Workshops
One method of student involvement for the pilot study was a workshop. This page goes in detail on the outline and findings of the workshop conducted at Collings Teen Center in West Sacramento.
"They expect us to be ready.. but it's like as soon as you walk in... your whole spirit is just kinda like ugh... I don't wanna be here now. And if I saw ... a nice area to be with people, or like, encouraging spaces, that would be nice, it would be at least the first step to making me not wanna [go off campus]."
Flow of the workshop
Introduction & Icebreaker
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About the project
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West Sacramento "Heads Up" Game
Placemapping
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Associating adjective to place: Three maps of the school and its surrounding areas were prepared, each with a different set of adjectives that teens had to place on the map in a smaller group. One map had a set of positive connotation words, the other had a set of negative connotation words, and the third had a set of neutral words.
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Discussion
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Territoriality: Teens were asked to write down word(s) that describe group of people who hang out in different areas of campus, and place it on the map.
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Discussion
Created an imagery of different spaces on campus and outside of campus. Showed what kind of spaces teens preferred and why they liked/disliked those spaces. Anecdotes of experiences or consequences from a certain interaction with the space were included, like interactions with adult supervision, strangers, homeless people, and other students.
Painted a picture of how each space was perceived, even though no space is programmed to be for a certain group.
Positive
comfortable, happy, exciting, helpful
Negative
Neutral
uncomfortable, dangerous, boring, ugly
quiet, cool, hidden, busy
The negative word map has words concentrated near the school campus and near the highway. While neutral words are evenly spread out on the map, the positive words are selectively placed on Westacre Park (bottom left corner) and the Teen Center (top right). The two positive sticky notes placed on the school were both "helpful," which identified the actual educational help provided rather than the landscape.
Inspiration Board Presentation
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The presenter spoke to the participants once again of the goal of the workshop, and what the project entails.
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The presenter showed slides of inspiration images for what a school campus can look like - from renderings to built benches to outdoor classrooms.
Final Discussion and Thoughts
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After seeing inspiration images, teens were asked the following questions:
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What would you like to see on campus?
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What do you like about your school?
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What do you think is missing from your school?
