Christeen Jesse
Paper airplanes are being thrown while students paint on the windows and decorate the room in graffiti. Pencil crayons litter the classroom and students freely roam around the space. Although it may sound like chaos, something very special is happening in Room 20 at Mortlach School.
The Grade 6-8 arts education students run this classroom. They decide which projects they want to do and how they want to express themselves artistically. Also, instead of being referred to as students, the kids have created a name for themselves – the LinKX.
Teacher Cori Sass is the driving force behind this innovative method of learning. “My kids always know more than I do,” says Sass. “They know more in every way, in every subject area. They’re always a step ahead.” This classroom is all about creativity and student-led learning.
To solidify this idea even further, the LinKX have partnered with third-year education students from the University of Regina. These pre-service teachers – the “Morphers” – visit the Mortlach classroom and participate in art projects with the students.
Sass has used the partnership in previous years, and believes that it’s an ideal situation for both groups of students to learn. The university students act as mentors for the Mortlach students, and in turn, the soon-to-be teachers are taught about learning from a middle-year perspective. “Mostly the younger kids are teaching older kids – teaching them to be good enough educators,” says Sass.
University student Nick Barnes agrees. “I think the partnership is great; it has allowed us to gain experience working with middle years students and also given us the opportunity to build relationships with these students,” says Barnes.
The groups met for the first time in September and really got creative. Eighteen LinKX and almost 30 Morphers paired up to experience art using different mediums. The two groups bonded over bubble-gum, which was then stuck on paper and turned into pictures. The Mortlach students taught their partners about graffiti, and painted on windows around the school. The arts education students thoroughly enjoy the partnership. Student Austin Glass thinks his partners are awesome. “They actually kinda stuck with what (we) did. Like ‘Hey, lets do bubblegum art’, and then they just attached to it like it was their best friend.”
Through a post on her blog, Grade 7 student Reighanne Graves reflects on her first experience with the Morphers: “Yesterday people from the U of R came…and they were AWESOME my partners were soooo cool! i can’t wait till we go there…..”
Sass has high hopes for turning the tables and visiting the Morphers in their own classroom. Although the LinKX will still lead the learning, she believes it would be beneficial for the young students to experience education in a new environment. “It broadens their world view and it lets them know that learning and education happens beyond these four walls,” says Sass.
The LinKX have already thought of new art ideas for when they see their partners next. Grade 8 student Joel Simrose is excited about a creating a life-sized zombie that will be displayed at the University of Regina. “Every art class, one person will put their body part in the clay, then the next class it will be another person. Then we put it all together and paint it up,” says Simrose.
Students refer to this one-hour class as their “fun period” but they do work hard. The LinKX are exposed to a number of mediums and are encouraged to create art that expresses their personalities. “Our class is about doing what you want to do,” says Grade 7 student Dru Rogers. Art projects range from splatter painting and sketchbook drawings to ‘wire art’ and poster making.
But this class is about more than just cutting and coloring; the students use technology, too. Each student has an individual blog where they can post personal messages or write to other students. The blogs also provide an opportunity for the LinKX to stay in contact with the Morphers during the course of the school year; they can exchange messages or post photos.
The partnership is beneficial for both parties, and puts a fresh outlook on learning. Students have something to look forward to, and are given the opportunity to create friendships with a different age group. The LinKX and the Morphers share a similar dynamic, which makes learning fun.
Sass has plans to continue this partnership into the future. It has been successful for both groups of students, and its impact will be lasting. Room 20 will continue to be a hub of activity, and as long as the students are leading, they will be learning.
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