You recently received an email with a
short description of each of the potential projects we brainstormed. Read over
them and post your thoughts about one or more of them here. You are only
required to post once, but my hope is that you will post and read through what
others are saying and consider continuing to participate because the more we
get done developing and critiquing these ideas now, the better off we will be
when we get to class on Tuesday. To get started, either pick an idea and write
something about it or feel free to propose a new idea! Here’s the ideas, thus
far:
- · Hosting or volunteering “Girls on the Run” 5k to encourage girls to be active
- · Making community libraries for school(s) to promote literacy
- · Integration of arts in the schools (possibly using Visual Arts Center
- · Rounds (this is a new one)
- · Interactive cards to learn about garden
- · Parent interviews to compare feelings about homework
- · Autism awareness (surveys or booth)
- · Cultural awareness schools
- · Working with local libraries for a book drive
- · Homelessness (Spotlights, mattress drive, making materials
- · Female population in STEM
I love the idea of rounds. Having professors, education students and teachers together and focusing on important issues would be beneficial to everyone. Having everyone on the same page would allow professors to learn what education students should be learning that may be missing and teachers will learn about new practices that we are currently learning. I think it's a great way to fill in the gaps.
ReplyDeleteI think there are ways to connect the homelessness project with education. Donations for food, blankets, clothing, etc. would still be great, but creating tools for the parents to work on reading and math skills with their children would be beneficial because these families lack resources that many children use today. Teaching these families about what the students are learning and how to use the tools to help their children would also be a great way to make the education connection.
I like the idea of helping the homeless population, focusing on children who attend public schools and their families. Kurt’s idea was to work with a school to help their homeless students. A great start to this project would be to create and publish a survey for homeless parents to complete. The survey should be anonymous and accessible to people without technology. The survey should focus on meeting the needs of homeless parents by asking the parents to check off or write items on the survey that the families need desperately. After all, our main goal of this drive is to truly help a student and his or her family. What do these families need the most…winter coats, gloves, shoes, books, mattresses, blankets, socks, toothbrushes, bottled water, etc.?
ReplyDeleteI really like the idea of focusing on helping the homeless population as well! I think the idea of an anonymous survey would be a great idea as well. Along with the items that they may need, maybe we could also find a way to include a book or two for the children to take with them? Just an idea! I think this would be a great potential project for this community.
DeleteSavannah Crowder
Hi,
ReplyDeleteSo my group was thinking it might want to create a project around the broad topic of arts integration in the schools. I did a little research into youth arts education initiatives in richmond that we might want to look into further.
I don’t know if any of these will lead to workable ideas, but hopefully one of them might catch someone's interest.
Binford Middle School:
Melissa Rickney, the principle of Binford Middle School, is leading an arts-integrated curriculum that uses Fine and Dramatic Arts to drive instruction. I would be interested in learning more about what that curriculum entails and how the school has partnered with the Visual Arts Center, VCU, the University of Richmond, and Richmond CenterStage
http://www.richmond.com/news/special-report/article_133b27fa-b37b-5d5c-a8e8-b2bf9c1ce114.html
ART 180:
Art 180 provides art-related programs for young people (8-18) in Richmond. They run a variety afterschool programs. I do not know if they a partnered with the schools. However, I think they might be an interesting source from which to learn about using the arts in particular to teach teenage students and students in the urban community. They seem especially concerned with youth empowerment and with using the arts as a means of self-expression.
http://www.art180.org/about.shtml
SPARC/”LiveArt”
http://www.sparconline.org/liveart/
http://www.fromthewingsmovie.com
I also found found the trailer to a documentary film about the creation of the LiveArt concert put together by SPARC (The School of the Performing Arts in the Richmond Community). The LiveArt concert was a public musical, visual, and dance performance that included students with and without disabilities. I was very intrigued by the way that this concert aimed to have students of varying abilities performing together.
I would be interested in learning more about how Dean Erin Thomas-Foley worked to put together the performance. I would also like to learn about some of the objectives of creating the film.
James Biedenharn 2/15/16 10:07 am
ReplyDeleteHey Everyone,
I was in group two who came up with the autism awareness idea. We wanted to do both a survey and a booth to raise awareness around VCU. I think it would be best to contact VCU’s Autism Center for Excellence (ACE) and discuss different awareness options with an experienced organization. The autism center does just about everything autism related. They raise awareness, conduct research, promote competitive employment options, independent living training, etc. I believe that if the group contacts someone affiliated with ACE, they would be more than happy to help out. Dr. Beth Bader and Dr. Donna Gilles who are my advisors in the Special Ed. department could possibly lend a hand as well. Brittany had a great idea of passing out blue (designated color of autism awareness) ribbons similar to breast cancer awareness month at VCU. Additionally, conducting a survey similar to the different survey monkey surveys we receive through our student emails is a possible awareness route we discussed as well. On a larger scale, we could contact Autism Society Central Virginia. The group could try and become affiliated with their autism awareness month and observe how they raise awareness for people with autism residing in central Virginia.
James,
DeleteI was also in this group. I like your idea about contacting ACE. I think this would be a great start to getting the community involved through VCU. Maybe they would like our help with raising awareness (or something else) for the month of April. This way we can "figure out what works needs to be done" like professor Stemhagen mentioned in his email.
James, I too was in you group and I like some of the thoughts and ideas you have shared. I work at a pre-school and one of my co-workers is an aid for a boy with autism. We can also interview her to get thoughts on raising awareness and get her ideas on how to make environments more suitable to those with autism.
Delete-Paige
Savannah Crowder
ReplyDeleteI really like the idea of the interactive cards in the gardens. I think it would be a really fun and engaging way for students to learn about plants. This would be a great learning resource for teachers to use as well, especially during a science lesson on plants. This idea could work for both school gardens and community gardens.
I also really like the idea of an arts integration into the schools. It would be beneficial for teachers to learn some ways to integrate arts into their curriculum. This could be done through working with the Visual Arts Center or even creating a short video that includes ways and examples to include arts into the classroom!
Brittany Milteer
ReplyDeleteThe project about homelessness could be limitless, especially in the city area. I like Mary's idea about having a survey about finding out what exact needs they need help with. I think while providing the necessities, we could also incorporate an educational aspect and a fun aspect to it. For example, maybe a book or interactive workbook for the educational aspect and maybe a fun board game or a stuffed animal for the fun aspect.
My group discussed the idea of autism awareness. It has the potential to be very powerful, and I think it would be cool to get VCU's viewpoint on the topic via surveys and maybe a forum.
I am fairly interested in the arts integration concept, but I am unsure as of what to do with it. I have looked on the Visual Arts Center website and saw several options.
ReplyDeleteThe first involves a class materials list (https://visarts.org/class-material-lists/), in which I was thinking we could work with the Visual Arts Center and host or fund (or both) a paint night for students in the Richmond area and base the night off of one of the lessons the students are learning (or not). I think working with drawing and painting is feasible and fun. For example, students could be working on a class book and the paint night can provide materials and instruction on how to illustrate the class book, leaving them with an excellent product.
Second, I was looking at the Engagement Program the Visual Arts Center has and working with that (https://visarts.org/exhibitions/engage-field-trips/). We can work with the VAC and schedule a field trip (or fund) for students to attend and learn more about the arts and how it can be incorporated in various ways. Maybe the VAC can host a simple lesson or activity in painting or ceramics.
I am really interested in the idea of rounds and sharing ideas of problems and solutions from different perspectives in education. I think this could really be beneficial to understand issues from different professions and titles within education. I would love to be part of something like this but would there be any direct connection with students? I know it could get the ball rolling for action and thoughts out in the open, but would a group from our class see any action if that us what the project is about? Other than that question I like the idea and think something like that would be beneficial regardless of if it was put on by our class or not.
ReplyDeleteI also have an interest in the ideas concerning the arts or activity outside of academics to encourage students to develop habits and hobbies. Even having access to books through some of the different ideas can promote activities outside of strict “school” to get students excited. The event that Kurt described using math with athletics I think would bring so much fun to students with a connection of an academic undertaking. Anything that could get students thinking about how education can be connected to something they already have interests in.
Working with parents/interviewing parents I think is also a valuable idea. This one would be time and schedule consuming but nevertheless worthy. Students are coming from and leaving school to go to homes that have so many different structures and values that maybe it would be a good idea to try to understand some of these dynamics and how they effect a school dynamic
Travis, I take interest in the idea of rounds as well. I think that students could be involved in this, because their say is more important than anyone's say to be completely honest. If we could find more people to get on rounds... I'd be down to help set it up.
Delete- Julie Palanca
Emily Meade
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of rounds. I think its really important for professors, educators and education students to be on the same page with world/local issues, what is/is not being done, research, etc. There are so many benefits having everyone come together to discuss the many topics of education today. As a education student, I feel like I would like to better understand some of the politics of the profession and work as a community with other teachers and professors to strengthen our school systems. I think we'd get a lot of interest if we advertised this locally!
I like the idea of Girls on the Run. We need to encourage younger people to be and stay active to maintain their health.
ReplyDeleteAnother Idea:
Arrange for 5/6th graders to help kindergarten/ 1st graders with reading for thirty minutes a week/ month. I think this will get students excited to read and promote reading!
I think working with a local library for a book drive could be great! The only thing that worries me is getting the word out about the book drive. I'm sure there are others in the class that have an idea of how this could be done. In my opinion, reading is extremely important for children, and for those that don't have the resources, reading is impossible. So, nice idea! I'm looking forward to seeing who takes this on.
ReplyDeleteJordan Lee
ReplyDeleteI am really interested in the idea of rounds. I think that this idea would be extremely beneficial to us as students. This idea would help us better understand the issues in our education system and provide us with insight to others perspectives on the issues. Having education students, professors, and educators get together and discuss issues will definitely help us to determine how to better our school systems.
I also like the idea of the interactive cards to learn about gardens. At first, it seemed trivial compared to some of the issues going on in the community but I think small things like this can have a bigger impact than we imagine. It takes the idea of a school garden and makes it so much more beneficial to the school while also incorporating the curriculum.
Stephanie Furnish
ReplyDeleteI’m still interested in the Girls on the Run project, but the 5k might not work. To reiterate, the Girls on the Run had a group and coached at Henning Elementary School in Chesterfield County. This past October, they had a 5k at the Chesterfield County Fairgrounds and it was hosted by the health department in the county. However, the health department decided not to fund the running group for this current school year (2015-2016). They didn’t give a specific reason for the defunding, but many of the Boards of Supervisors for Chesterfield County are really upset about this. My mom works for the human services department and has a few contacts that we could possibly use to come up with a way to create funding for this group for the next school year. I spoke with a teacher at Henning, and she said it wouldn’t be possible for this current year because coaches need to be trained, but next year could work.
The teacher from Henning also told me about a group called Gentlemen in Ties at Matoaca Middle School, also in Chesterfield County. It’s run by the principal, John Murray, and it was started years ago. He works with middle school boys to teach them manners and professional attire. I don’t know any of the specifics, but it could be another group to do something with.
Paige Michanco
ReplyDeleteReading through all of the comments, my initial idea was to go with the group that I was assigned to last week (autism awareness). I am still very interested in this group, however, I also have an interest in the group that is talking about homelessness. I like this group because I feel that working in this area, it is pretty common to have children who are homeless in your class (though not as obvious, perhaps). This would be a great opportunity to get involved and create ways in which to better help this community. I also like Savannah's idea about providing children with books to take home as well.
Amanda Kern
ReplyDeleteI am really interested in creating a "Little Library" box that could be on either school or a business' property that could serve as a way to encourage literacy at home.Community members could take as many books as they'd like home, and if they want to keep them they can, or if they would like to donate books they can do that as well. I love the idea of a book drive to initially fill the community library box.
It could be neat to work with a school's art class to have students each paint a small square of wood which could then cover the outside of the little library box as a way for students to give back to their community and be involved in this project. I have all the resources needed to build one, so thats not a concern :)
Heres more information about the little library program
http://littlefreelibrary.org/start/
Andrew Cramer
ReplyDeleteRounding is a very interesting project concept. I can see how it can benefit all parties that participate. I would also like to see an administrator added to the group. Since there are no weekly classes on Fridays it would be easy to add this meeting into our academic schedules. Would this be part of practicum A, B, C, or student teaching? Would it be something that should be replicated each time?
Library assisted book drive is a way that the local libraries can be a continual source of books for public schools. As the libraries purge books from their shelves the books can be picked up and relocated to classroom libraries. The teachers that I have worked with had personally build their own libraries so they do not lend out their personal books. If they had books in their classrooms that students could take home each night, then they are given another opportunity to succeed.
I think it would be interesting to add an administrator into rounds as well! It would bring different perspectives about the topics.
DeleteI have done some research into the female population and STEM and found a couple of ideas:
ReplyDeleteThe science museum has an overnight camp-in for middle school girls called Girls in Medicine on April 8-9. We could get in touch with them to possibly volunteer.
Also, the NSTA is judging RVA Metro STEM fair on March 19 and needs volunteers.
Finally, NSTA is going to have a booth at RVA Earth Day on April 23 in the kids and science area and need volunteers.
I think all of these would be great options, but I really like all of the ones we have listed as well. How to choose just one?
I would be interested in participating in the interactive cards to learn in gardens. In class I heard someone mention a partnering with the Child Development Center on Floyd. I know that they have a pretty good sized Garden and their director teaches at VCU in the school of education. I think it would be a cool option to explore working with preschool age students about how plants develop.
ReplyDeleteI am also intrigued by the idea of STEM for girls. I think the gender stereotype is still intimidating young women out of careers in math, science, and technology. I tried to look up to see if there were any existing programs. I found on promising idea of a foundation that gives out grants $500-1,000 for start up STEM programs for girls but the application deadline already closed. Another option I saw was partnering with girl scouts who have a preexisting program called, "Imagine STEM". I think it would be a matter of calling and asking how we could volunteer and set up an event to hold in Richmond.
Here is another resource about how to plan a "Girl Day" lead by an organization called Discover. It's got a step-by-step guide to setting up a school visit, activity ideas, and short online training. It also features a video with most powerful and effective messages about engineering are proven to resonate with kids.
Deletehttp://www.discovere.org/our-programs/girl-day/engineering-activities
I really love the idea of rounds. Anything that gets the opinions of all of those involved in education is a go for me! While we can set specific topics to talk about, I also see the benefits of making it an open forum where anyone can bring up any topic.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of hosting a girls on the run 5k! This event would promote healthy lifestyles within the school community. Teachers would get the chance to bond with students outside of school, while trying to achieve a common goal. Parents could participate as well which would get them more involved in school activities. This would be a fun event for everyone to train for and look forward to!
ReplyDeleteI also love the idea of doing a school/community book drive. Parents, teachers, and community members could donate used books to a box located in the front office, or some kind of central location. This idea not only promotes literacy, but provides books to student who do not have any at home.
I really like the idea of Rounds. I had to read a few comments to figure out what this even was but I think it would be really interesting. I agree with Julia that we could address certain issues but also have a n open forum where anything about education could be discussed.
ReplyDeleteMy group and I were thinking about something along the lines of interviewing people from different levels of the education system anyways, so rounds would do that as well as cover many important topics.
The two I am most interested in are the Rounds and promoting STEM with girls. The Rounds one I think is going to be very eye opening for all parties involved and it will start real conversations that need to happen about the problems in the education field. We learn in our Ed classes about best practices and what it could be like but hearing from actual teachers in the field would expand on that and a way for us to share new practices. In some classes we've mentioned that the way we do certain methods such as Explores in math and some inquiry are going to be new to other teachers we work with but rounds could help bridge the gap between that at least for a few teachers and schools in our area. This will also give us a better idea of what problems Richmond schools are currently facing and get us to start thinking about how to be activists for those causes when we start teaching.
ReplyDeleteThe other one is the STEM night, I think it would be great to find a current event or school in need of an event to help out with. It would be a big impact on those girls to see female college students getting excited about science to show they could to. I liked all the ideas Alicia stated earlier on in the conversation and thought they were great ways to get involved.
I love the idea of rounds. I think that the possible conversation topics are endless and that the conversation would be super beneficial to all involved. I like that it also has the possibility to cover different administrative areas within the education system as well. There's the chance for teachers, administration, and counseling to get involved in the conversation. My groups was interested in talking to different people within education about topics anyway.
ReplyDeleteJamie Whittaker
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of a book drive and also the interactive cards for gardens. For a book drive, you can talk with a library and see if they are getting rid of any books or if we could set up a box inside to collect books that people wish to donate for local schools. You could also have a book drive set up on campus.
Chelsea Auernheimer
ReplyDeleteI really like the idea of the arts integration. I hear mixed words outside of the program about arts within the classrooms, and it also just seems like subjects are just run dry. At least the ones I've seen during my practicums. The teachers care, but the students are bored and not really interacting with the material. Art is a great way to do it and I think that encouraging other teachers and providing them with resources and a compilation of ideas is very beneficial. The fact hat individuals say "I am not good at art, so I won't do it" lacks the adventure we seem to want in our kids. The Visual Arts Center is great, though, pricey, but if it's possible that we can somehow find a way to work with them would be amazing. And if not that, come up with other more cost efficient ways that can produce the same effect!