Bring student work into the “real world” to share work with important community members and to foster meaning by putting student work in the position of serving others.
Displaying student work—whether as an open house, formal presentations, conferences, or by placing student work among authentic users—drives project-design processes and creates opportunities for authentic dialogical assessment.
Celebrate every student’s learning by making it visible. Exhibitions set the expectation that all students, not just a select group, produce high-quality work and will share that work with people beyond their classroom.
Every student work display aims at shared learning targets—and every individual exhibition must be unique to each student’s identity and voice. Uncover individual roles, structures, or other exhibition opportunities that speak to each student’s passions.
Exhibitions facilitate community engagement as partners or users in student learning. Exhibition designs and methods are relevant to that of the professional world. And, exhibitions motivate learning because students know from the beginning that their work is for real people.
Exhibitions are complex, dynamic events that improve in quality when students make meaningful design choices. Facilitate opportunities for students to shape the experience and to lead authentic audiences through celebrations of their learning.