Teaching in a 21st-Century Classroom: Mission Impossible?

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Special thanks to our Smithsonian Affiliations summer interns Lisa Hung (University of California, Irvine) and Neema Amadala (University of Calgary) for participating in the Smithsonian’s EdLab Teacher workshops in order to share their experiences with us. This is the first of four guest posts in their “Teaching in a 21st Century Classroom” series.   

Teaching in a 21st-Century Classroom: Mission Impossible?
By: Lisa Hung

Head tilted, eyes down, arms under the desk, occasionally glancing to see if anyone else can tell what she’s up to. Sweat drips down her brow as she struggles to fix the series of ‘autocorrects’ that can’t help but get her chuckling – the sound of the footsteps draw near and her heart is racing, she looks up in the nick of time and exhales in relief. As the teacher walks away, she picks right back up where she left off. We’ve seen it before, kids on their phones getting pulled away from the classroom. Technology in the hands of a student in a formal classroom environment has become a stigma, something that many feel are taking the students away from their learning. But why turn the other way when you can face the issue, why allow technology to take away from learning when we can use it to enhance it?

Smithsonian’s EdLab Teaching in the 21st Century workshop is aimed to allow educators to explore and launch new media practices for their classrooms providing a safe environment for the educators to come together and work in teams to develop tools and skills that can be applied in their classrooms. On Monday, I was able to partake in this experience. Kim Skerritt and Jeff Meade led the workshops and assigned a warm up by having us write what we thought a 21st-century classroom looked like. Going around you could see words like “classroom without walls”, “interactive”, and “technologic”.  Upon discussion, many of the participants raised some good points and we ultimately asked – are our kids running into school with the same excitement they have running out?

Educators sharing what they felt a 21st-century classroom looks like. Photo courtesy Smithsonian EdLab.

The mission for the week was to ask how you can solve real conflict, whether that’s in or beyond the classroom. Today’s particular mission was to use objects to inspire activism, so we were split into groups and asked to explore the Smithsonian Castle and search for that piece of artwork and apply it to our weekly theme of “conflict”. Each group member took on a role, and altogether partook in a mission to interview, research and put together a final product. In the Smithsonian Castle, there are cases that represent the 19 different Smithsonian museums and each group chose a different one to represent their cause. For example, the group I was in chose Seed Catalogues in order to represent the issue of eating healthy non-processed foods.  At the end of the day, we were able to immerse ourselves in an environment in which all the participants were able to connect with each other and we left the classroom enthusiastically knowing that we will be running in the same way on Tuesday.

Interested in more information about EdLab? Contact the EdLab team at npm.mobilelearning@si.edu

At the Smithsonian Castle finding an object to inspire activism. Photo courtesy Smithsonian EdLab.

Announcing the I. Michael Heyman Smithsonian Across America Affiliations Fund

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Secretary I. Michael Heyman rode the carousel at the Los Angeles Convention Center, first stop of the “America’s Smithsonian” national tour celebrating the Smithsonian’s 150th anniversary in 1996.

I. Michael Heyman, 10th Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution (1994-1999), passed away November 19, 2011.  In honor of his tenure and accomplishments friends, family, and Smithsonian officials gathered on June 14, 2012 in a special ceremony at the National Museum of American History.  Heyman was widely praised for launching a number of initiatives, Smithsonian Affiliations among them, that extended the reach of the Smithsonian well beyond the National Mall.  Smithsonian Affiliations director Harold A. Closter offered the following words of tribute, and announced the establishment of the I. Michael Heyman Smithsonian Across America Affiliations Fund:

This tribute to Mike Heyman is also the concluding program in our 16th Annual Smithsonian Affiliations National Conference – a legacy of Mike’s about which others have already spoken so eloquently.  Here with us in this auditorium are representatives of the 172 Smithsonian-affiliated museums and educational organizations, our invaluable partners in fulfilling Mike’s vision for a Smithsonian across America.  These museums reflect the breadth and diversity of the American people:  from Plymouth, Massachusetts to Honolulu, Hawaii, from Birmingham, Alabama to Bellingham, Washington, and everywhere in between.

The Saturn V Rocket at the US Space and Rocket Center (Huntsville, AL)

If you were to visit one of these Affiliate museums today, you would see national treasures from all of the Smithsonian museums, including:

  •  The cornet that Louis Armstrong learned to play in an orphanage in New Orleans, now on view at the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix.
  •  An original fragment from the Star Spangled Banner at the Senator John Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh.
  •  Apollo 13, the space capsule made famous for its nail-biting return from a trip around the moon,  currently on display at the Kansas Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, Kansas.
  • And the largest object in the Smithsonian’s collection – the 363 ft. long working model of the Saturn V rocket that made the Apollo space program possible – viewed with awe by visitors at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

These are just a few of the more than 8,000 Smithsonian objects that have traveled to every corner of this country all for one simple reason:  to make it easier for people to see the heritage of their country in their own communities. 

This was the vision that Mike Heyman so passionately believed in and this is why we are so pleased to announce the establishment of the I. Michael Heyman Smithsonian Across America Affiliations Fund.

A cornet associated with Louis Armstrong at the Musical Instrument Museum (Phoenix, AZ)

Through this fund we will honor the legacy of Secretary Heyman by extending the reach of the Smithsonian even further through the loan of artifacts, traveling exhibits, educational programs, and shared digital experiences. 

There are so many ways we can connect the Smithsonian to the American people:  to stimulate curiosity, to inspire lifelong learning, and to promote a deeper appreciation of our country’s history and the many people who have strived and sacrificed to ensure our freedom and prosperity. 

Mike Heyman saw both sides of the Smithsonian coin.  On one side, about 30 million people visit the Smithsonian each year, a measure in which we take great pride.  But on the other side, nearly 300 million Americans are unable to come to the Smithsonian annually, and some of them might only come once in a lifetime. 

These are also the people that Mike Heyman wanted to reach, the people we will reach through the I. Michael Heyman Smithsonian Across America Affiliations Fund.  And this is how we will perpetuate the memory and the name of the individual who did so much to transform the Smithsonian at a pivotal moment in its history. 

We are grateful for your interest and support, and will look forward to working with all of you to establish this tribute to our dear friend and colleague. 

Those interested in contributing or learning more about this opportunity to honor the life and accomplishments of I. Michael Heyman are invited to contact the Smithsonian at: 

A fragment of the Star Spangled Banner at the Senator John Heinz History Center (Pittsburgh, PA)

I. Michael Heyman Smithsonian Across America Affiliations Fund
c/o Smithsonian Affiliations
MRC 942, PO Box 37012
Washington, DC 20013-7012

Phone:  202.633.5300
Email:    affiliations.si.edu

 

kudos affiliates! june 2012

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As summer heats up, so too do Affiliate accomplishments!

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced that the Lowell Festival Foundation along with Lowell National Historical Park (Lowell, Massachusetts) is one of 788 not-for-profit national, regional, state, and local organizations nationwide to receive an NEA Art Works grant. The Lowell Festival Foundation is recommended for a $30,000 grant to support the 2012 Lowell Folk Festival. 

The Michigan State University Museum (East Lansing, Michigan) has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Michigan Traditional Arts Program. Totaling $80,000, the NEA grant will assist with documentation of traditional artists and folk arts events and develop social media tools to connect folk artists, audiences and other cultural workers. The Michigan Traditional Arts Program provides support for the Michigan Heritage Awards and Michigan Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program, which research, document and share traditional arts and expressive culture of Michigan.

Inasmuch Foundation announced the distribution of $11.3 million in grants to 37 organizations in Oklahoma, including $500,000 to Science Museum Oklahoma (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) for the new Children’s Hall, 20,000 square feet of friendly streets, buildings and “outdoor” spaces containing interactive exhibits in which families can engage in a playful and child-friendly world of science play. Stafford Air and Space Museum (Weatherford, Oklahoma) received $50,000 for the restoration and outdoor display of two historic aircraft; and a busing and admissions assistance program for Oklahoma school children and senior citizens.

Conner Prairie Interactive History Park (Fishers, Indiana) received $5,000 from The Kroger Co. to support its K-12 education programs.

The Museum of Arts & Sciences (Daytona Beach, Florida) announced in cooperation with the City of Daytona Beach and the Volusia County Council, the Museum has been chosen as the site for a new structure – an expansion housing the collection of more than 2,600 Florida oil and watercolor paintings of Cici and Hyatt Brown as part of a $13 million gift from Cici and Hyatt Brown.

Dr. Annette B. Fromm of the Frost Museum (Miami, Florida) has been approved for candidacy for the Fulbright Specialists Roster, creating an opportunity to engage in short-term collaborative projects at host institutions in over 100 countries.

The Frank H. McClung Museum (Knoxville, Tennessee) received re-accreditation from AAM.

 

New National Youth Summit

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Building on the success of the National Youth Summit: 50th Anniversary of the Freedom Rides program in 2011, Affiliates will again be invited to partner with the National Endowment for the Humanities, PBS, and National Museum of American History.  Scheduled for October 15th, the next Youth Summit coincides with the broadcast of Ken Burns’ documentary, “The Dust Bowl” and will include Affiliates as the locations for funded programming and interactive conversations about this historic event.  (Affiliate partners will be able to apply for $5000 grants to support programs!) 

Considered one of the worst man-made ecological disasters in American history, environmental issues are detailed in the new documentary and are relevant to us today in unexpected ways.  Smithsonian and Affiliate programming will focus on the question of individual freedom versus the common good, an ongoing tension in our democracy.  

In the coming weeks, watch for more information about applying for funds to host a “viewing party” and complementary programming for the webcast, originating at the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.  Ten Affiliates will be asked to pair with their local PBS station for help with technology.  The Affiliates will host middle school students, tape their questions, and make them available to a panel in Washington for discussion. Affiliates are also encouraged to conduct locally-specific programming of their own to explore how the topic relates to their communities.  For more information, please contact Aaron Glavas, national outreach manager, Smithsonian Affiliations: glavasc@si.edu

kudos Affiliates! may 2012

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The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) $17 million in grants for 208 humanities projects, including the following Affiliates:

  • City of Las Cruces Museum System (Las Cruces, New Mexico) received $1,000 to host the NEH traveling exhibition Bison.
  •  Long Island Museum of American Art, History, and Carriages (Long Island, New York) was awarded $286,014 for the installation and interpretation of the exhibitions-Carriage Museum’s Streets of New York and Carriages for Sport and Pleasure-about the social and economic history of horse-drawn transportation in New York City circa 1900.
  •  Ellen Noel Art Museum of the Permian Basin (Odessa, Texas) will receive $1,000 to host the NEH traveling exhibition Grass Roots.
  •  Buffalo Bill Historical Center (Cody, Wyoming) was awarded $40,000 to develop a traveling exhibition- Enduring Legacies of the Great Plains: The Paul Dyck Collection- a view on Plains Indian cultures as documented in a collection of materials from the pre-reservation and early reservation periods.

The Grammy Foundation has awarded a $20,000 grant to the Oklahoma Historical Society (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) to restore and preserve about 600 hours of Bob Wills’ music recorded in the 1940s.

The McAllen City Commission approved plans for a nearly $277,000 facelift for the International Museum of Art and Science (McAllen, Texas). Under the plan, McAllen would re-orient the museum’s loading docks, build a new steel-and-concrete walkway and install blue lights to illuminate the building at night.

A collection of early textile machines at the American Textile History Museum (Lowell, Massachusetts) has been recognized by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) for its historic significance to 19th century engineering and technology.

 

a new face at SEEC!

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In 1988, the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center was founded, in part, to demonstrate the tremendous learning potential of museums on very young children, and to share those lessons as broadly as possible.  Dr. Sharon Shaffer, SEEC’s founding director, has grown the organization to three centers on the National Mall and an ambitious outreach program that has trained thousands of educators, including many Affiliates.  Sharon has made an indelible mark on the Smithsonian community, enriching our understanding of early childhood education.  She leaves big shoes to fill upon her retirement later this year. 

SEEC's new executive director, Dr. Kimberlee Kiehl

In July, SEEC will welcome Dr. Kimberlee Kiehl, its new executive director.   Kim currently serves as Chief Strategy and Operations Officer and Senior Vice President for the Center of Science and Industry in Columbus, Ohio.  Of her many accomplishments at COSI, Kiehl was responsible for the physical and programmatic design of little kidspace®, a 12,000-square-foot “museum-within-a-museum” designed specifically for young children.  She has also been a faculty member at Ohio State University, teaching early childhood education and development courses, and running the University’s laboratory school for children under 6.  Kim earned her doctorate degree in education from Pennsylvania State University. 

the new early childhood space at the B & O Railroad Museum

Affiliates have a long successful history of working with SEEC.  The B & O Railroad Museum in Baltimore consulted with SEEC when developing their dedicated spaces for early learners.  SEEC has conducted trainings and workshops for the Museum of Flight in Seattle, WA, the African American Museum in Philadelphia, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans, and the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art in Biloxi, MS among others.  In January 2012, four Affiliate representatives from the California Science Center, the Rubin Museum of Art in New York City, the Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas and the Miami Science Center all came to Washington, D.C. to participate in a planning session for a National Symposium on Early Learning in Museums, currently under development.

We look forward to continuing the Affiliate-SEEC collaboration for the benefit of our museums’ youngest visitors, in thanking Sharon for the foundations she has laid, and welcoming Kim as a new partner in education.

Look for SEEC at the Resource Fair at the Smithsonian Affiliations National Conference, June 12-14.  And for more, check out the latest issue of the Journal of Museum Education, guest edited by Sharon Shaffer and focusing on early learning.