Guests are invited to share in a Celebration of Thinking with The Étude Group Thursday, December 11, at 6 p.m. Student docents and staff will be on hand throughout the galleries at IDEAS Academy and The Mosaic School to talk about the exhibits and describe the concepts and processes that make their learning real and visible. Refreshments will be served.

Student thinking fills nearly every available space at IDEAS/Mosaic. The entries greet us with rockets, engineering and life cycles, sculptures, mathematical cityscapes and graphic design. Halls display Spanish culture projects as a gateway to language and Language Arts stories as a key to communication. Teachers use the space both inside and outside their rooms to show learning in progress; classes can then view their thinking and discuss the learning process before their eyes. Even the cafeteria is alive with silhouettes developed in Visual Arts. Designated Galleries, shared by the schools, currently feature major projects from Botany, Chemistry, Visioning, and Mosaic Science.

Displays change continually as classes explore new concepts. Students are asked to approach problem-solving as professionals in the field would do, through research, analysis, experiment and creativity. As in the real world, this process is messy and non-linear, which is reflected in the exhibits. Understanding the steps taken in problem solving makes those steps useful in future challenges. Keeping this visible enriches the learning experience. As novelist E.M. Forster said, “How do I know what I think until I see what I say?”

The Galleries and exhibits at IDEAS/Mosaic represent a crucial component of the enduring education we seek to foster. Please join us for an insightful, uplifting evening!