Our Teachers Build

For The Future

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The 2005 Salvadori Institute

From August 8 to August 18, 2005, the Center held its annual professional development Institute, bringing teachers together for two intensive weeks of "learning-by doing." The first week, designed for new teachers, introduced the teachers to our philosophy and methods. They experienced these ideas firsthand through such activities as walking the Brooklyn Bridge and exploring our Harlem neighborhood as well as by building and testing columns and beams and practicing other architectural and engineering concepts.

 

In the second week, they were joined by veteran teachers to conduct deeper investigations into using the built environment as the focus for their classroom projects. This year, groups of teachers delved into activities from "Home," the third module of our Project Book.  You can see some of the results on the following page.  During this week, the participants also did extensive assessments of the lessons, using team-designed rubrics that incorporated city, state, and national standards.

 

Over the two weeks the Center served 30 teachers from seven schools: Bronx International High School, Fannie Lou Hamer Middle School, Pablo Neruda Academy for Architecture and World Studies, Public School 261 (the Magnet School for the Arts), PS 60Q (The Woodhaven School), School for the Physical City, and Young Scholars Academy.  We also had visitors from the Department of Cultural Affairs, the Lincoln Center Institute, and the Museum of Modern Art.

 

Overall, the participants not only found the Institute a valuable individual educational experience but also a rich source of ideas and practices that can easily be adapted to their classrooms and curricula.  Here are some of their comments:

  • Highly supportive, inspired group of people (educators) facilitated this Institute.  In my experience, it is rare to find such focused, result-oriented yet highly supportive leadership.  Thank you for that!  I really look forward to being able to continue having the influence of the folks at Salvadori as I begin my teaching experience in New York City.  A real gift!
  • All of the workshops were wonderful.  The facilitators were very knowledgeable and helpful.  This week I learned more than in any other week in memory.  I can't wait to turnkey the projects at my school.
  • The Institute was extremely helpful.  I am looking forward to starting the school year with the projects.  The facilitators possessed a wealth of knowledge and were always very helpful.
  • The facilitators were wonderful.  They actually facilitated, which is easier preached than done.  I learned a great deal and (strange as it may sound) really enjoyed myself….Pat, Rafael, Janny…should be commended; they are each brilliant, compassionate, and fun.  Bravo!
   
From the 2005 Salvadori Institute
Click on each image for a full-size picture.
   
Collage Montage: As the first "icebreaker" of the Institute, teachers composed "identity squares" that stated something significant about their schools and themselves.  Then, through infrastructure, these squares were linked to create a broader "community."
   
Dome Home:  Using foam core or construction paper, tape, cutters, and mathematical ingenuity, teams created geodesic domes.  (Math)
   
Fun In The Sun: Teachers designed and built a model of a passive solar playhouse large enough to fit 3-4 students on the grounds of a school. The goal was to use sunlight, shade, and wind to regulate the interior temperature for maximum year-round comfort. (Science)
   
How Green Is My Roof: Using the most recent research on how "green roofs" can aid energy conservation, teachers built a model incorporating elements such as plants, soil, drainage layers, membranes, and structural materials.  (Science)
   
Living Native American Style: After researching tribes in the area, teachers created scale models of Native American villages based on "natural" materials.  (Social Studies)
   
Visual Poetry: Taking their cue from the literary form of the "concrete" poem, teachers first sketched a simple image that came to mind when they thought of “home," wrote poems using those images, then "translated" those poems into architectural terms.  (Language Arts)