Discovering Community
is a project of the Vermont
Folklife Center and is
made possible in part
with the support of the
Bay and Paul Foundation
Additional support comes
from the Alma Gibbs Donchian
and Lamson Howell Foundations.
©2004-2008 Vermont Folklife Center
All Rights Reserved
 Web development by
Community Works
On-Line |
"Many educators, such as myself, are committed to teaching our students to
value their own communities by documenting the lives of the people who live
in them. We believe that by conducting interviews and using the tools of
audio and video recording and photography, the children not only document
local life and culture, but comprehend, in an intrinsic way, that they,
their families, and their neighbors are unique and important."
Larry Burns, 4th grade teacher
Braintree Elementary School
ABOUT US
Discovering Community is a project of the Vermont Folklife Center in partnership with Vermont Community Works and Shelburne Farms.
Contact Information:
Dr. Gregory Sharrow, Education Director
Discovering Community–Vermont Folklife Center
3 Court Street, PO Box 442
tel: 802-388-4964
email: gsharrow@vermontfolklifecenter.org
url: www.discoveringcommunity.org
 The Discovering Community project provides methods and resources to create locally designed curriculum that supports and meets the pressing need for cultural conservation and civic participation. Discovering Community is a project of the Vermont Folklife Center in partnership with Vermont Community Works and Shelburne Farms. The Discovering Community Summer Institute is one element within a coordinated system of professional development opportunities offered by the Vermont Folklife Center and by its partners.
OUR GOALS
Transforming Student Learning–Building Bridges of Understanding
Our long term goal is to foster a transformative experience for young people that will facilitate personal growth by deepening their understanding of others and, in turn, themselves. At the same time community-based research promotes a young person’s sense of identification with, and caring for, their home community and their future involvement in its civic life.
 Since drawing on community resources and using digital technology represent rich opportunities for hands-on learning, these projects engage both high-performing and at-risk students, facilitating the development of basic research and communication skills.
Establishing a Network of Support
The Summer Institute faculty and participants will form an ongoing network of like-minded peers who will provide feedback and support for each other’s classroom and program initiatives.
Participants will engage in peer mentoring relationships through a study group model, facilitated by Institute faculty. Once established during the Summer Institute these relationships will continue over the summer as teachers return home to flesh out their projects, and throughout the fall as they begin to implement them. Post institute faculty–participant contact will occur by phone and e-mail and include school site visits when possible. Faculty/participants/study groups will be linked electronically by a weblog for group communication and project critique.
 Sharing the Work
The work of our partner educators will form the basis for an expanding Discovering Community Web site that will offer a resource of curriculum exemplars and student generated work—providing models and inspiration for other teachers and students. The projects and thinking supported and nurtured by Discovering Community will be featured in our partner publication Community Works Journal, a nationally acclaimed journal for educators.
We would like to express our appreciation to the Bay and Paul Foundation for their generous support of Discovering Community, including support for development of this Web site. Additional thanks to Vermont Community Works for their support of this effort.
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