Session 1 Week 3 in Review
Elementary Studio
Wow, is it the end of week 3 already? That was fast! This was a jam-packed week! In the Elementary Studio, learners began meeting with their running partners to set goals each day. The role of a running partner is to hold each other accountable for setting challenging goals, turning in best work in a timely manner, and to review each other's work to provide valuable feedback. While they meet with their running partners daily, they only meet with their guide once a week for a check-in that includes their running partners. Check-ins consist of weekly goal setting, mood/pulse checks, and progress updates. Check-ins are critical for building relationships between the learner and guide. Running partners are present during check-ins to witness weekly goals each other are setting in order to foster more effective daily goal setting.
In Quest, learners discovered what deep books are along with the requirements for their servant leader badge and Socratic leader badge. They were able to create a list of books they would like to read this school year and drafting their first pitch for their top choice! In Civilization, their alien scientists arrived in Eurasia (the combined continents of Europe and Asia) in the year 1200. In Eurasia, their alien scientists created a map for England, Spain, The Holy Roman Empire, The Byzantine Empire, Russia, or Jerusalem. After creating individual maps they partnered with a peer to discuss the similarities and differences in their maps. In Story Arts, they created a capturing 30 second hook for their podcast! Some wrote a script while others recorded their hook on a device.
Middle School Studio
It’s hard to believe we’ve already made it through the halfway point of Session 1! The MS Studio has started to fall into a great rhythm and routine in Week 3, and we are excited to move forward with our newly elected studio leadership in place! Congrats to Rico, the Studio President, Alpha, the Studio Vice President, and Riley, the Studio Secretary and Officer!
Learner’s continued their Wayfinding journey in Quest this week by going through a dreamscaping activity in which they isolated their dreams for their future, aside from any societal or familial expectations. They then channeled those dreams onto a vision board that shows the things they want to passionately pursue in life. Next, we moved into our Badge Plans, making customizations for each badge and finding ways to further align Badge Plans with each learner’s purpose statement and calling. We asked questions like, “What kinds of skills, knowledge, and experiences do I need to add to my Badge Plan to help me move toward my goals for the future?“. We wrapped up our week together by creating a tangible timeline for advancement that helped learners think through the important milestones they will need to achieve as they move through the Middle School Studio and get ready to advance to High School. Next week we will begin synthesizing all of the challenges from the session so far and begin creating projects for Exhibition!
In Civ this week, learners gathered back together in their working groups from the previous Civ session to compile their individual projects into one group presentation. They created Google Slides for their made-up civilization that included the civilization’s history, a detailed map, a constitution and list of laws, and anthropological information about the civilization’s food, clothing, and culture. Everyone in the studio was really impressed with each group’s presentation! Even the groups who had faced some conflict during the planning phase, came together and presented their civilization in harmony. The originality of thought and imagination put into each component was really spectacular! A special shout out to Alpha, the historian, for his in depth history of his team’s civilization that rivaled Tolkein’s Middle Earth!
This week we also continued developing as podcasters in Story Arts! Learner’s planned out their podcast’s intro, including a welcome and an engaging hook to get listeners excited about the episode and eager to continue listening. Using an audio recording platform of their choice, learners practiced recording their intro until they were happy with one 30 second recording to use for their podcast. Learning new technical skills can be hard, but our learners persevered through the challenges that arose as first-time audio engineers! They will get more practice using these new skills as they continue creating and editing their podcast episodes in the weeks to come.
High School Studio
Time is flying by in the High School Studio! The third week was action-packed. We discussed Weekly Check-Ins (a time for the Guide to meet with 2-3 learners to discuss weekly goals, overall feelings about their work and the program, and progress in their courses), and Running Partners (daily check-ins peer-to-peer to encourage accountability, goal setting, and collaboration), and set a schedule to begin these meetings next week. We also went over the Servant Leader and Socratic Leader badge requirements, which led to some great conversation about the value of service, and how to get more comfortable with public speaking. During our Quest time, we continued to work in the YouScience platform, completing brain games that assess for aptitudes and interest; learners received a customized platform of career, college, and business information based on their results of the brain games. This platform will prove useful for exploring apprenticeship opportunities, university requirements, career options, and more.
During our Civilization lesson, we continued to discuss Human Trafficking, focusing in on “following the money”; we learned about financial analysts who track purchases to bring perpetrators of human trafficking to justice, and learners worked in teams to suggest changes to state laws to create more justice and freedom for minors trapped in the human trafficking trade. In our Story Arts session, learners continued to work on their podcasts, recording the first 30 seconds (the “hook”), and getting feedback from one another on their work so far. We will continue recording and editing next week, to prepare for a “podcast launch” at the end of the session.
We ended the week discussing Dream Teams, and an adjacent concept, pod mapping. Learners mapped out their own supportive relationships in a visual way, and discussed the importance of a wide variety of support during their educational careers and beyond. We spent the afternoon beginning to flesh out badge plans in greater detail for Sessions 1-4, an activity which will continue into next week. We covered a lot this week, and I’m impressed with the energy the group is bringing to our studio each day!