We have spent the last few months compiling our Progress Report for the 2013-14 school year. We have enjoyed the process of looking over our highlights from the year, and we are particularly excited to reminisce about an interview with Morgan, a Right Brain student and 3rd grader at Milwaukie Elementary School. Morgan made an amazing robot bird during a Right Brain residency with teaching artist Caitlin Shelman, in which she learned about geometric shapes and 3-dimensional design. Her robot bird is composed of cones, pyramids, rectangles, and cylinders made from recycled materials. Morgan is eager to share the inner-workings of her robot, as she explains, she added moving parts, a password screen, an on/off switch, an Enter and Delete key, and a power source.

Listening to Morgan talk, you understand the level of creative and critical thinking involved in this project. She made creative choices and solved problems to make a really unique beast that looked and worked the way she wanted it to. You can also see how much she learned about geometry through this process, and the sense of ownership she felt over her own educational experience — enough to want to take the robot home and keep working on it! This an excellent example of  Right Brain helping kids learn subjects in the classroom, while also helping them learn to use their minds well.

Enjoy listening!