The full experience

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This last week has been a great way to wrap up my time on the farm. I helped out at the farmers market today and now I feel like I’ve experienced the full cycle of organic farming. Week 1 I worked with compost and planted many crops. Week 2 I maintained the beds and even made my own stretch of garden. Week 3 I sold some produce at the farmers market. IMG_1358

It’s been such a great time. I think being able to come out of this experience with some teaching ideas is great, but what will stick with me is the knowledge, confidence and independence I’ve gained over the course of the entire CFE. I think the process from beginning to end prepared me for encounters that I’ll come across everyday in the teaching profession. From researching where to live, contacting my hosts and building rapport over email, meeting new people everyday, and figuring out how farming works; I can see how these may all be paralleled throughout my teaching career. Parent-teacher interviews, preparing for contracts overseas, and teaching new curriculum are all job-related activities that I can feel more comfortable with after my time here.

Moving forward, I will be sure to recommend this international placement for future teacher candidates. The entire process was so smooth, inviting. The hosts, Gerry and Janet made it what it was by reciprocating my help with their kindness and hospitality.

Aloha,

Chris

Getting to know organic

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A lot of time spent during my first week had to do with familiarizing myself with the area, the people, and the tasks. I foundIMG_1225 that this second week I was able to take-off and do a lot more work independently. The massive lettuce beds I’ve pictured here, for instance, were all weeded by myself, alone! I spent about 3 hours there, working away and building up an appetite, which brings me to my next idea.

Gerry, the farm owner, makes sure I’m well fed before I come to work. During work he lets me take ‘coconut-o-clock’, where we sit to drink coconut water and eat papayas. After work I’m allowed to eat anything from the gardens to get nourished and ready myself for the next day. I thought about this in relation to my teachings. If I want students to come to class ready for work, I need to make sure they’re well-fed. I haven’t worked out how yet, but I might have a big pot of chili, or a snack corner; something to fill them up.

The other thing that came up this week and really stuck in my mind was a discussion I had with Gerry about organics. I knew that organics are good for us, but the science around what sets them apart from conventional foods is something I didn’t entirely understand. I asked Gerry the question, ‘why eat organic?’ and for the next 20 minutes I was taking notes. There’s so many benefits to growing food organically, and one of the take-away messages would have been greatIMG_1219 to share with my practicum students during our sustainability unit. Organically grown food is a self-sustaining ecosystem that relies on diversity. A variety of crops allows for healthier bee’s and other insects to assist the growth of the plants, which later die and enrich the soil with a heap of nutrients that go into the next batch of crops. There is so much detail in organically grown food, and thanks to Gerry I’ve learned the importance of eating organic!

Mahalo,

Chris

A Warm Welcome

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I arrived at the airport on Sunday to be picked up by Gerry, the owner of Kapa’a Organic Farms in Maui, Hawaii. I slept well the first night and began my next morning with a couple of fresh fruits, pancakes and some homegrown coffee. Immediately I felt welcome, the owners, Gerry and Janet, have charming personalities that make me feel as if I’m at a bed and breakfast.

We started work early, and a lot of members from the local community came out to volunteer their time and support the farm. We split into small teams and headed toward the composting area at one end of the farm; little did I know this was the most testing job I’d have all week. Right away my nose knew that I was in the composting area, and as I looked to my left to see a rotting goat in a bucket beside me, my eyes quickly knew where I was too. We walked past the goat and lifted a big black tarpaulin to uncover an area of compost that was to be used in the gardens. It wasn’t that easy though, first the compost needed to be shovelled into a sifter where I would sift it by hand to separate and collect smaller materials. One hour and 12 buckets of sifted compost later, I could breathe easy. We spent the remainder of the day planting crops in new beds.

Coconut break
I feel like compost-sifting was the most trying time for me, and if it hadn’t been for that I would probably be complaining about the much easier, cleanlier tasks I’ve been doing. Being surrounded by strangers that were all taking part in sifting compost probably helped me too. I don’t want to be the one sitting out and watching as everyone’s working; it wouldn’t be the best way to make friends.

As much as I like the work, I also like my time off. Hawaii is great for that, and I’m making the most of it. Here’s a picture of some fresh food I picked for my lunch the other day.

Fresh from the garden

Aloha,
Chris

Reflecting on my Inquiry

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Outdoor Education is a huge passion of mine because I see how important it is when I reflect on my own learning experiences. As humans, we depend on one-another and the environment, everything is interconnected and in order to flourish we need to acknowledge and sustain this practice of community. Outdoor Education builds the connection between students and the environment, it helps them learn about their impact on Earth and the respective feelings that come along with destroying or nurturing. It’s a win-win if we look at it like this, because while teaching students about interconnectedness, it also teaches them how to conduct themselves in the ‘real-world’. This is exemplified in many ways, one being the treatment of plants and forest dwelling creatures. Students learn how fragile the leaves are, how tearing a branch can cause an entire tree to collapse. All of this is explained in further detail through my resources. Check out, “Gill, T. (2014). The Benefits of Children’s Engagement with Nature: A Systematic Literature Review. Children, Youth and Environments, 24 (2)” for a more detailed discussion on this.

Hartley Banack, a professor at UBC is by far the best resource that I have used. He changed my thinking to make the question more practical. I had a passion of Outdoor Education before and I wanted to share my passion for it before, but it was my discussion with Hartley that allowed me to see the direction I need to take in order to put the sharing in effect. I want teachers to see the benefits of Outdoor Education for what it is, and I want them to have simple, practical ways to make it happen. This is what I want to bring out of my Inquiry; a practical resource for teachers to pick-up and be able to see why it is needed and how they can use it.

In summary, my passion for Outdoor Education is sourced from its behavioral benefits. In order to share my passion with as many people as I can, I need to reach other teachers. If I can hook them with the benefits and show them how simple it is to do then I feel I’ve done enough to make a movement.

Thanks,

Chris

 

The Inquiry Cycle

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Having finished my presentation on my Inquiry project the other week, I consider myself to be ‘going further’, according to Kath Murdochs inquiry cycle. I feel this way because I’ve ‘sorted out’ information during my interviews, and speaking to experts in the field of Outdoor Education has taught me about some important considerations regarding my topic. I’ve learned what I’m interested in moving forward with. Although I consider myself to be ‘going further’, I am also in stage one, ‘finding out’ more resources that align with my direction. I have a lot of resources that provide lesson plans outdoors, but not much on outdoor classroom management. Moving forward, I think this back and forth between Stage 1 (finding out) and Stage 3 (going further) will lead me into brief periods of stage 2 (sorting out), as I determine whether my new sources are credible and related  to my new question. That’s not to say I’m out of Stage 2 right now, because I believe they all weave together and are really interconnected. For example, my thinking is always changing as I read through new websites, like ‘wildaboutvancouver’, and I’m constantly challenged to determine what is actually useful and practical to provide teachers. I anticipate that I will be moving interchangeably between all of these stages as I progress into the next inquiry stage.

Thanks,

Chris

Outdoor Math – February 16th

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4e82f1e1f1c56e2361a0274a59719dacMy partner and I just met with a UBC PhD student who is researching ways to make Math experiential, and avoid doing worksheets. He provided us with a number of example-lessons we can use to bring our students outdoors, and I’ll definitely be using them during practicum. I feel however, that I’ve changed direction once more, and my practical lesson plans will only be a portion of my final Inquiry product.

Part of my question asks, “how can we introduce Outdoor Education into the B.C. curriculum for grades 4-7”, and originally that meant practical lesson plans teachers could use. What I’d like to do instead is provide teachers with step-by-step instructions that will move them towards implementing those lessons more easily and effectively. For example, step one may include Google searching the nearest community park and doing a risk assessment on the route getting there.

I hope I can spark interest during our panel discussions next week!

Chris

Inquiry Meeting

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My partner and I were given class time this week to work on our Inquiry projects in a setting of our choice. I think we both agreed that meeting with a professor that advocates for Outdoor Education here at UBC was the best way to spend our work period. We didn’t waste any time emailing him and he agreed to meet with us for 30 minutes. After our discussion I feel like I have a wealth of knowledge and a stronger passion for my project. It was so great to speak with someone who lives and breathes a subject that I value so much. I felt mysIMG_9712elf scrambling to write down thoughts as he spoke, and I jotted down a number of take-aways and leads for further research.

This professor works with an organization named ‘Wild About Vancouver’, and they help provide schools with practical resources to get their students outside – which is exactly what I’m inquiring about! So I plan to look a little more into this website and read some of the case-study schools they have worked on. I think this will be a good place to start for building my resource, and maybe it’s possible to broaden the scope of their studies in order to encompass all schools in B.C. rather than specific ones. I’ll keep you updated!

Chris

Taking Action

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February 5, 2015IB

 

It’s been a great new year. The beginning of the term has provided me with a wealth of practical knowledge and resources that I’ve been weaving into my lessons.  I’ve even noticed some resources at my practicum school that are helping teachers bring the ‘act’ portion of the IB action cycle into their lessons. The picture I’ve attached is a notice I found in the staff room, highlighting 16 activities teachers can bring into their classes every day. It’s been great to observe and be a part of a school community where action is being taken, and as I continue to look for action, I notice a number of examples every day. Here are a few:

  • The crosswalk kids: Every morning students go outside with ‘official’ red jackets to ensure that cars are following the speed limit
  • Organizing Jump Rope for Heart day: Before school, teachers collaborate ideas on dates and locations that will allow the activity to run smoothly
  • Salmon spawning: Some students have expressed their interests in the salmon cycle, so a couple faculty members have brought in a fish tank and they are spawning salmon on school grounds
  • Big buddies: Older students are working with younger ones during recess and lunch hour to provide company and support if any problems or questions arise.

The list of action-based activities goes on, and each of these activities works toward empowering the students. I’ve talked to many of the students regarding their choice of action, and it’s clear that they’ve formulated strong opinions and are confident in their learning directions. It’s been inspiring and informative to see the effects of ‘act’ within the action cycle. I’ll be keeping my eyes open to see if I can spot students in the ‘reflect’ portion of their work.

Thanks,
Chris

Inquiry Journal – January 26th

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The word I took away from this week was “practical”. My partner and I decided that both of our questions need to be practical and easy for others to understand. I’m going to layout my inquiry in the form of a mind-map and branch all of the BC curriculum subjects from the main hub, ‘Outdoor Education’. From there, I want to provide tangible resources that other teachers can use to apply in their lessons during each subject. In addition to the curriculum subjects branching out from ‘Outdoor Education’, I’d like to have a bubble for classroom management techniques. I’ve found that a lot of my resources bring forward the notion of fear from many teachers towards Outdoor Education because of difficulty with managing their students. Hopefully I can remove this stigma and create more lessons inclusive to the outdoors.


I just finished writing up a lesson on heart rate for my students, which is geared towards Science, P.E., and Math. If all goes well then I’ll add it into my bucket of resources that will eventually end up on my mind map.

My partner and I are meeting with a renowned UBC professor next week to hopefully gather some insight into more resources. He runs some amazing programs at UBC, and I’m sure he’ll provide us with an abundance of material.

Chris