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>>We start with immersion, where we dive in and begin
to become exposed to the realities of what we're trying
to pursue, and these other...
>>Narrator: English teacher Susan is explaining a learning expedition
to parents who are considering enrolling their students
at Casco Bay High School.
>>Susan: Then building background knowledge in social studies class,
they looked at the Great Depression and tried to unearth what happened
in that economic crisis and how can we compare...
>>Narrator: The project McCray and her students are diving
into explores the realities and impact of homelessness
in their hometown of Portland, Maine.
>>Susan: Then investigation comes,
and that's when we started these documentary projects,
where we went out and had the opportunity to talk
to people who've experienced homelessness.
>>Susan: The work that we do that we believe in, it has to be compelling
and it has to be looking at the real world, so we designed this expedition
to act as a case study of one policy issue.
Policy is compelling because it is about need,
but it can become very academic,
and I think what we can lose is the notion of human story
and how these issues impact and affect real lives.
>>Okay, how long have you each been homeless?
>>I've been in and out of the shelters on
and off, like, 22 years, and...
>>Susan: So, what this project has done is allowed us to look
at the historic piece, while at the same time looking
at the contemporary economic crisis and then
to really make a link with a human being.
>>So, how did that affect you?
>>Because of the way you have to live and the fact
that you may not be proud of it.
Wears on your self-esteem, no matter how good your self-esteem is.
It's going to be -- it's very draining.
>>Emma: Even knowing that there's a large homeless population
in Portland, like, it's something you know, but actually being able to talk
to people about it is -- it's something really different,
and that's what I really like about expeditions like this.
You get to really know it rather than just look at it
and be like, "Oh, that's nice."
Like, you're immersed, so...
>>You know the drill idea.
Keep that a little bit higher up.
>>Hold on a second.
>>Narrator: During the eight-week project,
students will write their own individual profiles and contribute
to a group multimedia presentation.
>>Should I redo that?
>>Yeah. We already -- we can't...
>>Susan: I mean, it's incredible what we're able to do so simply.
We just click on GarageBand and it goes.
Everybody's got a cell phone that can take a picture,
and everybody can load the image onto the computer
in the classroom instantly, and with my LCD projector, boom,
we're looking at people's work.
>>We talked to Alden in the back room of Down-Home Cookin',
a small coffee shop on Preble Street.
>>Susan: I think it's easy for people sometimes to think, "Oh, well,
this multimedia is kind of gimmicky," right?
"It's just for the sake of the polish.
Where's the learning in it?"
>>...told us he had been homeless on and off for three or four years now.
>>Susan: Well, I try peer critique all the time.
I'm still trying to work on how am I going
to make peer critique happen more effectively
when we work on our writing?
And in this project they've each written their personal pieces,
and then I've asked them to each take a piece of that
in their team to produce one story.
Well, the process that went on there, I mean, kids were riveted,
and here's this authentic reason: "I think we should use your opening,
because your -- I really liked your description of the setting
and what was going -- and the character there,"
and that's high-level thinking and crafting of narrative.
They're critiquing.
>>So I think that was really working was their slides.
I don't know how to explain it, but it just kind
of meshed, like with their words.
>>People lose hope out there, paver-marked,
talk about why homeless people stay homeless.
They get stuck and feel like there's no way out.
>>Narrator: On this night, McCray's students read the profiles they've
written to this group of parents.
Days later, at a local art gallery,
they will present their multimedia products to their primary audience:
the subjects of their work.
>>We walked up three flights of stairs
in the Oxford Street shelter past 154 6-inch-thick mats.
The shelter...
>>Susan: The process is driven by culmination,
because we all get involved when we know that we have a real audience,
and our real audience is our community
but most significantly the people we interviewed.
What could matter more than making sure the story is right for them?
>>Andrew is 46 years old.
There was nothing about Andrew that stood out.
>> For more information on what works
in public education go to edutopia.org