Approaching the Recycling Video & Poster Contest with Lindsay Simpson
What Will Recycling Look Like in the Future?
We’re excited to announce the ISRI x JASON Learning 2020 Recycling Video & Poster Contest theme: Then, Now, and Into the Future! This contest invites students K-12 from the U.S. and Canada to create a video or poster that imagines what recycling will look like in 50, 75, or even 100 years from now by designing a solution to a current problem in recycling today.
We have helpful guidelines for teachers and students on the JASON Learning website www.jason.org/contests to help you kick start your creativity! JASON Learning District — Genesee Valley Central Schools from New York participated in the 2019 contest as a district-wide project. They shared a really neat video with us to show how they implemented the contest and we interviewed Genesee Valley’s Technology Integration Specialist, Lindsay Simpson, to dive deep into their experience and provide some more helpful insight for teachers.
Hi Lindsay! We love watching the video of how Genesee Valley applied the contest and connected it to JASON’s ISRI recycling curriculum. How did you introduce the contest to your students and teachers?
When the contest came out, we presented it to a few different teachers, and one in particular, William Horton, thought it would really mesh with his computer applications course. When we presented it to students, a group of four came forward who were interested in doing the contest. These students came from different backgrounds, had strengths in different academic areas, and were perfect for a project like this! Once the contest picked up speed, the district-wide project began and took off with a life of its own.
What was your process for making it a district-wide project?
Looking at the ISRI materials, it was easy to see how many of the activities could be scaffolded to meet our younger grade levels. I met with several Elementary Teachers, showed them the materials, and asked them if they had any ideas of how to modify the mission to meet their curriculum. Being teachers, they naturally had a lot of ideas! But with those ideas, came concerns of timing, as curriculum maps had already been developed, and they were afraid of falling behind. Because of that, we designed the project to include one one-hour math activity and one one-hour ELA activity for each grade level. These activities took place on different days so that each grade level in the Elementary only had to dedicate two hours to this bigger project. It worked out great! We announced it to the whole faculty at a faculty meeting, put it out on our school’s Facebook page, and included it on our daily announcements. Once we got started, between the district-wide project and the video contest, we had involvement from almost every grade level (K-12) as well as the different departments in the building including the cafeteria and maintenance.
Were there any problems that you had to face that you think could happen to other teachers and how did you overcome them?
At the beginning of the video contest, the four students and I really weren’t sure where to start. We did not have a large background in infrastructure or recycling and certainly did not know how to go about it improving it. We decided to embrace our community and school for inspiration and found it in our school’s capital project. At the time, a local company was just breaking ground. From a second-floor window, we were able to see all the piping going into the ground and the outline of the building start to take shape. We decided that if we didn’t have the background knowledge, we would need to go to someone who did. We interviewed Chris Chamberlain, Clerk of Works/Maintenance Director, members of the maintenance department, and brainstormed with local engineers. If we had not reached out to the people with more knowledge than we did, we would never have overcome the first hurdle, and probably would not have thought about creating our own PVC pipes through recycled plastic.
How has this contest affected your students and teachers?
This contest allowed students who did not see themselves as “scientifically gifted” and made them feel successful. These four students reflected that they did not think they would be able to come up with a project idea to start, and seeing that they not only came up with an idea but actually was then able to create the prototype, made them feel proud of their accomplishments! They wanted to showcase it to others (and did at two local STEAM nights) and have since been in discussions on how to utilize our new innovation center to continue thinking outside the box. They also realized the power of utilizing resources within a community. They created long-lasting relationships with our maintenance department, our FACS teacher, school administrators, and local business owners. As a former 4th Grade Teacher to the students who participated in this contest, I was extremely proud of their hard work and dedication to creating an amazing product! Their current team of teachers are just as proud!
Do you have plans for the 2020 contest?
The district is currently very excited about bringing together groups of students to participate in the next project! While we do not have specifics nailed down yet, we are hoping to branch it out to allow multiple teams of four to work on a project to allow even more students the opportunity to experience this opportunity for innovation.
Do you have any advice you can provide to our JASON community about how to approach this contest?
My best advice is to take it one step at a time and utilize all your resources. My students and I would never have thought of creating recycled PVC piping without looking outside to our capital project, seeing the PVC in the ground, and wondering what the process was for that material. It was through interviews with members of our staff and construction company that the project started coming together. Also, do not be afraid of the testing phase! Our team attempted several different procedures to melt the plastic to create a new PVC pipe. This led to multiple prototypes. While it took us several attempts to get it right, we learned something more with each trial!
MEET LINDSAY SIMPSON
I am currently working as a Technology Integration Specialist but have a background as a 4th Grade Teacher as well as a Special Education Teacher. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Childhood Inclusive Education (State University of New York at Fredonia) and a Master’s degree in Differentiated Instruction (St. Bonaventure University). I also recently acquired my School Building Leadership certificate(St. Bonaventure University). When I entered the role of a Technology Integrator, I quickly realized the depths of my passion for STEAM Learning and the power it has for all students.
I have a wonderful husband, Scott, who inspires me every day to continue my own growth and we share our home with our queen bee cat named Giblet!
