Students Share Learning in Culminating Experiences
January 10, 2022
Header photo by Charlotte Reimanis ’23
As we approach the end of the fall semester, campus is buzzing with teachers and students preparing for the culmination of their fall semester courses. All of our learners are reflecting on their progress from the past five months, synthesizing information and skills into final projects, exams, and performances. The following are some examples of the creative and diverse ways students are demonstrating their learning from the semester.
Curran Broderick’s photography class has been creating photo books. Each student is curating their larger semester-long collection into an intentional set of images chosen around a specific theme. For this culminating experience, students are engaging in peer critique, using the vocabulary of composition to provide feedback to their classmates. Many of these final photographs have been on digital display in the White Building this month, so the community can enjoy them while passing through the halls.
John Luce’s chorus classes have undergone several creative evolutions and adaptations during the COVID pandemic. His middle school students are wrapping up their semester by researching choral arrangements for many voices and creating a “hypothetical program” for a future choral concert. Students view performances of the different arrangements, evaluate them, pick their favorites, and will be presenting their choices to the class.
In Karen Heinzmann’s French 3, students won’t just be sitting for a traditional exam; they’ll also be honing their writing and speaking skills by drafting and performing skits, in French, to their classmates. This allows students to demonstrate their spoken language skills, as well as their performance skills.
Can you measure the height of a tree without climbing to the top? Accurately plan out the dimensions of a deck? As a part of their culminating experience, Melissa Perry’s geometry students completed a series of hands-on group tasks that included solving these real-world problems. Students applied their geometry skills to prove the accuracy of their measurements, working in groups to collaboratively develop and execute their plans.
Leah Boch has been utilizing a reflective curriculum throughout the semester, and students are wrapping up their Spanish 2 learning by compiling a portfolio that demonstrates their proficiency in Writing, Speaking, Curiosity, Goals, and Pride & Confidence. Students are including artifacts that show their growth in these areas throughout the course of the class, and presenting them as a slide show.
Scott Ellis’ Environmental Studies and Outdoor Education students spent time at the end of this semester calculating their annual carbon footprint to understand their personal impact on the planet. After that, they went a step further, and figured out how many acres of forest sequester, or hold, that amount of carbon. Student Finn Linehan created a visual representation of this acreage.