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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

 

Cuban Balseros: Using Art and Artifact to Explore an American Immigration Story

<p>This teaching collection helps students think critically and globally about migration,  using two objects from 1992: a screenprint, "Fragile Crossing," by Cuban American artist Luis Cruz Azaceta, and a small Cuban raft that was intercepted off the coast of Florida.</p> <p>Using Project Zero Visible Thinking and Global Thinking Routines, students will consider the personal, local and global contexts in which these objects were created, the larger story they tell, and why they matter. </p> <p>Included here are the screenprint from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, a video with Grant Czubinski (Anacostia Community Museum) and Ranald Woodaman (Smithsonian Latino Center), two suggested Thinking Routines - "See, Think, Wonder" and "The 3 Y's" - from Harvard's Project Zero Artful Thinking and Global Thinking materials, an article on Cuban <em>balseros</em> by Natalie Catasus, and a Learning Lab collection about the work of Luis Cruz Azaceta. <br /></p> <p>For use in Social Studies, Ethnic Studies, Spanish, English, American History, Art History classes<br /></p> <p>#LatinoHAC #EthnicStudies</p> <p><br /></p> <p><br /><br /></p>
Philippa Rappoport
6
 

Culture and Aesthetics Meet Physics: Why Soviet and American Spacesuits Look Different

<p>This collection serves as a preview for the fifth of six seminar sessions in the 2019 Smithsonian-Montgomery College Faculty Fellowship Program. This year's theme is “The Search for an American Identity: Building a Nation Together.”</p> <p>National Air and Space Museum curator Cathleen Lewis will discuss objects from the Space Race gallery, in particular how spacesuits from the USSR and the United States indicate differing cultural and aesthetic answers to similar engineering challenges. </p> <p>Resources included in this collection have been recommended by the presenter for participants to explore before the seminar itself.<br /></p> <p>#MCteach<br /></p>
Philippa Rappoport
16
 

Curating Digital Museum Resources for the Classroom (Texas ASCD Ignite 19 Conference Session)

<p>This collection includes digital museum resources and replicable activities that will serve as a springboard for discussion during the presentation. The collection models how digital museum resources can be leveraged to support critical thinking and deeper learning for high school Ethnic Studies curricula. The collection can be copied and adapted for use in your own classroom. </p><hr /><p><a href="https://ignite19.sched.com/event/Oscu/curating-digital-museum-resources-for-the-classroom" target="_blank">Curating Digital Museum Resources for the Classroom</a>  </p> <p>Texas Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Ignite 19 Conference: Transforming Curriculum with Technology (June 2019)</p><p><em>Smithsonian educators are initiating a collaborative education program with Texas curriculum developers and local museums to develop instructional materials relevant to K-12 Humanities and Ethnic Studies. The Smithsonian Learning Lab platform allows users to create and share locally relevant digital resources both in classrooms and with a growing network of educators across the country. Learn more about how you can leverage digital resources from the Smithsonian and your local museums for increased access and impact.</em></p><hr /><p>This collection was co-created with <a href="https://learninglab.si.edu/profile/8" target="_blank">Ashley Naranjo</a>.  This program received Federal support from the Latino and Asian Pacific American Initiatives Pools, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center and the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center.<br /></p><p>#EthnicStudies</p> <p><a href="https://ignite19.sched.com/event/Oscu/curating-digital-museum-resources-for-the-classroom" target="_blank"></a><br /></p> <p><a href="https://ignite19.sched.com/event/Oscu/curating-digital-museum-resources-for-the-classroom" target="_blank"></a></p>
Philippa Rappoport
18
 

Deep Time (National Museum of Natural History)

<p>This collection serves as a preview for the second of six seminar sessions in the 2021 Smithsonian-Montgomery College Faculty Fellowship Program. This year's theme is “Facing the Complex, Multiple Challenges of the 21st Century." </p> <p><br>Three Smithsonian staff members, Jennifer Collins, Siobhan Starrs, and Scott Wing, will discuss content and educational materials related to the National Museum of Natural History exhibition, <em>Deep Time. </em>Their bios and presentation descriptions are included inside. Resources included in this collection have been recommended by the presenters for participants to explore before the seminar itself.<br></p> <p>#MCteach</p>
Philippa Rappoport
19
 

Digital Museum Resources for the High School Ethnic Studies Classroom (City of Austin Parks & Recreation)

<p>This collection includes digital museum resources and replicable activities that will serve as a springboard for discussion during the <strong><em>Exploration of Ethnic Studies</em></strong><strong> workshop at the  City of Austin Parks &amp; Recreation Department on October 29-30, 2019. </strong>The collection models how digital museum resources can be leveraged to support critical thinking and deeper learning for high school Ethnic Studies curricula. The collection can be copied and adapted for use in your own classroom. </p> <p>This collection was co-created with <a href="https://learninglab.si.edu/profile/8" target="_blank">Ashley Naranjo</a>.  This program received Federal support from the Latino and Asian Pacific American Initiatives Pools, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center and the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center.</p> <p>#EthnicStudies</p> <p><br /></p>
Philippa Rappoport
52
 

Digital Museum Resources for the High School Ethnic Studies Classroom (#EthnicStudiesY2)

<p>This collection includes digital museum resources and replicable activities that will serve as a springboard for discussion during the <em>Exploration of Ethnic Studies</em> workshop, held online with the Museum of South Texas History (MOSTHistory) and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley's (UTRGV) <em>Historias Americanas </em>program on October 23-24, 2020.<em> </em>The collection models how digital museum resources can be leveraged to support critical thinking and deeper learning for high school Ethnic Studies curricula. The collection can be copied and adapted for use in your own classroom. </p> <p>This collection was co-created with <a href="https://learninglab.si.edu/profile/9">Tess Porter</a>.  This program received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.</p> <p>#EthnicStudies #HistoriasAmericanas</p><p>Keywords: TEKS</p> <p></p>
Philippa Rappoport
57
 

Digital Storytelling with Museum Objects in the Smithsonian Learning Lab

<p>This Learning Lab collection was made to complement the presentation, "Digital Storytelling with Museum Objects in the Smithsonian Learning Lab." During the workshop,  co-facilitators <a href="https://learninglab.si.edu/profile/24977">Dr. Antonia Liguori</a> (Loughborough University, UK) and <a href="https://learninglab.si.edu/profile/212">Dr. Philippa Rappoport</a> (Smithsonian Office of Educational Technology) will demonstrate a variety of techniques to incorporate personal experiences in the exploration and use of museum resources. They will share how the Smithsonian Learning Lab and Digital Storytelling (DS) can be used together to access digital resources, build learning experiences, and cultivate collaboration and community over distance.</p> <p>We will explore artwork from an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC, <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>), which compels viewers to consider how self-portraits reflect an artist’s identity through what is revealed and concealed. </p> <p>After an introduction to the Smithsonian Learning Lab and previous experiences with Digital Storytelling within that environment, participants will be engaged in discussions about how Digital Storytelling can be used to support museum educators. In particular, digital storytelling as a co-created and participatory approach can foster workshop participants' capacity and disposition to understand and act on issues of global significance. <br></p> <ul></ul> <p>You will find in this collection: </p> <ul><li>a short icebreaker activity using exhibition images to start shifting from a cognitive appreciation of art to a personal connection to museum objects; </li><li>some examples of annotated objects that demonstrate the functionality of the Learning Lab; </li><li>some examples of digital stories made by students and also other educators during previous Digital Storytelling workshops; </li><li>a description of the Digital Storytelling process; </li><li>workshop participants' reflections;  </li><li>supplemental resources. </li></ul> <p></p> <p></p> <p>#DigitalStorytelling</p>
Philippa Rappoport
38
 

Digital Storytelling with Museum Objects in the Smithsonian Learning Lab (RDMF Conference Workshop)

<p>This Learning Lab collection was made to complement the presentation, "Digital Storytelling with Museum Objects in the Smithsonian Learning Lab," at the <a href="https://www.dcc.ac.uk/events/research-data-management-forum-rdmf/rdmf20-rdm-and-data-sharingopenness-arts-virtual-forum">RDMF20: RDM and Data Sharing/Openness in the Arts conference</a> on 3 June, 2020.  The conference is hosted by the University of Edinburgh's Digital Curation Centre, a world-leading centre of expertise in digital information curation with a focus on building capacity, capability and skills for research data management.   </p> <p>During the workshop,  co-facilitated by <a href="https://learninglab.si.edu/profile/24977">Dr. Antonia Liguori</a> (Loughborough University, UK) and <a href="https://learninglab.si.edu/profile/212">Dr. Philippa Rappoport</a> (Smithsonian Office of Educational Technology), participants will be introduced to both the Learning Lab and Digital Storytelling (DS) as platforms to explore museum objects in relation to data sharing and openness in the arts. This session will demonstrate a variety of techniques to incorporate personal experiences in the exploration and use of museum resources, and will share how the Smithsonian Learning Lab can be used to access digital resources, build learning experiences, and cultivate collaboration and community over distance. </p> <p>We will explore artwork from an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC, <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>), which compels viewers to consider how self-portraits reflect an artist’s identity through what is revealed and concealed. We will look specifically at the <em>Eye to Eye </em>artworks from the context of social distancing and unrest in the time of Covid-19 as a prompt to make personal connections.  </p> <p>After an introduction to the Smithsonian Learning Lab and previous experiences with Digital Storytelling within that environment, participants will be engaged in discussions about:  </p> <ul><li>how Digital Storytelling can supplement and inform ontologies and metadata to extract meanings from museums' digital collections and therefore activate data to inform curatorial practice in museums; </li><li>how Digital Storytelling can enhance the educational values of museums’ objects and stimulate multiple contexts of understanding and co-creation; </li><li>how digital technology, applied not necessarily in museum spaces, can connect local communities to the museum, and in particular how Digital Storytelling could facilitate this discourse by engaging hard to reach audiences. </li></ul> <p>You will find in this collection: </p> <ul><li>a short icebreaker activity using exhibition images to start shifting from a cognitive appreciation of art to a personal connection to museum objects; </li><li>some examples of annotated objects that demonstrate the functionality of the Learning Lab; </li><li>some examples of digital stories made by other educators during previous Digital Storytelling workshops 'embedded' in the Learning Lab; </li><li>a description of the Digital Storytelling process; </li><li>workshop participants' reflections;  </li><li>supplemental resources.  </li></ul> <p><br></p> <p>#DigitalStorytelling</p>
Philippa Rappoport
36
 

Dolores Huerta: Images, Videos, and "One Life" Exhibition

<p>This topical collection explores the contributions to American history and society of Civil Rights activist Dolores Huerta, the "co-architect" with Cesar Chavez of the American Farm Workers Movement. The images and resources can be used as discussion or writing prompts in a variety of courses, including history, culture, language, and literature. Included in this collection are images from the exhibition, "One Life: Dolores Huerta," a bilingual video with National Portrait Gallery curator Taína Caragol, footage of an interview program with Dolores Huerta at the museum, and an NPR interview with Dolores Huerta in January 2017.</p> <p>#LatinoHAC #BecauseOfHerStory<br /></p>
Philippa Rappoport
19
 

Educating to Create Change: Let’s Talk About Race (National Museum of African American History and Culture)

<p>This collection complements Unit 2 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>It includes resources recommended by presenters Candra Flanagan and Anna Hindley of the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) - links to:</p> <ul><li>the museum's website (3rd tile),</li><li>the <em>Let's Talk About Race </em>portal (4th tile),</li><li>the Learning Lab profile page of the National Museum of African American History and Culture (5th tile), and</li><li>recommended reading (6th tile).</li></ul> <p>Click on these tiles to open up content in a new window. In each case, you'll find information, objects, resources, and strategies that will help you think about how to incorporate these ideas in your classroom. </p> <p>The Learning Lab profile page (from the 5th tile) is split into multiple content sections, and within sections, each tile leads you to a curated collection of content, with objects and strategies, from the NMAAHC Education team.</p> <p><br></p> <p>#MCTeach #EdXTeach</p>
Philippa Rappoport
6
 

Engaging Families through Art and Technology Programs: "Discovering US/Descubriéndose"

<p>This collection contains assets and resources designed to help teachers (art, English, social studies, and media technology), museum educators, and community-based informal learning educators recreate our very successful Discovering Us/<em>Descubriéndose</em> program as is, or design their own, based on the specific needs of their classroom or learning community.  </p> <p>Discovering Us/<em>Descubriéndose</em> was a Spanish-language workshop for students and families in the Fairfax County Public School's Family and School Partnerships <em>Luther Jackson Middle School Parent Leadership Program</em>. Pairs of immigrant mothers and their middle school-aged children worked together to create portraits and multimedia production pieces that communicate their family history and their future hopes and dreams.</p> <p>Included here are examples of student work (videos and portraits), and classroom images of the creative process. The videos were created in iMovie, but there are a variety of other free movie-making apps available. <br></p> <p>This program was produced by the National Portrait Gallery, the Fairfax County Public Schools Family Literacy Program, and the Smithsonian Office of Educational Technology.</p> <p>#FamilyLit #FamilyLiteracy #FCPSFamilyLiteracy #NPGTeach #LatinoHAC<br></p>
Philippa Rappoport
24
 

Engaging Families through Art and Technology Programs: "Illuminating the Self"

<p>This collection details an art and community engagement project that the Smithsonian Office of Educational Technology did with educators from the National Portrait Gallery and the Fairfax County Family Literacy Program. It includes assets and resources designed to help teachers, museum educators, and community-based informal learning educators recreate the program as is, or design their own, based on the specific needs of their classroom or learning community. </p> <p>"Illuminating the Self / Illuminándose" was a five-day bilingual program in which pairs of immigrant mothers and their middle school-aged children worked together to learn about portraiture from the 2016 exhibition of the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition winning portraits. First we talked about portraiture in general, and then focused the discussion on light and shadow. Next, students took photographic portraits of each other and chose one to recreate. We projected the photographs in black and white onto a wall, and had the students trace the outlines of their photographs on their blank drawing paper. They they worked with charcoals to fill in their portraits and refine their drawings. Participants also visited the Outwin exhibition. Finally, their portraits were displayed at the National Portrait Gallery's Hispanic Heritage Month Family Day.</p> <p>Program surveys indicated improved literacy, technology, and communication skills to share heritage, traditions, and talents; increased sense of empowerment and self-esteem, strengthened parent-child relationships and community bonds, and creation of a core of mentors. One mother reported that before the program she would never have entered an art museum because she wouldn't have known what to do, but that now she would not be able to pass by without stopping in. As well, several family participants have returned to the Smithsonian asking to volunteer at future Smithsonian events.</p> <p>The collection was created by Beth Evans (National Portrait Gallery), Micheline Lavalle (Fairfax County Public Schools Family Literacy Program), and Philippa Rappoport (Smithsonian Office of Educational Technology). </p> <p>This program received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.</p> <p>#LatinoHAC  #FamilyLit #FamilyLiteracy #FCPSFamilyLiteracy #NPGTeach</p>
Philippa Rappoport
38