The Integrative Master’s Project (IMP) is the culminating component of a graduate student’s work at Bank Street College, integrating theoretical knowledge with experiences at Bank Street and in the field. Students have three options to choose from based on their learning style and preference—Independent Study, Portfolio, or Site-Based or Collaborative Student/Faculty Inquiry—and each year they are given the opportunity to share their work.
The most recent IMP share took place on Thursday, January 15 with presentations of Site-Based and Collaborative Student/Faculty Inquiries. These projects provided a small peer-group experience as groups of students meet with faculty to share and support one another throughout the process. Two groups of students presented, one, a Site-Based Inquiry with a focus on literacy with facilitator Mollie Welsh-Kruger, included topics such as:
- Incorporating Social and Emotional Learning into Literature
- The Use of iPads During Independent Reading
- Exploring Digital Citizenship: An iMovie Project with Fourth Graders
- How Museum Educators Utilize Visual Augmentative Communication Tools for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities
The second group, a Collaborative Student/Faculty Inquiry Share, presented in a roundtable discussion and focused on issues and practices in international education with facilitator Roberta Altman. Student topics included:
- Teach the Girl: A Study of the Organizations Determined to Establish Gender Equality in Education
- A Case Study in Early Childhood Care and Education: South Korea’s Nuri Curriculum
- Education for Sustainable Development
- The Bank Street Ethos – A Study of Pedagogy as Beneficial Practice
- Teaching the Recent Past: Commemoration, Contemplation, and Education in Guatemala
While the IMP shares are generally formatted as a presentation, Roberta Altman opted to increase audience participation and input for her group by presenting in a roundtable format. She described:
“The moderator invites audience participation for the purpose of helping the presenting students to think about their work through interaction with audience members.”