A21SC TIMELINE
A21SC TIMELINE
Embedded Files
2015
2015
As bilingual education was gaining traction and the entire educational system being challenged to advance innovative practices, BNCs were instilled by the State Department to embark on a very promising learning journey. The BNC network was encouraged to repurpose environments and materials so as to offer people who came to our American Spaces a vivid, one-of-a-kind learning environment to connect to the U.S., other people, ideas, projects, tools and machines, and to create something of value for themselves or their community. Sponsor to this project and at the time, the IPO at the Embassy in Brasilia, Elenita tapawan, described the three challenge statements as follows:
To lengthen the education arc with the notion that learning continues outside the classroom in collaborative and interactive spaces of American Spaces.
To embrace the maker movement as an essential education approach for achieving 21st century information literacy and digital skills.
To convey the relevance of Smithsonian content and maker activities as established by the IIP-Smithsonian partnership for advancing U.S. foreign policy goals.
Equip American Spaces with non-traditional resources and unconventional ideas to enable them to become the highest performing centers for in-person as well as virtual engagement of local and regional audiences.
Support from the Smithsonian
Support from the Smithsonian
THE IDEA BOOK
Smithsonian designers created an Idea Book and a Content and Programming Book, which provided design concepts, furniture recommendations, Smithsonian resources, programming concepts, and digital strategies to the global network of American Spaces. The Idea book was both extremely inspirational and the look and feel suggested was implemented very successful. Most BNCs upgraded their classrooms, common areas, and libraries to incorporate the design elements and foster an innovator mindset.
THE PROGRAMMING BOOK
The programming book posed a bigger challenge for two main reasons: First, most BNC students are between 10 - 18 years olds English learners that face challenges when coping with authentic content oriented materials. Second, nearly every BNC uses their own English curriculum. Fortunately, the enthusiasm for Maker Centered Learning opened some space for BNCs to be willing to experiment All the program plans designed at the time reside on this site and could be used by any American Space willing to collaborate to the project 21CSKILLS
Smithsonian content and programming session at an American Spaces training session in Brasilia, Brazil led by Aviva Rosenthal and Lauren Appelbaum (2015). Photo credit: United States Government.
Attention points:
Attention points:
Casa Thomas Jefferson and PA Brasilia were the lead implementers.
The programs should meet the five core programs. However, programs in Portuguese, as an exception, could happen if they are perceived as strategic.
Teachers could bring students to the space and show what's happening. But, students should come on their own, for the project should not disrupt the classroom.
Strands of Action
Strands of Action
Casa Thomas Jefferson had the challenge of redesigning learning environments to address mission goals in our libraries in a strategic and engaging fashion and timely pass on knowledge and implementation tips to the BNC learning community. So, a careful action plan was designed by the head of innovation at the time, Carla Arena, to make sure CTJ would rise to the challenge.
Our action plan was divided in three strands.
Teamwork and Internal Expertise Strand - Engage librarians in ongoing professional development opportunities (training sessions, meetings, webinars, online communities, etc. ) to prepare and empower them to create and implement their own programs.
Community Strand - Strengthen the participation of CTJ students and local community in the CTJ American Space programs, activities, and workshops in the main areas below, and increase the number of visits to the Space.
Communication Strand - Advertise the CTJ American Space programs, activities and workshops to CTJ students and the local community to enhance understanding and interest about US-related topics.
SUCCESS STORIES
SUCCESS STORIES
RC staff at Casa Thomas Jefferson was able to offer the community programs that added value to the services provided by the institution. Students and community members were participatory and came to our RCs to experiment new learning experiences. BNCs were motivated to follow the lead as CTJ delivered 6 webinars, distributed lesson plans and was available for consultation both personally and online.
RC staff lead by the Library Engagement Specialist Wander Pavão in training at Thomas Maker
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