we came to the art institute on thursday for the teen lab gallery tour. each of us from cyberped joined a small group of students along with museum education faculty members, documenting this experience while students used their collage map to direct us through the museum. this experience gave them the opportunity to articulate in their own words about their interpretations and ideas, relating their personal experiences to the artworks they have chosen... which was awesome. it was engaging, personal and meaningful.
when we came back, we had a small discussion/reflection as a whole group.
meredith asked, "what made you keep coming back to teen lab?"
some answers:
- incorporating technology & hands-on activities
- experience in the museum changed, more fun
- seeing artworks / going to downtown
- positive people
- talking about own ideas
- working with poetry
- inspirational, ideas for portfolio
really liked how someone mentioned positive people- it really motivates us to keep trying our best and have FUN.
also, another student mentioned that she was in elementary school when the modern wing was being built, and now she is exploring the museum 3 times a week as a high-school student, which she said was hard to believe, yet awesome.
i was involved in teen lab at the art institute last semester for my cyberpedagogy course. teen lab is one of many programs provided by after school matters, a non-profit organization for teens to become paid apprentices or club members in arts, sports, technology, and communications programs. after school matters have teamed up with CPS... and i believe high schools students are required to fulfill certain requirements / hours to graduate. after school matters strives "to provide chicago public high school teens opportunities to explore and develop their talents, while gaining critical skills for work, college and beyond." its goal is to significantly increase programming especially for schools and communities with lack of financial resources and youth programming options. in teen lab, there are 2 instructors, meredith and joel, all graduates from the same MAAE program at SAIC with students from various high schools across chicago.
when i arrived to the art institute to observe last month, teens were already working on their latest and final project- to create a stop motion animation video. meredith explained that teens did mini projects / lessons to learn certain skills before working on their final. teens chose to work individually or in small groups and their own artistic direction. supplies and materials were all provided by the museum: cameras, camera stands, computers, paper, crayons, markers, paper, etc. two of the teens standing side by side of each other had written a poem, using chalks and mini chalkboard to film the video. others drew.
i was glad to see some familiar faces from last semester and that there were more teens in the program this semester. i thought the program was successful because the curriculum was student-centered. the program was relatively new, and last semester we made and distributed surveys asking teens about what they enjoyed/didn't enjoy doing. many were not satisfied with blogging/blogger so i think they eliminated it this semester. instead, they tried using facebook because many had suggested it on an end-of-the-year survey. yet, i don't know if facebook has been successful or not. they had taken teens' suggestions into consideration, which was great. they really enjoyed working with imovie last semester so i think they have incorporated it this semester for different projects.
after coming back, we had a small discussion and reflection as a whole group. i remember meredith asked about what made them keep coming back to teen lab and some of the responses were... how they gained more positive experience in the museum and they felt more comfortable looking at and interacting with the artwork. they also enjoyed incorporating technology and hands-on activities in the art-making process. also, they were around positive people. even for me, the projects were very engaging, and their work was very creative and personal. i really felt the class was a safe, creative environment. i know for a fact that some dropped out of the program because they had too many absences, yet the majority of teens stayed in the program until the very end.
last semester, my cyberpedagogy classmates and i went to teen lab to assist teens and the instructors as well as to give feedback to the instructors about what was great, what could be improved and how it could be improved. at the end of the semester, we presented our "findings" to the aic education faculty staff, providing some input to the future curriculum. i feel that meredith and joel were really great. they were very positive and responsive to our suggestions. in the classroom, they tried to help teens as much as possible. now... this semester, i came in for 2 hours to observe. (i told meredith i would come back to help...) as soon as i walked in, teens were engaged in their projects. some were chatty, but they were still on-task. the instructors didn't have to say anything about or redirect their behavior. it was in fact, a very peaceful environment.. even for me.
i went around observing everyone's work and asked few teens about their animation project. they pretty much had the freedom to do whatever they wanted. some drew pictures while others wrote poems. they seemed to be engaged in the creative process. while meredith was helping teens with their project, joel met one-on-one with teens to discuss about something. he came back to explain to me that he had been conducting midterm evaluations. the form was called after school matters skills for success: career readiness skills rubric. since this program is affiliated with cps, teens are expected to meet certain expectations/standards. briefly looking at the form, some of the criteria were appearance/dress code, attitude, accountability, procedure/rule following, problem solving approach, acting listening and computer literacy. something that we would expect to see in a school setting... not in museums. i think since this is a requirement for high school students, teens have to take the program seriously while the instructors strive to meet their needs and adhere to the program's standards. the program focuses on job readiness skills, career exploration and school engagement, therefore, skills such as problem solving, communication, critical thinking and decision making are important factors.
i think the after school matters program tries to be inclusive- they target schools and communities where financial resources and youth programming options are scarce and impact a wide variety of the city's teen population across socioeconomic, geographic and cultural lines. (http://www.afterschoolmatters.org/about/impact)
"We do the work of opening up the space of learning so that it can be more inclusive, and challenge ourselves constantly to strengthen our teaching skills. These progressive practices are vital to maintaining democratic education, both in the classroom and out. Authoritarian practices, promoted and encouraged by many institutions, undermines democratic education in the classroom. By undermining education as the practice of freedom, authoritarianism in the classroom dehumanizes and thus shuts down the "magic" that is always present when individuals are active learners. It takes "fun out of study" and makes it repressive and oppressive" (hooks, 2003, p.43).
i chose this quote from hooks' teaching community: a pedagogy of hope to illustrate what the after school matters and teen lab are striving towards- an inclusive and active learning curriculum and environment that many schools are not able to provide because of high stakes testing and lack of funding. programming that does not exist in schools or in some communities are offered through after school matters at free of charge. providing various programs outside the school grounds... a more open learning space different from a classroom may help engage students in schools. To me, many community-based programs strive to oppose authoritarian practices (which is practiced in institutions such as schools), and instead, promote active learning environment for youth. i think teen lab promotes that active learning environment while providing a safe creative atmosphere. in the beginning, i did not like it too much because i had to help teens with technology (which i am not comfortable with!), but as weeks passed, i really enjoyed watching them create some great things whether it be with poetry, pictures or even making and mixing their own music. the experiences were engaging and meaningful.
the final presentation of their stop-motion video is on april, 19!
references
http://www.afterschoolmatters.org/index.php
hooks, b. (2003). Teaching community: a pedagogy of hope (p. 43). New York: NY Routledge.
[teen lab | fall 2011)
[teen lab | spring 2012]
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