SPOTLIGHT FESTIVAL OF
LEARNING
“LEARNING IS THE ONLY THING THE MIND NEVER EXHAUSTS,...
...NEVER FEARS, AND NEVER REGRETS”. LEONARDO DA VINCI
ABOUT CELEBRATING LEARNING As social beings, we are immersed in a context full of celebrations, they are moments that mark facts, important dates, and transitions that give meaning to what human beings can share: joy, recognition. When young, children are daily motivated by their learning from gestures, small words, first steps. However, over time, what was new before, tends to become a habit. That being said, we should remember to exercise this genuine habit: to tirelessly celebrate each achievement, each rereading of life's experiences. We know that the act of learning requires effort, resilience, and, above all, persistence - habits that should be continuously encouraged and sublimely experienced. Thus, all our learners need a daily dose of stimuli, such as those they received at an early age, though obviously modified and adapted to its purpose and their level of maturity.
But, how can it be done? There is no magic formula, but simply include them in this process, listen to their thoughts, give them a voice, promote moments when they can make powerful connections with the facts of the world, in addition to the opportunity for them to deepen their knowledge, expand your repertoire of technical skills and improve your appreciation of thinking tools, processes, and strategies. This is a big step towards success!! Seeking this purpose, Escola Concept celebrates the success of each learner with its entire community through the Festival of Learning, each effort is recognized and valued through the sharing of their projects and what they have meaningfully learned. Join us and let's celebrate!
Luciana FalcĂŁo Lower School Coordinator
THE STEPS OF A PROJECT AND THE DESIGN THINKING PROCESS At Escola Concept, we adopt the project-based learning methodology and our main reference for this proposal is Buck Institute, an institution that focuses exclusively on project-based learning. In their studies and research, they show how this methodology promotes educational equity and empowers young people, involving them in a deep, long-lasting, and relevant learning for the challenges they will encounter in the world outside of school.
In the proposal brought by the Institute, the project is divided into 5 parts: 1. Project Overview: Key features of your project 2. Learning Goals: Standards, success skills, literacy skills, rubrics 3. Project Milestones: Significant steps in the project 4. Project Calendar: Day-by-day activities in the project 5. Lesson Planner: Supporting resource with guidance on planning daily lessons to meet the needs of all learners
Buck Institute - https://my.pblworks.org/resource/project-planner
These parts of the project guide the educators' planning and guarantee the academic rigor of the project. But to further enrich and bring more relevance to the projects, we seek a second reference at d.school, Stanford Design School, which researches the Design Thinking approach and its application to solve problems and create new solutions focused on the needs of humans beings. Concerning education, this is a creative process, in which students generate new ideas and for better development, they evaluate them based on criteria that help them to design meaningful solutions to the problems presented. Researchers have identified that the use of such an approach can be particularly influential and have benefits throughout life:
“As children move from kindergarten to elementary and high school, instruction changes from stories to facts, from speculation to details, and the imagination goes out of focus. Design thinking is a learning approach that focuses on developing children's creativity and confidence. Students get involved in practical projects that focus on building empathy, promoting a bias for action, encouraging ideation, and actively promoting problem-solving. Using imagination is essential�. (Carroll et al. 2010: 38)
IIn the new National Common Curricular Base, a document that guides the construction of schools' curriculums in Brazil, verbs linked to the action of creating and developing new solutions are used as a proposal for more active teaching. In general competence number 2, for example, it is proposed to develop a researcher's disposition, which can be aligned with the purpose of Design Thinking and working with projects:
Exercise intellectual curiosity and resort to sciences' own approach, including research, reflection, critical analysis, imagination, and creativity, to investigate causes, elaborate and test hypotheses, formulate and solve problems and create solutions (including technological ones) based on knowledge from different areas. (BNCC, year, p. 9)
d.school defines the design steps as:
EMPATHIZE
IDEATE DEFINE
PROTOTYPE
TEST
Therefore, combining the academic planning strategies from Buck Institute and the creative user-centered journey of d.school, we organized the Concept project journey. Starting from Empathy, learners develop not only academic but also socio-emotional skills, connected with the Habits of Mind. Solving a problem of a real user/person is an exercise in solidarity and appreciation of others. Empathy is the basis of human-centered design. The problem they will solve is rarely their own but from specific users. And to solve these problems it is necessary to build empathy for these people by learning their values.
To empathize, you can:
Observe - Know the users and their behavior in the context of their lives. Engage - Interact and interview users through scheduled and short interaction, meetings. Immerge - "Step inside your users' shoes." Experience what they live for a mile or two.
In this perspective, learners are invited to reflect on real cases, take pedagogical trips, interview people, among other proposals that lead to the development of their skills to understand the views of others.
In the second stage of the project, it is necessary to define the problem that will be solved. After getting to know and knowing more about the protagonist of the story they are studying, learners can, more appropriately, say what problem they want/need to solve. Ideation is the way to generate design alternatives to solve the identified problem. It is a process of creativity where the more ideas are generated the better the result will be, it is not a moment of focus but of exploring a wide space of solutions, a large quantity, and a wide diversity of ideas. From this vast repository of ideas, it is possible to create prototypes to test with users. To create and be creative, it is important to have a vast repertoire on the theme, this moment is a great opportunity for educators to deepen the contents and research with learners.
When we enter the prototyping and testing phase, it's now hands-on and an important element of projectbased learning begins: learning from mistakes. For designers, this means to make mistakes quickly to learn quickly! The school proves to be a perfect environment for prototyping because in it we can take risks and test new ideas in a safe and controlled context. The key to learning at this stage is to become tangible, as it involves taking the idea, turning it into a real and functional example, getting feedback, and refining the prototype. Prototyping is the time to take ideas off paper and present them to the world. According to the d.school study, a prototype can be anything that has a physical shape - a wall of post-its, a drawing on paper, an object.
Realizing learning through solutions to real problems gives academic practice extra motivation and responsibility, as other people can benefit from our productions. Therefore, our learners become designers of their own learning, experiencing a creative journey full of significance, leaving legacies that go beyond the walls of the school.
“O Design Thinking significa ‘transdisciplinaridade’, ou seja, a capacidade de navegar nas mais diversas disciplinas para resolver um problema” TENNYSON PINHEIRO
FESTIVAL OF
LEARNING
HIGH LIGHTS
EARLY YEARS
DEAR WORLD, HOW ARE YOU? PRE K-4B - CONCEPT SÃO PAULO
Children have a particular interest in the globe, and Prek - 4B learners from Escola Concept São Paulo, too! Based on this premise, they began to investigate the elements that make up our planet. Using Google Maps, students visited their favorite places virtually and heard about their experiences from different perspectives. They also visited, through this platform, each other’s address and went deeper into the differences in locations and what constitutes each one; such as street, city, state, country, and continent. With that knowledge in mind, the question arose as to how people around the world live. They then set out to look for countries with cultures different from ours and how they dress, eat, what language they speak, what means of transport they use, and how children go to school. The aim of the study was to expand the learners' repertoire and worldview, making them able to understand different ways of life.
After learning more about different locations and understanding different types of life, the group decided to get in touch with children around the world. In a conversation circle, they talked about the particular stories, causes, and curiosities. After this brainstorm, they recorded a video that was sent to Finland, Chile, Peru, Holland, United States, Korea, South Africa, and Italy.
HOW CAN WE USE ART TO EXPRESS OURSELVES? KINDERGARTEN - CONCEPT RIBEIRĂƒO
Sometimes it can be difficult for us to put words to what we are feeling. Instead, emotions may end up being expressed in other ways - that's when art happens! In this project children will be able to explore other ways to express and show their feelings, besides observing carefully different kinds of art and reflect on their feelings towards them. After learning about how we can express ourselves through art, children were invited to look at themselves in a mirror and make a self-portrait, just like famous artists such as Vincent Van Gogh , Frida Kahlo and Leonardo Da Vinci. The paintings are displayed in a virtual museum! You can't miss it! Click here to check child's production!
WHY ARE ANIMALS IMPORTANT TO US?
PRE-K4 A CONCEPT SALVADOR
Children are curious about the animals around them and want to explore their needs, characteristics and how they interact with other species. Connected to Global Goal #15 (life on land), PreK4A learners looked at the components of each habitat. Through visible thinking routines, the class discussed the importance of animals to the planet and how we can help the world to be safer for animals. This project involved students in body movements to learn about different species. As the culmination of the project, our learners created costumes based on their favorite animals, and shared their creations through a video.
LOWER SCHOOL
HOW CAN WE MAKE OUR CITY MORE SUSTAINABLE? GRADE 4-B - CONCEPT SÃO PAULO
Inspired by a documentary about how New York has become a more sustainable city over the years and aligned with one of the pillars of the School, sustainability, Grade 4 B learners at Escola Concept São Paulo made connections with the city of São Paulo and questioned possible ways to make our community more sustainable. Aligned with one of the pillars of the school, sustainability, and UN Global Objective 11: Making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable, the project aimed to positively impact the community and also inspire others. As a result, they developed their mathematical skills, as well as extended their understanding of a topic so important for our future survival. Imaginary Cities and Sustainability - learners shared their ideas about how they would like their imaginary cities to be and then added elements of sustainability to their cities. Imaginary Cities for boys HERE and girls HERE.
WHAT IF THIS LAND BELONGED TO US? GRADE 3 - CONCEPT RIBEIRÃO
Our last project of 2020 was about our city Ribeirao Preto. The mains idea was to present our city to our 3rd grade learners. Throughout October and November, students learned more about Ribeirão's history, geography, society and political matters. When they were studying facts and curiosities about the history of Ribeirão Preto, Grade 3 learners discovered that the Guarani Aquifer is responsible for the water supply in the city. They reflected on how to preserve this rich source of water and created an awareness campaign, informing the school community about how water waste can impact the preservation of the Aquifer.
HOW TO KEEP THE HISTORY OF SALVADOR ALIVE? GRADE 3 - CONCEPT SALVADOR
Salvador is one of the oldest cities in America, and also one of the first planned cities. African influence in many cultural aspects makes it the center of Afro-Brazilian culture. Currently, Salvador is part of UNESCO's network of creative cities, receiving the title of the City of Music. In accordance with Global Goal #11 (sustainable cities and communities), Grade 3 learners were engaged to help preserve, protect, and disseminate our city's heritage and history. Using tools such as a Circle Map, the class studied aspects of historical heritage and memory records. As a culmination of learning, students decided to create a website to share their findings. Click here to access the website.
MIDDLE SCHOOL
BUILDING TOMORROW: HOW CAN WE RETHINK THE EDUCATION CONCEPT? GRADE 6-A - CONCEPT SÃO PAULO
Education is our reality now. With the 2020 pandemic, several sectors of the world are undergoing an intense transformation, and education is one of them. We are reinventing education while reinventing our practices, routines, and relationships. That’s why Grade 6 A learners at Escola Concept de São Paulo immersed themselves in the idea of education today, understanding what “quality education” is and how we can achieve it to apply that concept to what comes next: “quality education" after a pandemic. It is time to rediscover the world of education. In developing the project, they explored UN Global Objective 4: Ensure inclusive, equitable, and quality education, and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
CHANGING THE WORLD WITH ONE ... AT A TIME. GRADE 9 - CONCEPT RIBEIRĂƒO
In this project, the students understood how the Brazilian dictatorship stirred up society´s feeling and how arts and poetry were used to try to change that situation. The students used the design sprint to organize the final product of this project. Design thinking is a method used to solve complex problems throughout co-creation, rapid prototyping, and qualitative testing with targeted users. With this method, the students created and prototyped an app that creates a safety net for women. The culmination of learning was prototyping an app which goal is to create a safety net between women.
WHY IS OUR GENERATION THE ONE THAT IS SAID TO HAVE THE MOST MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES? PRE K-3 - CONCEPT SALVADOR
The school is an environment with a great concentration of stimuli, and of a tremendous impact on all aspects of the lives of its members. Educators, families, and learners then need to enter into the debate on a topic that is part of the reality of many young people of the new generation, mental health, and the stigmas that need to be broken. Guided by Global Goal #3 (good health and well-being), Grade 9 learners explored the role of mathematics, radiation, and language in different aspects of mental health. As the culmination of the project, the group developed an Instagram profile to disseminate information and testimonials about mental disorders, in addition to an RPG that promotes entertainment and information. Click here to access TW Love Alert profile on Instagram. Click here to watch the RPG teaser 188 The Mind Care Adventure.
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