The use of the 'backward design' model was a great tool when planning my project for the Peabody School. I thought it was an interesting approach (which I had used before) in order to begin with my goals, and work backward to secure the process of the project.

When I was first put into contact with the Peabody School, I was asked to conceptualize a Legacy Project for the 8th grade class. What the school representatives meant by "legacy" was a project that the students would make and leave to the school. Little did I know how this one word would shape my entire project.

While doing the 'backward design' model, I began with by starting with the single word "legacy". What I found myself writing about from then on wasn't so much about the legacy of the students in relation to the Peabody school, but about the students understanding of the word legacy, and their own personal legacy. The project then evolved into a project that will help them understand how everything they do goes down in their own personal history, and that everywhere they go, they have the opportunity to leave their legacy.
I think that this direction to the project makes it much more successful. I am sure that many of the students come from different backgrounds and cultures, and perhaps are new to the Peabody school. Because of this, it is much more important for them to think about themselves as citizens of the world rather than just students in that particular school.

The backwards design helped me ask the important questions about the students themselves. Who are they? Where do they come from? What do they have to say? How can art help them articulate their individual voices?
Without this model, I do not know if the project would have taken the successful turn in development that it did.