October 31, 2010

By: barbara p. from new york, NY
Comments: 46

Posted By: barbara pierce
On: 4/10/2007 3:20:20 PM

Check out the Target: Redesign Your School Contest! It is featured on the Educator Resource Center homepage. This would be a great contest to work on in a Social Studies, Design or Art, or Technology classroom. Or, as an elective class or in an after school program. How much fun would it be to work on a project to design your dream school? Plus, students can win scholarship money. I've noticed a few lesson plans on the ERC that could be adapted to be used for this contest. Mainly: -Learning in Comfort -Looking Upwards: Greenroofing & Rooftop Gardening -Green Stuff: Designing an Earth-Friendly Room -Design-A-Room -Design Your Own Building: Rhode Island State Police Headquarters

Posted By: Leslie Lami-Reed
On: 4/10/2007 9:42:12 PM

Barbara, I forwarded the web site to my district's 30 (or so) art teachers, since the contest is for grades 9-12. I encouraged people to check the lesson plans, too.

Posted By: Carolyne Kellner
On: 4/12/2007 7:21:23 PM

I wish they had it for elementary school kids, besides school design being interesting so are playgrounds, designed by kids of course!

Posted By: Barbara Nikoomanesh
On: 4/25/2007 2:29:09 PM

What an awesome opportunity for our students! We are having some of our students enter the Redesign your school contest. I'd love to see how many students of SDI and CON participants we can get entered in to this contest. Target has been extremely generous and a great supporter of Design in Education.

Posted By: Monique Fineman
On: 5/1/2007 7:30:17 AM

My students are not at the high school level but I am taking the idea of redesign your school into the classroom. We have twelve classes of students and twelve rooms. We are extremely space deprived. We have very little gym use, shared cafe, no art or tech room., no staff room... are you getting the picture? We are trying to get a new space. I am taking the problem of "Redesign Your School" to our students. I thought this would be a good way for them to get their opinion out of what their learning environment should look like. It may also be a good way of letting those who are helping get the space see and understand the needs of our students. Thanks for the good idea.

Posted By: Barbara Nikoomanesh
On: 5/3/2007 11:38:53 AM

Our students interviewed local architects and our building principal, to get their input on school design. It seemed to be so beneficial to the students, and they came away with some thoughts that hadn't even occurred to them. They seem to be really excited about having input in the environment that affects them on a daily basis.

Posted By: Tonya Adison
On: 5/9/2007 1:45:37 PM

Having a voice is always important at any level. As teachers we want to be sure our ideas are polled and considered when changes are made. Students are even more enthralled in this process because most have not been jaded beyond redemption. We have the luxury of having a new building for our students. They frequently inquire about particular design decisions. Earlier in the year, they had an opportunity to speak with the architects of the building. This process allowed students to hear the reasons certain decisions were made. More importantly, however, is they consider how they may have done things differently, keeping the issues the architects deemed relevant in mind. They also have an opportunity to address issues the architects may have overlooked.

Posted By: mel ruth
On: 6/1/2007 12:20:50 PM

Our students answered the open call to "redesign your school." It is not mandatory. I know of four students who took up the challenge. Their ideas and sketches are impressive. The students eem to be really into the process and sharing their ideas with teachers, and students. It is kind of nice to see that they are taking up a project on their own. That they are in total control. It is nice to see them take the initiative.

Posted By: sudha singh
On: 6/14/2007 10:07:54 PM

We designed our school store and have it running in out school . The kids did the logo, selection of items to be sold , manning, cleaning etc and worked on every aspect of marketing their products at a profit.,

Posted By: maxine feldman cohen
On: 7/13/2007 9:47:53 AM

My school is planning to change locations and is now in the planning stage. Although this will not happen for years, I would like to propose a plan to the adminstration to include students's ideas (via the art room and design projects.) I love the idea of children's input, perhpas including their designs for signs, etc.

Posted By: Franc Leo
On: 7/13/2007 6:35:36 PM

I totally agree with Carolyne Kellner. Designing playgrounds is an important challenge. We are looking at students that have all sorts of likes and dislikes. Can you imagine what kind of playground YOU would design for adults that share your tastes, or for yourself? That would be something that could be combined with other designs! Perhaps put together whatever activities some percentage of people have in common would be a challenge too. I thought that would be cool! Design On !!!

Posted By: Barbara Nikoomanesh
On: 7/18/2007 10:25:24 AM

Our students did do a playground design problem. We actually took a field trip to two playgrounds for the students to experience. They also did a lot of research on safety and materials, and had class discussions on pros and cons. The students really enjoyed this assignment, because all had memories of their favorite playground equipment as a child. We were not able to implement this project, but that didn't seem to bother the students.

Posted By: Alberto Romero
On: 7/19/2007 2:08:51 PM

This sounds like a wonderful project. It's unfortunate that I did not have a chance to join this year. I will be keeping my eyes and ears open for upcoming events such as these so I can get my students on board!

Posted By: Kelley Oxley
On: 10/27/2007 12:14:34 AM

Last year, I was determined to improve reading scores of the one 9th grade class I taught (I am a Literacy Coach full time). I introduced them to a million new novels, mainly in realistic fiction and non-fiction genres. I pretty much danced around the room "selling" reading. Most of my students were reading at a 4th-6th grade reading level which is just unacceptable. Going to our own high school library to have students check out these new novels, was just not working. Our poor librarian did not have any money to update the libraries...our encyclopedias were from the early 1980's and many of our "new" fiction novels were from the late 90's. This was frustrating not only to me but to my students. So we made this a design problem: create a never-before-seen learning center. We made a 3-D replica, and made a video that we sent to Oprah! In the video we interviewed our principal, our librarian, took a tour of the library, interviewed students, etc...it was a huge success (although Oprah hasn't come to visit just yet....I still have hope...)

Posted By: Jeri Schmenk
On: 10/28/2007 6:05:08 PM

I am trying to get my students to solve small problems in our school. School is one place where students can see results and feel that they have made a difference. They experience that even though they maybe only in 4th or 5th grade they have the opportunity to make a change. They feel valuable.

Posted By: Jon Twersky
On: 4/16/2008 4:39:45 PM

While my students did not enter the Target competition, I did use the concept of redesigning the school as a lesson. We used Google Earth and Google SketchUp to work with realistic measurements and create realistic proportions. Some students kept it simple while others spent hours working on SketchUp to create very interesting concepts and forms. The project eventually turned into small group activities with each group focusing on specific areas of the building from decor and space to grounds and facilities. Groups focused on green design and community learning as major themes.

Posted By: Marie Tom
On: 4/26/2008 7:07:00 PM

Barbara, I loved your comments on school design. I am trying to get my high school/Junior High to do something. I started out with seeing about a grant fro the state and sure enoeugh I was able to get $5,000. from the state of California. But Ted Turner foundation and several more offer gardening grants. Also most cities have organizations that have sources to master gardeners. I contacted Yvonne Savio, of Common Ground. She is head of LACMG's. I am not sure what that is. Her e-mail is [email protected]. I am sure she could tell you and anyone else that is interested in how to get in touch with students that are in the master gardeners programs in your state. The students are required to give x number of service hours in order to graduate. This was great for me since now that I have the grant I need to set up a garden....ooops...never thought of that! These students become volunteers and will come out to your site and help as well as present presentations to teachers, if you want, as to how they can incorporate the garden into their curriculum. All teachers - even me...a speech therapist!

Posted By: Marie Tom
On: 4/26/2008 8:19:20 PM

Barbara, I loved your comments on school design. I am trying to get my high school/Junior High to do something. I started out with seeing about a grant fro the state and sure enoeugh I was able to get $5,000. from the state of California. But Ted Turner foundation and several more offer gardening grants. Also most cities have organizations that have sources to master gardeners. I contacted Yvonne Savio, of Common Ground. She is head of LACMG's. I am not sure what that is. Her e-mail is [email protected]. I am sure she could tell you and anyone else that is interested in how to get in touch with students that are in the master gardeners programs in your state. The students are required to give x number of service hours in order to graduate. This was great for me since now that I have the grant I need to set up a garden....ooops...never thought of that! These students become volunteers and will come out to your site and help as well as present presentations to teachers, if you want, as to how they can incorporate the garden into their curriculum. All teachers - even me...a speech therapist! Marie Tom

Posted By: Jesse Todd
On: 4/28/2008 4:57:47 PM

This discussion ties in nicely with a recent professional development session we had on establishing school culture. We are a small start-up school (in our second year) and we are trying to establish school culture, practices and traditions. We read case studies of several small schools in various stages of development across the country. The majority of the studies mentioned school beautification as a way to instill a sense of ownership in the students. By having the chance to redesign their school, I am sure students will feel empowered to create or change their school's culture.

Posted By: Michelle Dalton
On: 4/28/2008 7:52:38 PM

Someone mentioned interviewing their building principals and local architects about their building design... what about interviewing the maintenance workers in the building. I'll bet they'd have some insight as well. Maybe ask visitors and substitutes as well. Students will best understand elements of design if they get a wide variety of input.

Posted By: Elizabeth Fletcher
On: 4/30/2008 4:57:37 PM

Michelle, I think that's a great idea. What about surveying teachers also?

Posted By: Jacqueline Taylor
On: 5/18/2008 5:35:09 PM

Our children did actually design their play area. It was built in 2007 from a combination of writings and pictures from our younger elementary school students, kindergarten through third grades. It was then constructed in one day by a multitude of volunteers including community members, faculty and staff of our school and a devoted group of parents. Our children now have ownership in at least part of their school design. Jacqueline Taylor, John Dibert School, New Orleans, LA

Posted By: Viktoriya D'Agostino
On: 12/30/2008 3:21:14 PM

What a great idea, we are a small school and we now started to have gym, but no gym is available, we are in a city and in a small space. I think I will have my students work on designing a gym in our space and discuss all the challenges. Fun idea.

Posted By: Anna Bennett
On: 12/31/2008 1:40:34 PM

I thought about doing a lesson plan around this based on making our school more energy efficient. In the wake of budget cuts and program cuts, its a good way to hook the students into the concept of saving energy to save money-- could we keep our favorite art class if we just changed all the lightbulbs in our school? Where else could we save $$? There are several great examples of how schools have already done this online, if you just google search "green school".

Posted By: Mary Romoser
On: 1/11/2009 12:22:11 PM

I am intrigued by having students participate in the "redesigning of schools". I teach at an elementary environmental magnet school, and took Anna's advice; I did google "green school" and found many resources. Often children have the ability to look at problems and possible solutions without the constraints that adults have. Thanks for the ideas, everyone!

Posted By: Centennial Middle School
On: 2/10/2009 10:40:06 AM

We plan on creating a lesson plan that has the kids redesign their lunchroom experience. I'm excited to see what kids will come up with.

Posted By: Daniel Nelson
On: 2/17/2009 7:32:40 PM

One of my students participated in the Target: Redesign Your School Contest last year. One of the main attractions to the contest was the requirement to base the design on the American Architectural Foundation’s eight (8) Principles of School Design.The principles can still be viewed at the contest web site:http: //sites.target.com/site/enspotpage.jsp?title=redesign_your_school In addition, the rules require contact with a school or community leader to discuss the impact of school designs on education and the community. I am constantly looking to make these "connections" in the community for my students.

Posted By: Lori Baucom
On: 2/18/2009 10:18:32 AM

This looks like a great idea! I am going to forward this to the teachers in my school who would benefit from this. It would be a great opportunity for the students.

Posted By: Nick Britton
On: 10/21/2009 8:01:51 AM

this is so cool! i went to a city of neighborhoods conference this summer (09) in San Antonio. My friend teaches sculpture and I teach English. We noticed some unusual sculptures on display near the dining hall of the South West School of Art. They looked like everyday objects in ceramic or terracotta stacked one on top of the other like a totem pole. We were brainstorming about sculpture project ideas related to redesigning the school and we came up with priority totem. students could create sculptural representations of what they felt were needed design changes around our campus and then everyone who uses the campus could touch and move the order of the stack of "priorities" until a consensus was reached with top priorities moving to the top of the stack. i know it sounds confusing, but in our minds (in the san antonio heat) it was an elegant idea.

Posted By: Vicki Dalton
On: 11/15/2009 10:09:29 PM

Students always love to have a voice in their environment. When we were talking about design in my class, we started by talking about problems/ things they would change in "their" world. One small thing mentioned was something as simple as having ketchup available on chicken nugget day. (Oh, the things that are important to my seventh graders. In "their" world, however, it is huge.) Based on that one conversation, the young man who brought up the problem wrote a letter, signed by his fellow classmates also, to our school principal addressing the issue. The next chicken nugget day there was ketchup! This young man came in very excited to tell me this news. He learned a very important lesson from this experience; he could be a part of changing a problem. Don't we all like to feel like this?

Posted By: Nick Britton
On: 10/31/2010 10:23:22 PM

A great way to get students answering questions about what needs fixing in their schools is to give them a camera and ask them to capture an image that shows a problem. Then they can use their photos as starting points for a written response. I've read articles about this technique that refer to it as photovoice.