With faculty-designed and led courses, exciting community events and guest speakers, and virtual campus experiences.
On a weekly basis, students will meet one-on-one with their advisor and teachers— creating a learning experience tailored to each individual student.
Students will make new friends and collaborate with peers from all over the world!
PERISCOPE is intentionally designed to be hyper flexible to allow active participation from students around the world.
This is a small group experience that focuses on leadership and communication skills.
PERISCOPE is designed to be engaging, collaborative, and hands on!
PERISCOPE will be different from any other virtual program you may have been a part of in the past. This summer we will build a community of curious, innovative, and engaged “Experimentors” who will delve into project-based, creative learning that focuses on collaboration and communication with two main goals in mind: maximizing our creativity and character and having LOTS of fun in the process! Students will form deep connections with like-minded peers around the world in ways they never thought possible on a virtual platform. They will learn more about themselves and their connection to the world around them, all while experiencing a taste of what life as a student at Deerfield Academy might be like.
Leadership in Community is a small group experience that allows students to build relationships with peers from all over the world in a fun and social setting. Each small group will take part in the same activities as a way to build the larger PERISCOPE community through shared experiences. Students will take a deep dive into building their leadership and communication skills as a means of better understanding themselves and how they fit into the world. They will engage in experiential group activities, practice public speaking, and create artifacts to show their growth through the program. In addition, each small group leader will act as an advisor to students, meeting with them 1:1 to check on their progress and discuss their personal and educational goals for the future.
Along with taking courses designed and led by Deerfield faculty, students will take part in some beloved Deerfield traditions. School Meeting will be a time for the entire community to come together, and could include exciting guest speakers or presentations from groups of students. Sit-down meals will be a great opportunity to engage with one another and discuss a variety of topics—no food necessary! And students will also have access to a virtual Deerfield campus experience that includes asynchronous activities and a 3D walking tour!
Staying true to the Experimentory mission, PERISCOPE courses will approach subjects in fresh and exciting ways and will be project based, creative, and experiential in nature. A mix of group collaboration, independent work, and field studies will foster teamwork across time zones and embrace a diversity of perspectives. The virtual platform will provide an opportunity to teach students new skills and prepare them for collaboration in a rapidly changing and interconnected world.
Have you ever been nervous to speak in front of a crowd? Are you queasy at just the thought of reading in class or performing publicly? Or, are you a seasoned speaker/performer looking to perfect your craft? In all cases, this is the class for you! Public speaking is a critical life skill, and in this class you will learn techniques and tips to help you gain confidence and win over your audience. Ensemble building and improvisation will form the bedrock of our time together, because once you are comfortable with your peers you are sure to reach your full potential! We will then dive into short speeches and performing scenes from established playwrights. Your self-confidence will soar during our time together, and you will never again hesitate to take full advantage of an opportunity to perform.
The most interesting ethical questions are the ones in which important values come into tension. What is the right thing to do when exercising individual freedom conflicts with protecting the vulnerable? When security interests suggest revealing private information? When granting mercy in a compelling case would mean making an exception to a clear and important civic standard? In this course, students will learn how to support claims with evidence and reasoning, engage in respectful ‘arguments to enlighten,’ and sharpen debate skills. In our classroom community, arguments aren’t fights: they’re how we critically examine our beliefs and values and thereby grow as individuals.
Combining elements of 3-D Design, Architecture, and Urban Design, students in this course will experience the iterative process and learn about basic principles common to all design endeavors. Using the 3-D design program SketchUp, students will design several unique objects at different scales, learning how to incorporate important concepts like form and color to build their projects from a basic concept into a complex 3-dimensional form. Projects will include designing a desktop object based on a building of the student’s choice, translating that object into a skyscraper, and transforming the urban environment around the skyscraper to react to it. While each project will be completed individually, students will work collaboratively as their ideas progress from concept to the finished products.
Our contemporary media landscape is saturated with audiovisual messages: we live in a world of screens, headphones, and loudspeakers that constitute the backdrop to our everyday experiences. Why should we content ourselves with the role of passive spectators and listeners when we can become creators? In this class, you will learn the fundamentals of audiovisual digital content creation in the area of your choosing: filmmaking, podcasting, or songwriting. Through a hands-on collaborative approach that imitates the practices of the contemporary film and music industries, students will work on a wide range of projects from start to finish. By experimenting and playing, you will learn the basic creative and technical skills needed to express your thoughts, emotions, and ideas through videos, podcasts, and songs.
Since people have looked to the stars and dreamt of travelling to them, we have needed problem solvers and makers. How will we get off the ground and launch ourselves into space? How will we get to the Moon, to Mars, or beyond? How will we live out there away from Earth? And when trouble happens, who is going to imagine new ideas and new ways of putting things together? This course will feature hands-on team challenges that will force you to think on your feet and collaborate with others. Join us as we embark on an interplanetary journey of discovery and invention while we learn about the frontiers of space that will be explored in your lifetime. It’s the next age of discovery and an adventure waiting for you to join it.
Students will engage in a variety of different types of learning mediums throughout the program. Synchronous time will include small group time, live instruction, 1:1 meetings with Deerfield faculty, and group collaboration with classmates. Asynchronous time will include independent coursework, field studies, and opportunities for students to explore their personal passions and interests.
Students will be joining PERISCOPE from time zones around the world and with a variety of scheduling constraints. The program is intentionally designed with the flexibility to accommodate different schedules. Students can anticipate approximately 6 to 10 hours per week of synchronous activities, and many of those can be coordinated around personal scheduling constraints. Students can also anticipate approximately 4 to 8 hours per week of asynchronous work that can be completed on their own schedule.
Staying true to The Experimentory’s mission, courses will approach subjects in fresh and exciting ways and will be project based, creative, and experiential in nature. A mix of group collaboration, independent work, and field studies will foster teamwork across time zones and embrace a diversity of perspectives. The virtual platform will provide an opportunity to teach students new skills and prepare them for collaboration in a rapidly changing and ever-connected world
Courses will be designed to challenge students to take ownership of their own learning with time for independent inquiry and exploration of their passions and interests. Flexible scheduling will give students the opportunity to meet 1:1 with their teacher each week to discuss progress and help create a learning experience that is personalized to each student.
The Experimentory offers a limited amount of financial assistance. Financial aid is based on need and is part of the program application. All students applying for financial aid must apply for both the program and financial aid by March 29, 2021 to be considered. Financial aid applicants will be notified simultaneously of their admission status and any financial aid award via email later this spring.
The Experimentory will be different from any other virtual program you may have been a part of in the past. This summer we will create a community of curious, innovative, and engaged Experimentors that will delve into project-based, creative learning that focuses on collaboration and communication with two main goals in mind…maximizing our creativity and character and having LOTS of fun doing it! This summer, students will form deep connections with like-minded peers around the world in ways they never thought possible in a virtual world. Students will learn more about themselves and their connection to the world around them all while experiencing a taste of what life at Deerfield Academy might be like. We can’t wait to get started this summer for what is sure to be an Experimentory we won’t soon forget!
To fully engage in the program, students will need a reliable internet connection and a computer or tablet. At a minimum, the connected device should include a webcam, speakers, and microphone and be able to support live video and audio conferencing. In addition, students will at times need to record and upload video and audio files, download content, and access information online from a variety of sources. We will use an assortment of online applications throughout the program and access to these will be provided by The Experimentory. We will communicate any additional specific technical requirements for courses well in advance of the start of the program.
A periscope is defined as “an optical device most commonly used for making observations from a concealed or protected location or where an obstacle prevents normal line of sight.” We think this is a great theme for our virtual program after a year of obstacles and challenges we have all had to overcome. Although our community will not physically be together this summer, we will still learn and grow together as we make deeper observations about ourselves and the world around us.
Leadership in Community is a small group experience that allows students to build relationships with peers from all over the world in a fun and social setting. Each small group will take part in the same activities as a way to connect with the larger PERISCOPE community through shared experiences. During Leadership in Community students will take a deep dive into building their leadership and communication skills as a means of better understanding themselves and how they fit into the world. Students will engage in experiential group activities, practice public speaking, and create artifacts to show their growth through the program. In addition, each small group leader will act as an advisor to students, meeting with them 1:1 to check-in on their progress and discuss their personal and educational goals for the future.
PERISCOPE has been designed with the flexibility to allow students from around the world to comfortably engage in all aspects of the program. The intentional design of the daily schedule was created to facilitate maximizing synchronous time with students while being mindful of the total amount of time students spend in the virtual world. Below is a sample schedule of what a week could possibly look like for a student. It is important to note that many of the elements in the schedule below, such as 1:1 meetings and open course time are flexible and will depend on a student’s individual availability.
Sample Daily Schedule
EST- AM, Monday
9:00-9:45 – School Meeting
10:00-10:30 – 1:1 Advisor time
10:45-11:15 – 1:1 teacher check-in
EST-AM, T/W/TH
7:30-8:00 – Leadership in Community
8:05-8:35 – Synchronous Course 1
8:40-9:10 – Synchronous Course 2
9:10-11:00 – Open Course 1 time (asynchronous work, group projects, extra help)
11:00-1:00 – Open Course 2 time (asynchronous work, group projects, extra help)
PHONE
413-774-1498
MAIL
The Experimentory
at Deerfield Academy
PO Box 87
Deerfield, MA
01342
Find out more about our campus and area or get directions. If you will be in the area and would like to meet our Experimentory staff, email us at experimentory@deerfield.edu.
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