Phase Two: Egyptian Amulet STEAM Collaboration with the North Carolina Museum of Art!

Above the first set of 3D printed amulets made by NRC technology teacher, Mr. Baldwin. 

Participating students and teachers at NRC have now completed their pre-activities for this week's virtual visit from the North Carolina Museum of Art, the first of two planned visits.

This is Phase Two of the ongoing NRC/North Carolina Museum of Art STEAM Collaboration.  The general theme of this STEAM collaboration is "Why Do Humans Make?"  LINK 

This collaborative STEAM art project, entitled, "Gaining STEAM from Ancient Egyptian Artifacts," began last June when WPU Art Professor in Residence Triada Samaras met North Carolina/NC Museum of Art Acting Director of Education Michelle Harrell in Raleigh, NC, where the art museum is located. LINK

 Image above from the NC Museum of Art LINK

Students of NRC Art Teacher Ms. Senopole, NRC Technology Teacher Mr. Baldwin, and Social Studies Teacher Mr. Fusco have all examined and wondered about two Ancient Egyptian Amulets from the Egyptian Wing at the museum.  The teachers are collaborating with Distance Educator Emily Koteki, Ms. Camille Tewell Art Educator, both from the NC Museum of Art Education Department and Art PIR Triada Samaras.  This coming Tuesday, in the virtual visit, Ms. Koteki and Ms. Tewell will interact directly with these NRC students in their classroom, "broadcasting" from the museum's Egyptian wing.

Last week, Ms. Senopole and Mr. Baldwin asked their students questions about the amulets and the material, faience.  Students were urged to make educated guesses about these amulets and to think about the objects according to whatever knowledge they already have.  Mr. Baldwin made a questionnaire form (at left.)

Students viewed these amulets in two formats: 2D and 3D.  First they saw these images projected on their classroom Smartboards (2D) from the NC Museum of Art Website.
Above images of Amulet of Nehebkau and Isis and Horus from NC Museum of Art Egyptian Collection.  LINK

Next they held these amulets in their hands!  Mr. Baldwin 3D printed out replicas of the works from plans sent to him by the Education Department at the Museum.  He printed both small and large versions of the works.  His large-scale royal blue amulets were quite a hit with the students!

 


































Above the large set of 3D printed amulets made by NRC technology teacher, Mr. Baldwin. Each large amulet too 14 hours to print!

Lastly students watched a video on the oldest man-made material found in the world, faience, and they learned about and wondered about this material as well.  Students had many interesting thoughts and comments.  They wondered about the reason for the amulets, the makers of the amulets, and the fluke that caused the invention of faience.

This Tuesday, Nov 29, when the NC Museum of Art visits NRC via technology, the speakers will discuss the works with the students, and inspire them to create their own amulets in the near future.

This exciting STEAM art project has been several months in the making and has required a many planning meetings and strategies at NRC, with Art PIR Samaras and with members of the NRC staff working together to organize all.  Now all of the various pieces are coming together and many students, teachers, and administrators at NRC are very excited to see what this long distance collaboration between a museum and a school will yield! 

Mr. Baldwin's students have already begun using the software "Tinkercad" LINK in anticipation of the NC Museum of Art virtual visit.  This free software allows them to brainstorm and create 3D objects on their screens.  They are planning to design their own amulets in technology class using Tinkercad.  Then they will send their designs to the 3D printers in their own classroom and print them out!

This is a true STEAM activity that crosses several disciplines:  Technology (Mr. Baldwin and Ms. Selino), Art (Ms. Mandal and Ms. Senopole), and Social Studies (Mr. Fusco.)

Emphasizing the “T” in STEAM at the WPU Ed Tech Conference

On November 18, 2016, Janette Selino, New Roberto Community Middle School Technology Teacher, and Dina Scacchetti, WPU Geraldine R. Dodge Grant Coordinator, jointly presented "From Paint to Pixels and Back:  Integrating Art and Technology" at William Paterson University's 7^th Annual Educational Technology Conference.  

The theme of the conference, which was co-chaired by Dr. Heejung An, Professor of Learning Technology, Elementary Science Education, and Educational Research, and Dr. Pei-Lin Weng, Assistant Professor of Special Education and Counseling, was 

Are You Ready to Invent?: STEM + ARTS = STEAM!  

The conference was intended to deepen participants’ understanding of new directions in teaching science and mathematics by integrating engineering, technology, and the arts. 

Scacchetti (at right) highlighted the success of WPU's Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation grant, which has expanded the case for the importance of art to student engagement and achievement.  

Selino (at left) then shared successful efforts to use art-related applications and programs that provide students with 21st century skills and content.  






Several on-line applications were offered that permit and encourage art integration across all content areas.  Participants were encouraged to engage in hand-on experimentation with these applications, either by using the University's computers or their own devices.

'Improbable Combinations' Make for Intriguing Artworks at SOIT

In Ms. Simon's art class at SOIT, students recently created unusual artworks combining aspects of two art genres: still life using interesting objects from nature and landscape art.   

Triada Samaras, Art PIR, interviewed this STEAM art teacher about this project:

Mrs. Simon said "I decided to do an 'improbable combination' so I asked STEAM students to compare and contrast still life and landscape art, and then put them together into an 'improbable combination' artwork.  There is an art historical movement that set a precedent for this type of art project called Surrealism."

Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for its visual artworks and writings. The aim was to "resolve the previously contradictory conditions of dream and reality". [See  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrealism.]

Mrs. Simon continued, "What I wanted to do was to have my students realize that natural objects are organic shapes.  These shapes, which they can use in a still life, could be successfully integrated into a landscape.  This is a nature-based activity which segues to content they will learn in their biology classrooms." 

"I wanted students to really perceive the shapes, colors and textures of the natural objects and to theorize where these objects came from, and what might be their function in nature. Perceiving is more than seeing.  Perceiving is seeing with more acute concentration and detail, as a scientist would do in a laboratory or in the field." 

Art PIR Triada Samaras also interviewed Dycquan Dookie, an art  student in Ms. Simon's class.  Dycquan is also an athlete at SOIT, and plays soccer and football on the school teams.

Ms. Samaras:  "How did the world you created in your art work come about?"
Dycquan:  "The dinosaur, an extinct species, first came to my mind and I decided to use it.  Dinosaurs had to look for food a lot, and that is what this one is doing.  As for the shell, it is in the hill because it is in hills that you could find things like that. The cheetah is in the grass hunting. And I drew a tree and put the tree-like object looking as though it belonged there.
Ms. Samaras: "What did you learn about yourself while creating your art?"
Dycquan:  "As I created my artwork, I learned that I have a good imagination, and that I could choose whatever object I wanted to include in my drawings."

 

CAHTS has plunged into STEAM!

At CAHTS this fall, Art Teacher Ms. Vivian Reyes is working on an art/math project with her STEAM students to create inspiring black and white artworks on paper.
Students are using a numerical sequence 5-35-5 to construct perspective-like compositions on their large white papers using pencils, rulers, compasses, and permanent markers.  The sequence refers to the fact that they must use 5 points, 35 lines, and 5 circles to create their compositions.

Art PIR Triada Samaras interviewed Ms. Reyes about this project:

Ms Reyes spoke:

"It is a pre-lesson on perspective and on op-art.  I start this lesson by explaining to students about the artist Escher, and how his work is based on mathematics.  Then I tell the students this lesson has the same origin as a perspective lesson in which you use vanishing points and orthogonal lines. It uses elements of art, and principles of design.

Steam is Thriving at GOPA!

STEAM is thriving at the School of Government and Public Administration this year!

Art teacher Mr. Jones of GOPA is developing compelling STEAM projects for his STEAM students that challenge them to think critically while they develop knowledge about the Elements of Art and the Principles of Design.

In Mr. Jones' class recently WPU Art Professor in Residence Triada Samaras interviewed Mr. Jones' about the art projects in class:  "In works of art there are guidelines and these guidelines tend to be constructed as rules.  However, there are really no rules in art.  My students employed the guidelines of color, symmetry, and object placement effectively and in their own style to create pleasing visual images.  In the worlds of science and math there ARE hard and fast rules. The training that the students receive in my art class will hopefully allow them to go back to their other classrooms and to recombine the rules in science and math to create new ideas.  I'm teaching the students to think critically."  

Art PIR Triada Samaras also interviewed one of Mr. Jones' art students, Stephany Guzman, while she was creating art in the classroom.  Stephany relates:
"Art is important in the way it gets messages out to the world. People all over the world can connect with other people through art even though they don't speak the same language.  You can express yourself in your own way." 

An Intriguing Cross Between Science, Engineering and Art at GOPA and SOIT

 












Several fascinating STEAM projects were developed in the environmental science and chemistry classes of GOPA and SOIT this fall. Using the new district-wide science curriculum,
these high school science teachers were able to collaborate, design, plan and implement their projects inspired by a variety of creative/scientific ideas found in Resource Folders provided in "Unit Zero." (For example see "Cards to the Sky Gummy Bear Challenge" described at the end of this post, marked with *)

Participating teachers included science teachers Mr. Schulties, Mr. Agyeman, Ms. Gilstrap, and Mr. Thompson (GOPA) and Ms. Sweet and Ms. Jarvis-Hicks (SOIT).  These STEAM projects were intra-curricular because both environmental science and chemistry teachers did the same project. In addition, teachers were encouraged to improvise with the resource materials found in "Unit Zero" and adjust the activities based on their classroom needs. Art PIR Triada Samaras interviewed two of these teachers:

Environmental Science teacher Ms. Gilstrap explained:
"This was the "Zero" unit in our science curriculum. This unit emphasizes getting students interested in science and in scientific problems."

Chemistry teacher Mr. Schulties added:
"In my class, I gave the prompt to my students that they would be constructing a tower for a gummy bear village.  I explained to them that the village has a number of different design requirements that needed to be met. For example, students needed to create structures that would have to stand up to various physical forces such as wind and gravity.  In addition they needed to consider some aspects of engineering such as height and weight." 

"I then provided students with their materials including a deck of cards, a pair of scissors and a roll of scotch tape.  I told them they needed to go and meet the requirements for each structure and to plan a presentation of their structure to the "Planning Board" (meaning, to me)."


Mr. Schulties continued, "The rubric was built around how many requirements were met. Then, using these requirements, the classes collected date to determine a 'winner'. My students realized that even though the rubric requirements were met, there was still no clear winner. Thus they discovered  the idea of qualitative data." 

"Students understood their decision for a 'winner' would need to be determined qualitatively in addition to quantitatively.  This was an important milestone for them.  They learned the importance of collecting and analyzing both types of data in determining a solution to their problem. Thus, students could infer that by looking at the art behind an engineering project they could make quality structures that are very beautiful aesthetically.  So what started out as an science/engineering lesson then his turned into a lesson of science PLUS design and aesthetics.  The case for STEAM was clearly demonstrated in this project." 

*  “Cards to the Sky” Gummy Bear Tower Challenge

(from the Resources provided in 'Unit Zero' by the Paterson School District for Science Teachers)

ROYAL-FLUSH, Inc., an architectural and structural engineering firm, has a contract with the Bear Valley Community to design and build the community's first skyscraper structure. You work for ROYAL-FLUSH, and have been assigned to complete the project.

The following design requirements have been determined for the structure:

DESIGN REQUIREMENTS

1)   A height of 14 inches (this may seem a bit short, but given that the average height of a Bear is ¾inch, this makes for a pretty tall building in Bear terms).

2)   A platform on the top of the structure that will hold 6 Bears, for viewing lovely Bear Valley.

3)   Stability through a hairdryer wind at 14 inches from a westerly direction. Designs that exceed this requirement are acceptable too.

4)   Pleasing to look at.

5)   As small a mass as possible, since the structure will be constructed off site, then trucked into the Valley for final installation.

6)   Construction materials: 1 standard deck of playing cards, 1 roll of tape, a pair of scissors.

7)   The final structure must contain the roll of tape and the pair of scissors.

8)   Completed construction in 45 minutes. This may seem like a short period, but given that the life span on a Bear is only 2 days, there is no time to waste!

9)   A three minute client presentation, where the design features, rationale, and general approach to solving the problem are discussed (chart paper and markers supplied)

Your 3-minute presentation should include:

• Basic design approaches your team considered
• What design requirements your team focused on
• The estimated mass of your structure
• Proof that the structure meets the wind requirement.
• How your team spent its time
• Overall approach taken to solve the problem (Provide a schematic that represents the process.)

Masses

The following information should help in estimating the mass of your skyscraper:

Card Box = 5.13 g

1 Card = 1.63 g

5 Cards = 8.15 g

20 Cards = 32.60 g

Source: Sheppard, S. (2001). The compatibility (or incompatibility) of how we teach engineering design and analysis. International Journal of Engineering Education, 17(4-5), 440-445. Retrieved from http://www.ijee.ie/articles/Vol17-4and5/Ijee1234.pdf

School 2 Eighth Graders “Illuminate” Their Math Lesson

Art PIR Sandler and Math Teacher LaChapel recently developed a lesson that integrated the concept of the slope of a line with the creation of colorful “stained glass” artworks.

The slope of a line is the rise (change in y) divided by the run (change in x.)  The equation of a line can be represented by y = mx + b, where m represents the slope of the line.

The students began by graphing several lines, and determining their slopes.

To reinforce their knowledge, the students then added the art component, turning their efforts into  “stained glass” artworks.

The lesson was graded using a rubric that included both math and art requirements.

The final products became a bulletin board that all at School 2 could admire.