determine what pedagogical methods are most age appropriate. The criteria and process for proposing, developing and assessing projects will also be addressed.
2. COMMUNICATION Introducing new programming into the existing culture of the school will need to be strategic and transparent. Confusion can invite resistance and apathy. Effective communication between all stakeholders will be an essential feature of a long term strategy, and will begin with effective communication on campus. Students, teachers, and potential community partners will need to be consistently updated on what’s happening, why it matters, and how they can get involved. Phase 2 will focus on the developing these new systems for communication between ourselves, other program facilitators, teachers and students.
can start with immediate actions such as deep cleaning, repainting, lighting, exterior environmental graphics, and the adaptive reuse of existing features. Long term strategies will focus on the creation of flexible work stations, modular seating systems, formal and informal meeting and learning areas, and the integration of necessary technologies. Anticipating that the larger transformations will eventually be possible, phase 2 will focus on collaborating with students to begin transforming room 243 into the operational “heart” of the program through immediate and inexpensive means.
3. SPACE The physical space of the D3 lab will provide a tangible identity and presence on campus. As of now it still feels more like a storage closet than a creative hub. The transformation of the space
91
“Education is about preparing young people to make the world better than it is.� -Pedro Noguera