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An Exhibition of Skills: A Cooperative Venture

Author(s): Barbara Eibell Ordering Information

Most educators who bought into the restructuring effort knew that the beginning stages of change would be challenging but feasible. School change strategies such as site-based management, team teaching, integration of subject matter, and the implementation of an advisory system, although quite drastic in their effects on school design, were attainable in relatively short periods of time.

Developing authentic assessments, or exhibitions, called for a longer process. From the outset, at workshops and symposiums of the Coalition of Essential Schools, we at Thayer High School listened with interest as Grant Wiggins and Art Powell introduced us to an alternative way of looking at assessment, a divergence from absolute dependency on paper and pencil objective or essay tests. They visualized exhibitions of knowledge and skills relevant to students' own lives. This, we agreed, would be the most tedious and perplexing process in the school-change effort.

For us at Thayer, it has never been less than that, but it has also been an experience that has given rise to a great deal of teacher, student, and parent discussion. The process has given us a clearer vision of why we are here, what we are providing for our students, and where we expect them to go. The purpose of this article is to report on Thayer's progress in the development of an assessment plan and to share samples of authentic exhibitions from our school.

Building on Early Lessons

Last summer Thayer's assessment committee took some positive steps in creating an assessment policy that makes sense to students, teachers, and parents. For several years we had struggled to define broad categories of skillséliteracy, expression, ethics/ values, personal proficiency, problem-solving, and cultural awarenesséthat would avoid delineation as subject-specific skills, but rather would cross disciplines.1 We found that method to be too cumbersome, especially since we were at the same time developing curriculum around the integration of subject material. It was too easy for an anxious staff to place too much responsibility for documenting the exhibition of these skills on the senior class or subject-specific teachers.

The result was that we weren't collaborating and working together to devise a system that led to the exhibition of skills applicable to all subjects and teachers, thereby consulting teacher to teacher, department to department, to begin the tasks of defining criteria and setting standards. Our fragmented efforts led to new questions. Beyond our concern for who would assess the skills under each category, we also were not sure when and how they would be assessed: formatively, cumulatively, or summatively? Furthermore, how would the work be documentedévia portfolio, in a file, on disk, or on videotape?

What followed was a move toward establishing the nineteen Thayer High School graduation skills which now guide our assessment plan (see box below). These skills are attainable across the curriculum. Where our earlier attempts at outcome definition were too broad to be useful, these nineteen graduation skills reflect specific real-world realities. Our conversations with college professors, admission counselors, and managers from local businesses provided enough information for us to plunge into the creation of a plan that would clearly identify skills we expect graduates to demonstrate by the time they graduate from Thayer High School. A grant even provided coverage so teachers could "job-shadow" at a local workplace. The implementation of that plan would involve all teachers, students, and parents. The arena for the exhibition of these skills would be in all classes from grades seven through twelve. The judges would comprise all of the teachers. In short, we developed a plan that gives the responsibility and the proprietorship to all the stakeholders.

The Plan: Graduation by Exhibition

Commencing in grade seven, students and teachers submit demonstrative work to one of the nineteen files (one for each of the graduation skills) that are housed in cabinets in one of the team classrooms. As team teachers plan curriculum for the following school year, they provide many opportunities for students to work on these nineteen skills. As projects or assignments are designed, teachers indicate the skills which will be worked on to complete the task. When a student exhibits a graduation skill, the work is placed in that particular file. During the school year any teacher can submit a new piece of better quality, superseding the previous one. At the end of the year, students and advisors update the file by selecting the best piece of work in each skill area to remain in the file. The file is then forwarded to the next year's team. Although pieces from several subjects might be in the file at any given time, it is up to the advisor and advisee to choose which one stays. Should an advisor and advisee have difficulty in choosing which piece best demonstrates the skill, a standards committee for each skill will be available to help make that determination.

These files are also shared with the parents at conference days in November and April. Parents were not only happy to see examples of the work their children had done but also expressed great support that we were finally asking our students to be responsible for exhibiting what they were learning. This process also gives us an opportunity to share curriculum and outcomes with parents so that their fears and concerns about lack of continuity can be assuaged.

A plan such as this one is not immune from questions, concerns, and problems. Our task now is to grapple with these issues before we designate the first class to graduate by exhibition of skillsémost probably the 1993þ94 ninth-grade class. On several occasions throughout the school year, we struggled with our concerns at faculty meetings. In departments, teams and in mixed groups, we defined our skills, suggested criteria by which they'd be judged, and then decided how that rubric would look. The same questions surfaced: Just what is good enough? Must the standard be the same for all students at Thayer? How often must it be demonstrated? Are we all capable judges of the work? We brought samples of work to the table and watched taped exhibitions. We argued, we got frustrated, and we protected our own domains and disciplines. What resulted was an incredibly reflective exercise. The wisdom we attained was how important it is to hold in high esteem, at all times, what we value for our students to learn and be able to demonstrate.

We aren't quite sure if there is any final answer to the questions of what are the criteria and the standards. We are aware, though, that as the assessors of our students' work, we might have a tendency to be too "warm" and "cozy" as we evaluate their presentations.2 After all, we want them to achieve, and if they've been diligent, committed, and hardworking, how can we say it's not good enough? If we fall into the habit of too much "warm" assessment, our standards will never stand on their own. Therefore, we must constantly collaborate within and outside of the school to find that level of achievement.

Zenith: The Eleventh Grade Projects

Thayer's eleventh-grade interdisciplinary team is made up of an English, economics, and social studies teacher who endearingly call themselves "the Elders." The guiding principle of "student as worker" is evident on any given day in the eleventh-grade classrooms, which are contiguous within the building. We are most proud of the team's ability to integrate subject material, develop curriculum around essential themes and questions, and call for exhibitions that indeed assess what has been taught. In fact, because my daughter was a student on this team, I learned in a very personal way the epitome of integrated curriculum. One evening, as Kari was writing an assignment at the computer I asked her, "For which class are you doing this assignment?" She looked at me with all seriousness and said, "For team." Thinking she had not understood me, I clarified myself by asking, "I mean for which subject?" She impatiently reiterated, "For team. We don't separate like that."

In our process of developing exhibitions, we keep two things in mind: 1) to validate that we are assessing what we teach and want students to learn, and 2) to provide opportunities to demonstrate the acquisition of our nineteen graduation skills. To use the metaphor of "planning backwards,"3 the exhibition drives the curriculum. Along the road to the exhibition, our students should engage in rigorous investigation as well as develop good habits of mind, both of which are reflected in the graduation skills. The true challenge comes when team members attempt to design curriculum that is personal and conducive to an "authentic" assessmentéan exhibition. Let's see how this plays out on the eleventh-grade team.

The yearly eleventh-grade theme is "Highways Beyond Thayer: An American Journey." The essential question for the second quarter is "The Road Less Traveled: What are the Minority Voices?" In the words of one of the Elders: "This is the Zenith. These quarterly projects are where we meet our course goals, explore subject matter, interact positively with classmates and Elders, research, use written and oral expression skills and, in most every way, accomplish the curriculum aims and graduation requirements for Thayer High."

Students on the Zenith team were challenged to answer the essential question by researching an issue around civil rights and minority voices and then exhibiting the results in one of several formats in a public forum:

Exhibition Formats

• Debate: Conduct a cogent, well-researched debate of an issue centered around inequality or discrimination, including the role of the government.
• Play: Produce a prepared or student-authored play based on an event or issue. Must be based on historical, social, emotional, and economic facts.
• Speech Recitation and Biography: Present a person who represents a minority voice.
• Map, Pictorial Display and Timeline: Chart Civil War battles or civil rights demonstrations on an accurate and permanent final product. Bronx Regional High School Exchange: Plan and implement a student exchange. Group acceptance dependent upon the completion of an essay of application that states why you feel you are a good candidate to represent Thayer.

Much to the Elders' surprise and some disappointment, no students chose to do a debate, play, or recitation. They wondered whether students had chosen the map and Bronx exchanges because they thought they would be less work. No problem. The Elders set out to outline clear criteria for the exhibition for each project.

Healthy Disorganization

For six weeks the junior space was a hub of activity. Students worked on their exhibitions during second through fourth periods each day. Many visitors watched in awe at the engagement of the students as they worked individually and in groups to organize their projects. Some teachers said they could never work in such chaos nor turn over so much instructional time to the students. We at Thayer like to refer to it as a healthy disorganizationéan atmosphere which gives students every opportunity to investigate an area of personal interest around an essential question, while at the same time working on exhibiting the nineteen graduation skills.

The daily three-hour block of time might begin with the call for who would go to the lumber yard, to the town library, to the school library for CD-ROM, by car-pool to the Keene State University library, to the office to make phone calls to arrange for the Bronx exchange trip, to the industrial arts room to cut plywood for the maps or to stay in the classroom to begin compiling the information.

Throughout the six-week period, each student was required to attend one five-hour seminar in each of the academic subjects, exploring contributions each discipline can make: English, economics and history. In English, contemporary short stories in the voices of minority groups that have been discriminated against in society and in the literary canon were read and discussed. The main focus of the economics seminar was to research the issues of economic inequalities and economic discrimination. In history, a sampler of America's struggle with civil rights was presented. For the remainder of the project time, teachers were available as resources and coaches to ensure that the quarterly exhibitions were completed and ready for presentation at Parents Night. The Elders were steadfast in their commitment not only to assess the final product but also to assess the ongoing process and general work habits. This was not always easy with so many students coming and going.

An example from one morning's agenda reads:

The work so far this quarter has been of excellent quality overall; however, it is somewhat spotty in its regularity. There are still about five weeks left in the quarter to pull things together, so don't despair. We need some suggestions as to how to utilize the time after seminars. To some people, the 10:30þ11:32 time has become an elongated break with little obvious attention being paid to the many complex tasks at hand.

And a few days later:

Now zoom ahead into reality! Many of you look cozy and quite content. For that we are grateful; however, that is not the aim of our time allocation. The Elders routinely discuss the repeat offenders, and the lack of action will be reflected in your evaluation. Unless today is a marked improvement over yesterday, not only may you fail your Quarterly Project class grade, but you will also receive a massive amount of coal in your stocking.

Sink or Swim

Shortly after winter break, panic set in. Two more components to the projects were still to be completed: the planning and implementation of Parents Night and the scheduling of the oral defense. For Parents Night, each group or individual was required to present their product to the people in attendance. A detailed description of the creation process and project representation had to be prepared. Also, in our constant effort to have students go deeper with the subject matter and for us to ascertain what exactly they've learned, the Elders requested that each student pose an essential question around his or her project work that would be answered in an oral defense to the Elders.

By this time we were observing a sink-or-swim situation. Another example from a morning agenda:

So much is happening! The creating, the collaboration and discussions, are great to witness and take part in. The few people who are doing little are embarrassingly conspicuous. There is almost a magic transformation which can take place at this point in a huge project. The maps are being drawn, the research is taking shape, and the reservations for the trip are being finalized. All of us, including the Elders, need to be reminded that you all are doing the work. The Bronx trip is happening because enough of you wanted to experience life as it happens, not from a book. The maps and displays are taking on a life of their own because, to a large degree, you all had the choice of what you wanted to do as you immerse yourselves in a subject which touches us all in some way - discrimination. We all believe that you will produce lasting exhibits and artifacts from which others who follow you can learn.

The arrival of exhibitions week brought both a sense of pride and sighs of relief. Thayer administrators, faculty, and the student body meandered throughout the junior classrooms to hear presentations and see the exhibits. Most were impressed with the interest level and depth of understanding of the projects. Most important were the supportive comments received at Parents Night. Several parents talked about how overwhelmed they felt at seeing their children speak so eloquently and with profound interest about their projects. Their own experiences in school had been quite traditional, with teachers as the givers of information and students the passive receptors. Here their children had proposed what they wanted to learn, devised a plan of investigation, and planned and executed a well-prepared exhibition of what they had learned.

Standards and Lingering Questions

The question about how much they really did learn will continue to haunt us. Perhaps there are no absolute answers. To me it was an eclectic experience from which learning came from all parts of the process. There were valuable lessons learned from the simplest measurement of plywood for the maps to the development of essential questions for the oral challenge. From a Zenith Team Elder:

The level of true understanding of the subjects researched is absolutely astounding. Of course, an entire group can probably never agree on one system of learning, as one system never fits everyone's learning styles (for this reason we created the seminars this quarter). According to what we have been hearing from many of you, this project has worked for you. The knowledge many of you have attained through learning it yourselves rather than being "taught" by us, is something that we should not dismiss easily. It is doubtful that, in a more standard setting, a book would have imparted quite the feeling that actually visiting the Bronx did. It is doubtful that many of you would have stayed awake long enough to hear me TELL you about the ebb and flow of the Civil War.

For the future, we are confident that our nineteen graduation skills will drive the curriculum that culminates with in-depth exhibitions. We strive to engage in an ongoing dialogue between staff, students, and parents as to what we should teach, how we should teach, and what we expect our students to learn.

Dr. Dennis Littky, Thayer's principal, sums it up best:

I always find that the teachers who empower students the most and who get the students the most excited about learning are the ones who are ready to give up teaching certain facts and who are willing to follow the students. Then they can push, cajole, help students go further. But until learning becomes real and built on action, it will be fake.

Figure One: Thayer High School Graduation Skills

1. Applying scientific concepts
2. Distinguishing between evidence and opinion
3. Interpreting data and graphs
4. Reading comprehension
5. Problem solving
6. Understanding the consequences of technology and development on society and the environment
7. Organization
8. Research
9. Oral expression
10. Written expression
11. Starting and finishing multi-faceted projects
12. Cooperation
13. Comparing and contrasting information
14. Applying measurement
15. Applying mathematics
16. Using technology as a tool
17. Independent learning
18. Formulating essential questions
19. Participating as a citizen

Figure Two: Exhibitions Requirements

Map Project:

1. Timeline: A detailed timelinethat specifies economic and historical events, facts, people,places, inventions, literature, art,etc. This time-line will cover the period or periods depicted by your map.
2. Pictorial Display: Scrapbook/textbook and/or accompanying collage capturing cultural expressions of the time covered. Basically, you are showing what the period covered "looked" like.
3. Map: All maps must be drawn to a minimum of 1:50 scale. Remember, the lower the number in your scale,the larger the map will be. (Roughly speaking, a 1:50 map of the U.S. is4'x6', not including a border.) Additionally, all maps must include the following as a minimum. You may add more as you see fit:
• Map key
• Map scale
• Boundaries: natural and political
• Major geographical features
• Capitals and five additional major cities
• Colorful display which is creative and attractively presented

Map suggestions: [The following list was suggested; students were invited to submit other ideas.]

1. Civil War battle sites: show location of battles and outcomes
2. Native American battle sites, settlements, and relocation sites
3. Civil rights confrontations, demonstrations, sites of importance
4. Settlements of immigrants from 1850 on
5. Socio-economic indicators: current statistics
• per capita income
• minority locations
• toxic waste sites
• unemployment figures
• areas of relative wealth andpoverty
• indication of minority populations in relation to the above

Bronx Exchange Project

1. Write a brief, one-to-two-page history of New York City's five boroughs.
2. Describe the major periods of immigration into NYC's Ellis Island. How many stayed in NYC and how many left for other parts of the U.S.?
3. Outline major civil rights disturbances in NYC during the last thirty years and give a brief description as to their cause.
4. How did blacks and Hispanics come to largely inhabit the five boroughs of NYC and many other northern cities? Describe their journey.
5. Research at least three myths about blacks that have been disproved by scientific means, e.g., blacks are inferior to whites intellectually. This myth is still widely held as true by some people. Science long ago disproved this as racist propaganda. Find and research three more of your own.
6. Research the current movement toward school change. How is it that Mr. Washor ended up at Bronx Regional and why did Paul and Kari visit Walbrook High School in Baltimore? Why do so many people around the country look to Dr. Littky and Thayer High for examples of school change? What do you all have in common with Bronx Regional students concerning your school experience?

The Economics Component of the Project: Each student will create an economic survey that compares the cost-of-living/daily living expenses between New York City and Winchester, NH. You will need to include the following:

1. Compare wage scales between the two areas in terms of similar jobs and occupations. You only need to use a few examples to show this.
2. Discuss the job market and employment opportunities between the two locations. Discuss both the job market for full-time and part- time workers (high schoolers).
3. Compare and contrast daily living expenses such as cost of housing, rents, transportation expenses, entertainment costs, food, insurance, gasoline,utilities, clothes, and any other items that you can find.
4. Draw a conclusion based on personal interviews, newspapers, or television and radio broadcasts asto the general cost-of-living differences and the differences in wages earned.
5. Examine the issue of state andlocal taxes that are levied in NYC that are not collected here. Compare property taxes between the two areas.
6. In the last part of your paper, discuss the local economic condition of NYC and vicinity and discuss the impact that the recession has had on it.

Notes

1. For information about this stage in our development of an assessment system, see Julie Gainsburg, "Covering Our Assessmentî in Jody Brown Podl et al., "The Process of Planning Backwards,î Providence, RI: Coalition of Essential Schools, Studies on Exhibitions (No. 7), 1992.
2. See Joseph P. McDonald, "Three Pictures of an Exhibition: Warm, Cool and Hard,î Providence, RI: Coalition of Essential Schools, Studies on Exhibitions (No. 1), 1991.
3. See Joseph P. McDonald, "Dilemmas of Planning Backwards,î Providence, RI: Coalition of Essential Schools, Studies on Exhibitions (No. 3), 1991.

 

The Coalition of Essential Schools gratefully acknowledges the IBM Corporation for its support of research on Exhibitions.

The author wishes to thank the Zenith Team elders, Jean Kennedy, Tom McGuire And Mike Brown, for their generous contributions to her work.

 

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This resource last updated: May 30, 2002

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