Through It All, We’re Still Lowell

When Lowell closed the campus and sent students home for remote learning in March 2020, no one had any idea what the coming weeks and months would bring or how it would change us. Could lessons beamed through Google Classroom or connections with friends and teachers on a computer screen replace our engaging, friendly classrooms? Throughout these challenges, Lowell remained committed to the student-centered, collaborative, project-based learning at the heart of our academic program. As our community began its return to “usual” during the 2021–2022 school year, something remarkable happened. Student laughter rang out across campus. Every classroom dove back into creative, hands-on education. Students began to direct their own learning again. Despite everything we had been through as a community, when we emerged, Lowell was still Lowell!

PUTTING CURIOSITY AND COMPROMISE TO WORK SIDE-BY-SIDE

Making the most of their in-person classroom time together, Pre-Primary School students followed their curiosities throughout the year. As a group, young friends considered others’ feelings and what is fair in both play and problem-solving.

Creative compromise came in the form of a Dinosaur Café in the Voyager classroom. The concept resulted from a tie vote on what to construct in their dramatic play space, to which students contributed ideas that would appeal to everyone. Once decided—“On one side the museum and on the other the bakery!”—students volunteered for one of several design and baking committees, opting for the tasks that spoke most to their skills and interests. Everyone contributed in their unique way. They used related classroom work to make the space accessible for visitors from other Pre-Primary groups, questioning whether the fossils from their art and science practice could be displayed on the walls or on tables for patrons to touch, and sharing their newfound knowledge of dinosaurs and cash registers with friends.

“The children led everything, from start to finish,” said Nuria, who is one of two teachers in the Voyager room. “It was so gratifying to help them realize their ideas and guide them to cooperative decisions. Deirdre and I are so proud of the progress that they have made this year working together and speaking up for what they need.”

CEMENTING UNDERSTANDING THROUGH PROJECT-BASED LEARNING

Through Lowell’s integrated curriculum, large-scale projects tie together ideas from across broad units, combining comprehension with real-world application. A return to in-person learning meant that students could once again tackle projects outside the virtual realm. In March, 6th-grade designers created renderings and scale models of new monuments honoring overlooked figures from the American Revolution that could sit alongside those that exist throughout Washington, DC, and across the country. Classmates also assessed the effectiveness of each other’s displays and offered feedback as part of the social studies project.

Over several weeks, the class encountered historical figures who were new to them, completed independent research, and engaged with primary sources to learn more. They also heard from an expert historian (and 6th-grade parent) on the challenges of learning about unseen actors and their importance in understanding a more complete picture of the Revolutionary era’s economy, culture, and sentiment.

Influenced by their discoveries, the 6th-graders have since demonstrated passion and respect for the accomplishments of Black soldiers, Indigenous peoples, and women from this time, as evident in the 3-D replicas and striking artwork that lined the walls and tables of the library. A powerful artist statement accompanied each rendering. Perhaps as much as the content, the building materials and placement of monuments contributed to their interpretation.

“I picked white granite because it will stand out from parks and other buildings. I also chose stone because it is very solid at times, but if you hit it hard enough, it will break, just like the promises made to Black soldiers by the British.”

“I wanted the students to think about how to convey their messages through these imagined monuments to potential audiences of any background, tradition, or native language,” said social studies teacher Yasmin of the project, which layered empathy onto history and public art. “How do you say what you want to say in a universal way?”

OBSERVING THE WORLD AROUND US

In Becca’s science classroom, 3rd graders led a hands-on exploration of microclimates and data collection. For several months, students tracked the changing weather at their homes in handwritten and detailed logs. By pooling their gathered data, they collectively noticed differences in temperature, snowfall, and air quality between locations throughout the DMV. “This exercise has also led to questions and discussions about why certain populations chose to live in or were directed to live in certain areas around DC,” said Becca. Through critical analysis of their data, they have crafted theories as to why one temperature zone may be more desirable, like tree cover, and thought through actions to make such plant life accessible across the region.

As a group, they also interpreted the data as part of the project. They have pinpointed trends among their microclimates, including some that might indicate erratic and thus concerning weather patterns to an untrained eye. “As a class, we have talked about whether our sample size is substantial enough to indicate any major changes to the climate,” said Becca. The students concluded that they don’t have enough data, “which is also an important part of being a responsible scientist.”

As they progress through the science curriculum, students will turn their attention to how microclimates can affect other communities, including those whose livelihoods are tied to the natural elements around them.

ADDING PERSONALITY BACK INTO TECH

A silver lining of months of remote learning was improved fluency with screens and technology among Lowell students. Fourth-grade teachers Elizabeth and Emily found a way to harness this technical prowess in creative ways throughout a yearlong focus on contemporary Indigenous culture. “I’ve been blown away by their tech skills,” says Elizabeth, who noted students knew how to cast images into videos and add backgrounds and gifs to web pages and were eager to pass along tips to friends!

Armed with this enthusiasm, 4th graders incorporated Flipgrid, a student-centered video creation platform, into their educational objectives. They recorded video reviews of books by thirteen Indigenous authors, using technology to reinforce their understanding of their cultural values, such as preservation of traditions, respect for community, and respect for the natural world. “The videos they made allowed students to synthesize their communication skills with continued learning,” said Elizabeth. For example, students displayed pages from the books they read within their videos, using the source material—including vivid illustrations—as supporting evidence.

Video projects continued into the spring with each student regularly contributing to a “Weekly Wows!” webpage. Going above and beyond the familiar dinner table question, “How was school today?,” these short video diaries were a fun way for students to practice tech and share their learning highlights. Experimenting with technology let students apply an individual voice to their projects while reviewing classroom material. As they made choices for visual style, tone, and content, the variety between the pages demonstrated the unique student personalities at play. Ranging from understated palettes to vibrant layouts that match the speaker’s energy, all of the pages allowed students to share in their own words the parts of the curriculum that excited them and to amplify the words of authors they admire.

MAKING LEARNING JOYFUL

One thing that never changed, whether on screens or in classrooms, was the joy Lowell’s teachers bring to their subjects every day. Play can indeed be learning and encourages creativity!

Walking into a colorful Kindergarten classroom this past winter, one would think students were eagerly swapping stories or trading Pokemon cards as they clustered around tables or lay on the carpet with feet playfully swishing through the air. But no, it was time for math!

Students in every division regularly engage in math games with the goal of identifying patterns, building fluency, and increasing number sense, or an understanding of how different values are expressed, compared, and combined. For example, Compare Two challenges Kindergarteners to put their addition skills to the test with special playing cards that visually reinforce number values by filling in a 2x5 grid up to ten. In one round, a friend worked out 10 + 4 to make 14, after which teacher Dave challenged them with 10 + 6 and 10 + 9. “Sixteen,” and “Nineteen,” the student was able to answer quickly, having just computed a similar set of addends. “And that’s a pattern!” celebrated Dave.

In Pre-Primary School, the Chip Trading Game is a longstanding tradition as an introduction to important math skills. Players roll dice to gather white poker chips and progressively trade in three for the equivalent blue chip. Three blue chips equal one red chip, and so on until the winner can trade up to capture the gold chip. “The game allows children to play at their own level and helps them practice skills such as adding, number sense, understanding sets, and trading up,” says Adventurers Room teacher Denielle. While they play, teachers notice improvements in one-to-one correspondence counting and look for openings to reinforce pattern recognition. Both are essential building blocks for any number of mathematical concepts to come in subsequent years.

The games evolve in age-appropriate ways as students advance through divisions, with multiplication and division coming into play by 4th grade, fluency with factors and operations allowing Middle School students to make games as challenging as they choose, and 8th graders using homemade catapults to map out quadratic equations. Many teachers note that former students remember these games as favorite Lowell memories, even if they didn’t recognize their value for building mathematical flexibility. With learning couched in play, graduates leave Lowell equipped to take on problems from multiple angles and keep the “fun” in function.