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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

 

A Classroom or Family Project: "Today I Am Here," with examples of student work

<p>This collection contains assets and resources designed to help teachers (art, English, ESOL, social studies, and media technology), museum educators, and community-based informal learning educators recreate their own "Today I Am Here" project, based on the specific needs of their classroom or learning community. </p> <p>The "Today I Am Here" book is a wonderful classroom activity, made from one sheet of paper, in which students can share their family stories. The design of the book works well for a K-5 classroom display, and helps to show the breadth and diversity of the class and to encourage cross-cultural understanding. The project also works extremely well with ESOL students of any age, although the teacher will need to be prepared for possible difficult issues to surface. </p> <p>Included here are instructions to make the book, examples of student work (images and video of students reading), as well as images from classroom displays.<br></p> <p>The book design is one of many available in another collection: Fun for the Whole Family: Making "Family Memory" Storybooks: <a href="http://learninglab.si.edu/q/ll-c/1tozk88HXhnFBU6d">http://learninglab.si.edu/q/ll-c/1tozk88HXhnFBU6d</a>.<br></p> <p><em>#FamilyLit #FamilyLiteracy #FCPSFamilyLiteracy </em></p> <p><br></p>
Philippa Rappoport
10
 

Activism and Change: Clara Lemlich and the New York Shirtwaist Strike of 1909

<p>This teaching collection asks students to consider photographs and documentation about early 20th-century Jewish immigrant activist Clara Lemlich (1886-1982, leader of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union and founder of the Progressive Women’s Councils), in the larger context of New York's Garment Industry, the New York Shirtwaist Strike of 1909, and the 1911 Triangle Waist Factory fire. By pairing historical documentation with three thinking routines from Harvard's Project Zero Global Thinking and Agency by Design materials - "Step In, Step Out, Step Back," "Think, Feel, Care," and "Circles of Action," - the collection encourages students to explore complexity and perspective, and fosters a disposition to participate. </p> <p>Included here are photographs, documentation, and resources from the Jewish Women's Archive's Encyclopedia of Jewish Women, the Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives at Cornell University's Industrial and Labor Relations School, the Tenement Museum, and the National Museum of American History. </p> <p>This collection pairs well with chapter 11 <em></em>("Jews are Pushed from Russia") of Ronald Takaki's <em>A Different Mirror for Young People: A History of Multicultural America, </em>and supports Unit 1: Intersectionality of Economics, Politics, and Policy, and Unit 3: Local History and Current Issues, of the Austin ISD Ethnic Studies Part B course. <br /></p> <p>#EthnicStudies<br /></p>
Philippa Rappoport
17
 

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
 

"American Democracy: The Great Leap of Faith"

<p>This collection serves as a preview for the third seminar session of 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 History curator Harry Rubenstein will take Fellows on a tour of the National Museum of American History’s new exhibition <i>American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith</i>. He'll conclude with a special presentation of objects from the Political History collections.<br /></p> <p>#MCteach<br /></p>
Philippa Rappoport
5
 

American Indian Responses to Environmental Challenges

<p>This collection serves as a preview for the third of six seminar sessions in the 2020 Smithsonian-Montgomery College Faculty Fellowship Program. This year's theme is “Humans and the Footprints We Leave: Climate Change and other Critical Challenges.” <br></p> <p>National Museum of American Indian colleagues Edwin Schupman, Christopher Turner, and Mandy Van Heuvelen will explore how the National Museum of the American Indian's educational resources, exhibitions, and interpretive programs address the issue of climate change. <br>Resources included in this collection have been chosen by the presenters for participants to explore before the seminar itself.<br><br></p> <p>#MCteach</p>
Philippa Rappoport
10
 

Are Parasites Always Bad? (Smithsonian Environmental Research Center)

<p>This collection complements Unit 4 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">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 Katrina Lohan of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. </p> <p></p> <p>#MCTeach #EdXTeach</p>
Philippa Rappoport
19
 

Asian Pacific American Arts and Crafts: Festival Highlights

<p>This collections comes from an Asian Pacific American Heritage Month family festival at the National Museum of Natural History. Included in the collection are interviews and demonstrations about dance with Dana Tai Soon Burgess, Japanese "kimekomi" doll making with Akiko Keene and Anne Cox, Thai fruit and vegetable carving with Phuangthong Malikul, Rangoli Indian design with Nisha Rajam and Anjana Mohanty, Korean calligraphy by Mookjae, and Chinese paper folding by Alice Li. </p>
Philippa Rappoport
10
 

Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Family Day: Performances, Demonstrations, Interviews

<p>This collection comes from an Asian Pacific American Heritage Month family day at the Kogod Courtyard of the National Portrait Gallery. Included here are music and dance performances by the Chinese Youth Club Lion Dancers, Dhroopad, Mokihana Scalph, Sushmita Mazumdar, MHC's Fil-Am Heritage Dance Ensemble, and an interview with the 2014 Asian Pacific Islander American Spoken Word and Poetry Summit artists.</p>
Philippa Rappoport
6
 

"Becoming Dolores": A School/Museum Program to Engage Families through Art and Technology

<p>This collection details a photography and community engagement project produced in partnership by the Fairfax County Public Schools Family Literacy Program, the National Portrait Gallery, and the Smithsonian Office of Educational Technology. It includes assets and resources designed to help teachers (art, English, social studies, and media technology), 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>For our project, pairs of native Spanish-speaking immigrant moms and their middle school children did a five-day (15 hours in total) training session at their school and at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. They learned about Dolores Huerta, portraiture, and photojournalism through the exhibition "One Life: Dolores Huerta." Participants took portraits of themselves, critiqued each other's work, and created photo exhibitions about their communities and important issues, that were displayed at the Hispanic Heritage Month Family Day at the National Portrait Gallery.</p> <p>Dolores Huerta, the "co-architect" of the American Farm Workers Movement and mother to eleven children, proved to be a huge inspiration to the participants. Before the workshop, 33 percent of the parents and none of the children saw themselves as able to make change in their community; after the workshop, 100 percent of parents and children reported seeing themselves as able to make change in their community. In addition, 100 percent of the mothers and 80 percent of the children reported that they believed they had increased their artistic skills.</p> <p><em>#FamilyLit  #FamilyLiteracy  #FCPSFamilyLiteracy  #NPGTeach</em>  #LatinoHAC  #EthnicStudies </p> <p>This collection supports Units 2 (What is the History - Civil Rights Movements) and 3 (Critical Geography and Current Issues) of the Austin ISD Ethnic Studies Part A course, and Unit 3 (Local History and Current Issues) of the Austin ISD Ethnic Studies Part B course. "What would you advocate for to beneficially change your community? How can you advocate to create change within your community?" "How do you understand the concept of community advocacy? What is needed for an individual to cultivate personal change?"</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><em><br></em></p>
Philippa Rappoport
15
 

Classroom Activity Using Images of Immigration and Identity from the National Portrait Gallery, the New York Times, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum

<p>Students can use the "What makes you say that?" and the "3 Ys" thinking routines to explore two modern portraits about identity and immigration from the National Portrait Gallery. The first thinking strategy asks students to look at a work of art for several minutes before answering two questions: "What's going on?" and "What do you see that makes you say that?" (See <a href="https://learninglab.si.edu/resources/view/1056334/search">https://learninglab.si.edu/res...</a> for more information.)</p> <p>To further and deepen the discussion, I've included a link to a September 2016 New York Times Op-Doc entitled "4.1 Miles," about a coast guard captain on a small Greek island who is suddenly charged with saving thousands of refugees from drowning at sea. (If it doesn't show up easily, you can view the original video on Times Video at https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000004674545/41-miles.html.) I've also included two sculptures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, an interview with Lisa Sasaki, head of the Smithsonian's Asian Pacific American Center, and resources from the University of Minnesota  Libraries Publishing's Immigration Syllabus - Americans / Immigrants, Weeks 1-4.</p> <p>You may wish to use the "3 Y's" thinking routine here as well, which asks students to consider the following questions:<br /></p> <p>1. Why might this [topic, question] matter to me?</p> <p>2. Why might it matter to people around me [family, friends, city, nation]?</p> <p>3. Why might it matter to the world?<br /></p> <p>(See <a href="https://learninglab.si.edu/resources/view/1321155/search">https://learninglab.si.edu/res...</a> for more information.)</p> <p>#APA2018, #LatinoHAC, #EthnicStudies </p> <p>This collection supports Unit 1: Precious Knowledge - Exploring notions of identity and community, of the Austin ISD Ethnic Studies Part A course.</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
14
 

Classroom Activity with "¡Pleibol!”: Close Looking to Explore One Family’s Story of Latino Baseball

<p>This teaching collection helps students to look closely and think critically by using three Thinking Routines to explore the cultural relevance of one family's baseball-related objects from an exhibition at the National Museum of American History, "¡Pleibol!: In the Barrios and the Big Leagues." The exhibition seeks to document the history of Latino culture through the lens of baseball, and explores baseball not only as a pastime close to the hearts of many people in many communities, but also for Latinos as a place to advocate for rights and social justice. <br></p> <p>Included here are the objects themselves, a bilingual video with curator Margaret Salazar-Porzio, three suggested Thinking Routines - "See, Think, Wonder," "The 3 Y's," and "Picture Writing" - from Harvard's Project Zero Artful Thinking and Global Thinking materials, and supporting digital content about the exhibition. At the close of the activity, students are guided to examine a personal object of their choice and tease out the story it tells.</p> <p>For an extensive teaching collection created by the Smithsonian Traveling Exhibition Services as a companion resource for the traveling exhibition, "¡Pleibol! In the Barrios and the Big Leagues / En los barrios y las grandes ligas," see <a href="https://learninglab.si.edu/collections/pleibol-in-the-barrios-and-the-big-leagues-pleibol-en-los-barrios-y-las-grandes-ligas/bohbJm2MXuqjdHmY">https://learninglab.si.edu/collections/pleibol-in-the-barrios-and-the-big-leagues-pleibol-en-los-barrios-y-las-grandes-ligas/bohbJm2MXuqjdHmY</a>.</p> <p>For use in Social Studies, Spanish, English, and American History classes</p> <p>#LatinoHAC #EthnicStudies</p> <p><br></p> <p><br></p>
Philippa Rappoport
15
 

Close Looking at Edward Reep's "Italian Shrine," and the Nazi Occupation of Bologna, Italy, during WWII

<p>This teaching collection guides  viewers through a close looking exercise to explore American artist Edward Reep's painting of a shrine in Bologna, Italy, based on photographs and notes from his time as a combat artist in Italy during World War II. The collection is set up for students to look closely at the painting using Harvard's Project Zero Thinking Routine "See, Think, Wonder," and then to consider the historical and political context of the time, as well as the artist's personal experiences in Italy during WWII, in order to better understand Reep's homage in painting to the thousands of Italian Resistance fighters and citizens who lost their lives fighting against the Nazi occupation during World War II. The activity concludes with another Project Zero Routine from the Global Thinking series, "The 3 Y's."</p> <p><br /></p>
Philippa Rappoport
5