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Philippa Rappoport

Lead, Education and Engagement
Smithsonian Office of Educational Technology
Smithsonian Staff

I work in education and engagement, teacher professional development, and outreach at the Smithsonian Office of Educational Technology (OET), and have a particular interest in developing and producing trainings, programs, teaching techniques, and platforms that foster deep learning and contribute knowledge to improve practices in museum and preK-16 education and engagement. At OET over the last decade+, I created digital assets for schools, families, and new immigrant English Language learners to complement teacher professional development and pan-Smithsonian programming, including Learning Lab teaching collections, YouTube videos with tradition bearers, a handmade family stories book-making website, and online heritage tours.

Philippa Rappoport's collections

 

Story Work to Increase Engagement and Empathy (Companion Collection for SNES Workshop)

<p>Interested in designing rewarding assignments for students that incorporate museum digital content, while developing written communication skills, collaboration, and technology literacy? This collection supports a workshop that introduces participants to Digital Storytelling--a high-impact pedagogy embraced by artists, activists, and educators worldwide--with the support of content from the Smithsonian’s free online Learning Lab platform. Participants analyze examples and create their own digital stories to inform applications for their classrooms. Examples shown come from college classrooms, but digital storytelling is broadly applicable across disciplines and grade levels.</p> <p>Included here are materials intended to help users produce digital storytelling projects in their own classrooms. Click on the paperclip on the agenda tile (first row, thrid tile) to see the pre-workshop assignment that participants were asked to complete before attending the in-person workshop.</p> <p>The workshop and collection have been produced by Matthew Decker and Sara Ducey of Montgomery College and Philippa Rappoport of the Smithsonian Office of Educational Technology.</p> <p></p> <p>#DigitalStorytelling, #MCTeach</p>
Philippa Rappoport
42
 

2024 Smithsonian-Montgomery College Faculty Fellowship Program - National Museum of African American History and Culture

<p>This collection serves as an introduction to the six and final session of the 2024 Smithsonian-Montgomery College Faculty Fellowship Program. This year's theme is “Teaching and Learning with the Smithsonian: Creating Classroom Conversations that Foster a Hopeful Future to Meet the Challenges of a Rapidly Changing World.”<br><br>Auntaneshia Staveloz, Senior Manager in the Office of Strategic Partnerships, and Kelly Elaine Navies, Museum Specialist in Oral History, will discuss signature programs of the museum's engagement, collection, digitization, and outreach strategy. Resources included in this collection have been recommended by the presenter for participants to explore before the seminar itself.</p> <p>#MCteach</p>
Philippa Rappoport
17
 

2024 Smithsonian-Montgomery College Faculty Fellowship Program - National Portrait Gallery

<p>This collection serves as an introduction to the fifth session of the 2024 Smithsonian-Montgomery College Faculty Fellowship Program. This year's theme is “Teaching and Learning with the Smithsonian: Creating Classroom Conversations that Foster a Hopeful Future to Meet the Challenges of a Rapidly Changing World.”<br><br>Briana Zavadil White, Head of Education and Public Programs at the National Portrait Gallery, will introduce strategies to engage students in reading portraiture, looking at the <em>Recent Acquisitions </em>and<em> 20th Century Americans </em>galleries. Resources included in this collection have been recommended by the presenter for participants to explore before the seminar itself.<br></p> <p>#MCteach</p>
Philippa Rappoport
9
 

2024 Smithsonian-Montgomery College Faculty Fellowship Program - Opening Panel Resources

<p>This collection serves as an introduction to the opening panel of the 2024 Smithsonian-Montgomery College Faculty Fellowship Program. This year's theme is “Teaching and Learning with the Smithsonian: Creating Classroom Conversations that Foster a Hopeful Future to Meet the Challenges of a Rapidly Changing World.” </p> <p>Three curators from the National Museum of Natural History will present: Joshua Bell <em>(Cellphone: Unseen Connections)</em>, Igor Krupnik <em>(Living on the Changing Planet: Why Indigenous Voices Matter?)</em>, and Stephen Loring <em>(Lights Out: Recovering Our Night Sky).</em> Their bios and related resources are included inside. (Click on each tile for more information.)</p> <p></p> <p>#MCTeach</p>
Philippa Rappoport
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Teaching African American History: Acts of Resistance | Cultivating Learning

<p><span dir="auto">This collection is a digital companion to a <em>Cultivating Learning</em> professional development session with Candra Flanagan, Lead for Teaching and Learning at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. </span>The session explores an expanding set of free digital materials on African American history, “North Star: A Digital Journey.” </p> <p>Designed for grades 6–12, the set features stories and throughlines from the museum’s permanent exhibitions. Using images, documents, videos, and checks for understanding, students and their adults can investigate and think critically about history. </p> <p>The session focuses on individual and community resistance. Participants will gain content knowledge applicable to teaching about slavery in the U.S. context as well as familiarity with the free online resources of “North Star: A Digital Journey.”<br></p> <p>This interactive webinar is part of “Cultivating Learning,” a professional development webinar series focusing on techniques to use digital museum resources for learning. Check out “Cultivating Learning” and other Smithsonian Learning Lab webinars: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbW0tbkVMdEJJcVd0QzRxcEU0QzYyZjh5VEY2d3xBQ3Jtc0trUFVObFlPY0hsWXZxX3c2RWNRVklOdnlrenNrVERXQXZnSTVSQ28tZVVuLU9rSjhLTkdyN3doT2s0RlN0eURHV1lYclB2R0hvNDlUdnU3Zi1xdTdXWnRGajAySzFianJZYUtOY0Qzc3dfSV9GMXZmZw&q=https%3A%2F%2Flearninglab.si.edu%2Fhelp&v=s6WrXnRH2Iw"></a><a href="https://learninglab.si.edu/help">https://learninglab.si.edu/help</a>.</p>
Philippa Rappoport
14
 

DCPS Arts Innovation Leadership Institute: Incorporating Arts and Technology in the Classroom with the Smithsonian Learning Lab

<p>This Learning Lab collection complements an introductory Learning Lab training for DCPS educators in the Arts Innovation Leadership Institute (AILI). We will explore artwork and resources from the Smithsonian digital collections, including the National Portrait Gallery's exhibition, <em><a href="https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/IgLygJNprGf3JA%20and%20https:/npg.si.edu/exhibition/eye-i-self-portraits-1900-today">Eye to I: Self-Portraiture as an Exploration of Identity</a></em>, as a way to consider the functionality of the Learning Lab and help AILI educators understand how they can use the Learning Lab to enhance their students' learning and classroom experience. </p> <p></p> <p>#DigitalStorytelling</p>
Philippa Rappoport
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Celebrating Cultural Diversity and Our Shared Humanity | Cultivating Learning

<p><span dir="auto">This collection serves as a digital companion to a <em>Cultivating Learning</em> professional development session with Marjorie Hunt, curator and education specialist </span>at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. The session explores the Center’s award-winning “Masters of Tradition: A Cultural Journey Across America” story map. This free multimedia platform features the stories of extraordinary artists from across the country who have been awarded the NEA National Heritage Fellowship, the nation’s highest honor for excellence in the folk and traditional arts. With its abundant photographs, audio, video, short text, and first-person quotes, students can discover and explore the great diversity of cultures, communities, and artistic traditions that enrich the United States — and be inspired to learn more about their own cultural heritage and the traditions of others. The session focused on grade 5-12 classroom applications for a variety of key themes, including immigration and migration, local history, identity, heritage, and community, and shares with participants replicable techniques and free online resources to help foster a shared sense of belonging, build cultural bridges, and bring people together. <br></p> <p>This interactive webinar is part of “Cultivating Learning,” a professional development webinar series focusing on techniques to use digital museum resources for learning. Check out “Cultivating Learning” and other Smithsonian Learning Lab webinars: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbW0tbkVMdEJJcVd0QzRxcEU0QzYyZjh5VEY2d3xBQ3Jtc0trUFVObFlPY0hsWXZxX3c2RWNRVklOdnlrenNrVERXQXZnSTVSQ28tZVVuLU9rSjhLTkdyN3doT2s0RlN0eURHV1lYclB2R0hvNDlUdnU3Zi1xdTdXWnRGajAySzFianJZYUtOY0Qzc3dfSV9GMXZmZw&q=https%3A%2F%2Flearninglab.si.edu%2Fhelp&v=s6WrXnRH2Iw"></a><a href="https://learninglab.si.edu/help">https://learninglab.si.edu/help</a>.<span dir="auto"> </span></p>
Philippa Rappoport
14
 

Supporting Positive Identity Development with Museum Objects | Cultivating Learning

<p><span dir="auto">This collection serves as a digital companion to a <em>Cultivating Learning</em> professional development session with Anna Hindley (Director), and Ariel Moon (LeadEducation Specialist) of the </span>Early Childhood Education Initiative (ECEI) at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. At ECEI, celebration and affirmation are at the foundation of early conversations about history, culture and identity with children. In this session, Anna and Ariel show how museum objects can be used to create joyful and empowering learning experiences for preschool through 2nd-grade students. They share NMAAHC Kids’ <em>Joyful ABCs</em> online resource collection for use in participants’ classrooms. Based on the book, <em>A is for All The Things You Are</em> by Anna Hindley, this series of activity books and videos uses museum objects and stories of Black history and culture to support all children to express and love themselves. The session focuses on supporting educators to use developmentally appropriate strategies for beginning these important conversations and lessons by utilizing the Joyful ABCs series resources.<br><br>This interactive webinar is part of “Cultivating Learning,” a professional development webinar series focusing on techniques to use digital museum resources for learning. Check out “Cultivating Learning” and other Smithsonian Learning Lab webinars: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbW0tbkVMdEJJcVd0QzRxcEU0QzYyZjh5VEY2d3xBQ3Jtc0trUFVObFlPY0hsWXZxX3c2RWNRVklOdnlrenNrVERXQXZnSTVSQ28tZVVuLU9rSjhLTkdyN3doT2s0RlN0eURHV1lYclB2R0hvNDlUdnU3Zi1xdTdXWnRGajAySzFianJZYUtOY0Qzc3dfSV9GMXZmZw&q=https%3A%2F%2Flearninglab.si.edu%2Fhelp&v=s6WrXnRH2Iw"></a><a href="https://learninglab.si.edu/help">https://learninglab.si.edu/help</a>.<span dir="auto"> </span></p>
Philippa Rappoport
9
 

Using Biography and Portraiture to Learn about Asian Pacific American History | Cultivating Learning

<p><span dir="auto">This collection serves as a digital companion to a <em>Cultivating Learning</em> professional development session with Andrea Kim Neighbors, Head of Education at the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center (APAC), exploring </span>how biographies and portraits can be used to learn about Asian Pacific American history, art, culture, lived experiences, and more. In the session, participants practice techniques to analyze a portrait from APAC's book, "We Are Here: 30 Inspiring Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Who Have Shaped the United States," emphasizing the story of tennis star and activist Naomi Osaka. This session focuses on close looking and reflection on how Osaka spoke up about social injustice, the Black Lives Matter movement, and her experiences as a mixed-race woman of Japanese and Haitian descent. Included here are 30 classroom-ready digital activities that can be used with middle and high school students, and strategies to use with portraiture and biography.<br><br>This interactive webinar is part of “Cultivating Learning,” a professional development webinar series focusing on techniques to use digital museum resources for learning. Check out “Cultivating Learning” and other Smithsonian Learning Lab webinars:<a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbW0tbkVMdEJJcVd0QzRxcEU0QzYyZjh5VEY2d3xBQ3Jtc0trUFVObFlPY0hsWXZxX3c2RWNRVklOdnlrenNrVERXQXZnSTVSQ28tZVVuLU9rSjhLTkdyN3doT2s0RlN0eURHV1lYclB2R0hvNDlUdnU3Zi1xdTdXWnRGajAySzFianJZYUtOY0Qzc3dfSV9GMXZmZw&q=https%3A%2F%2Flearninglab.si.edu%2Fhelp&v=s6WrXnRH2Iw"></a><a href="https://learninglab.si.edu/help">https://learninglab.si.edu/help</a><br></p>
Philippa Rappoport
7
 

Museums as Pathways to Public Problem Solving? (The National Museum of American History)

<p>This collection complements Unit 7 of the EdX course, <em><a href="https://www.edx.org/course/teaching-with-the-smithsonian-addressing-21st-century-challenges-in-the-community-college-classroom" target="_blank">Teaching with the Smithsonian: Addressing 21st-Century Challenges in the College Classroom</a></em><em>. </em>It includes resources to support the session presentation by Margaret Salazar-Porzio from the National Museum of American History.</p> <p><br></p> <p>#MCTeach #EdXTeach</p>
Philippa Rappoport
12
 

Deep Time: A Planetary Heat Wave 56 Million Years Ago (National Museum of Natural History)

<p>This collection complements Unit 6 of the EdX course, <em>Teaching with the Smithsonian: Addressing 21st-Century Challenges in the Community College Classroom. </em>It includes resources to support the session presentation by Scott Wing, Research Scientist and Curator of Fossil Plants, at the National Museum of Natural History. </p> <p></p> <p>#MCTeach #EdXTeach</p>
Philippa Rappoport
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Hung Liu: Portraits of Promised Lands (National Portrait Gallery)

<p>This collection complements Unit 5 of the EdX course, <em><a href="https://www.edx.org/course/teaching-with-the-smithsonian-addressing-21st-century-challenges-in-the-community-college-classroom" target="_blank">Teaching with the Smithsonian: Addressing 21st-Century Challenges in the College Classroom</a></em><em>. </em>It includes resources to support the session presentations by artist Hung Liu and curator Dorothy Moss of the National Portrait Gallery, discussing the exhibition, <em>Portraits of Promised Lands.</em></p> <p>#MCTeach #EdXTeach</p>
Philippa Rappoport
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