reaL WOrLD QueSTiOnS The nine Upper School students who volunteered to be in Chris Lundberg’s Art and Science of the Sustainability of Design class are working on a very personal project. They’re not just questioning senior Molly Carter because they’re curious about college life; they’re gathering information. Molly has a physical disability, and students in this class are designing a vehicle to get her around campus when she goes to Christopher Newport University next year. The sophomores, juniors, and seniors in this group all come from different backgrounds—some are artistic, others good in English, one likes to build. These students form a collaboration of different talents and abilities coming together just like team projects they might work on during their careers in the future. Each student has taken an aspect of the problem to investigate; one studied cerebral palsy, another researched other adaptive devices; a few are working with the Development Office to begin framing a case statement to go after funding for their model. They’ve all learned to use Google SketchUp so they can create drawings of their plans.
“This type of real-world experience sets them apart from other students applying for college.” “It’s more interesting to them because they feel like they’re doing something real and something worthwhile,” says Mr. Lundberg, Upper School Science Teacher and Bryan Innovation Lab Resident Scientist. “They feel like they’re getting something accomplished. It’s a personal problem, too, because many of them know Molly so they’re more invested.” The students are self-grading and critiquing each other, just as they would in the working world. Lundberg says the end product is going to be a case statement that will be used to pitch to a company which they hope will either build the device, or donate funds to have it built by another company. “This type of real-world experience sets them apart from other students applying for college,” says Lundberg.
Crossroads
Spring 2012
27