User Image

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

 

Puerto Rico’s Fragile Modernity: An Exploration of Francisco Rodón's Portrait of Luis Muñoz Marín, using Global Thinking Routines

<p>This teaching collections aims to help students to think critically about Puerto Rico's past and present, as portrayed in the media and through close looking at a portrait. The collection explores Francisco Rodón's monumental portrait of Luis Muñoz Marín, the first democratically elected governor of Puerto Rico, known as “the Father of Modern Puerto Rico.” Although the portrait and supporting video with National Portrait Gallery curator Taína Caragol were created before Hurricane Maria devastated the island in September 2017, a close examination of the portrait itself lends a deeper understanding not only of Francisco Rodón, but of the history of Puerto Rico itself, both pre- and post-Hurricane Maria.</p> <p>Included here are the portrait from the National Portrait Gallery, a video with the curator, two suggested Global Thinking Routines - "See, Think, Wonder" and "The 3 Y's" - from Harvard's Project Zero materials, a lesson plan from PBS Media on Puerto Rican Perspectives, and three news articles (from Vox and the New York Times) about Hurricane Maria, at the time in 2017 and almost one year later.</p> <p>For use in Social Studies, Spanish, English, American History, Art History classes</p> <p>#LatinoHAC, #EthnicStudies </p> <p>This collection supports Unit 3: Critical Geography and Current Issues, of the Austin ISD Ethnic Studies Part A course ("In this unit, students will identify historical patterns to understand how past events influence current policies, ideas and practices.") and Unit 1: Intersectionality of Economics, Politics, and Policy, of the Austin ISD Ethnic Studies Part B course ("How do government policies and the judicial system in a democratic society impact diverse groups and communities?").</p> <p><em>This Smithsonian Learning Lab collection received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center. </em></p>
Philippa Rappoport
12
 

Nicholasa Mohr and New York's Puerto Rican Migration

<p>This topical collection explores Antonio Martorell's portrait of prolific Latina author Nicholasa Mohr, and is displayed with a range of resources that offer a view, through art, portraiture, and literature, into the lives of Puerto Rican migrants to the continental United States in the early to mid-twentieth century. The images and resources can be used as discussion or writing prompts in a variety of courses, including history, culture, literature, and language.</p> <p>The portrait itself,  one of a series of 45-minute portraits that Martorell made of his artist friends, captures Mohr's spirit, much in the way that Mohr's writing brings to life the people, sounds, and activities of New York's Puerto Rican migrants in the twentieth century. The collection also includes a bilingual video with National Portrait Gallery curator Taína Caragol, as well as the first page and a review of "Nilda," one of Mohr's most well-known novels, about a Puerto Rican girl coming of age in New York during World War II. This book was selected as an "Outstanding Book of the Year" by the New York Times, and a "Best Book of 1973" by the American Library Association.</p> <p>The collection includes images and a bilingual podcast by Martorell speaking about a different work in the Smithsonian American Art Museum collection, "La Playa Negra" ("Tar Beach"), which is the term used by Puerto Rican migrants for the rooftops of tenement buildings. As the label describes, in this painting, "a fashionable woman wears a fur-collared coat and sits in front of a New York City skyline. Her hardworking double on the left sits behind a sewing machine. In his "Playa Negra" ("Tar Beach") series, Martorell juxtaposed migrants' prosperous self-image with a glimpse of their tiring labor."</p> <p>The collection also includes a series of photographs from the collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, by Hiram Maristany, a resident and photographer of the El Barrio neighborhood. Maristany grew up with eight siblings on East 111th Street. In addition, the collection includes links from PBS Learning Media on Puerto Rican history and migration.</p> <p>#LatinoHAC #BecauseOfHerStory #EthnicStudies </p> <p>This collection supports Unit 2: Culture and Resistance, Expressions of culture and values, of the Austin ISD Ethnic Studies Part B course. "How do expressions of culture reflect assimilation and resistance to assimilation? How do distinct expressions of culture reflect specific values for various ethnic groups?" </p> <p><em>This Smithsonian Learning Lab collection received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center. </em></p> <p><br /></p>
Philippa Rappoport
24
 

Zozobra in Santa Fe: A Contemporary Reckoning of a Local Tradition

<p>This teaching collection encourages students to think about all sides of an issue - in this case a cultural event - and then make connections to related issues of identity and nationalism locally, nationally, and internationally. The collection uses an article by Eduardo Díaz, director of the Smithsonian Latino Center, and Kevin Gover (Pawnee), director of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, as a jumping off point to explore changes to Santa Fe's annual Fiesta de Santa Fe, described by organizers as “the oldest, most colorful community celebration in the nation,” as part of an ongoing conversation across the country about how we choose to honor our "history, multicultural legacies and unique blend of traditions."</p> <p>The exercise is scaffolded with global competence strategies to help students explore the Fiesta in successive detail, consider the various perspectives of the communities involved, and make connections to similar conversations happening across the US today. Students can share ideas in groups or through writing assignments, adding in outside research  if desired. </p> <p>Keywords: American Indian, Native American, Pueblo Indians, Hispanic, Latino, Entrada<br /></p> <p>#LatinoHAC, #EthnicStudies </p> <p>This collection supports Unit 3: Critical Geography and Current Issues, of the Austin ISD Ethnic Studies Part A course. "How do diverse groups of people become interconnected and aligned with different places and communities? What is the relationship between geographic space and different communities, and how does this interaction shape our society How does regional politics, economics, culture, and geography influence issues and events?"</p> <p><em>This Smithsonian Learning Lab collection received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center. </em></p> <p><br /></p>
Philippa Rappoport
6
 

Migrations in American History: The Making of "Many Voices, One Nation"

This collection serves as a preview for the fourth 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.”<br /><br /> National Museum of American History colleagues Steve Velasquez and Lauren Safranek will discuss the making of the exhibition, "Many Voices, One Nation," and its accompanying educational website, "Becoming US." Together the exhibition and educational website aim to explore not only how the many voices of people in America have shaped our nation, but also to guide high school teachers and students in learning immigration and migration history in a more accurate and inclusive way.<br /><br /> Resources included in this collection have been chosen by the presenters for participants to explore before the seminar itself.<br /><br /> #MCteach
Philippa Rappoport
7
 

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
 

Addressing 21st-Century Challenges: The National Museum of American History and the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage

<p>This collection serves as a preview for the fourth 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."<br></p> <p><br>Three Smithsonian curators, Jim Deutsch and Sojin Kim from the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, and Margaret Salazar-Porzio from the National Museum of American History, will discuss ways in which their units seek to address 21st-century challenges, through programming, outreach efforts, and resources. </p> <p>Resources included in this collection have been recommended by the presenters for participants to explore before the seminar itself.</p> <p>#MCteach</p> <p></p>
Philippa Rappoport
23
 

The Native American Struggle for Treaty Rights and Tribal Sovereignty

<p>This collection serves as a preview for the sixth (final) of six seminar sessions in the 2018 Smithsonian-Montgomery College Faculty Fellowship Program. This year's theme is “We the People: America’s Grand and Radical Experiment with Democracy.”<br /></p> <p>National Museum of American Indian colleagues Mark Hirsch, David Penney, and Colleen Call Smith will explore the past, present, and future of treaties between the United States and Native nations, and show how American Indians have drawn on these 18th- and 19th -century agreements to defend tribal rights and exercise political sovereignty in the 20th and 21st centuries.<span class="Apple-converted-space">  They will also discuss their efforts to integrate the exhibition's main themes and messages into the</span> museum’s “Native Knowledge 360°” initiative, a national educational program designed to change the way American Indian histories, cultures, and contemporary lives are taught in K-12 classrooms.</p> <p>Resources included in this collection have been chosen by the presenters for participants to explore before the seminar itself.</p> <p>#MCteach</p>
Philippa Rappoport
8
 

Rethinking Americans

This collection serves as a preview for the second 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.”<br /><br /> National Museum of American Indian colleagues Paul Chaat Smith, Cecile R. Ganteaume, Colleen Call Smith, and Mandy Van Heuvelen will provide a behind the scenes look at the most daring exhibition the National Museum of the American Indian has ever staged. The exhibition argues that Native American imagery is everywhere in American life, and rather than being merely kitsch, stereotype, and cultural appropriation, it is evidence of the centrality of Indians in both history and 21st century life in the United States.<br /><br /> Resources included in this collection have been chosen by the presenters for participants to explore before the seminar itself.<br /><br /> #MCteach
Philippa Rappoport
8
 

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
 

Religion in Diaspora: How did a Shofar Come to the National Museum of African American History and Culture?

<p>This teaching collection asks students to consider a Jewish ritual object, the shofar, as an entry point to discuss the transmission of traditions and beliefs across the globe. Using Project Zero looking and global thinking  routines, students can examine images of shofars, listen to shofar music,  explore photos from African American Jewish communities,  and consider how traditions and religious beliefs are carried around the globe with their practitioners. The activity concludes with a discussion to foster in students a broader understanding and appreciation of today’s complex world.</p>
Philippa Rappoport
24
 

3-D Paper Puzzler: Hermit Crabs

<p>Students at the Hirshhorn ARTLAB+ program have been experimenting with 3-dimensional digital paper craft. One of them even showed her papercraft dinosaur at the White House's first Maker Faire! </p> <p>This collection includes images and video of hermit crabs, both live and from our art collections, as well as instructions and printable templates to make a 3-dimensional hermit crab shell from three sheets of paper.</p> <p><br /></p> <p><br /></p>
Philippa Rappoport
10
 

Close Looking at Three Portraits of Poet Frank O'Hara

<p>This teaching collection uses Project Zero thinking and other portrait reading strategies to look critically at and compare  three portraits of <strong>Francis Russell</strong> "<strong>Frank</strong>" <strong>O'Hara</strong> (March 27, 1926 – July 25, 1966), an American writer, poet, art critic, and curator at the Museum of Modern Art. O'Hara, who was considered to be one of the most important poets of mid-twentieth-century America, died an untimely death at age 40, and is memorialized in these three portraits in the Smithsonian collections - by Grace Hartigan, Alice Neel, and Don Bachardy.</p> <p>This collection is set up to first look carefully at Grace Hartigan's portrait, using one or all of three suggested looking strategies. Then viewers can look at the other two portraits, considering additional information about sitter Frank O'Hara and the artists, in order to have a better sense of the three portraits, the sitter, the artists, and the times in which they created.</p> <p>Keywords: Portraiture, Abstract Expressionism, Expressionist, Avant-Garde, Irish</p>
Philippa Rappoport
15