Youth Voice and Vision Through Video

Dates:  September 27 & 28, 2007 

Plus subsequent monthly meetings TBD

Location:   Montpelier Area

Cost:   $730 (members), $875 (nonmembers); includes 3 graduate  credits from St Mikes 

Registration:  http://www.lapdavt.org

About the Instructor

Helen Beattie, Ed.D. is a licensed school psychologist and educational consultant.  She  specializes in experiential, place-based learning strategies to help build vital learning  communities.  She has been integrally involved in the development of several state-wide  student leadership curricula, including piloting and authoring the “Lights, Camera... Leadership!” curriculum.  She is currently teaching this graduate course, along with a  technology partner, for the 8 VT schools implementing LCL this academic year.

Course Description

Video production is a powerful tool to develop youth voice, leadership and civic  activism. However, the skill requirements to effectively meld a technologically  demanding task with a rich academic curriculum, crossing multiple content areas,  can be daunting. This course will provide the training and support for middle and  high school teaching teams committed to implementing a proven, project-based  curriculum which employs video as a primary vehicle for youth voice. It also  offers an opportunity for team planning and on-going peer problem solving and  consultation.

The “Lights, Camera...Leadership!” (LCL) curriculum serves as an anchor for  this course.  LCL challenges a class to: 1) identify an issue of importance to their  community, 2) become experts on this topic through extensive research and  interviews, capturing past, present and future perspectives, 3) synthesize their  findings in a video, and 4) host a community premiere followed by student-facilitated  dialogue. Teachers taking this course should be committed to implementing the LCL  curriculum as a credit-bearing class over the 2007-8 academic year. On average,  it requires a semester  for students to complete.

Eight schools in Vermont implemented LCL during the 2006-7 academic year.  Teachers concurrently took the “Youth Voice and Vision through Video” course,  providing rich insight into both the joys and challenges of curriculum implementation.  Preliminary feedback is very affirming regarding the effectiveness of LCL in multiple  settings. This course will provide instruction on how to implement this curriculum  and assess student learning. If  any team members desire further instruction in  the technological aspects of video production, a companion videography graduate  credit course (15 hours) is being offered. 

By the end of this course you will...

• be familiar with LCL curriculum’s founding principles and methods through both experiential and didactic methods.
  
• be able to link the course curriculum to the Vermont Framework of Standards and GEs appropriate to your grade  level and content area(s)
  
• develop a curriculum implementation plan, including identifi cation of additional resources needed for the course and  innovative assessment means.
  
• be a member of a strong collegial network of teachers who provide on-going support and problem-solving assistance.
  
• have successfully implemented the curriculum, continually documenting and reflecting on the experience.

This course is designed for  a teaching team, comprised of a  middle or high school core content  teacher, coupled with a technology  teacher.  The team can be further  enhanced by including a guidance counselor.  Alternative school  teachers are also encouraged to  consider this opportunity.