Outdoor Learning at Homma Elementary - Gideon, Peter, Scott

Today we visited Homma Elementary School to see outdoor learning put into action. Sadly, our original host, Megan Zeni, was unable to make it to show us around today, but her co-creator, Sarah Regan was there to show us around, answer some questions, and lead some outdoor class activities.  Below is a photo of the outdoor "classroom", and its chalkboard (which hangs on the side a storage room which stores the classroom materials needed for the lessons student participate in.)

The classroom is located under some trees to provide some shade, but there is a newly built gazebo which you can see in the background of the classroom photo, and in the photo below. This gazebo is used on rainy days so students can still get some work done. 

The rest of the space is a carefully planned learning environment consisting of the raised garden beds, a bug hotel, a loose parts play area, a mud pit kitchen, picnic tables for arts and writing activities, and a second shed for storing the gardening tools.

After we arrived, we observed and participated in two garden-based lessons with grade 3/4 students and the Teacher Candidates positioned at Homma Elementary. Our morning began with a student-led tour of the garden. Groups of students showed us kindness by leading an adult around the garden. What an amazing space it is. We got to see and experience lush planter boxes filled with kale, spinach, garlic, parsley, broccoli, cabbage, watermelons, radishes, carrots, lettuce, berries, apple trees, and much more. These plants are obviously shown tremendous care by Megan, Sarah, and all the students, because each crop was thriving...

...Except for the blueberries, they are a difficult plant to maintain.

After being toured around the garden, we got a chance to observe the students engaging in differentiated and risky play in the garden. During recess time, we gathered with Sarah and the TCs from Homma Elementary at the circle to discuss Sarah’s experiences as an educator in the garden. In particular, Sarah advocated for the benefits of risky play in the garden, sharing her experiences and noting how the students learn the capabilities and limits of their bodies in relation to their environment.

After recess, we met two more classes and participated in a garden work period with the students. Sarah gathered the students at in the circle area, created a to-do list on a chalkboard that included creating signs for the garden (See photos below), weeding, watering the tree bags around the cherry trees, trellising the apple trees, and relocating slugs from the planters to the bug hotel.

Takeaways:

Gideon

Witnessing the garden in action was an eye-opening experience, and there were several observations that stood out.

First, I was struck by how different this garden space felt from the garden at my practicum school. At my practicum school, the garden consisted of a circle gathering area along with several planters. These logs and planters were unshaded and adjacent to the basketball courts on one side and playground on the other. Students often gathered in this space for the beginning of PE lessons to get instructions. My experience was that students did not come to understand this setting as a desirable space to spend time, nor as an outdoor learning area; rather it was a transient place to gather prior to outdoor play. By contrast, Homma’s garden is a large, dynamic, and multifaceted space that invites you to spend time and offers structure and differentiated learning for all participants. The gathering circle area is separated from the playground by a shed, shaded by trees, and further separated by picnic tables and planters. This helped minimize distraction for whole-class instruction and provide structure to the outdoor setting.

The work period in the garden was also an authentic example of differentiated learning. Sarah set out a to-do list of activities and students had the opportunity to choose which activities suited their interests and abilities on that day. 

The energy of this “work period” was vibrant. In the outdoor setting students could simultaneously be “on-task” while moving their bodies and talking excitedly with a friend or quietly on their own. Not once could you hear the familiar refrain of a teacher calling for quieter voices. It is hard to recreate this experience within the limited space of the classroom.

Finally, it was evident that the garden is helping students to develop relationships with plants, animals, and insects in a way that I did not when I was growing up. My tour guides knowledgeably identified many different plants found in the garden and one student taught me about how to graft cherry trees. But at a more fundamental level, I witnessed students mindfully experiencing their surroundings, searching for insects and carefully touching different plants, and developing an early appreciation for non-human life.

Scott

In my practicum, there was a grade 1/2 teacher who had obviously followed Megan and her ideas on outdoor learning as the garden at Beach Grove Elementary is almost the same, minus the loose parts play area, the mud pit kitchen, and the amazing gazebo. 
I was impressed particularly but the inclusion of the First People's Principles of Learning on the "learning shed". I had assumed in my head that these were for the teachers to consider when planning learning activities, I really like the idea of presenting them and sharing them with students to get them thinking about learning outside of the "regular" perspective. 

I learned during my practicum the importance of being outdoors and the impact/effect it can have on student engagement when we had our science classes on the beach while learning about biodiversity.
I cannot say that I saw a single student today who was not "on task", each and every student seemingly knew the purpose of what their learning tasks were and were actively engaging in them. One thing which surprised me was that Sarah ask the students to engage in activities of their choice. I initially thought that this would lead to lopsided groups, but the students naturally able to make groups of appropriate sizes, and them immediately dove into their "work". The student truly enjoyed being there!

Peter

To watch the students and teachers of Homma elementary in their garden classroom is to experience learning in a way that is truly connected to place. Throughout my time at UBC, and in my own practicum, First Peoples Principles of Learning were stressed as a way to incorporate indigenous knowledge into my teaching practice and students' learning. The garden as a classroom not only honours these principles, but embodies them. 

To witness, and participate, as students and teachers learn from each other, while interacting and caring for the environment they were in, brought a sense of wonder and joy to me. These students understand their responsibilities to one another, their environment, and themselves in a way that truly was breathtaking to behold. They weeded and watered with understanding of their task. They played with logs and tires testing their own boundaries in a way that was safe yet pushed them to grow. Finally, while their tasks were structured, their experiences were their own to manage. 

My key takeaway from all of this is that education, whether in the garden or in the classroom, needs to take place in a safe and supportive environment. By creating a safe and supportive environment, where students are able to test their own boundaries, they learn to accept responsibility for their actions in relation to their environment and others. As part of the Middle Years cohort at UBC my teaching practice is based around the principles of fostering self-regulated learning, and I can see those principles embodied in the garden.

By keeping in mind the example of how the Homma Elementary garden classroom is built around the First Peoples Principles of Learning and student self-regulation I hope to infuse my own practice, indoors and outdoors, with its spirit.