Post #9: my program finally happened!

Last Friday, in the middle of what might have been the biggest snowstorm so far this year, Brie and I trekked down Jefferson Road to Solstice Senior Living. We found this really pretty one-lane bridge that went over the Canal - thematically appropriate! - and we also didn't get into a snow-induced car accident, which was great.

Once there, we set the room up in a giant mega-table with space enough for about 12 people, then made a frantic Wegman's run to get snacks for the audience. With one minute to spare we raced back into the place, chocolate chip cookies in hand, and I began!

It was a little intimidating, 12 white-haired strangers staring expectantly at me, but once I got into things I had done more than enough preparation to sit back and let my instincts kick in. The entire program took just over half an hour to get through, they weren't as chatty as I had planned, or perhaps I didn't let the awkward silence go long enough, and by the time I was done there 17 people there! While the program wrapped up around 4:30, the evaluations took a little longer to complete, and some people stuck around to talk after we had started resetting the room. All in all it was definitely a success, even if some of them liked the chocolate chip cookies more than they liked the program!

Here's some photos Brie took for me:

Blog post #8: it's all happening

It's getting to be thesis crunch-time here at RIT. My program is happening at Solstice in t-minus nine days whether I like it or not, and I need to get moving to be prepared for February 7th. I had my thesis-board last week, and another meeting with my advisor today, so I have a good idea of what I need to do between now and then.

I'm working on planning the specifics of the program now, rather than re-working my lit review or doing more theoretical research. I've emailed my contact at Solstice to see if I can see the room next week before I must deliver my program, and I've hired Brie as my assistant with the promise of Wendy's afterwards. I'm feeling pretty good, all things considered.

Next steps include finishing my eight pages due tomorrow for class and finalizing my program plans. I'm looking forward to just getting the program done so I can really being to focus on the thesis, rather than having extra stress related to the program itself.

Blog post 7: plans for break

Hello everyone! I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders as I have just submitted my final thesis proposal for the semester!

Some goals for myself over winter break:

• Schedule the program for sometime in January (?) at Solstice
• Make the program!
• Lots of research
• Test it out on my parents/grandparents/aunts and uncles who are willing
• Maybe start writing the actual thesis? I don't want to get too ambitious though, I do definitely need at least a short break from this before school starts back up again.

I will say my main priority for break will be spending time with family and friends who I don't get to see that often. My second priority will be researching and making a definitive lesson plan for the program, since that is really the crucial part at this point in the process. I'm sure I'll be able to write enough pages after the program happens, but nothing will get done if I show up at Solstice completely unprepared! Then if all else goes well, my third priority will be starting to write my thesis, though I'm sure once January comes around, wearing pjs and watching some Netflix will be more tempting than getting a head start on homework...!

Blog post 5: what am I learning?

Hello, long time no write, but we're back and my thesis idea is stronger than ever!

Some updates before I delve into the prompt:

• I officially will be working with the Rochester Museum & Science Center (RMSC) to get objects for my program! I'm visiting and choosing the objects on Saturday, 11/2.
• My lit review is happening! It's not great, but we had a draft due last week that was 5 pages and used 7 sources. Baby steps, but progress nonetheless.

 So, since our lit reviews are coming along, I have been learning quite a bit about techniques and tricks for running programs, different statistics about adult learning, other projects similar to mine, and so on. For example, this afternoon I dove into sources I "stole" from my Muse Ed class from last fall, and I read about questioning strategies for getting students to arrive at an answer without just telling it to them. I also looked at some lesson plan templates and different verbs for describing outcomes. In one source, I read about how adult learning has 3 steps: acquiring knowledge, analyzing and reflecting on the knowledge, and applying the knowledge. The reflection part is apparently incredibly important, but something I would never have thought to include in my plan, so I'm glad I was able to find this source.

What do I still need to know?

Since I haven't picked out collection items yet, I still need to choose them. Once I know what I'm working with, I'll be able to construct a theme and research the facts behind the objects so that I am prepared to effectively facilitate a program about them. One of my sources said that adult learners expect the facilitator to be an expert on the subject, so I will have to be prepared for this and put in my research!
I also need to do a little more research on facilitating programs. While browsing the library stacks I came across a book that was supposedly a museum educator's handbook and I was incredibly excited to find it, but it didn't end up being that helpful. These are the two areas I'm going to concentrate future research on!