Projects and Action Research
Year long ecology project, focused on the Los Angeles community and nature. Inspired by the book Wild LA: Explore the Amazing Nature in and Around Los Angeles by the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, as well as the book The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Healthier, Happier, and More Creative by Florence Williams, this project attempts to use interdisciplinary experiences in nature with the holistic aim of increasing students’ sense of connection to each other and nature while also fostering their identities as global and local community members.
NOT IN OUR STARS BUT IN OURSELVES
The mission of this project is to unify the community at Foshay Learning Center, a K-12 span school, through traditions around classic works of literature that ignite students passions, build resilience, cultivate talents, and help them discover who they truly are. Educators, parents and community members partner to support students in producing a Shakespeare play and coordinating a schoolwide Shakespeare Festival. We developed a space for authentic community collaboration around high level literary topics that break down barriers and create new possibilities for first-generation, college-going students.
Notebooking offers many opportunities for students to synthesize content in creative ways. As teachers, we strive to build students’ capacities for individualized expression and choice. In order to facilitate this developmental process, we must develop a deep understanding of visual literacies, process based learning, and metacognition. This project looks at several approaches in order to determine how to bring them to life in upper elementary and middle school classroom.
Scientific models, maps, and diagramming are all tools that require analysis, synthesis, and critical evaluation with revision. It is more than drawing pictures, and working the time in for the visual literacy, the design process as well as other creative processes requires deliberate planning, scaffolding, and constant feedback. This project explores the different types of models and the various skills that students must acquire in order to create them.
FACILITATING STUDENT CENTERED DISCOURSE
This action research project seeks to explore and develop practical strategies and scaffolds effective in cultivating authentic discourse amongst diverse learners in K-6 classrooms amongst all disciplines.