Students learn from camera-savvy peers

Fourth-graders at Point Road Elementary School and sophomores at Red Bank Regional High School came together recently to collaborate on a project designed to teach the younger students how to create and appreciate a fine photograph.

Above: Justin Elmer, Deal, a photography major at Red Bank Regional High School, helps Point Road School student Shannon Thomas, Little Silver, try a creative photography technique. Point Road School fourth-grader Laura Nagle sets up a still life for a photo shoot. CHRIS KELLY Point Road art teacher Dale Dvorak, and Dawn Lisko, art and photography teacher at Red Bank Regional High School, hosted the March 15 event.

“Our endeavor is to bridge a gap in art education with the realization that our students are inspired by not only what we teach but what their peers have to bring to the table as well,” Dvorak said during an interview on March 8.

Dvorak explained that she applied and won a grant through the Educational Foundation of Little Silver, which enabled her to provide digital SLR (single-lens reflex) cameras for her fourth-grade students.

Then she brought her idea about teaming her students with RBR photography majors to Lisko.

“She [Dvorak] came to me looking to participate in a multiple-level project,” Lisko explained during an interview on March 9. “We decided to pair her fourthgraders up with my sophomore class.”

All of Lisko’s nine sophomore students have been photography majors since their freshman year in RBR’s Visual and Performing Arts program. She explained that the collaboration would allow for interaction with a large number of the younger students.

“My students and I will help facilitate stations for about 20 fourth-graders at a time,” Lisko said prior to the event. “By the end of the morning, we will have had contact with 200 fourth-graders!”

During the three-hour period on March 15, Point Road’s fourth-grade students rotated among three stations where they critiqued, created and analyzed.

Dvorak explained that the students would learn how to critique a photograph using the elements and principles of design. Another station went over lighting and shooting from a light box, and another gave the students a chance to use their new digital SLRs to create an interesting composition using fruits and vegetables.

Fourth-grade student Conor Smith said he was looking forward to working with the high school students.

“It’s going to be really fun because they know a lot,” Smith said during an interview on March 9. “They have a lot they can teach us and talk to us about. We just got started in September.”

Dvorak said she feels that collaborating is beneficial to the students and expressed her gratitude to the educational foundation for equipping her students with top-of-the-line technology.

“We are very excited to collaborate together on a project incorporating technology, art history, critique, inspiration, creativity and learning while having fun,” Dvorak said.

According to Dvorak, her students were brimming with excitement about the collaboration with RBR students.

“It’s such a great opportunity. The fourth-graders can ask the high school students about their experiences,” Dvorak said. “ Also, learning means more to them when it’s coming from their peers, as it’s more on their level. They can’t wait to see the high school students.”

Dvorak said the high-end cameras have helped teach the students about responsibility.

“At first I was apprehensive about putting them in the students’ hands, but they are so respectful,” Dvorak said. “They know if it’s broken, it’s not so easily replaceable. They felt like they were put on the line, and they’ve risen to the occasion.

“It’s like they’re walking around with fine china,” Dvorak continued. “They’ve become responsible young adults, and that’s something that’s hard to teach.”

The sophisticated technology also allows for the students to learn different effects, timing and perspective, Dvorak said.

“The kids have had unbelievable results with the cameras so far. People are blown away. The quality of their work brings them up a notch to the adult level,” said Dvorak. “They’re empowered to have such complex cameras.”

Smith explained how the grant has enabled his class to learn a great deal about photography.

“Since September, we learned how to center a piece to photograph, how to shoot reflection and angles, and zoom and balance,” Smith said “We learned about shadows and how to use them, and that they make for really good pictures.”

Dvorak hopes to expand the collaboration in the future.

“I think everyone will get a lot out of it,” Dvorak said. “There’s a really positive impact when you use technology in the classroom.”