Gibb’s Reflective Cycle & In-Situ at Gordon Terrace Elementary School

Description

This week we got the opportunity to go into a grade two class at Gordon Terrace Elementary school for Take Me Outside Day. Prior to our arrival, students read the book ‘Leaf Man’ by Lois Ehlert (YouTube read aloud available here). When we got to the class we shared some animals with the students that live at Elizabeth Lake, all of which included their Ktunaxa name. We then got to walk to Elizabeth lake with the students. Once we got there, in small groups of 4 (2 UVic students and 2 GT students) worked together to create a ‘sculpture’ of an animal that was made out of nature that we found on the ground. Once that was done, some students made another sculpture of another chosen object – my group made a lion, followed by a man “Bob”. We brought the iPads for students to take photos of their creations.

We then walked back to the school with the students and they showed us how to upload their images to Seesaw. 

Feelings

Overall, this was a very positive experience for me! It was great to get an opportunity to work with students and see how engaged they were in the project and how much they loved being outdoors. The two students in my group worked great together and were very collaborative and took each other’s ideas well. Being able to spend this time with students outdoors was also a huge bonus. I loved the few hours we got to spend with this class!

Evaluation

This experience was great in all aspects! All groups created great sculptures, were very engaged, and enjoyed some time playing at Elizabeth Lake after their work was done. The students in my group knew exactly what was expected of them and got to work right away. There were a couple little issues on the walk down, and lots of reminders for a couple students of how they should be walking.

Analysis 

A large part of this success was due to Gizelle’s frontloading of what was going to happen and her expectations of the students at Elizabeth Lake. The reminders for the students walking down to Elizabeth Lake might have decreased if we had a talk about walking expectations right before we left the school.

Conclusion 

Next time, stating clear expectations for the walk down to Elizabeth Lake would be beneficial, but it was great for us UVic students to have the opportunity to remind students throughout the walk of the expectations. Next time, it would be fun if students could have shared their creations with the whole class. 

Action Plan

To share the students creations next time, I would either do a gallery walk at Elizabeth Lake, or show them on the board when we returned to the school. Additionally, I would be sure that students are front loaded for the walk down.

I absolutely loved this experience, and would like to thank David and Gizelle for having us, as well as Allie for organizing it.