The Story Behind Curating an Art Show
This project grew out of an in-depth study of historical structures that the students were doing in their art class. Using the theme, “The Best of Times and The Worst of Times,” they selected historically significant structures to replicate, e.g., the Eiffel Tower, the Brandenburg Gate, the Holocaust Museum. They researched the structures, drew them to scale, and constructed them using materials such as cardboard and bamboo sticks. The students documented the progress of their work in a journal.
In order to extend the project beyond the classroom, the students decided to curate an art show using their work. The class discussed the possible steps that professional artists take in displaying their work and how they might take similar steps.
The students researched possible sites, wrote letters to the sites describing their work and explaining why the exhibit would be beneficial to the community. They then met with several curators and gave a HyperStudio presentation of their work. They received confirmation that their work would be displayed at the Bayside Historical Society in the fall of the following year.
Since these students were graduating, they decided to peer mentor the in-coming eighth graders so that they could continue with the project and curate the show in the fall.
The written work produced as part of Applied Learning projects commonly contains some errors. Documentation of these projects includes notes, journal entries and plans that students produced as working documents for their personal use. These kinds of documents were not prepared with the expectation of eventual publication and they have not been revised for inclusion in this book.
It is expected that finished work produced as part of an Applied Learning project will contain virtually error free writing.
| This project illustrates
a standard-setting performance for the following parts of the standards:
|
|
 b |
Communication: Conduct formal written correspondence. |
 b |
Working With Others: Coach or tutor. |
What the work show
b
Communication Tools and Techniques: The student conducts formal
written correspondence with an organization beyond the school; that
is, the student:
-
expresses the information or request clearly for the purpose and audience;
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writes in a style appropriate to the purpose and audience of the correspondence.
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 The students
wrote to museums in the area asking if they would be interested
in hosting their exhibition. Included here is a draft and a final
copy of one of their letters. |
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The letter is written in a formal style consistent with its purpose and audience. The information and the request were clearly stated and the students included a date when they would call to follow up the request.
The students also included a number of reasons why the museums should be interested in exhibiting their work, e.g., “People should be reminded of the good and bad aspects of history,” and “people are interested in children’s work, as well as professional art work.” This added to the persuasiveness of the letter.
b
Tools and Techniques for Working With Others: The student coaches
or tutors; that is, the student:
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assists one or more others to learn on the job;
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analyzes coaching or tutoring experience to identify more and less effective ways of providing assistance to support on-the-job learning;
-
uses the analysis to inform subsequent coaching or tutoring activities.
The students peer mentored the incoming eighth graders so that these students could continue with their project and finish the preparation for the exhibit at the Bayside Historical Society in the fall. The meeting between the seventh graders and eighth grades was videotaped. The seventh graders took notes and the eighth graders reflected on their experiences. The new committee established their goals for next year.
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The students produced this document for their own use and did not revise it for publication. Also included here is the evaluation form the students produced to help them assess their performance as tutors. |
The notes the students made about the things they needed to discuss
with the incoming eighth graders reflect a comprehensive analysis
of the core elements of the job and clear specifications of the
requirements for competent performance of each element. 