 | During the Fall of 2016, a team of Southern University and A&M College graduate students set out to explore the Whitney Plantation. No ordinary group of graduate students, their mission at the Whitney Plantation was no ordinary task. |
As a part of the collaboration between their Field Experience course, iDoSchool.org, and PBL Path, these teachers explored the intersections between the Principles of Place Based Learning, the design elements of Project Based Learning, as well as the factors that Dr. Lisa Delpit suggests foster excellence in schools.
The Expedition: The Whitney Plantation was the “place” in this Place Based Learning experience. Coincidentally, the Southern University students were able to join a class of undergraduate education students from Southeastern Louisiana University. The prospect of rain on a chilly December morning only added to the intensity of the expedition. Dr. Ibrahima Seck, the Whitney Institute’s Research Director, guided the teams of teachers through the memorials and exhibits on site. As teachers experienced the plantation through the perspective of slaves who had lived and worked here, their task was to seek out artifacts, photographs, narratives, quotes, and facts from the expedition to help them as they explored the Driving Question:
How do we leverage the rich resources of the Whitney plantation to build robust projects for our students?
With these artifacts, teachers then created a Project Snapshot that incorporated the legacies of slavery in a manner appropriate for their grade level. Teachers leveraged this Project Snapshot to create PBL Units designed to incorporate storytelling components and connect students to their history, with authentic community products and calls to action
.
Stay Tuned.... As a group, we were fortunate to indulge in a Q&A Session with Dr. Seck and Caitlin Sheehan, Education and Group Sales Coordinator. To make sense of this powerful expedition, teachers created a 6-word story to capture their feelings about what they had just experienced. In the act of sharing, natural intersections between the stories became evident and grounded the work in this shared experience. Teachers’ children participated as well; out of the mouths of babes, one 10-year old expressed that he felt:
The Expedition: The Whitney Plantation was the “place” in this Place Based Learning experience. Coincidentally, the Southern University students were able to join a class of undergraduate education students from Southeastern Louisiana University. The prospect of rain on a chilly December morning only added to the intensity of the expedition. Dr. Ibrahima Seck, the Whitney Institute’s Research Director, guided the teams of teachers through the memorials and exhibits on site. As teachers experienced the plantation through the perspective of slaves who had lived and worked here, their task was to seek out artifacts, photographs, narratives, quotes, and facts from the expedition to help them as they explored the Driving Question:
How do we leverage the rich resources of the Whitney plantation to build robust projects for our students?
With these artifacts, teachers then created a Project Snapshot that incorporated the legacies of slavery in a manner appropriate for their grade level. Teachers leveraged this Project Snapshot to create PBL Units designed to incorporate storytelling components and connect students to their history, with authentic community products and calls to action
.
Stay Tuned.... As a group, we were fortunate to indulge in a Q&A Session with Dr. Seck and Caitlin Sheehan, Education and Group Sales Coordinator. To make sense of this powerful expedition, teachers created a 6-word story to capture their feelings about what they had just experienced. In the act of sharing, natural intersections between the stories became evident and grounded the work in this shared experience. Teachers’ children participated as well; out of the mouths of babes, one 10-year old expressed that he felt:
Happy
Smarter
Interested
Educated
Excited
Surprised
Smarter
Interested
Educated
Excited
Surprised
An immense power engulfed the room after seeing how their own children reacted to the experience, giving a vision of how powerful the place based learning experience would be for their students. In exploring the gift shop, we noticed a New Orleans area school had a team of students who produced a book of their own narratives after experiencing the Whitney Plantation entitled Now is Your Time. The title strikes me as the quintessential call to action! Now is YOUR time, join us as we dive deeper into the PBL Path partnership with the Whitney Plantation and teachers in local schools. Our upcoming blog series will highlight the stages of preparation, personalization, and production as we journey with another team of teachers to the Whitney Plantation and create robust projects for their students.
But the fun doesn’t stop there… PBL Path and teachers will then experience the place with students! Stay tuned and follow us on Twitter @PBLPath for more updates and the latest resources.
But the fun doesn’t stop there… PBL Path and teachers will then experience the place with students! Stay tuned and follow us on Twitter @PBLPath for more updates and the latest resources.