Wonder and Making at Alliance Academy of Integrated Learning

“The more we make in school, the more it just becomes commonplace.”
-Alia Ghabra, 6th Grade Humanities and History Teacher, Alliance Academy of Integrated Learning

A’aron Heard and Alia Ghabra, collaborating teachers at Alliance Academy of Integrated Learning, wanted to incorporate art, design, and critical thinking into their ELA and Humanities lessons. Both were fellows in the Agency by Design Oakland 2016 - 2017 cohort, as well as participants in a School Transformation through the Arts grant, supported by the Integrated Learning Specialist Program. They decided that since Wednesdays were a minimum day—when class periods are so short teachers don’t often plan much—to experiment with this idea of ‘Wonder Wednesdays.’  The activities on Wonder Wednesdays spanned art making techniques such as drawing, watercolor, and sculpture, transforming what is often a dull class period into an engaging opportunity for both teachers and students to experiment.

“Knowing that we’re going to have a whole day to do art—the kids look forward to it. They come in on Wednesdays and are like ‘Art Wednesdays!’ That’s been great because it has made us think about when we are going to do art for each lesson.”
-Alia Ghabra, 6th Grade Humanities and History Teacher, Alliance Academy of Integrated Learning

These hands-on activities were also designed to connect to the lessons and objectives in their academic classes. For example, as part of a Humanities unit on the novel Dragonwings, about a young Chinese immigrant boy who comes to San Francisco in the early twentieth century and meets his father, a kite maker, the students made their own kites. As a way to develop a sensitivity to how kites are designed and constructed students were first asked to look closely at store bought kites. They used the Agency by Design thinking routine “Parts, Purposes, Complexities” to think about how they were built, what parts were they made of, and how they work. From there students did research and created diagrams about kites they would make themselves. Design thinking was emphasized throughout the process, enabling students to come up with their own idea, prototype it, identify where their successes and failures were, and then redesign.

“It’s really about—How can students navigate challenges, uncertainty, and ambiguity? Everything that we’ve been doing this year around systems thinking and maker capacities [in the Agency by Design Oakland fellowship], and really giving [the students] a project where it was up to them and their peers to think critically, problem solve, and be creative in the process.”
-A'aron Heard, 6th Grade Humanities Core Teacher, Alliance Academy of Integrated Learning

Alliance Academy of Integrated Learning is a Title I public middle school located in Oakland, California. The school serves predominantly Latino and African American students with a large population of English Language Learners.

This year Alliance has three teachers in the Agency by Design Oakland fellowship, including A’aron Heard, who has moved into a role teaching Drama. In addition, Alliance has hired an Arts Integration Specialist, Gretchen Baglyos, and Elyse Hatschek joins the cohort as an English and
Humanities teacher at Alliance.

Maker-Centered Learning at Grass Valley Elementary School

“Maker-centered learning means that there’s choice, freedom for students to explore what they’re really interested in, to develop a passion for something, to really get engaged and light up their minds.”
Paula Mitchell, Teacher on Special Assignment for Maker Ed and Blended Learning
Grass Valley Elementary School

In the fall of 2014 Grass Valley teacher Paula Mitchell attended the conference: Project Zero Perspectives: Making, Thinking, and Understanding, in San Francisco. When she returned back to her classroom she brought new ideas, thinking routines, and making. Her principal at the time, Dr. Brandee Stewart, recognized that she was onto something: “I’ve always been on the search for this engaging culturally relevant way of engaging kids. And when I went into Paula’s classroom and saw and heard what she was talking about around maker education...I felt like this was the missing piece throughout my career.” 

Since then, in order to create a sense of agency and empowerment in their learners, Grass Valley has made the shift to maker-centered learning, placing it at the center of the school curriculum and culture. With the guidance of Paula Mitchell, who was hired as a Teacher on Special Assignment with Project Based Learning & Maker Education, the school prioritized hands-on experiences, with the goal of getting students excited and empowered about learning. 

“What can kids notice about their place in the world? And then how can they push against that? And how can they demand more for themselves?”
Roxanne Martinez, Resource Specialist, Grass Valley Elementary School

The overall shift toward maker-centered learning was implemented by first creating a long term vision then adjusting resources and schedules along the way to support that vision. Cohorts of teachers were created to collaborate on maker projects and share strategies within their Professional Learning Communities. Teachers in both special and general education collaborate alongside each other to share approaches and ideas, ensuring that the special education curriculum mirrors that of the general student population. 

“Students who traditionally may not show up as the successful student can actually exhibit a set of skills and knowledge and talents that often surpass students in general education classes.”
Dr. Brandee Stewart, Principal, Grass Valley Elementary School

In September 2016 the school opened their maker space, called the "Wonder Workshop," a classroom dedicated to maker-centered learning during the school day. This space has also served as a space for teacher collaboration, family making night events, and professional development workshops. 

The success of the maker-centered learning program at Grass Valley Elementary is due to collaborations across multiple individuals and organizations. Within the school, Professional Learning Communities, or PLCs, provide dedicated weekly meeting time for teachers to come together and share curriculum ideas and professional development tools. In addition to the PLCs, community partners such as Agency by Design have and continue to play a key role in providing professional development, support, supplies, and funding along the way. Not only did Grass Valley teachers Paula Mitchell and Diana Culmer participate in the 2016 - 2017 Agency by Design Oakland fellowship, they, along with two other colleagues, took the online Agency by Design course Thinking and Learning in the Maker-Centered Classroom, which was funded by a grant from the Light Awards. In addition, Grass Valley has partnered with Maker Ed to receive Maker Vistas, and has collaborated with numerous community makers. 

Three times during the course of the 2016-2017 school year teachers brought their students together to share and celebrate their learning. The year-long curriculum focus on Health and Wellness was centered on these driving questions: 

• How can we as students take control of our food sources?
• How can we, as food scientists, investigate ways to interact with food?
• How do we share our knowledge of health and wellness with others by producing, packaging, and marketing a product for a farmer’s market?

In Expo One students demonstrated what they were learning through visualizations of healthy food, maps of local food sources, and planter boxes they had built for seedling vegetable plants. In Expo Two students became food scientists, which was visible in their re-constructions of the human digestion system, cookbooks with their own recipes, and a variety of food offerings they had made. In Expo Three, the culminating event of the year, students produced a farmer’s market, showcasing products they had made, packaged, and marketed themselves. 

Grass Valley teachers’ energy and dedication to pursue maker-centered learning continues to grow. This year there were seven Grass Valley applicants to the 2017 - 2018 Agency by Design Oakland fellowship! We are excited to announce that Monique Parish and Roxy Martinez will be joining us this year, and Paula Mitchell will be joining the Agency by Design Oakland coaching team as a Senior Fellow.

Lastly, we celebrate and appreciate the leadership of the Grass Valley educators! Three years after Paula Mitchell attended the Project Zero Perspectives conference in SF, she and and Diana Culmer share what they’ve learned through a workshop of their own, “Authentic Inclusion and Hands-on Engagement,” at the May 2017 Project Zero Perspectives Conference in Pittsburgh, PA. 

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Grass Valley is a small elementary school in the Oakland Unified Public School District serving just under 300 students, mostly students of color, in kindergarten through fifth grade. Over 70% of the student population is socioeconomically disadvantaged, 25% is served by the special education program and approximately 17% of the students are classified as English language learners. 

“Book knowledge is just one piece of a larger education. What you learn must be applied in your everyday life. They’re the next scientists, they’re the next inventors, they’re the next presidents. And all of that starts here.”
Dr. Brandee Stewart, Principal, Grass Valley Elementary School

Fellowship Application Extended until Monday, September 18

Agency by Design Teacher Fellowship, 2017 - 2018

2016-2017 Fellowship Cohort

Agency by Design Oakland is gathering a cohort of Oakland educators to participate in a professional learning community focused on maker-centered learning and teacher-led classroom inquiry. This fellowship will take place from October 2017 - May 2018. Program details and the application form are below. All applications should be submitted by September 18; accepted applicants will be notified by early October.

Agency by Design Oakland is the Bay Area-based component of the Agency by Design research project. Agency by Design explores the promises, practices, and pedagogies of maker-centered learning developed by  Project Zero, a research center at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Agency by Design Oakland participates in action research and dissemination of research findings through professional development and grants for educators, with a focus on equity and sustainable change.  Our priority is to serve underserved student populations and communities of color.

Throughout the year, Agency by Design Fellows will delve deeply into the pedagogical framework and instructional strategies of maker-centered learning, experimenting in their classroom practice and reflecting within the learning cohort. Inquiries will focus on an area of practice the fellow identifies as core to their own next steps in deepening their practice.

Agency by Design Fellows will commit to:

• Attend three full day study group sessions throughout the school year. A substitute stipend for all three days will be made available to Title I schools. Full day sessions: Monday, November 6, 2017, Monday, December 4, 2017, and Friday, January 12, 2018. 

• Attend eight Tuesday after school sessions, 4:30-6:30: October 10, November 14, December 12, January 9, February 13, March 13, April 10, and May 8.

• Participate in and attend a culminating event showcasing our inquiry work on Saturday, May 5, from 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.

• Engage in inquiry related to maker-centered learning, experiment within their classroom practice, and reflect and share with the fellows cohort.  

• Create “Pictures of Practice” documenting inquiry work, with the goal of sharing research with a broader audience. Possibilities include: writing a blog post, hosting a Maker Educator Meet-up, or recording a podcast.

In addition, teachers who participate in the fellowship will have access to one‐on‐one coaching and school site professional development. All Fellows will receive a minimum of $500* in additional teacher pay/stipend.

Please read through the Agency by Design Oakland and Agency by Design websites to learn about our work before completing the application.

The application questions, listed below, are designed to allow you the opportunity to think through what you hope to gain from this experience. Should you wish to apply for the Fellowship,  please submit your answers via google form using these links:

• Returning Fellows

• Prospective Fellows

For returning fellows:

1. What impact did last-year’s fellowship have on you and/or your students?

2. What ideas or inquiries regarding maker-centered learning are you interested in exploring?

3. What are your personal leadership goals within the maker-centered learning landscape? What support might help you reach those goals?

For prospective fellows:

1.  Please describe your teaching and learning context, including population demographics, learning needs, community culture, etc.

2.  How do you currently incorporate maker‐centered learning into your practice?

3.  How might your learners benefit from your participation as an Agency by Design Oakland Fellow?

4.  What would you hope to gain from the Agency by Design Oakland Fellowship experience?

5.  In your opinion, why is maker‐centered learning valuable?

6.  It is important that participants understand the time commitment involved with this experience. How do you see this fellowship integrating into your current schedule and workload?

*We are continuing to pursue funding to be able to provide a larger stipend.