Steps in the process: Studio creation from the ground up

NuVu is an innovation school that uses project-based learning to teach students valuable life skills. NuVuX is an extension of NuVu that is in public and private schools around the world. NuVu works in studios where students create a project that is made for real-life implementation. Instead of having teachers, NuVu has coaches that are architects, designers, and engineers. Kristina Osborn is a NuVux Program Designer and manages a lot of the studios for NuVuX.

Kristina and I met to talk about the creation of NuVu studios. A NuVu studio is a two-three weeks studio that is based on real-world problems. Studios range from technical, to conceptual, to virtual projects.

Last spring, for example, 12 students at NuVu Cambridge experienced the Deployable Spaces studio. Students were asked to look at areas in Kendall Square, Cambridge and found places that were abandoned or vacant. Students created games that could easily be deployed into these spaces and could invite more people to interact in these unused spaces.  Deployable Spaces in one of the thousands of studios that have been created at NuVu. Kristina’s role is to take studios that have been done at NuVu Cambridge and perfect them for NuVuX.

The first step, Kristina explains, is idea creation.

“The key steps to creating a studio are having a solid idea: is the studio entirely new or does it take inspiration from previous studios? What are some projects that could come out of the studio?”

Initial ideas can range from covering a current event to diving into a type of craft, but ultimately, there needs to be a certain level of depth to the studio.

“The second step is to figure out what the brainstorming session will look like.”

Kristina opens a new google doc that shows this section completed in the google doc there are ideas for what should the sections for what ideas should come out in the brainstorming session.

“Now that the studio has been created coaches have to figure out the scheduling when will the studio take place will it be three weeks or two weeks, fall, spring, or winter trimester?”

 “How will breaks affect the studio will there be enough time in the day for students to complete sufficient amounts of work? These are questions that coaches have to answer during the studio creation process.”

For NuVuX this process is different because students have less time in the studio each week they have around 90 minutes a week so the studio is scheduled differently.

After thinking through these steps, Kristina then meets with NuVux fellows and staff for feedback. Kristina consistently has meetings throughout the day. Today, she’s meeting with Nadine. This meeting is about creating a new studio for Wheeler, a NuVux partner in Providence RI, during the spring semester. Kristina starts the meeting by opening her computer and going to the NuVu main page.

“ So Nadine what was your first step in the studio intro exercise?” Kristina asked. Nadine in a NuVux staff member and ran the Identity Vessels studio at Cambridge and the Jordan NuVuX.

“Students needed inspiration but some of the students worked really well and got a lot done,” she replied.

“How long the studio would need for the intro exercises?”

She continued to ask Nadine questions about the studio process. After the meeting, Kristina got a cup of coffee and an orange. She seemed worn out but still, she found a seat by the couches. She sat with her computer in her lap and sipped her coffee and slacked Max.

“ Max is a NuVuX fellow [in Vermont] and works directly with me and helps me manage the Wheeler studios for Wheeler,” Kristina responds. She continues to chat with him as lunchtime approaches.

After lunch, Kristina meets with NuVux staff Ramzi and Nadine. Wheeler will be doing a virtual exchange studio with the Karam house in Reyhanlı, Turkey.

“NuVu is planning to do a three-way Virtual exchange. Three-way exchange is too hard because there has to be something that all three can relate to,” Ramzi explains.

“What if we just did a two-way virtual exchange?” Kristina responds. She consistently is trouble-shooting and re-thinking NuVu approaches.

In this meeting, they are figuring out what the studio will the virtual exchange will be. Kristina asks about what are some problems that both schools can relate to. It’s important for students to feel connected to the project.

Ramzi replies with “Both studios are in places with very limited transportation. What if we created a studio around public transportation, where students create alternative forms of transportation?”

Kristina takes down notes about Ramzi’s idea. Her day is halfway over, and there is so much planning left to do. Now that they have an idea, she begins the studio planning process. With a notebook and computer in hand, she heads back to her desk and gets to work.