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THE STONE WALL PROJECT One of the activities we did was an outdoor, hands-on art project that exposed the entire group to basic principles of physics. The activity involved the building of a stone wall. As Institute participants we've come to realize that our interests and values, our PASSIONS become a critical part of our ability to function as good teachers, parents and community members. We've experienced the powerful effect of when people share and express what they really care about.
The Stone Wall Project--and walls in general--served as a theme for writing workshops held during the Institute. Many inspired poems and stories were written by participants. The project was also successful in the realm of community building, as people worked side by side with others whom they might never have had the opportunity to spend time with. In listening to and watching our expert resource volunteers Dan Snow and Smokey Fuller, (the dry stone wallers), and working side by side on our wall with Smokey, I learned new skills, like using chisel and hammer to cut rocks, and I learned the basics of stone wall building. I loved the physical challenge of moving the big stones around. It was totally engaging and energizing for me. All along I'd felt some mystery about "why do I care so much about this?" I found myself wondering more and more and it became a personal process for me, to try to find out. On Wednesday night, in the middle of the institute, I talked for an hour with my father who lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He's built with stone for 40 years now. He wanted to know how the stone wall project at school was going. He'd been thinking about it, and about me, and would have loved to have been able to free up the time to come up and join in and help us with it. He told me he prayed a little prayer for us, that things would go well. He asked me about how much stone we had to work with and I couldn't guess the weight, but when I described the size of the initial pile, h thought it sounded like maybe 11 ton. I checked the next day with John Moore, the stone quarry guy, and he said that was a pretty close guess... Well, now I think I have a clue, at least, about guesstimating the weight of various loads of stone. I like that. I told my Dad how lots of people (40 of us -- all kinds and combinations of people collaborating and solving problems together) were working on the wall in small groups, for short periods of time and he said that sounded ideal, since walls look best if they have a random pattern throughout--that you wouldn't want the work and style of one group to stick out too much and distract from the whole. This project brought me closer to my Dad...
Students will understand forces and motion, the properties and composition of matter, and energy sources and transformations. This is evident when students: Sort objects and materials according to observations of similarities and differences of properties (e.g,, size, weight, color, shape, temperature)." We definitely had to sort shapes and sizes of stones to be able to fit them into our puzzle-like wall. Also, under that same Vermont Standards area, there's a section that states students will be able to, "apply forces to objects -e.g. inertia, gravity, friction, push and pull, and observe the objects in motion." I wonder how anyone could accomplish this point as well in a classroom. Art & Aesthetics While I consider the process of the project, the lessons and inspirations connected with the building of the wall, to be of paramount importance, the resulting product-- -the new stone wall out in front of our school--has also become an important element. It is a new place to be... to sit, to have gatherings or class meetings. It redefines and calls attention to a part of the school grounds which previously did not stand out. It creates an environment, and for some, a kind of sacred space. The stone wall is visually lovely, and helps to bring art and aesthetic concerns into our awareness. It is important to realize that we can make a positive impact on the aesthetic quality of our surroundings. A recent visitor to the school related to the stone wall project as an example of people changing the architecture (in this case, landscape architecture) of their workplace and commented on the empowering effect that can have on us. Indeed, there has been plenty of testimony to the feelings of empowerment and pride that the project has inspired. Community Relations & A Sense of Place We were able to enlist the help of a local naturalist/builder/artist for the project. This man worked with participants as a coach, demonstrating the use of tools and guiding the work towards successful completion. He proved to be a valuable resource for our hands-on experience. The stone wall is a reminder to us of all our Institute work, and stands as a symbol, or in monument to the ideal of our school and community's cooperative spirit. One participant calls it, "a very concrete symbol for cooperative effort." Another testifies that, "It made a positive impact on the Institute and by having a positive influence on staff and community relations has made a difference on school community relations." The wall also serves to help us link up to a greater sense of place and time, of being part of rural New England where stone walls have been important for hundreds of years. The Stone Wall Project was planned to expose participants to old stone walls in the community through a field trip and stories and picture books. We also hosted a lecture and slide show of the work of a highly talented and inspired dry stone waller/artist, who also showed examples of stone walls he had photographed in other countries. Stone wall appreciation is what we were after, and many participants say that now they notice stone walls everywhere they go. I believe that this setting the stage for the project helped to propel our group toward the enriching experience that participants reported. ~EVALUATION~ Impact on Teaching Strategies: As anticipated, those participants who were most actively involved with building the stone wall became most invested in and connected with the project. However, even those with a more limited, observation type involvement reported lessons learned and inspiration gleaned through the project. For example, one teacher notes, "I look at the observers and children who hold back, in a different way--I no longer assume they are not engaged when I see the observing behavior." Another notes an "awareness that even those students who appear less involved may indeed be making connections all their own--we just need to ask them." Teachers report the following ways the project has influenced their own teaching:- "It confirmed my belief in hands-on projects, whether they be with students or adults. What I witnessed with adults participating tells me this sort of experience is very powerful both as learning and as team building --much better than the "parlor game" approach to team building.- "I've become aware, again, of what it is like to be a beginner at a task. I've been more aware, patient with my students as they learn new skills."- "I am more tuned in to the importance of our aesthetic surroundings and I am reminded of the powerful, inspirational effect that a visually pleasing environment can have.""Having students take ownership in their learning - do they become more involved? Definitely!"- "The importance of hands-on learning. I loved learning physics this way! It was great to use native resources for a school artistic project." - "Inspiration to take on big projects involving many facets."- "Outside is a classroom, too - I always believed that. but this helped legitimize it as an extension of classroom learning." |
Each year at The Guilford Summer Institute a group of 40 people, including teachers, students, and community members, got together for a five-days to plan Service Learning projects, design curriculum and do professional development. 
The Stone Wall Project was a hands-on learning experience designed to model service learning for educators. More than 40 people (including teachers, administrators, students, and community members) took part in the building of a New England style, dry stone wall. The participants were challenged to work together to move large, heavy stones into place. In the process of creating this large work of art using "simple machines," we brought to life the practical application of the laws of physics. 
I really wanted to learn to work with stone and to learn how to build a stone wall. I love the look of stone walls and the strong presence they have. I love how the stone is so OLD. Certainly older than any other building material on earth. I love how stone and rock and walls can be so symbolic, of weight, of stability, of groundedness, of history, of energy. I think stone walls are amazing works of art, like earth sculpture.
We made a short video that shows how this type of "hands-on" outdoors art activity meets Vermont Standards. For example, in the Science Standards, listed under Space, Time, and Matter; Matter, Motion, Forces, and Energy, "