Tang Institute 2022 Annual Report

End-of-Year Report 2021-2022

The Tang Institute is a center for teaching, learning, and partnership.

HISTORY

Launched in 2014, the Tang Institute at Andover was founded to catalyze innovative approaches to teaching and learning, with the goal of having lasting impact on campus and beyond. Here, faculty and students work together with local and global partners to investigate questions faced by educators throughout the world: How can we inspire innovative student learning? How can we encourage our talented faculty’s ongoing learning and growth? And what do meaningful partnerships look like?

t t t t t

2021-2022 HIGHLIGHTS

FACULTY FELLOWS — This past year, we supported 11 fellows who worked on five new and ongoing projects, including a sustained collaboration with the Brace Center for Gender Studies. These projects built upon strong Institute priorities in interdisciplinary teaching and learning, new pedagogical approaches, and a commitment to inclusivity and belonging.

THE WORKSHOP AT ANDOVER — Taking the theme of Experiments in Education as a point of departure, students in the Workshop conducted an oral history of the CAMD Scholars program, presented their findings about historiography to History 300 teachers, and immersed themselves in the tremendous diversity of Buddhism in the Merrimack Valley by visiting nine local temples.

EVENTS — In June, we hosted Reimagining Transitions: Reflections on Identity, Curriculum, and Belonging. This two-day conference brought together nearly 40 educators from across New England and the country for presentations and discussion about how best to support 9th and 12th grade students.

PARTNERSHIPS — Eleven participants of the Reimagining Transitions conference will continue in a yearlong action research cohort supported by the Tang Institute and Dr. Rebecca Stilwell of Teachers College.

MINDFULNESS — Through a mix of in-person and virtual opportunities, our Mindfulness Speaker Series featured sessions with Matthew Hepburn, Alexis Santos, and Alison Cohen. Throughout the year, we engaged our community through meditation and mindfulness and offered events that focused on supporting teacher well-being.

End-of-Year Report 2021-2022

ANDREW HOUSIAUX

Currie Family Director

Throughout the past year, the Tang Institute supported innovative and impactful teaching and learning initiatives. This report highlights a range of publicfacing work from teachers and students that positively contributed to broader conversations in education. In addition, our core efforts to support teaching and learning at Andover remain strong. Andover students benefit from Tang Institute projects up and down the curriculum, in a range of departmental and interdisciplinary endeavors. I am inspired by my colleagues, and I remain deeply grateful to you for your engagement with Andover and the Tang Institute.

Sincerely,

An ethi{CS} project planning session.

Frank ’22 shares his story for the Workshop.

A hands-on lesson in making cheese.

Historiography students present their work to History 300 instructors.

Workshop students in the Abbot Learning Garden.

Kiran Bhardwaj (right) with visitors from St. Luke’s School (CT).

Andy Housiaux welcomes Dr. Long Dang, head of Delta Global School in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Currie Family Director, Tang Institute

Project Highlight: The Workshop

Tang Fellows

Andy Housiaux , Instructor in Philosophy & Religious Studies

Chris Jones, Instructor in History and Social Science Corrie Martin, Instructor in English Nicholas Zufelt , Instructor in Computer Science

Each spring term, the Workshop welcomes approximately 20 seniors to this interdisciplinary, projectbased course. With an eye toward reimagining what school can be, the Workshop is the seniors’ only academic commitment for the entire term. Students work closely with peers, faculty, and community and global partners on a series of linked, interdisciplinary projects that revolve around a single theme. Within a chosen theme, students explore areas of personal interest.

A variety of projects blossomed from this year’s theme, Experiments in Education, including Listening to the Buddhists in Our Backyard. Guided by instructor Andy Housiaux and guest mentor Chenxing Han, six students explored Buddhism in the Merrimack Valley by visiting nine Buddhist temples in local communities. They spoke with monastics and lay people, immersed themselves in the physical spaces, conducted research and interviews, and produced meaningful work.

In their final week of class, the six students hosted an online conference to share their learning. Over 70 people attended, including professors whose research inspired them, Buddhist monastics, high school religion teachers, past and present trustees of the Academy, parents, faculty emeriti, and alumni.

“

What did students learn from the Workshop experience?

The Workshop not only gave me a safe space to learn and grow and delve deeper into topics I’m passionate about, but it also taught me about the power of collaboration and teamwork in creating effective change.

— Hannah ’22

Learning is messy. —Frank ’22

The Workshop taught me how to be accountable for myself. Without grades or extrinsic motivators in the program, it really came down to my own drive and my own passion for a subject to get work completed. —Sean ’22

I used to think that the only time I could ask for help was when I was ‘actively struggling.’ Now I realize that I can be proactive about improving my work.

—Natalie ’22

Learning is a form of kindness. —Jane ’22

Workshop students, Chenxing Han (back row, left), and Andy Housiaux visit Chùa Túòng Vân, a Vietnamese temple in Lowell, Massachusetts.

Convening: Critical Transitions

In mid-June, the Tang Institute hosted Reimagining Transitions: Reflections on Belonging, Curriculum, and Identity, a two-day, in-person conference focused on the unique needs of our 9th and 12th grade students.

Eight educators from Minerva University, Miss Porter’s School, Noble and Greenough, Holland Hall, and Phillips Academy led inspiring sessions on a range of topics including: n moving to a schoolwide Mastery Transcript curriculum n supporting trans and non-binary students n developing summer programs to help first-generation students n designing cross-course learning outcomes n reimagining 12th grade with interdisciplinary, place-based learning

In addition, eleven conference attendees applied and were selected to participate in a year-long action research program led by Dr. Rebecca Stilwell of Teachers College and supported by the Tang Institute. In the 2022–2023 academic year, participants will use collaborative research methods to learn about their home school from a systems perspective and generate changes to improve school and student outcomes.

After the Reimagining Transitions conference ended, the eleven participants stayed for their first session with Dr. Stilwell, during which she introduced the cycle of research: systems mapping, problem diagnosis, developing theories of improvement, making changes, and assessing results. Dr. Stilwell, an organizational psychologist, will conduct three training sessions over the course of the 2022–2023 academic year, and researchers will meet monthly with a program assistant from the Tang Institute. In April 2023, researchers will share their work in an online symposium.

“The common theme for me in every presentation was what courageous work in education looks like. Each and every presentation highlighted efforts being made to enhance the well-being of students in a variety of contexts and from a variety of angles. While my thinking is very much in alignment with the topics/programs presented, I am inspired to continue to do this challenging and courageous work, and I now have a new group of educators to reach out to for support and potential collaboration.

—Conference Participant

I was convinced that I probably could never get my 9th grade history core group to go without grades, but I am now convinced more than ever that that is the way that we need/have to go.

—Conference Participant

Latasha Boyd, college counselor at Phillips Academy and director of the Andover: Challenge and Empower (ACE) program, shares strategies for honoring the capital that students bring to schools.

End-of-Year Report 2021-2022

The Institute...by the numbers

educators from nine institutions visited the Institute to engage in dynamic conversations about teaching and learning.

educators engaged in the Institute’s two-day conference,

Reimagining Transitions: Reflections on Belonging, Curriculum, and Identity. Participating teachers and administrators hailed from 18 institutions in 8 states.

11of the 28 will continue in a yearlong Action Research Program framed by Dr. Rebecca Stilwell, of Teachers College.

Notes on Learning newsletters sent. (Not subscribed? Sign up here.)

educators gathered for dinner and discussion with Dr. Denise Pope of Stanford University. Educational leaders from local public, private, and charter schools shared ways to nurture a wellbalanced student.

educators from across the country participated in the virtual Learning Ethi{CS} Workshop. Led by ethi{cs} project Fellows Dr. Kiran Bhardwaj and Dr. Nicholas Zufelt, participants explored a variety of ways to include ethics in their computer science courses.

graduate students from the Klingenstein Center of Columbia University’s Teachers College toured campus, visited classes, attended All-School Meeting, engaged with Workshop students and faculty, and shared ideas with campus leaders.

Andover campus colleagues participated in a CompetencyBased Education Workshop.

tanginstitute.andover.edu

We inspire teachers. We inspire learning.