Peer Education Into a Pre-Existing Curriculum

peers educating peers handbook

leo muellner

Program Overview and Curriculum Guide | 2013

PEERS EDUCATING PEERS PROGRAM OVERVIEW Section 1: Introduction...... 3 Mission Statement...... 3 PART 1 Handbook Overview...... 4 Program Overview...... 4 The Online Experience ...... 5 Section 2: How Does PEP Work? ...... 6 Timing ...... 6 Integrating Peer Education into a Pre-existing Curriculum ...... 7 Assessment ...... 7 The Six Phases of a PEP PBL Project...... 7 PEP Lessons Created by Students...... 11

PEER education curriculum guide Section 1: Preparing Students to Teach ...... 14 Student-Centered Teaching Methods ...... 16 PART 2 Section 1A: Discussion Methods...... 16 Socratic Seminar...... 16 Take a Stand...... 18 Gallery Walk...... 19 Section 1B: Student-centered Activity Models...... 20 Learning Stations...... 20 Jigsaw...... 21 Role Play...... 22 Dramatization...... 23 PART 4 PART 3 PART 2 Section 2|Peer Acknowledgements Peers O Icebr Partner Country Background PEP ON The SixPhasesofaFilm Project Section 1:Curriculum documentar Socratic SeminarPreparation Collaborative Peers O P Documentary Film Project Description P Assignments E E nline Socratic Seminar verview of P Film Project Assignment P Collaborative Figure 3|Selected Peers Peers Assignment #2 E Teaching Project: Peer Peers Section 1C| Assignment #1 ssential QuestionPractice eaking E O L E E earning Through Play earning Through xpeditionary ducating Peers Standards ducating Peers Documentary Film bject E E E E L ducation Project Assignment ducating Peers: ducating Peers Student Teaching ducating Peers Teaching Project Assignment Description INE SOCRATIC SEMINAR CURRICU V L . O ...... ideoconference essons O bservation Protocol ral History Film Project Description E E xpeditionary ducation Project Curriculum

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Section 1: PEP Introduction

Mission Statement

The Peers Educating Peers Program (PEP), supported by the Qatar Foundation International, is part of the global movement to develop educational systems that foster lifelong learning and community engagement. In order to achieve this mission, PEP works with educators around the world to infuse specific practices and philosophies into their teaching. These include: • Connecting Cultures for Global Good PEP uses peer education, online collaboration, videoconferencing, and student exchanges to connect cultures and advance global citizenship skills. • Project Based Learning PEP promotes Project Based Learning (PBL) methods that empower students to take ownership of their learning, and engage them in authentic performance based assessments that utilize skills and habits of mind that they will use in the real world. • Peer Education and Leadership PEP is predicated on the idea that students often learn best from each other, and that student-teaching is among the most effective ways for students to demonstrate their understanding and share their passion with their peers. Peer education devel- ops student leadership skills and may even provoke interest in a teaching career. • 21st Century Learning Skills In a traditional classroom, students primarily receive content. PEP students actively choose content based on their passions and interests. Subsequently, students use the arts and technology to create, teach, and exhibit their content knowledge and comprehension by collaborating with their peers on authentic media projects.

PA O RT 1 | PR GRAM OVERVIEW 3 • Developing Curiosity PEP seeks to make the familiar strange—to provide students with the capacity to reexamine their environment and community with fresh eyes and begin to ask questions about the world we live in. To facilitate this process, PEP uses expeditionary learning techniques to break the bounds of the traditional classroom so that teachers and students see their entire world as a place for learning and discovery. • Teacher Leadership PEP aims to identify master teachers in PEP partner schools and support them as they build capacity to help their colleagues adopt these new practices. Master teachers are the conduits to forge strong professional learning communities within their schools and districts.

Handbook Overview This handbook provides an overview of the PEP program, as well as curriculum guides and detailed lesson plans for three projects: peer education, collaborative documentary filmmaking and an online Socratic Seminar. Following the program overview below, there is advice on how to integrate projects from the PEP program into pre-existing curricula and assessments.

P rOGRAM Overview At the start of a PEP program students study local and global issues and discuss them online and in videoconferences with their peers in other PEP network schools. They then develop lessons on these issues to teach their peers both at their own school and when they host visiting students and teachers from across town or around the world. In addition to teaching, PEP students also team up with their peers to create media projects on global issues that touch their lives. The level of participation varies from school to school. A PEP program can function as a stand-alone elective class or can be incorpo- rated en masse or piecemeal into a pre-existing curriculum. While some classes may be involved in all of the projects described above, some may choose one or two to join in on.

4 PEERS EDUCATING PEERS HANDBOOK | 2014 The PEP Institute is the culminating experience of the program. Students from participating PEP schools gather to teach each other—and their teachers—about the issues that matter to them, and engage in student led seminars on global issues. Participating teachers have the opportunity to experiment with PEP, refine their practice and connect with educators from around the world to plan future collaborations.

The Online Experience Interacting with their peers in other schools and other nations is a key component of the PEP experience. This occurs throughout all phases of a PEP project, and takes place in a number of formats, depending upon time constraints, available technology, and funding. The primary means of communication are secure online educational platforms such as Edmodo, Blackboard or C2C (c2c.qfi.org), a program developed by the Qatar Foundation International for schools in its network. These interactions range from the casual to formal. Both teachers and students can start discussions or post projects and invite others to participate. PEP Students use these online communication platforms to exhibit their work, post comments on subjects that both classes are examining, and exchange feedback on ongoing projects. The flexibility of these online spaces makes them a great place both for students to simply get to know each other or to collaborate on in depth projects. At the same time, teachers have full capability to invite and remove students, edit or remove comments, discussions, and work that could be disruptive or offensive. Videoconferences—set up using Google Hangout, Skype, or other platforms—also play a major role in PEP. Initially, videoconferences may be used as a simple but exciting way for student in the network to get to know each other and break through any stereotypes or cultural barriers that might otherwise separate them. This is something that can only be done thoroughly with live face-to-face interaction. Once these initial bonds have been made students are ready to use videoconferencing both as a platform for collaboration and for online Socratic Seminars. When, for example, students in two locations collaborate on a film project, they will need to videoconference several times to brainstorm, plan, and exchange feedback on each other’s work. The online Socratic Seminars can be used to go into greater depth a particular subject, or to gather information as a precur- sor to beginning a PEP project. Whereas a live Socratic Seminar usually involves a whole class in one discussion, the online versions work best when students talk in groups of three to six, with one or two students joining in from each school. Please see the chapter on online Socratic Seminars for details (page 86).

PA RT 1 | PROGRAM OVERVIEW 5 Section 2 | How Does PEP Work?

A school’s involvement in PEP can take many forms. Though many of the examples included in this handbook are taken from secondary level social studies, civics, and English language classes, PEP projects and methods can be integrated into almost any subject area, curriculum, or grade level. Some schools have had great success with a semester long PEP elective, while others have integrated PEP units into an existing curriculum, an afterschool global studies club, or the International Baccalaureate’s CAS (Community, Action, Service) diploma requirement. A school seeking to engage its students in the Project-Based learning aspects of PEP—the peer education and/or film making projects—will need to budget two to four weeks of class time, depending upon the students’ prior experience, the number involved, and the parameters of the project. A school wishing only to do the online Socratic Seminar unit may only need four to six hours of class time.

Timing The peer education curriculum provided in this handbook lays out an intensive 20-lesson project in which students first learn to teach, then choose and research a topic, and finally plan and deliver a 45 minute to one hour lesson. While this experience can be transforma- tive for students, many teachers may feel that they do not have time to fit such a project into their already packed curriculum. It is important to keep in mind, however, that there are many ways to integrate peer education into any curriculum. First, once the initial time is committed for students to learn to teach in a student-centered way, peer-education projects can be executed in much less time. The First time through when students are learning how to teach might take 8-10 class hours of preparation—about two weeks—followed by another week or two of student teaching, depending upon class size and the number of students working on each lesson. But once students have learned the basics of student-centered instruction, the preparation time can be reduced to four to six hours, depending upon the complexity of the teaching topics. The time it takes for students to teach their lessons can also be dramatically reduced. Instead of planning full-length lessons that include activities and discussions, the students can be asked to prepare study questions and lead a 20-30 minute discussions on a homework assignment. In this way, time-pressed teachers can integrate student-teaching projects into their curriculum in half the time. While this method denies students the full teaching experience, it can be a good first step for teachers wishing to experiment with peer education projects.

6 PEERS EDUCATING PEERS HANDBOOK | 2014 Integrating Peer Education into a Pre-existing Curriculum In recent years PEP peer education projects have most frequently been integrated into social studies electives, language classes, extra-curricular clubs, or the International Bac- calaureate CAS program. In all of these formats the curriculum was flexible enough to allow students to teach virtually any subject that peaked their interest. But peer education projects have also worked well with state-mandated curricula. In these cases the topics students chose to teach were limited to those included in state standards. The key is to let students choose the content areas within those standards that they are most interested and confident in. In this way, significant portions of required content can be covered in an engaging and student-centered way.

Assessment Peer education projects are usually set up as stand alone projects within a curriculum. Students are graded on their teaching project, and this mark makes up a significant percentage of their overall class grade. Peer education, however, can also be used as a means of in-depth review to prepare students for semester or year-end exams. Teams of students can choose from a list of exam topics, and they will gain mastery both by learning from each other and by researching and preparing their review lessons.

The Six Phases of a PEP PBL Project Regardless of the subject area, grade level, specific topic or medium, a PEP PBL project follows six distinct phases: • Phase 1: Developing Interest • Phase 2: Identifying Project Topics • Phase 3: Research • Phase 4: Production • Phase 5: Presentation • Phase 6: Revision

PA RT 1 | PROGRAM OVERVIEW 7 Figure 1 | The Six Phases of a PEP Project

IN CLASS ONLINE platforms AND videoconferences

Phase 1: Developing Interest, Building Relationships

Students in the PEP network use online communication Students study a variety of globally and locally relevant platforms and video conferencing to get to know each topics together as a class and then identify one or two other, and discuss what they’re learning. They also topics they’re interested in exploring in greater depth. examine the global issues in more depth by engaging in online Socratic Seminars.

Phase 2: Identifying Project Topics

Students identify one or two topics they’re interested in Students discuss a variety of globally and locally relevant exploring in greater depth. They begin preliminary research topics with their Peers in the PEP network. They exchange all the while asking themselves: “Is it feasible? Will it feedback, identify common themes, and plan collaborations. sustain my interest?” “Is it locally and globally relevant?”

Phase 3: Research and Materials Collection

Students research their topics and collect materials for their lesson/media project. Sources include Students who are working on collaborative projects share libraries, databases, the web, live interviews, resources and ideas with their partners in the PEP network. and students’ own photo-video footage.

Phase 4: Production

Students create their lesson or media products. Students continue to plan and collaborate online.

Phase 5: Exhibition

Students teach their lesson to classmates and/or Students share their media projects online and visiting students, or show their media product. Students receive constructive criticism from their peers. receive constructive criticism from their peers.

Phase 6: Revision

Students may revise and re-exhibit their work. Students might only teach once, but time permitting Students revise and re-exhibit their work online. will teach a second time to a new audience.

8 PEERS EDUCATING PEERS HANDBOOK | 2014 Phases 1 and 2 | Developing Interest and Choosing Topics

In the first phase of a PEP project, teachers work with students to identify content they are interested in. As discussed earlier, the degree of freedom that the students are allowed depends upon the particular curriculum into which PEP is integrated. If PEP is integrated into a pre-existing curriculum, the content area and relevant standards will guide students’ choices. The topics that students choose can also be framed by the partnerships that develop between schools in the PEP network—thus limiting students to more universal topics that can be explored in depth in a variety of locations. The topics that students have chosen in the past few years range widely, and include local and international issues in history, current events, visual arts, fashion, the environment, and much more. Please see figure two on page 11 for a list of some of the topics students have taught.

Phase 3 | Research Once a topic or theme has been chosen, teachers then coach students through the research process. The parameters of this research must be set by teachers and are governed by accessibility of resources and information, students’ prior experience conducting research, and time constraints. The teacher’s ability to differentiate instruction is important at this point. With more advanced, driven students, the research may be entirely up to them, with the teacher only asking questions and making the occasional suggestion. With lower level or less motivated students, a greater degree of support and guidance may be necessary. In such cases, teachers may need to motivate students by researching a reading they might use in their teaching, suggesting key words for their Google, database, or library searches, or finding people for students to interview about their topic. Students can also use online communication platforms to give each other research advice and share resources.

Phase 4 | Production In the next step, teachers coach students through the creation of their media product or lesson. Again, the scope of the project and the time spent will vary depending on prior experience and the resources available. The first step is modeling—showing professional and student-made examples of both excellence and mediocrity for students to critique. This sets targets to shoot for and pitfalls to avoid, as well as providing a common vocabulary to use when developing and editing work.

PA RT 1 | PROGRAM OVERVIEW 9 In the case of student-teaching, student-centered teaching methods are not just shown, they must primarily be experienced. Before students attempt to design their own lessons, it is essential that they experience and reflect on a variety of in-class and expeditionary lesson formats taught by the teacher. This is especially important if students are to break out of the traditional format of student (and most teacher) instruction—lecture and PowerPoint. Students must be taught how to ask provocative questions, how to lead discussions, how to organize activities, games or performances, and how to use primary source materials or an outdoor location to teach content and provoke critical thinking.

Phase 5 | Presentation Regardless of the format, the presentation phase of a PEP unit is divided into three parts—presentation, discussion, and reflection. First students present their work by either teaching their lessons to their peers or exhibiting their media projects. Their peers then discuss the works, giving the creators praise and constructive feedback. The creators then reflect on their experiences. It is important to note that the presentation phase can take place entirely in person, or it can be staged online.

Phase 6 | Revision In the final phase, students revise and re-exhibit their work. If it is a media project, they may show their work to the same audience again, or to another audience. If it is a lesson, they will revise it to teach to another group of their peers or visiting students during a PEP student exchange. When planning a Project Based Learning (PBL) unit, it is critical not to underestimate the importance of the revision phase. In the world beyond school, revision is one of the most important aspects of work. Workers in most professions create a product, receive feedback from their peers and management, and continue to refine their work. Despite this, the revision phase is often absent from students’ academic experiences. Students get one chance to show their ability on a test, or the never-ending press to cover state-mandated content forces teachers to continue to advance through their tightly packed curriculum. Peers Educating Peers believes that the revision process is central to life-long learning, and that no PBL unit can be complete without it.

10 PEERS EDUCATING PEERS HANDBOOK | 2014 Figure 2 | PEP Lessons Created by Students from Boston, Washington, D.C., and Qatar, 2011-2013

Lessons Based in Multiple Cities Topic Essential Question(s) Teaching Location(s)

Changing Cities How has my city changed over the last 50 years? Interviews with the elderly in various cities

Why are people homeless? In school and at a homeless shelter Homelessness What can you do for the homeless? in Washington, D.C.

Do our city’s war monuments In front of war monuments in War Monuments accurately portray war? Boston and Washington, D.C. How should wars be commemorated?

What are the qualities of a good mass-transit system? In classrooms and on mass-transit systems in Mass-Transit How does my city’s mass-transit system Boston and Washington, D.C. compare to others’? How do architectural styles differ from city to city? Downtown areas of Boston, Doha, Architecture Does our city’s architecture reflect our and Washington, D.C. national culture? What are the similarities and differences between Religion and houses of worship in different religions? At houses of worship belonging to multiple Architecture How does religion effect architecture, and visa religions in Boston, Washington, and Doha. versa?

Occupy Movement sites in Boston Occupy Wall Street How successful was the Occupy Movement? and Washington, D.C.

How does segregation hurt people? How was School Segregation & segregation ended? Outside schools in Boston and Washington, D.C. Desegregation How has desegregation changed our city and its schools? International Justice Mission, Washington, D.C. What is human trafficking? Human Trafficking Inside Boston’s South Station where human How can I help stop it? trafficking takes place

The dropout rate Does our prison system work? Daybreak, a recreation center and incarceration How is the dropout rate related to incarceration? in Washington, D.C.

Education, Wealth How does a person’s economic status effect At public and private schools in Doha, and Poverty their educational opportunities? Boston, and Washington, D.C.

PA RT 1 | PROGRAM OVERVIEW 11 qatar Based Lessons Topic Essential Question(s) Teaching Location(s)

The Purpose of Prisons Is prison a place for rehabilitation or punishment? Al Koot Fort, Doha

How have the Gulf countries adapted their Traditional Qatari architecture to fit their environment? At a mosque or Souq (market) in Doha Architecture To what extent should countries stick to their traditional architecture?

The Arab Spring What role should the media play in a war or In a classroom or at Al Jazeera and the media revolution? Headquarters, Doha

Arranged Marriage Are arranged marriages healthy for society? Classroom

Preserving National Should traditional sports be preserved? If so, how? Various sports sites around Doha. traditions Will the World Cup change Qatar? Qatar and the At the future site of a Should Qatar host the World Cup of world cup of 2022 World Cup stadium in Doha 2022 in the summer or the winter?

How successful is the “Education Education in Qatar Various schools around Doha for a New Era” initiative ?

How does immigration affect the countries people Immigration to Qatar The Katara Cultural Village, Doha leave and the countries they go to?

washington, d.c. Based Lessons Topic Essential Question(s) Teaching Location(s)

What are the features of a successful democracy? Building a Democracy How successful have the Arab Spring countries The National Mall, Washington, D.C. been at setting up democracies?

The importance of Is beauty objective or subjective? Busboys and Poets restaurant Washington, D.C. Art and Beauty Where is beauty in our lives?

What causes school violence? Violence in schools How/why have school violence levels Classroom changed over time?

Should we keep or tear down statues In front of a statue of President Buchanan Commemoration of people we no longer respect? in Washington, D.C. Should monuments be permanent?

Gentrification How do neighborhoods change, and how & Changing do those changes help and hurt the people Columbia Heights, Washington, D.C. Neighborhoods the people who live there?

Should cemeteries be protected forever, Cemeteries or should they eventually be bulldozed Holy Rood Cemetery, Washington, D.C. and replaced with something “useful?”

12 PEERS EDUCATING PEERS HANDBOOK | 2014 boston Based Lessons Topic Essential Question(s) Teaching Location(s)

Who was to blame for the “massacre?” Boston Massacre 1770 What causes violence between Boston Massacre site (Old State House) police/soldiers and protesters?

How have women’s rights changed At a monument to women who fought Women’s Rights over the last 100 years? for freedom and equal rights

What makes good poetry? Poet e.e. Cummings Harvard University, which Cummings attended How has Cummings influenced other poets?

Is Boston accurately portrayed Movies about Boston Classroom and sites around Boston in Hollywood movies?

How have race relations changed in Outside Fenway Park, Race and Sports professional sports? a baseball stadium in Boston

What is the legacy of the Black Panther Site of former Black Panther Party Headquarters The Black Panthers Party in Boston? in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston

What is national pride? Does it help or hinder a country’s development? National Pride The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Is it possible to have pride in your country but not your government?

Do Boston’s parks live up to the original vision Boston’s Park System Various parks in Boston of designer Frederick Law Olmsted?

How has Jazz evolved? Jazz History Boston area Jazz clubs Is there a Boston style?

Does Graffiti have a positive or Various alleys, train tracks, buildings and Graffiti negative effect on our city? underpasses around Boston and Cambridge

How can fashion be used to challenge An exhibit on Hippie fashion at the Fashion and Revolution social morays and government authority? Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

PA RT 1 | PROGRAM OVERVIEW 13 PEER EDUCATIONICULUM CURR E GUID

This section provides sample curriculum materials for a student teaching project. As you read, please keep in mind that these are examples of how PEP projects were integrated into a local history class at the Boston Arts Academy. The class met five days a week in 85-minute blocks. Most work was done in school, with little homework or after-school time. Timing and implementation will vary considerably depending upon the school, subject, grade level and available resources. Please feel free to revise anything in this curriculum guide, and cut or add assignments as necessary to fit the needs of your students.

Section 1: Preparing Students to Teach

As any educator knows, teaching is one of the most difficult arts, and we cannot ask students to teach each other without careful preparation, scaffolding, and modeling. This chapter contains two sections: a brief outline of the step-by-step process that students in the Boston Arts Academy PEP program went through before they began teaching (this is discussed in more detail in the lesson plans section of the PEP Teacher Handbook), and an overview of the student-centered teaching methods that PEP students should use to teach their peers. Following are the six steps that students should follow in order to prepare their PEP lesson.

14 PEERS EDUCATING PEERS HANDBOOK | 2014 1.ic Top : Students must first choose a topic. The topic should be:

• Fascinating to the student-teacher • Researchable • Provocative, interesting, and/or relevant to students’ lives and present day society • It is also ideal that the topic be teachable both in and outside the classroom so that students can use their home city—its streets, historic sites, museum, galleries, shops, PEER subways, etc.—to teach visiting students. 2. Essential Question: The next task is to craft an essential question to guide the lesson. In order to have an interesting lesson that forces students to really think EDUCATION critically, the essential question should be:

• Clear and direct CURRICULUM • Open-ended, not leading • Debatable, with no one right answers • Provocative GUIDE • Timeless, relevant to multiple places and times, including the present

Please keep in mind that this list describes the perfect essential question: even master teachers do not hit this target every time! Please see page 33 for a series of lessons helping students plan good essential questions.

3. Research: Once students have nailed down their topic and crafted a good essential question, they should begin their research so that they have the depth of knowledge necessary to plan an interesting lesson.

4. StUDENT Centered Teaching Methods Demonstration: Before students choose a lesson or discussion format for the class they will teach, the teacher needs to make sure that each of these methods has been demonstrated for the students. Ideally, they should be integrated into the regular curriculum so that all students have first hand experience. Especially in the weeks leading up to a student teaching unit, make sure to leave a few minutes at the end of each of these demonstrations for students to reflect on the teaching method and think about whether or not they could use it in their own teaching.

5. LesSON Planning: In the final phase students plan their actual lesson. Please see the lesson planning template and sample lessons included in the Handbook. Students should complete two drafts of their lesson plan and receive feedback from their peers and teachers before finally teaching their lesson.

6. Teaching! It is essential that students get the chance to teach each other in a low- pressure situation before they are asked to teach visitors from other schools and nations. After each student-lesson, make sure there is ample time for the audience to fill out rubrics and give constructive feedback to the student-teacher so that all can reflect on the experience and improve.

PA RT 2 | CURRICULUM GUIDE 15 S tUDENT-Centered Teaching Methods When PEP students teach each other, it is critical that students use “student-centered” teaching methods that will keep their class engaged, and not revert to the same old “teacher centered” methods—lectures, Powerpoints, teacher-dominated discussions, and disconnected worksheets—that have turned so many students off from school. While there are of course a hundred different ways to do this, the three discussion methods and seven lesson formats that follow have been especially effective in the PEP program and should engage students at all levels. This section includes overviews and examples of the following:

Discussion Methods 1. Socratic Seminar 2. Take a Stand 3. Gallery Walk and Thought Museum

Lesson Formats 1. learning Stations 2. Jigsaw 3. role Play 4. Dramatization 5. expeditionary Learning: Learning Through Play 6. expeditionary Learning: Object Observation 7. expeditionary Learning: Scavenger Hunt

Section 1A: Discussion Methods

1. Socratic Seminar Overview: In a Socratic Seminar, students gather information and ideas from a shared source (or set of sources) and then engage in an open ended discussion of the questions and issues raised by those sources. Sources: Students can gather information and ideas from a wide variety of sources—videos, images, readings, monuments and historic sites, performances, etc. The one requirement is that the sources are shared by all so that everyone has the same information and can therefore join in the discussion and understand what participants are talking about.

16 PEERS EDUCATING PEERS HANDBOOK | 2014 Format: After students gather ideas and information, and come up with their own observations, reactions, and questions, the class gathers together to discuss. Students should ideally sit in a circle or rectangle. No matter the shape it is critical that all participants can see each other’s faces and hear what’s being said. Roles: There are several possible roles. Some are required and some are optional: e

Moderator (Required): The modera- x tor leads the discussion. He/she gets amp things started and keeps the discussion going. While the ultimate goal is

for the students to generate their own l questions, the moderator should have A Socratic Seminar on e a number of provocative questions Boston’s Demographic History ready in case the discussion flags. The Essential Questions moderator can also intervene if the discussion is going off on a tangent or Who are we as a people, how did we get this way, and where are we going? if one student is dominating or being disrespectful to others. The modera- What is a census? How do we count our people, tor can also coax students into the and how has the way we count changed over time? conversation, or push students to go How and why have the demographics further in their thinking by explaining of Boston changed over time? an argument or providing evidence to back up a claim. The moderator What are the demographic trends for the future? also needs to decide whether or not In a Boston history class students were studying students will raise their hand (with Boston’s demographics—the history of its people, the moderator calling on participants) where and when they came from, and how Boston’s or just speak freely. While raising racial and ethnic make up has changed over the hands may be necessary at times, the centuries. To start, all students examined a table of conversation will generally flow much statistics that provided Boston census information more naturally and go into greater from 1790 to 2010. They annotated the statistics, depth if participants are allowed to identifying trends, anomalies, and changes in the jump in without raising their hand and data, writing down questions the statistics provoked, waiting to be called upon. and looking for evidence to help them answer the essential questions. Observers: Observers sit outside the circle and listen without engaging in While students took notes, the teacher circulated, fielding questions, asking students to share what the discussion. Once the discussion is they noticed, and helping them take efficient notes. over the observer(s) can share their Afterwards the class formed a circle, and with the views on how the discussion went, the teacher leading the discussion, began to share their major themes they heard, or ask larger observations, questions and conclusions. While the questions that the discussion raised or teacher picked on the first student to speak, the left out. class carried on most of the discussion that followed without hand raising and only minimal teacher intervention to keep the discussion going.

PA RT 2 | CURRICULUM GUIDE 17 e

2.S Take a tand x amp Take a Stand is a more casual and physically active discussion method.

In Take a Stand, students respond Take a Stand on l to statements, not questions. First Al Jazeera and the Arab Spring e the teacher posts the following signs around the room, “Agree,” Essential Questions “Disagree,” and “Neutral.” Depend- What role should the media play in a war or revolution? ing upon the topic the teacher might want to eliminate the “Neutral” sign How objective are media outlets such as Al Jazeera to force students to make a choice, in their coverage of world events? or you might add “Strongly Agree” This Take a Stand was done as part of a Peers and “Strongly Disagree” to provide Educating Peers exchange between American and more choice. Once the room is set Qatari students. To start the class, students read and up students all stand in the middle annotated two articles presenting different points of and the teacher reads out a series of view on Al Jazeera and its coverage of the Arab Spring. statements. After each statement, Students then briefly talked over the readings in pairs students then have to move to the as preparation for a whole class discussion. Instead side of the room that best represents of doing a Socratic Seminar, the student-teacher their reaction to the statement. When chose to discuss the articles using the Take a Stand everyone has chosen their place, the format. Signs were hung in different spots around the teacher then asks people from each room stating “Strongly Agree” “Agree” “Disagree” and side to explain why they chose that “Strongly Disagree.” The students assembled in the middle of the room, and then the student-teacher read position. Take a Stand works espe- out provocative statements such as: cially well when the issues being discussed are controversial and debat- Al Jazeera is an objective news channel able. It gets people off their feet, and In extreme circumstances, it is appropriate for a media forces them to make a choice. It also outlet to take sides can cause a lot of drama as students watch to see how everyone else will The media should be careful about what it reports. In react. Take a Stand is also a nice way order to preserve social order, there are certain events or statements that should not be reported in the media. to get students involved who don’t usually speak in more formal ses- Each statement was related to the point of view of one sions because they have to express or more of the authors, and the wording was purposely an opinion and have no place to hide. made as controversial as possible in order to provoke Take a Stand can be used any time. passionate debate. After each statement the students It can be a great way to break the ice stood in front of the sign that represented their views. on a new unit and hook students into They shared the reasons for their stand and backed a topic. It can also be used as a way up their arguments with evidence from the readings to discuss a source such as an article, and their life experiences. Some heated but respectful arguments followed, and almost every student video, or performance. participated in a meaningful way.

18 PEERS EDUCATING PEERS HANDBOOK | 2014 3. gallery walk A gallery walk is another great way to get students out of their seats and exploring. First the teacher has to turn their classroom into a gallery. A variety of sources can be posted around the room—images, quotes, very short readings, videos clips, etc. The students then walk around the room with clipboards, stopping to take notes, write questions or reactions, or respond to specific prompts. The sources should not be too long, as students will be standing in front of each source to write their responses. Once students have recorded their reactions (it’s up to the teacher to decide how many sources each student should respond to) the class sits back down to discuss what they saw. The discussion could take place in small groups or in a whole class Socratic Seminar. Another variation on this theme is the Thought Museum. In a Thought Museum, instead of writing on a clipboard, students share their ideas on Post It notes and stick them next to each source. Once students have posted comments, the class then breaks up into groups, with each group meeting in front of one of the sources. The group then reads over the Post It notes, and uses these responses as a jumping off point for a deeper evidence-based discussion of the source and the day’s topic. One of the great thing about a Gallery Walks and Thought Museums is their enormous flexibility. Almost any media can be used, and almost any topic can be explored in depth. It is an especially useful teaching method for academically heterogeneous classes. Sources can be included targeting every level of student, and they can work through them at their own pace. e x

Gallery Walk on the Earth’s Biomes amp

Essential QuestionS

What makes each biome unique? l e How does human activity affect the earth’s biomes?

This Gallery Walk took place in an environmental guess the temperature range, precipitation levels, science class. The teacher turned his classroom into a and types of organisms. Students were also asked gallery of some of earth’s biomes, with photographs to think about how human activity might affect and painting of desert, savannah, tropical rain each biome. While the students worked, the teacher forest, boreal forest, tundra, etc. Each student took circulated and conferenced with individual students, a clipboard and a worksheet. The worksheet asked pushing them to write more detailed observations, students to first write down objective observations go deeper in their analysis, and provide clearer describing in detail what they saw in each biome. evidence. The class then broke up into groups for The worksheet then guided students to make discussion, with one group per biome. The students suppositions and provide specific evidence to presented their suppositions and evidence. explain their reasoning. For each biome they had to

PA RT 2 | CURRICULUM GUIDE 19 Section 1B | Student-centered Activity Models

1. lEARNING Stations In a traditional class all students are doing the same thing at the same time, whether it’s listening to a lecture, watching a video, reading, or engaging in a discussion. While this may be simpler to plan, the experience can often be monotonous for students. They spend a lot of time sitting, and all students are expected to move at more or less the same pace. The Learning Stations set up changes this paradigm. Instead of everyone doing the same thing at the same time, the room is divided up into a number of learning e

Learning Station on Boston Educational Civil Rights Movement x amp Essential QuestionS

How do we commemorate our history? l

Has the time come for Boston build a monument to honor the struggle to desegregate its schools? If yes, what should the monument e look like? Who/what specifically should be honored? Where should it be?

Has the time come for Boston to stop busing students and send elementary school students to neighborhood schools?

In this lesson students were studying the movement to desegregate Boston’s public schools that took place between the 1950s and 1970s. The lesson had three goals. The first was for students to learn about this important historical event that changed Boston. The second goal was to give students the historical background necessary to assess the current mayor’s controversial plan to reform the city’s school assignment plan which decides which schools children will be sent to. While some view it as a necessary reform, others are afraid that the plan will lead Boston back towards the segregated and unequal schools that existed before the Educational Civil Rights Movement. The final goal was to ask students to think deeply about who and what our city honors with statues and memorials, and to form their own opinion on whether or not this important but controversial event should be commemorated, and if so, where and how.

The lesson was divided up over two days. On the first day the teacher gave an introductory lecture and students watched a documentary on the movement. The Learning Station activity took place on the second day. The room was divided up into three different stations.

At the first station students examined photographs of the movement, including leaders, protestors, children being escorted and violent protests that took place against desegregation. After drawing and taking notes on a photograph that touched them, students at this station were asked to work together to design their own memorial to the event.

At the second station students listened to a radio news story about the Mayor’s proposal to change the school assignment plan, and then discussed their views of the plan.

At the third station students used an online tool created by the city of Boston to help parents see which schools their child would be eligible to attend under the new plan. Students in this group compared the results for a variety of Boston neighborhoods representing Boston’s various ethnic groups and economic classes, and then discussed whether or not the mayor’s plan would give all students—regardless of their geographic location, race, or class—equal access to quality schools.

Each group spent about 15 minutes at each station. Once each group had visited each station, the whole class came back together in a circle to discuss what they learned and share their opinions and raise questions about the mayor’s plan.

20 PEERS EDUCATING PEERS HANDBOOK | 2014 stations, and students rotate around the room completing the work at each station. For instance, while one group of students watches a video at one station, other groups could be listening to music, drawing, examining photographs, or reading primary source materials. There are two ways to organize a learning station. In the group method, students are divided up into groups and spend the same amount of time at each station. The teacher sets a timer, and when the time is up each group rotates to the next station. Students could spend anywhere from 15 minutes to half an hour at each station depending upon the work, and it could take one or two class periods for all students to rotate through each station. Another method is for students to rotate individually. In this model students are divided up into groups and assigned to start at different stations. Instead of using a timer, however, students now rotate individually whenever they’re done with a particular station. The timed method works best if the teacher wants the students to stay in their groups and complete the work together. The individual rotation method, however, gives every student the flexibility to work at his/her own pace. The work that students do at the learning stations can then be used as the research basis for other assessments like discussions or essay writing.

2. Jigsaw In a Jigsaw all students in a class take on a teaching role. Jigsaw’s get everybody talking and listening, and force students to collaborate to build deeper understanding. A Jigsaw is divided into three phases.

Phase 1 | Research After the teacher introduces the lesson’s topic and essential question, students are broken up into groups to learn about a different aspect of the lesson’s topic. Each group examines a different set of sources, takes notes, and prepares to present what they learned to the rest of the class. Figure 1 | Research Phase Phase 2 | The Jigsaw Each group of students examines a different source. In traditional group work, each group would now get up and give a short lecture presenting their findings to the A A A A A B B B B B C C C C C rest of the class. This process is often tedious, and many students zone out. A Jigsaw, however, keeps everyone D D D D D E E E E E active. Instead of taking turns presenting to the whole class, new groups are now formed with a mix of students, at least one from each of the original groups. The students now take turns presenting their findings to the small group instead of the whole class. The presentations are shorter and more informal, and thus easier for students to listen to, ask questions, and take notes. During this time the teacher walks

PA RT 2 | CURRICULUM GUIDE 21 e x amp around the class, listens in to the conversa- tions, and only intervenes when absolutely

l necessary to get students back on track. e Jigsaw: Arranged Marriage

Essential Questions Figure 2 | Jigsaw Phase How do arranged marriages affect society? New groups are formed with at least one Should arranged marriages be legal? student from each of the original groups.

Are arranged marriages here to stay, or on the way out? A b c d e A b c d e A b c d e This Jigsaw was done as part of a Peers Educating Peers exchange between American and Qatari students. The class was broken up into five groups of A b c d e A b c d e five, each reading a different article. Topics included the connection between Qatar’s divorce rate and arranged marriages, arranged marriage among Orthodox Jews, and the current state of arranged marriages in the United Kingdom, the United Phase 3 | Synthesis States, and India. After reading and annotating This phase can either be done in the Jigsaw their assigned article, each group discussed their reading, and wrote their own questions to generate groups or back together as a whole class. The discussion. Then the Jigsaw began. New mixed goal now is for students to synthesize all the groups were formed, each containing at least one different sources and views they have heard, student from the original five groups. Each student identify themes, make generalizations and presented their findings and their questions, and ask larger questions. then the group compared and contrasted the status of arranged marriage in different cultures 3. Role Play and communities. The jigsaw ended with students answering the essential questions. The whole class In a Role Play, students take on an authentic participated actively in every aspect of the jigsaw, role found in society and engage in the same and there was lively and in-depth discussion going kinds of thinking and actions that that person on in each group. would do in real life. A Role Play often has three phases:

Phase 1 | Research First students learn what their role is and begin to research a problem. They find out the relevant history, examine multiple perspectives, and gather the information they need to develop a solution.

Phase 2 | Production Now that students have the information they need, students work in groups to develop proposals and solutions to the problem. At this point the teacher circulates, helping students work through the problem, giving guidance and advice when necessary.

22 PEERS EDUCATING PEERS HANDBOOK | 2014 Phase 3 | Presentation and Reflection Groups of students now take turns presenting their prototypes and/or proposals to the class. Depending upon the number of students, each group could take turns presenting orally to the whole class, or if there are a lot of groups, the proposals could be posted on the wall for the class to walk around and view them (this could work well with the Thought Museum discussion model explained above). The whole class can then discuss the pros and cons of each proposal, and ponder the larger questions and outstanding issues that have arisen from this work. e

Role Play: Urban Planning x amp Essential Questions

What makes a good transportation system? l

How does our transportation system compare to other cities? e

How can we improve our transportation system?

In this lesson students took on the role of urban was asked to create their own plans for expanding planners deciding how Boston should expand and and improving the system. Students added stations, improve its subway system. extended and added lines to connect neighborhoods that were far from the subway or to make it easier to The lesson started out with a lecture reviewing the get around town. history of Boston’s mass-transit system from the early 19th century to the present. Students also got After about 20 minutes of planning, each group the chance to compare Boston’s subway system to took turns presenting their ideas to the rest of the the much larger ones in New York, Paris, London, class. After each presentation the audience asked and Tokyo. clarifying questions and discussed the pros and cons of each proposal. When the proposals were done, After the presentation, the class was broken up the teacher presented some real life plans that are into groups of three. Each group was given a set in the works or currently being discussed to improve of markers and a large full color map of the Boston Boston’s subway system. subway, bus, and commuter rail system. Each team

4. DramatizatioN In a dramatization, students use theater to bring to life an issue that they are studying in class. Thus, rather than writing or drawing, they demonstrate their understanding and communicate their views by acting. A Dramatization can also be divided up into three phases.

Phase 1 | Research As in the role play, students must first gather ideas and information from readings, photographs, video, lectures, etc.

Phase 2 | Script Writing and Rehearsal In phase students write their script, plan out the staging of their short play (depending upon how time is allotted, this could be very simple or quite complex), and rehearse.

PA RT 2 | CURRICULUM GUIDE 23 Phase 3 | Presentation Groups of students take turns presenting their short plays. After each performance, the audience stops to discuss the performance and how it connects to the content of the class, and the other plays. e

Dramatization: Women’s Rights x amp Essential Questions

How were women oppressed in the past? l

Have we achieved gender equality? e

In the class before the dramatization, students up into groups and each group chose one form of read the 1848 Declaration of Sentiments from oppression to dramatize. Students were given the Seneca Falls. This document—a sort of Declaration freedom to dramatize the oppression that took place of Independence for the American women’s in the 1800s and/or portray what goes on today. The rights movement—laid out all the ways that men students rehearsed for about 20 minutes, and then oppressed women and denied them equal rights. each group took turns presenting their short play The Declaration lists over 20 different grievances. (two to five minutes) to the class. After each play As students read, they took notes on whether or the class discussed which grievances were being not each act of oppression still goes on today, shown and whether or not this kind of oppression and if so, how. The following day students broke still occurred today.

Section 1C | Expeditionary Learning Lessons

The goal of expeditionary learning is to make the entire world your classroom. Lessons could take place at a museum or historic site, in a park, in front of a monument, on the beach, in a subway train, or at any street corner. Depending upon the topic, nearly all of the above teaching methods could be used in expeditionary learning. In most cases, the lesson will be very similar to a classroom-based lesson. The one key difference is that students must have significant interaction with something in their environment.

5. lEARNING Through Play This model uses simulation games to engage students and teach ideas and content. It is ideal that the game should simulate reality as closely as possible so that students really get a sense of what a historical or real-life experience was like, and that real emotional responses are engendered that closely resemble people’s real-life reactions. In addition, it is essential that the game be fun. While competition is often useful, it is not always essential that these games have clear winners and losers. A Learning Through Play class usually has four phases as follows.

Phase 1 | Introduction The Teachers introduces the topic with a short presentation giving an overview of the topic, it’s context, and the essential question for the class.

24 PEERS EDUCATING PEERS HANDBOOK | 2014 e

Battle of Bunker Hill Simulation x amp Phase 2 | Directions Essential Questions

The teacher explains and/or hands What does it take to win a battle?

out the directions for the game. l

Why is the high ground important in a battle? e

Phase 3 | Play How/why did the British “win” the Battle of Bunker Hill? Students engage in the simulation game. The For this lesson students traveled to the site of the teacher helps students play their roles, makes Battle of Bunker Hill in the Charlestown neighborhood sure the rules are followed, and time permit- of Boston. The site has a huge monument and a ting, discusses students reactions as the park right on the grounds where much of the battle game goes on. took place. To start of the lesson students sat on the grass and the teacher presented an overview of Phase 4 | Reflection the battle and set the scene for the simulation. He After the game is complete, students discuss then explained the rules of the game. The class was the game and what it taught them about the divided into two teams, one representing the British topic and essential question. and the others the Americans. The Americans stood in a line at the top of the hill, and true to real life, the British formed up at the bottom. Each student 6. Object Observation Protocol was then given a number of plastic balls to simulate musket balls that they could “fire” at their enemies. A simple way to try out expeditionary learning The rule was that students had to play dead when is to use the Objective Observation Protocol, they were hit with a ball. At the teacher’s signal, the a method of observational note taking and British then advanced up the hill and the firing battle discussion first developed by Sonnet Taka- began. hisa at the Brooklyn Museum and deepened at the New York City Museum School. This is The class did two simulations. In the first simulation a simple but in depth form of observational both sides had equal amounts of ammunition and the Americans easily defeated the British. In the second note taking that serves as a basis for Socratic simulation, true to real life events, the British had Seminar and other discussion formats. The twice as many bullets as the Americans, and even Object Observation is designed to: though they lost many men, they managed to take • Promote extended, in depth the hill. observational note taking and drawing After the two simulations the teacher led the • Encourage the use of students through a discussion where they reflected descriptive language on their experiences and answered the essential • Help students understand the questions. The students talked about who had the difference between factual advantage in each simulation, their theories on why observation and subjective analysis the British won, and the importance of holding the • Promote the development of high ground in a battle. The “battle” was a lot of evidence-based analytical skills fun for all involved, and amidst all the shouting and laughter, the students grasped the main points the teacher was trying to make. Object Observation Exercise Below is presented one way of using Object Observations. It is not necessary to go through all of these steps every time you use Object Observation; let time and situation dictate.

Phase 1: Selecting an Object | The first time you try out Object Observation with a class, everyone should observe the same object together. After that students should be encouraged to select their own objects from a collection or museum that is relevant to your curriculum.

PA RT 2 | CURRICULUM GUIDE 25 Phase 2: Observational Note Taking | Without introducing the object or reading the object’s label, allow students 10 minutes to record objective and subjective observations, as well as questions on the attached worksheet. Remind them (over and over again until they get it!) that objective observations are purely descriptive, without any interpreta- tion or opinion, and subjective observations include feelings, reactions, and interpretations. The first time you do this with students it is important to model the process and try it out together before they attempt it on their own. Phase 3: Observational Drawing | After about ten minutes, students should stop writing and begin a drawing. The act of drawing forces the students to observe more closely. Phase 4 More Observational Note Taking | It is especially effective to ask students to take notes, stop and draw, and then continue taking notes. They will almost always see more details and draw more inferences that they didn’t see the first time. If in a museum, students can now also take the time to read the label and add more notes in questions in response. Phase 5 Sharing Observations | Individuals present their objective and subjective observations and their questions to others in the group, and students discuss and debate their interpretations. Once students have been allowed to discuss the object for a while, the teacher should choose an appropriate time to introduce relevant outside information to deepen the conversation and make connections to the curriculum. e

Portraits of Wealth and Power x amp Essential Questions

How are power and wealth shown in society? l

What are the similarities and differences in how power and e wealth are shown in different countries and cultures?

Sub-question 2: How are wealth and power shown today? How are these displays different from the past?

The class met at the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha. Students started out by examining 17th and 18th century portraits of Iranian royalty and nobility in the museum’s collection. They looked at five paintings, then chose two to take notes on using the Object Observation worksheet (see page 27).

The class then observed color copies of portraits of the wealthy and powerful from 18th century China, England, India and the United States. After taking detailed notes two of these paintings, the students came together to share the similarities and differences they observed between cultures. The class ended with a discussion of how people show off wealth and power in today’s society.

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STUDENT HANDOUT 7. Expeditionary Learning and The Scavenger Hunts In most schools, a scavenger hunt is used on school field trips as a way to kill time and provide a fun distraction to keep kids minimally focused, and prevent them from getting into trouble. It does not have to be this way. When carefully prepared and integrated into a rigorous curriculum, a scavenger hunt can be both challenging and fun, and set the stage for in depth analysis and discussion. In a classic scavenger hunt, students are broken up into groups and handed a list of things that they must find and/or tasks to complete. Students need to document their work through drawing, photography, and/ or note-taking, and an extra element of fun is often added by rewarding the group that finds the most of something, or get’s the most right. After the scavenger hunt it is critical to schedule time for students to discuss what they found, and integrate their new-found evidence and inferences into the curriculum. e

Architecture Scavenger Hunt x amp Essential Questions

What’s your favorite style of architecture? l

How has our city’s architecture changed? e

Does our city have a dominant style? Does the dominant style reflect our culture?

Before going out on an architectural styles of students was given a packet with photographs scavenger hunt, students at the Boston Arts and drawings of each style. Students then traveled Academy were presented with a short PowerPoint around Boston—with some geographic hints from lecture showing examples of several different their teacher—looking for examples of each style. periods of Boston architecture from the 1600’s to Their goal was to photograph and identify as many the present. Students did further research online different examples of each style as possible. After to find more examples of each style, and then went the hunt, students gathered back together to share on the scavenger hunt on the next day’s class. The what they had found—and to tally up who found goal of the scavenger hunt was to test students what to see who would win the prize—and discussed abilities to identify architectural styles in Boston, their impressions of Boston’s architecture, what and also to begin developing their own criteria for they liked and didn’t like, and which styles seemed judging architecture. Before the hunt, each group most dominant.

28 PEERS EDUCATING PEERS HANDBOOK | 2014 Section 2 | Peer Education Project Curriculum Outline

The teaching project outlined below was preceded by a few weeks of classes where student-centered teaching methods described in the previous section were demonstrated by the teacher. As a result, students had a number of experiences to reflect on when designing their own student-centered lessons. Ten 85-minute classes were used for project development. These are described in Phases One through Three below. Phase Four involves several additional classes in which students teach their lessons. Student-teaching time will vary depending upon class size, and the locations of students’ lessons. There are four phases to this teaching project:

Phase 1 | Introduction Students are introduced to the project, examine past work and learn how to craft good essential questions.

Phase 2 | Research In lessons 1-3, students choose topics, write essential questions and begin their research.

Phase 3 | Student-Centered Teaching Methods Demonstrations (Optional) If the teacher has not done so already in the course of their curriculum, this is the time demonstrate student-centered teaching methods.

Phase 4 | Lesson Planning In lessons 7-10, students plan and revise their lessons and assemble the materials they will need to teach.

Phase 5 | Peer Education Students teach their lessons. The following materials are included in this curriculum guide:

1. Teaching Project Description Student Handout 2. Assignment List 3. Overview of Lessons 4. Project Rubrics - a blank rubric is included so that students can develop their own criteria for excellence. 5. Essential Question Practice Lesson Materials 6. Assignments #1 and #2 student handouts 7. Blank Lesson Planning Template 8. Sample Exemplary Lesson Plans from

Please note that with the exception of the Overview of Lessons, all materials are formatted to be student handouts.

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ou ou 3. indoor or will be taught between ______either All lessons of the most successful les- Teachers permitting. and circumstances weather outdoor, other visiting students from will be invited to teach their lessons a second time to sons schools and nations. 2. Y historic sites, museum, galleries, shops, itself to teach—its streets, uses the city one that and canbetaughtinaclassroom, lesson:onethat your version of will designtwo must be: lesson approval receive To subways, etc. 1.ic Y ownessentialquestion. your answering write anessay will main components: consists of three The project Peers Peers your to related choice your of about a subject teach a lesson will you this project For to will be lesson your of The goal or culture. events, society, current city’s history, engages all learners. that way and thought provoking in an exciting city teach about our we world home and the about both their help student think critically The lesson should live in. based, and classroom (expeditionary two lessons work in pairs to create will Students each lesson must: exceptions, With a few school and location). depending upon

STUDENT HANDOUT 3. 2. The essay must be typed and double-spaced, with one-inch margins and The essaywith one-inch mustbetypedanddouble-spaced, |DUE______individuals andsixforgroups. The suggestedformat is: Write anessay answering your essentialquestion. The essay will befiveparagraphs for #4 E ind aminimumofsixsources on your topic,including: IC 1. #3 T tions. Pleaseremember, Finalize your lessontopicandessentialquestion,narrow down your teachingloca- #2 question andpossibleteachinglocations. Submit alistofat leastthree possibleteachingtopics.For eachalsoincludeanessential #1 Peer

Lesson Lesson artwork, maps, videos, etc.)related to your topic F annotation, orby taking aminimumofthree full pagesofnotes. Be r d. c. a. F • • • • • • • • op ind andcopy (oruploadto your GoogleDriveandshare) at leastthree images(photos, ssa

E T T T Conclusion 3-4 paragraphs Introduction Timeless, relevant tomultipleplacesandtimes,includingthepresent Provocative Debatable, with noone rightanswers O Clear anddirect eady toshow your notesonthesesources, eitherby printing/copyingthemandshowing wo trustworthy internetsources (seemeif you’re notsure what countsastrustworthy!) wo database (includingnewspapersandperiodicals)sources wo printsources ducation Project Assignment pen-ended, notleading y R I esearc T dea op ic

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ing h What went well in the lesson? went What could teach it again? you if do differently you would What this process? about the art of teaching from learn you did What a lesson? designing and teaching from about history learn you did What eac ndoor ndoor • • • • se the lesson plan template to write lesson plans for both the in school and out of school and out of school the in school plans for both write lesson to plan template se the lesson Please write a minimum of four paragraphs reflecting on your teaching experience. teaching your on reflecting write a minimum of four paragraphs Please the following questions: Address lesson along with your lesson plan. your with lesson along #6 I T #7 #5 I U ma rubric. Submit all lessons and Please see sample versions.

STUDENT HANDOUT Teaching Project: Overview of Lessons

1.o Pr ject Introduction (1 Hour) MATERIALS: project assignment, examples of student and professional documentaries, blank rubric GOAL: Get students thinking about the qualities of a good lesson, and begin to establish a criteria for judging teaching.

• DO NOW: What makes a good lesson? Students brainstorm a list of kinds of lessons they have experienced in their educational life. They then discuss what kinds of lessons they like and don’t like. They also discuss ways that they have learned outside of school. Often this is where the deepest learning takes place! • Hand out and review project description and assignment list • C2C: Students watch two videos of lessons taught by other students (this may be done individually or in pairs on C2C, or all together as a class). Students then post comment using the following prompts: • What did you like about lesson? • What didn’t work? What do you have questions about? How could it be improved? • After reading each other’s responses and/or discussing their observations as a class or in small groups, students work in groups to create rubric for assessing a lesson. • Three or four groups of students should then share their rubrics with the whole class.

2.h W at makes a good question? (90 Minutes) GOALS: Teach students to ask good questions, and choose an essential question to guide their lesson.

MATERIALS: Essential Question Lesson materials (see page 39)

• Essential Question Practice • DO NOW: What makes a good question? Write down criteria • An EQ is the question that drives your research. You need an essential question for your lesson • Review criteria for essential questions: • Clear and direct • Open-ended, not leading • Debatable, with no one right answers • Provocative • Timeless, relevant to multiple places and times, including the present. • Practice assessing a couple of questions all together before students count off into groups of three. Each group will: • Sort out the stack of questions into excellent, okay, limited, and useless/misleading • For each question write down a few notes explaining why you put that question in that cat- egory

PA RT 2 | CURRICULUM GUIDE 33 • Whenever possible edit a question to improve it. • Each group then looks over other groups’ choices, and prepares for the following: • Choose one or two questions to discuss that another group classified differently • Choose one or two questions to discuss that another group classified in the same way • Choose one or two questions that you edited and be ready to present your new and improved versions. • Whole class discussion of essential questions • Lesson planning groups now write essential questions for the lesson they will teach.

3. Preliminary Research of Topics (45-90 Minutes plus homework) GOALS: Students finalize their topic and begin research. MATERIALS: Project Description and Assignment List, essay assignment, List of past and suggested topics, Assignment #1 topic brainstorming sheet.

• Review teaching requirements and Assignment #1 • Students begin researching possible teaching topics assisted by teacher. The teacher may share lists of previously taught and/or suggested topics, but students should be encouraged to create their won topics. To receive approval lesson must be: • Researchable • Provocative, interesting, and relevant to students’ lives and/or present day society • Teachable outside of the classroom using Expeditionary or Museum Learning methods (depending upon the weather and scheduling, the teacher may decide to just have students teach in school). • Students do preliminary online research to identify topics. • Students hand in Assignment #1, a list of three possible topics with essential questions and teaching locations.

HOMEWORK: C2C: Students post their lesson ideas, essential questions, and teaching locations on C2C, and give feedback to other students on their ideas.

DUE: Assignment #1

4. In Depth Topic Research (2-3 classes plus homework) GOALS: Students will develop a deeper understanding of the topic they are teaching, and find resources they can use to teach their lesson.

• Students narrow down and deepen their topic research, using online and library resources. • Student begin writing their topic research essays

DUE: Assignments #2, #3, #4

5. Teaching Methods Review (45-60 Minutes plus homework) GOALS: Familiarize students with the Student-Centered teaching methods they should use to teach their lesson 34 PEERS EDUCATING PEERS HANDBOOK | 2014 MATERIALS: Copies of the Student-Centered Teaching Methods section of this handbook

• Hand out and review various lesson formats (see p. 15-30), read over and watch more videos of sample lessons and assess using PEP Teaching Rubric • Students begin planning their lessons • Homework: Scouting a teaching location. Over a weekend students should scout out and photograph possible teaching locations. They should then create a discussion on C2C, post their photos and explain how they would use that location to teach. Students should also comment on each other’s posts with praise and constructive criticism.

MATERIALS: Videos of student and/or teacher-taught lessons, sample lesson plans, blank lesson plan templates, copies of Model Lessons from PEP Handbook

6. StUDENT-Centered, Expeditionary and Museum Learning Demonstration Lesson(s) If this has not already been done before the project began (which is highly recom- mend!, it may be necessary at this time to take a break from the project to lead the class through some demonstration lessons in which student-centered, expeditionary, and museum learning lesson(s) are modeled and discussed. Make sure to leave time at the end of each lesson for students to debrief the lesson and think about how they could use each method to teach their topic.

7. LesSON Planning (2-4 lessons) GOALS: Students will write their lesson plans with a lot of coaching from their PEP teacher. MATERIALS: sample lesson plans, blank lesson plan templates, copies of Model Lessons from PEP Hand- book

• Students write their lesson plans. They submit their plans to the teacher for feedback, and exchange them with their classmates to do peer review. • Assemble their teaching materials, including readings, images, videos, worksheets, etc. • Finalize their teaching location: During this time all students will need to go to their teaching location to make sure it works for their lesson. They need to determine whether the location is appropriate for teaching and consider such questions as: • Is the location easily accessible? • Is there enough room to teach? • Is there a place to sit down? • Can we hear each other? • Does the location add to or distract from the goals of the lesson?

DUE: Assignments #5 and #6: First and second drafts of indoor and outdoor lesson plans and teaching materials

PA RT 2 | CURRICULUM GUIDE 35 8. StUDENT Teaching The time has now come for the students to teach their lessons. Class time will vary depending upon the number of students and the length and location of each lesson. Depending upon lesson locations and potential audience, the teacher may want to use regularly scheduled classes or schedule special days for students to teach outside of class time. After each lesson the class will use the teaching rubric to assess the lesson. The class will then discuss how the lesson went, and share their constructive feedback with the student teacher(s).

DUE: Assignment #7 will be due the day after each group of students teach.

36 PEERS EDUCATING PEERS HANDBOOK | 2014

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STUDENT HANDOUT an Pl id-19th Century (1850s-1880s) id-19th Century M Lesson

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STUDENT HANDOUT

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STUDENT HANDOUT Y

DOCUMENTAR ILM S F JECT PRO

Section 1: Curriculum Overview

The PEP documentary film curriculum seeks to connects cultures and build a global community by asking youth to create, share and collaborate on documentary film projects. The ubiquity of cell phone cameras, and the simplicity of the current generation of film editing applications make it possible to integrate filmmaking into almost any subject area or curriculum. Film is also one of the most direct and engaging ways for students to connect with and teach each other. They can create documentaries and share them with their peers online, or they can go a step further and collaborate with their peers around the world to create films on international issues that touch all their lives.

Documentary Film in the Curriculum There are many ways to integrate documentary films into a curriculum. A student- made film can be an exciting an authentic replacement for a traditional essay, PowerPoint, or oral presentation. Students can record their own live shots, voiceovers, interviews and still photographs, mix in online resources, and create documentaries on literally any subject. Please see Figure #3 for a sample list of film topics that students in the humanities, math, and science have completed at the schools in the PEP network in Boston, Washington DC, and Qatar. Though more time consuming than essay writing or throwing together a PowerPoint, film projects tend to be a lot more exciting and authentic for students. Film is a significant part of everyone’s daily lives, and when students create a film, they are much more likely to feel that they are engaged in a real-world project that has value outside the classroom.

PA RT 3 | DOCUMENTARY FILM PROJECTS 55 One of the strengths of student-made documentary films can also be a drawback—the incredible flexibility of film empowers students to take risks and be creative, but it can also leave them lost in a seemingly limitless world of possibilities. To avoid this, it is often helpful for teachers to pick a specific genre of documentary films, limit student to a certain resources, and set clear parameters of what is and is not required. The genre of oral history films—documentaries based on interviews with an elder—is a great place to start for students and teachers new to filmmaking.

Oral History Films Learning from older generations through oral history is a powerful way of reconnect- ing young people with their heritage and community, and helps students gain a deeper perspective on the dramatic changes that have occurred in our way of life over the last century. The skill set associated with the collection and sharing of oral history—un- dertaking historical research, crafting interview question, conducting live interviews, and then either writing an article, producing a film or radio piece, or designing a lesson reflecting on what they learned—are also invaluable skills for success in college and the 21st century economy. Oral history-based films can also fit into almost any curriculum. Teachers can ask students to interview elders within their family and community to find out about specific historical events or to gain context on how their city, country, or natural environment has changed over time. Teachers can also give students a chance to explore the real world application of their subject areas by setting up interviews with professionals who use relevant skills and information in their work.

International Collaborative Oral History Project Once you are comfortable including filmmaking in your curriculum, you might want to consider a collaborative film project where students work together with their peers in other cities or nations to create original documentary films. While this kind of international online collaborative work is more challenging to orchestrate, it is also richer. You can build empathy and a sense of community by talking, but there is no substitute for actually working together with people from different cultures and backgrounds.

56 PEERS EDUCATING PEERS HANDBOOK | 2014 Figure 3 | selected examples of films created by students from boston, washington, d.c., and qatar, 2011-2013

humanities based films Filming Location(s) and/or Topic Essential Question(s) Materials

Changing Cities How has my city changed over the last 50 years? Interviews with the elderly in various cities

Do our city’s war monuments accurately portray Interviews in front of war monuments in War Monuments war? How should wars be commemorated? various cities

What are the qualities of a good mass-transit On mass-transit systems in Boston Mass-Transit system? How does my city’s mass-transit and Washington DC system compare to others’?

What are your favorite and least favorite styles of Architecture architecture? Does our city’s architecture reflect our Downtown areas of Boston and Doha national culture?

What were the goals of the Occupy Wall Street Interviews conducted at Occupy Movement Occupy Wall Street movement? How successful was it? sites in Boston and Washington

How does segregation hurt people? Interviews conducted with adults who School Segregation & How was segregation ended? experienced segregated schools in their Desegregation How has desegregation changed childhood. our city and its schools?

Various sites around Boston and What is Hip Hop? How does Hip Hop culture vary Hip Hop Culture Washington DC where Hip Hop culture can from city to city? be seen and heard

What, if anything, does the world owe Syria? Does Interviews at various locations around The Syrian Revolution the world know what’s going on in Syria? Doha, Boston, and Washington DC

How are TV commercials used to influence Students made their own political Politics individuals’ political views? campaign commercials on various issues

How diverse is my city? Interviews conducted on the streets of Demographics How segregated/integrated is my city? Boston and Washington DC

Students created films in Arabic Arabic How would you convince tourists to visit your city? showcasing the tourist attractions (Second Language) of their town

PA RT 3 | DOCUMENTARY FILM PROJECTS 57 steam (science, technology, engineering, arts & Math) Based films Thanks to Jean Binjour, Stephen Garschina-Bobrow, Mostafa Elbestawry, Ramiro Gonzalez, Amanda Hanna, Tess Mandell, and Valerie Pastorelle for volunteering these examples from their curricula. Topic Essential Question(s) Teaching Location(s)

Hazardous How should hazardous household At schools and at students’ homes in Doha Household Waste waste be disposed of?

The Three R’s of What can individuals do to recycling: Reduce, Various sites around Doha lower their carbon footprint? Reuse, and Recycle

Reducing energy How can we reduce energy On urban mass-transit and freight train consumption in consumption in transportation? systems transportation

Where do polynomial functions occur in occur Polynomial Functions On the streets and in shops around Boston in our natural and manufactured environment?

Teams of students created short SAM What do we need to know to be Financial Literacy animated films teaching various aspects of financially literate in the 21st century? financial literacy

Interviews with student and professional Art and Math What are the connections between art and math? artists, and shots of visual and performing arts

Teams of students created short SAM How can I use animation to teach Geometry animated films teaching various aspects of geometry to my peers? geometry

Geometry What are the real-world applications of geometry? At sites around Boston

58 PEERS EDUCATING PEERS HANDBOOK | 2014 The Six Phases of a Documentary, Oral History, or Collaborative Oral History Film Project The following outline provides guidance for a generic documentary film project on any subject, as well as specific instructions for both a regular and a collaborative oral history project. These examples span three to four weeks, or about 15-20 hours of class time, depending upon how much work can be done outside of school. Once students are experienced with filmmaking, they could complete this kind of project in much less time. As always, feel free to pick out pieces of this curriculum, to revise, cut, or expand the project requirements to fit the needs of your students.

Phase 1 | Photo-Video Practice and Reflection (3-4 classes) Students practice photography and film making, examine examples of professional and student work, and begin to develop criteria for excellence in these media. They also create short practice films to learn how to use video editing applications such as iMovie, Moviemaker, or Wevideo. OHP (Oral History Project): Oral history project students would also use this time to conduct practice interviews with classmates and teachers so that they become comfortable writing and asking questions, and learn the most effective way to capture an interview on film.

Phase 2 | Collaboration and Research (3-4 classes) Working in pairs or groups (these can be in-class partnerships, or international collaborations via email and videoconferencing) students choose topics and begin their research, gathering both information as well as still and moving images to use in their documentary. OHP: In this phase OHP students choose a subject to interview from their family or community, conduct preliminary research on subject’s life and times or line of work, and write interview questions.

Phase 3 | Film Planning (2-3 classes) Students plan their film, writing a film treatment (an overview of their documentary goals) and an outline of their shots and script. OHP: Because the film will likely only include one extended interview, this phase is not required in an oral history film project.

Phase 4 | Filming Expeditions (2-3 classes) Students shoot live photo and video footage, and collect still and moving images online. OHP: OHP students film at least two interviews with their subject. After the first interview is completed, students watch the footage to see where there are gaps in the story, and places where they need to go deeper. They then write a second round of follow up questions to use in their second interview.

PA RT 3 | DOCUMENTARY FILM PROJECTS 59 Phase 5 | Film Production (3-4 classes) Students upload their materials and edit their films. OHP: OHP students may choose to seek out “cutaway images” to show during the interview to illustrate what their interviewee is talking about. Students involved in an international collaboration or sharing may also need to add subtitles in a common language.

Phase 6 | Presentation and Revision (3-4 classes) Students present and revise the first and second drafts of their films. OHP: In this phase, students engaged in a collaborative oral history project would post their interviews online. They would then form filmmaking groups mixing students from different cities and countries. Each group would examine the interview footage posted online, and identify a theme and essential question for their documentary. They then work together to create a film that uses footage from a variety of oral histories to explore their chosen theme. The final products would again be shared and discussed online.

The following materials are included in this curriculum guide:

• Project assignment description and list of assignments for the PEP Documentary Film Project • Overview of lessons for the PEP Documentary Film Project • PEP Documentary Film Project Rubric • PEP Documentary Film Project assignments: • #1 Photography and Filmmaking Vocabulary • #2 Film Making Shot Tally • #3 iMovie Practice Assignment • #4 Topic and Essential Question Worksheet • #5 Treatment Requirements • #6 Script Outline and Shot list • #7 Filming Expedition Planning Sheet • #8 Interview Preparation • Project assignment description and list of assignments for a the PEP International Collaborative Oral History Film Project

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STUDENT HANDOUT PEP Documentary Film Project Overview of Lessons

1.o Pr ject Introduction: What makes a good documentary film? (1-2 lessons plus homework) GOALS

• Review the project goals and requirements • Develop criteria for excellence in documentary filmmaking • Introduce filmmaking techniques

MATERIALS

• Blank Film Rubric • PEP Collaborative Film Rubric • PEP Collaborative Film Making Project Description • C2C: Posts with student and professional documentaries • Photography and Film Making Vocabulary Handout • Shot Tally Sheet • Cameras which can shoot video and still photography

A. Creating Criteria for Excellence (30-40 Minutes)

i. DO NOW: What makes a good documentary film? What are the criteria for excellence? Write this prompt on board and let students write responses individually before working in groups of 3-4 ii. Students work in groups to create rubrics using the Blank Film Rubric. Each rubric should include 4 criteria, and the group should use the space provided to describe what excellence looks like in each criterion. iii. The groups can now share their criteria and compile a single class rubric. iv. Hand out and review PEP Film Rubric, is there anything missing we should add? Anything to cut? v. Hand out and review the PEP Collaborative Film Assignment

B. C2C: Critiquing Past Student Work (30 Minutes) Watch 2-4 student films on C2C and post responses in which students rate each film using the PEP Film Rubric.

C. C2C: Critiquing Professional Examples (30 Minutes) DO NOW: C2C Watch and post comments on brief clips of professional documentaries. At BAA we used clips from such works as Africans in America, Sicko, Ken Burns’ Civil War, and various news shows from the BBC, Al Jazeera, and

64 PEERS EDUCATING PEERS HANDBOOK | 2014 PBS. Students should respond to the following prompts:

1. Which style would be best for your documentary idea? 2. What might you take from each? What might you avoid?

D. Photography and Film Making Vocabulary (45-60 Minutes) The best way to learn the techniques of filmmaking is to try it out and look at professional examples. The lesson below is best done in pairs.

Hand out cameras and the Photography and Filmmaking Vocabulary List. Each pair should now shoot photographs and video footage demonstrating their mastery of each of the techniques listed in the vocabulary sheet. Ideally this assignment should be completed outdoors so students can search for interesting shots.

E. fURTher Study of Professional Examples (20 Minutes) Hand out the Shot Tally Sheet, and watch one minute each of two different documentaries. The class should watch each clip twice and fill out the worksheet.

i. During the first watching students should tally how many shots used in one minute. ii. In the second watching students should try to count the different kinds of shots that were used in one minute. Every student will get a slightly different count. This is okay, and will lead to students discussing the filming techniques. iii. During the above activities take a moment to ask students to compare a few different kinds of shots, and discuss the different feeling you get from each. 3. PraCTICE Film (2-3 Hours)

GOALS: Students learn basic iMovie film editing techniques MATERIALS: iMovie Practice Assignment, cameras Students will use the iMovie Assignment to create a one-minute practice film that demonstrates their mastery of various iMovie techniques. The whole class can either use the same footage—supplied by the teacher—or the students can gather their own footage individually or as a class. Students at the Boston Arts Academy, for instance, made practice films showing Boston’s architectural styles. They spent one class photographing and videoing Boston’s architecture and one more class putting together their practice films.

4. Film ideas Brainstorming and Collaboration (45 Minutes) GOALS: Students brainstorm ideas for documentaries

MATERIALS: List of past PEP Film Projects (see page 57)

a. Students look at a list of past film topics, and use the Film Ideas Brainstorming sheet to generate a list of film ideas. Every student should come up with 2-4 ideas.

PA RT 3 | DOCUMENTARY FILM PROJECTS 65 b. C2C Post: Students should then create a discussion on C2C where they post their film ideas. They should read each other’s ideas and give feedback asking clarifying questions, making suggestions, and giving praise. c. once students have gotten a chance to read each other’s ideas (from your class and others in the PEP network), they should hand in a list of students in their own class and at other schools they are interested in working with. In order to match students up, make sure students have selected at least first and second choices from both within their class, and at other schools.

5. Film Collaboration Videoconferences (45 Minutes) GOALS: Plan film collaborations MATERIALS: Topic & Essential Question Worksheet Teachers can use the PEP Collaborative Film Making Spreadsheet to group students and enter the email addresses and Skype usernames students need to communicate (this should be shared with all participating teachers and students on Google Drive. There should be no more than two students from each school, with no more than five students per group. Now students can meet via Skype or Google Video Chat to share ideas and begin planning their documentary. As a group they should complete the Topic and Essential Question Worksheet in which they lay out their essential question, topic, and take away. This document, and all following, should be completed using Google Drive, so that all group members can collaborate on every assignment. After the first videoconference, while some class time may be used for videoconferencing, students will need to communicate largely via email and arrange their own videoconferences outside of class time to discuss research, filming locations, and final film production.

6. Initial Film Research (2-3 classes and homework) GOALS: Research and finalize film topic and goals MATERIALS

• Topic & Essential Question Worksheet • Documentary Treatment Assignment

1. Groups should now begin researching their topic. Each group should create a Google Document where they share resources and notes. It is essential for all group members to use the same document so that they can collaborate efficiently and exchange feedback and suggestions on possible sources. Students need to keep in mind that their film research should have two goals. Just as if they were doing research for an essay, they need to find out information about their topic from a variety of sources and points of

66 PEERS EDUCATING PEERS HANDBOOK | 2014 view. At the same time students must conduct visual research; they need to collect still and moving images that they could use in their film. 2. Treatment Writing: Using Google Drive, and the PEP Documentary Film Treatment Assignment, each group should write their documentary treatment. The treatment should be 3-four paragraphs and include: • The essential question students will be exploring • An overview of their topic • A description of the kinds of shots and materials they will use • The “take away” message they hope their audience will get from the documentary

7. Film Preparation (2-3 classes plus homework) GOALS

• Create an outline for the documentary film • Plan out interviews and filming expeditions

MATERIALS

• Shot List and Script Outline • Samples of student work • Filming Expedition Planning Sheet • Interview Preparation Handout • Cameras

Shot list and Script Outline To prepare for this assignment students need to see examples of excellence. They also need to be made aware just how detailed a shot list needs to be if it is going to serve as a useful guide to film making. Try out the following to prepare your students:

1. Practice Shot List and Script Outline (20 Minutes) a. once again, watch two minutes of a documentary and keep a tally of shots. This will bring home to students just how many shots they need. b. Watch one minute of the same documentary two more times. As students watch, they should use a blank template to create a shot list and script overview for just one minute of this documentary. 2. Examining Past Exemplars (20 Minutes) Student should now examine a couple of examples of Shot lists and script outlines from past PEP programs. They should write comments on each outline, and then discuss how successful each outline is, and whether or not it gives a complete picture of the documentary. a. Creating a Shot List and Script Outline: Using Google Drive, each film group should now create a Shot Outline and Script Overview. Groups that include students in

PA RT 3 | DOCUMENTARY FILM PROJECTS 67 different locations may want to create one outline for their whole documentary, or they might choose to work separately and then put them together at a later date. b. Filming Expedition Planning: Students should now plan their filming expeditions. Where will they go to get the live shots and interviews they need? Students should fill out the Filming Expedition Planning Sheet and submit it for feedback. Keep in mind that some locations and interviewees may need to be arranged in advance, while others can be filmed without prior notice. c. Interview Preparation and Practice: Conducting an interview is a skill all to itself. Before students go out and interview family, friends, or members of the public, they need to prepare for their interviews by writing an interview script and interview questions. Students should also practice doing interviews with each other in class before the real thing. See the Interview Preparation Handout for details of this assignment. After students have practiced interviewing each other and discussed the dos and don’ts of interviewing as a class, each group should write it’s interview script, questions, and follow up questions.

7. fIlming Expeditions (2-3 Classes plus homework): GOALS: Gather photographs and video footage for documentary MATERIALS: Cameras, Locations and Interviews Worksheet Each group should now gather the footage they need to make their documentary. Before going out to film, students should fill out and share/hand in the Locations and Interviews Worksheet and submit it for feedback. Some locations and interviewees may need to be arranged in advance, while others can be filmed without prior notice.

8. fIlm PrODUCTION (3-4 Classes or homework): GOALS: Edit documentary film MATERIALS: Cameras iMovie or other video editing software Students will now upload their shots and begin editing their films. Even though group members at different schools may be working on separate pieces of their documentary (they will combine them at the end), group members will still need to communicate frequently during this time to coordinate their production so that, for instance, they’re using the same titles, making sure music goes well together, and generally sticking to their goals. Additional research and revision of their shot list may also need to be done during these classes. Students might have to change plans due to weather or access to locations or interviewees, and the information students find out in their interviews, or the subjects they film may change the direction the film takes. Additional filming may therefore be necessary. Combining Group Members’ Work: There are a few different ways group members in different schools can combine their work into one unified documentary. Students can use Google Drive or Drop Box to share work. Once students upload the sections they’ve completed, their partners can download the files and use iMovie or another film editing program to put the pieces together.

68 PEERS EDUCATING PEERS HANDBOOK | 2014 9. Presentation of Documentary Film First Drafts GOALS: Assess work so far and exchange constructive criticism MATERIALS: C2C, PEP Documentary Film Rubrics It’s now time for students to give and receive feedback on their films. This should be done both on C2C and live with classmates. Students should post their film projects on C2C with 2-3 questions on particular issues they would like feedback on. Their colleagues around the world can then respond with praise, questions, and constructive criticism. It is also ideal for students to use class time to watch and critique each other’s work. Students can take turns showing their films, and the audience can use the PEP Film Rubric to give feedback. Stu- dents can then use the rubrics and the advice they received on C2C to inform the creation of their second draft.

10. Final Film Production (1-3 classes or homework) While some students may only need to make a few small changes, others may need to put in a lot more work—doing more research, gathering more photographs and video footage, and refining their editing.

11. Final Film Presentation

GOALS: Celebration and reflection Students now post their final products on C2C, watch each other’s work and exchange a final round of feedback. The films can also be watched all together during class, or a special evening event can be staged to share students’ work with the community.

PA RT 3 | DOCUMENTARY FILM PROJECTS 69 Peers Educating Peers Documentary Film Rubric Criteria Developing (D-C) Competent (B) Exemplary (A) GRADE • Shot variety is lacking • A wide and interesting variety of shots, angles, positions Camera Use, • Rule of thirds is not consistently observed • Uses a variety of shots and movements are used to draw in the viewers Direction & • Inappropriate use of camera angles, positions and/or • Rule of Thirds is used for most interviews • Rule of thirds is used for all interviews Lighting movements • Subjects are well framed • Subjects are beautifully framed • Shaky camera • Camera is focused and not shaky 10% • Camera is focused and not shaky • Subjects cut off or poorly framed

• Lighting is too dark or too light, subjects are backlight or • Lighting is neither too bright nor too dark and all subjects • Lighting is carefully chosen to fit intended mood and Lighting too hard to see are clearly visible emphasize subjects. • There are distracting lights • Avoids backlighting subject • Avoids backlighting subject Shot Organization Shots are unorganized and do not show planning. It is hard to Shots are clearly organized to tell a story, making the theme of Shots are so well organized that you can’t imagine any other follow the story. the project clear. order. 10% • Sound is not clear • Sound is mostly clear, with little unnecessary background • Sound is very clear, with no unnecessary background noise. • Unplanned background noise noise Sound Track • Voices are always clear and easy to understand • Hard to hear or understand voices • Voices are mostly clear and easy to understand • Music and background sounds fit perfectly with the images 10% • Music and sounds do not match the images and words, and • Music and background sounds go well with the images and and words and set a powerful mood. distract from the message of the film. words and set the mood. Editing • Edits are rough and distract • All edits are smooth • Edits are mostly smooth • from the flow of the production • Edits demonstrate a strong command of editing tools and 10% • Edits demonstrate competent use of edit tools and • Edits do not demonstrate competent use of edit tools and techniques techniques iMovie/Moviemaker techniques • Edits are creative and enhance the production

• The work generic, unambitious, and just repeats what • The work is sometimes creative and original, and sometimes Creativity • The work is ambitious, creative, and original. others have done. a generic repeat of what others have done. & Risk Taking • The filmmakers took many risks, and tried out difficult • The filmmakers took no risks, and did not take on any • The filmmakers took some risks, and took on somewhat methods and subjects. 10% difficult methods or subjects. difficult subjects.

Film makes use of a variety of sources, including: Film makes use of wide a variety of sources, including:

Sources • Original video and photography • Original video and photography Film makes use of very few sources. The viewer feels as if the • Clips from at least three interviews • Clips from numerous and diverse interviews 10% film maker(s) are only showing one side of the story, and do • Primary source images • Numerous primary source images not have a complete grasp of the material they are examining. • Information from textual sources • Information from several textual sources • Presents a variety of perspectives that make the viewer feel • Presents a variety of perspectives that make the viewer feel as if they have a solid understanding of the story. as if they have a deep understanding of the story.

• Film shows multiple perspectives on a topic in history/ • Film shows multiple and diverse perspectives on a topic in • Story is vague and or not carried through to completion current events, and presents them in an even-handed non- history/current events, and presents them in an even- • Key pieces of the documentary such as the introduction or biased way. handed non-biased way. Story / conclusion are missing • The film has an angle/opinion, and or specific line of inquiry • The story has an interesting and creative angle/opinion, and Message • Information is unorganized, chaotic, or not clearly that goes beyond just re-telling a story. or specific line of inquiry. expressed 40% • The Story is mostly clear and coherent, and contains an • Story is totally clear and coherent and contains an • Only one perspective is presented. introduction, body, and conclusion introduction, body, and conclusion • The story achieves its intent • Story is creative, gripping, and achieves its intent COMMENTS TOTAL GRADE

STUDENT HANDOUT Documentary Film Cr it er ia M aking Blank R ubric E x c ellen c e

STUDENT HANDOUT ist L

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STUDENT HANDOUT 19. 18. 17. 16. 15. An actionshotcreates afeelingortellsstory by showingmotionandaction. 14. 13. 20.

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description of the kinds of shots and materials you will use: you materials description of the kinds of shots and clear how this will unfold in your film, and what will be in the beginning middle, and end. will be in the beginning what film, and your unfold in will this clear how 1. 2. 3. An overview A An essential question tha An essential question open-ended, debatable question, which is relevant to history and current issues. issues. and current to history which is relevant question, open-ended, debatable work. you this as to revise free Feel Wha What to ponder? want them you questions do what and them to reach want you have chosen? you in the theme Boston’s future for predictions your are

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STUDENT HANDOUT 2. you filmusea tripod,andsetup your camera with thefollowinginmind: 15. 14. with anothergroup, andcompleteaseriesofpractice interviews. 1. Assignment 8|Interview Preparation Worksheet PEP D

• • • M • • • When • Complete thefollowingbefor everyone in your group getsachancetofilm,askquestions,andbeinterviewed. Pair up • ake sure you havegoodsoundquality. Here are sometips: ocumentar Place the video camera nomore thanafootor two(halfameter)away from thesubject Avoid background noise M M Be thoughtfulaboutthebackground of Thirds (see vocabularyFrame thesubjectusingRulesheet) and your project toastranger who knowsnothingof your work. For instance: Write aninterview script. Think abouthow you would introduce yourself background, soavoidfilminginfront of windows—otherwise you’ll beinterviewingashadow! Try toavoid yes/no answers. Write at leastfiveinterview questionsandfollow upquestionsforeach. for astudentproject on______?” “Hi I’m astudentat______.Could Iaskyou somequestions ake sure you canclearly heartheinterviewee ake sure there isnobacklighting—The subjectshouldgenerally bebrighterthantheir y

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STUDENT HANDOUT LINE PEP ONATIC OCR R S INA SEM ICULUM CURR

One of PEP’s main goals is to connect cultures, breakdown stereotypes and build global 4citizenship. Our peer education and film making curricula use collaboration on authentic projects as a means of cultural bridge building. Another simpler and more direct means of connecting cultures is the online Socratic Seminar. These can be easily integrated into a pre- existing curriculum or added on as a way to diversify perspectives and help students truly understand the human element behind the headlines. While much of this can be achieved through posting in online discussions, there is no substitute for the face-to-face connections that live videoconferencing enables. The combination of learning and laughter that results can have a profound effect. The week-long curriculum outlined below describes a online Socratic Seminar project that involved students from the Boston Arts Academy, the Musab Bin Omair Secondary Independent School for Boys, the Al Wakra Secondary Independent School for Boys, and the Ahmed Bin Mohammed Al Thani Secondary Independent School for Boys in Qatar. Students participated in two Google Hangout videoconferences—the first as an icebreaker and the second for the online Socratic Seminar. 1. ParTNER Country Background (90 minutes plus homework) Before talking to people from another country it is important to provide students with some background information so that they can develop interesting and relevant questions that go beyond small talk. This is also a great time to confront stereotypes that students may have about the people they are talking to. For example when my American class talk to students from the Middle East, they are always pleasantly surprised to learn that Arab teenagers have many of the same pass-times and obsessions that they do, that they’re not Al Qaeda supporters, and that they too know how to laugh and have fun. Confronting these stereotypes ahead of time allows students to ask more thoughtful and sensitive questions when they meet. Confronting Stereotypes | For a Do Now to start class, students should fill out a concept defini- tion map with the name of the country or city in the middle of the page. They should write down everything they know (or think they know) and every reaction they have to that country. It may be necessary to push students further by asking them to write down stereotypes other people often have about that country, region, or religion. Generating Discussion Questions | After debriefing the Do Now, remind students that the goal of the class is to come up with interesting questions to ask students at the icebreaking videoconference. PEP ONLINE Country Teach-in | The bulk of the class consists of a teach-in about the country’s history and current events. Any combination of teaching methods that efficiently convey information will suffice. For example, my preparation for a videoconference with Qataris SOCRATIC included a short clip from comedian Maz Jobrani’s 2012 TED talk in Doha, a lecture on recent Middle Eastern and Qatari history, and a short documentary on Qatar’s rise to power and influence in the Middle East. We stopped along the way for students to write SEMINAR down questions that the lecture and videos inspired, and for homework the students read and annotated an article on the Arab Spring. CURRICULUM Sharing Discussion Questions Online (Optional) | You may or may not want to share discussion questions with the other class before the icebreaking videoconference. This can be done online using platforms such as C2C, Edmodo, or Blackboard. This could create deeper, more specific discussions, but it may also disrupt the spontaneity that is key to a lively icebreaking discussion.

2. Icebreaking Videoconference (1 hour) When students from different countries meet, it is impossible to dive right into a Socratic Seminar without first providing time for students to get to know each other and ask simple questions about their lives, school, free time, and personal interests. This phase is unavoidable—students wont be able to help themselves—but it is also a necessary trust building measure that will allow students to comfortably tackle How to Deal with Time Differences more controversial issues later on in the Socratic The wonders of the internet age may be able Seminar. Using Google Hangout, we broke up the to nullify distance and bridge cultural chasms, classes into groups of four to six, with more or less but no one has yet created a videoconferencing equal numbers of students from each country. platform that incorporates time travel. Indeed, time differences between continents is still In order to have an authentic experience where the one of the biggest road blocks to international students feel like they’re engaged in a real conversa- videoconferencing. One of the nice things about tion, not just listening to a presentation, it is essential 21st century videoconferencing, however, is that to keep the videoconference groups small. The great students don’t need to be in the classroom to join think about Google Hangout is that you can set up in. Many of our best discussions have taken place as many separate videoconferences as you want. For with the American students in their classroom instance, when we did a Google Hangout with 25 and the Qatari students—eight hours ahead of students—15 American and 10 Qatari—there were six Boston—joining in from their individual home conferences going on simultaneously. Each student computers. Teachers can still monitor the situation sat at their own computer and used headphones. It is by switching in and out of Google Hangouts, and ideal for students to use a set with a built in micro- there’s a lot less background noise to compete with phone, but regular headphones work just fine. At the when students join in from home. start students exchanged names and made small talk.

PA RT 4 | PEP ONLINE SOCRATIC SEMINAR CURRICULUM 87 Within 15 minutes, however, they were moving into the discussion questions that had written in the previous class. The students were deeply engaged, and after nearly an hour, I almost had to drag the students away from their computers. Debrief | After each videoconference take time to debrief. Students should share the most interesting things they learned and some of the questions the conference provoked. 3. Socratic Seminar Preparation (1 hour plus homework) In this lesson a Socratic Seminar topic is chosen or assigned, and the class completes preparatory research. Choosing a Topic | The topic can be chosen by teachers or by students, depending on time and curricular constraints. The topic will work as long as it is relevant to most participants, and controversial enough that it can provoke in-depth discussion and friendly disagreement. Preparation | The topic will dictate how much additional research needs to be done before students discuss. If, for instance, the subject is an extension of your curriculum that students have already studied, little or no research may be necessary beyond examining the shared text for the Socratic Seminar. If it is a new topic, however, a day or two may need to be reserved for background research. Choosing a Shared Text | Once a topic has been chosen, a shared text must be assigned for all participants. Keep in mind that the “shared text” need not be a reading. Great Socratic Seminars can be held in response to films, visual art, statistical charts, or maps. The one requirement is that the sources are shared by all so that everyone has the same information and can therefore join in the discussion and understand what participants are talking about. Reading the Shared Text | Students carefully read/watch/examine and take notes on the shared text. They should write down their reactions and analysis, and generate questions that they would like to ask at the Socratic Seminar. The teacher may want to assign specific discussion questions before the students read the shared text, but there is a danger that this could limit student analysis and discourage them from coming up with their own questions. Online Commenting | As a final preparation step it is ideal to have students exchange feedback on the shared text online before engaging in live discussion. This gives everyone a chance to get their thoughts together before the discussion and provides the opportunity for students to respond to each other more specifically in the Socratic Seminar. Time permitting, ask students to both post a comment and respond to someone else’s comment before the Socratic Seminar.

88 PEERS EDUCATING PEERS HANDBOOK | 2014 4. Online Socratic Seminar (1 Hour plus homework) Roles | Students should once again break up into groups of 4-6 to participate in the discussion of the shared text. While the goals of an online Socratic Seminar are the same as an in-class one, the roles are different (see page 17 for the roles in a traditional Socratic Seminar). No discussion leaders are necessary with such small groups, but it is helpful to assign one or two observers to each group who listen and take notes on the conversation without participating. Once the discussion is over the observer(s) can share their views on how the discussion went, the major themes they heard, or ask larger questions that the discussion left out. Reflection | After the Socratic Seminar the class should reconvene to debrief how the discussion went and what they learned. They should also keep the conversation going by posting responses and further questions for their peers online.

PA RT 4 | PEP ONLINE SOCRATIC SEMINAR CURRICULUM 89 Peers Educating Peers Standards Matrixes

This appendix suggests ways that the methods and projects of the Peers Educating Peers program align with selected standards from the, the American Common Core, Qatar’s Supreme Education Council, and the International Baccalaureate diploma program (IB). It includes examples from grade 11-12 English language arts, second language instruction, history, anthropology, scientific inquiry, environmental science, and IB’s Core Knowledge curriculum. Please keep in mind, however, that this is just a sample of the numerous standards and curricula that PEP can align with. As PEP is a series of teaching methods and project types, it can be tailored to almost any subject, curriculum, or grade level.

Peers Educating Peers Projects and Activities C2C Online Video Peer Documentary Oral History Platform Conferences Education Film Making Film Project Project Reading Online Socratic Research, Conducting Common Core and posting Seminars, project writing, lesson Research, interviews, English Language Arts comments in collaboration planning, writing, filming and Literacy Standards response to teaching, narrating, production articles, media, audience conducting student work participation interviews, Grade 11-12 filming and production

Reading Informational Texts: Key Ideas and Details CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.1 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.2 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.3

Craft and Structure CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.4 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.5 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.6

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.7 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.8 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.9

Writing: Text Types and Purposes CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.11-12.1 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.11-12.1a CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.11-12.1b CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.11-12.2 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.11-12.2b CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.11-12.2d

Writing: Production and Distribution of Writing CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.11-12.4 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.11-12.6

90 PEERS EDUCATING PEERS HANDBOOK | 2014 Peers Educating Peers Projects and Activities C2C Online Video Peer Educa- Documen- Oral Platform Confer- tion tary Film History Film ences making Project Reading Research, Project and posting Online Socratic writing, lesson Conducting Supreme Education comments in Seminars, planning, Research, interviews, response to project teaching, writing, filming and Council of Qatar articles, media, collaboration audience narrating, production student work participation conducting interviews, filming and production

Grade 11 Foundation English Standards 1 Use a range of vocabulary 2 Develop spelling knowledge 3 Listen and respond 4 Develop speaking strategies 5 Speak to communicate and interact 6 Develop reading strategies 7 Read and respond 8 Develop writing strategies 9 Compose written texts

grade 11 advanced level scientific inquiry 1 Use methods of scientific inquiry

2 Know how scientist work

3 Process and communicate information

Grade 11 History Standards 2.3. Link historic events with each other 2.3. Compare and contrast societies 2.3.1. Compare and contrast policies of various governments 2.3. Compare and contrast issues in contemporary Qatar to past societies 3.1. Use various primary and secondary sources to investigate the past. 3.1.2. Compare and contrast, and evaluate sources 3.2 Identify historical topics to be researched

Grade 11 Advanced Level history 3.3.1 Present a strong argument orally or in writing to support an opinion using historical events

Grade 12 History Standards The modern world Discussion and Research Fieldwork and Surveys

APPENDIX | STANDARDS MATRIXES 91 Peers Educating Peers Projects and Activities C2C Online Video Peer Documenta- Oral History Platform Conferences Education ry Film Mak- Film Project ing Project International Reading Online Socratic Research, Conducting and posting Seminars, writing, lesson Research, interviews, Baccalaureate comments in project planning, writing, filming and Diploma Program response to collaboration teaching, narrating, production articles, media, audience conducting Curricula student work participation interviews, filming and production

Core Knowledge Theory of knowledge (TOK)      Creativity, action, service (CAS)     

     Lag ngua e Acquisition B

Social and cultural anthropology

Part 2: Social and cultural      organization (SL and HL)

Hy istor History of Europe and the Islamic world      20th century world history     

Environmental systems      and societies

92 PEERS EDUCATING PEERS HANDBOOK | 2014 Recommended Readings

The books and articles below inspired, informed, and/or compliment the curricula presented in this Peers Educating Peers Handbook.

Bixby, J.S. and Pace, J.L. (2008), Educating Democratic Citizens in Troubled Times. Albany, NY: SUNY Press Campbell, M., Liebowitz, M., Mednick, A., & Rugen, L. (1998). Guide for Planning a Learning Expedition. Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound, Cambridge, MA Dewey, J. (1899) The School and Society. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press Hess, D.E. (2002). Discussing Controversial Public Issues in Secondary Social Studies Classrooms: Learning from Skilled Teachers. Theory and Research in Social Education, 30 (1) 10-41 Hetland, L., Winner, E., Veenema, S., Sheridan, K. (2007) Studio Thinking: The Real Benefits of Visual Arts Education. New York: Teachers College Press Larmer, J., Ross, D., & Mergendoller, J. R. (2009). PBL starter kit: To-the-point advice, tools and tips for your first project in middle or high school. Buck Institute for Education. Nathan, L. (2009) The Hardest Questions Aren’t on the Test: Lessons from an Innovative Urban School. Boston: Beacon Press Project Zero (2013). Artful Thinking. Accessed on April 5, 2013 at: http://www.pzartfulthinking.org/overview.php Senge, P.M. (2009). Education for an interdependent world: Developing systems citizens. Hargreaves et al. (eds.), Second International Handbook of Educational Change. 23 (1) 131-151 Sizer, T.R. (2004). Horace’s compromise: The dilemma of the American high school. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Takahisa, S. (1999) Creative portraits: Using art and artifacts to deepen historical understanding. Amerian Memory Fellows Program. Accessed on April 5, 2013 at: http://cct2.edc.org/NDL/1999/institute/activities/portraits.html Thoreau, H.D. (1854/1966) Walden and Civil Disobedience. New York: W.W Norton & Company Udall, D., & Mednick, A. (1996). Journeys through Our Classrooms. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, Dubuque, IA Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2006). Backward design. In G. Wiggins, & J. McTighe, Understanding by design (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall

93 Acknowledgements

This work was made possible by the collaboration and support of many organizations and individuals: Every step of the way the Qatar Foundation International made it possible for us to turn our vision into reality, most especially with the guidance and encouragement of Kasia Skuratowicz. Linda Nathan and Anne Clark dreamed up the Peers Educating Peers program, and provided me with the opportunity to rekindle the idealism and ambition which first brought me into teaching. The teachers in our partner schools—Peter Findler, Penelope Khiat, Emad Mansy, Haitham Elsherbinny, Walid Nassar, Abdullah Al Khaldi, Imad Osman, Suzan Qawasmeh—who contributed their ideas, energy, and countless hours to trying things out, refining our practice, and creating incredible opportunities for all our students. The students in the PEP network schools—the Boston Arts Academy, the Washington Latin Public Charter School, the Lycée Joliot Curie, the Musab Bin Omair, Al Wakra, and Ahmed Bin Mohammed Al Thani Secondary Independent Schools for Boys, and the Al Bayan Secondary Independent School for Girls— who shared their passion for learning while patiently putting up with our tinkering and experimentation. The staff of the Boston Arts Academy supported and encouraged this work, provided guidance and helped lay the groundwork, especially Duncan Remage-Healey, Lucy Blau, Sonya Brown, Dara Bayer, Raul Garcia, Daniel Sullivan, Ramiro Gonzalez, Stephen Garschina-Bobrow, and Rana Abdul Aziz. My Colleagues at the New York City Museum School from 2000-2007— David Bally, Andrew Christman, Caissa Douwes, Judith Killen, Avram Kline, Seth Lewis Levin, Ofier Segal, Sarah Goodman, Kelly Donaghue, Stephen Brodbar, Heather Douglass, and Jim Pratzon—who helped me use the whole world as my classroom. Finally, I’d like to thank my family—Jasmine for her love, support, and tolerance—Ronan and Ciaran for their constant joy—and their grandparents: Vincent and Joanna Moran, Bob and Joan Muellner for their hours and hours of help.