Celebrate every student’s learning by making it visible. PBL exhibitions set the expectation that all students, not just a select group, produce high-quality work and will share that work with people beyond their classroom.
[MUSIC PLAYING] MICHELLE JACONETTE: At exhibition, it’s important that everybody’s work gets displayed. And that might mean that some kids need more help to get their work to the highest quality possible.
HARRISON: Everyone presents their project because for our school, we promote everyone’s ideas because we know everyone has different ideas and perspectives. And that’s what’s important.
MATT LEADER: I think we find exhibition to be a place where people belong and they’re sharing their work. And that has a big impact. And knowing that their work was where they’re at, and they could show it.
FERNANDO VEGA: So we see a degree of varying ability levels of diversity in terms of interests. The one thing we have in common is a common intellectual mission, something we’re looking forward to.
MICHELLE JACONETTE: For some kids, this is their one and only opportunity to perform or present for other people. There are some kids who are in sports and music who have a chance to demonstrate their learning. But for other kids, giving them an opportunity at school to show something that they’re proud of and talk about it with other people.
MATT LEADER: I think that oftentimes a student doesn’t really let it those bigger questions sink in until they’re put on the spot to share it. Not just with each other or not just with their parents, but if they’re going to share a question having to do with a societal issue with someone they don’t know or someone they perceive as an expert, it puts them on the spot to better understand, to have to take a different perspective.
ABIGAIL: For my sophomore year during chemistry, I did a drug panel where I invited experts from the field who came in and talked about drug use in the LGBT community. But because that topic was much bigger than me, I definitely feel like I had to step up for it and make sure that I was showing myself as a professional for these professional people.
MICHELLE JACONETTE: The goal for everyone at exhibition is to have work that they’re proud of. And even if someone’s work isn’t totally finished for whatever reason, there’s still value in documenting whatever process they made it through and got up to at that point versus saying if you don’t have something that’s final and perfect, it can’t be displayed.
KOBY: It’s very cool to see my artwork on the wall. Or it’s just like my work. And everyone’s looking at it. And it just makes me feel really good.
SABRINA SALVATIERRA: For students to be able to reflect on that especially students who may have not done their best. And then when they see other people’s work, sometimes they’re like, oh, man, that’s what I could have produced. To give them a little bit of a motivation or fire.
BRITTANY PERRO: How are all of our families going to access this exhibition? What languages should this exhibition be translated into? And then also, how can families be involved in the planning of the exhibition ahead of time to think about what would be the best way for them to feel that they are engaged in that experience?
FERNANDO VEGA: At exhibitions, we provide access points to students. We see them, we hear them, we embrace their real person.
