"After completing the standard 10 week practicum in a regular
high school, the 3 week alternate practicum is a breath of fresh air –
literally! Our observational visit to Landed Learning was a great reminder of
how students react positively to learning in an outdoor environment that is so
different from a typical classroom. Working and learning outdoors for most of
this past week has been a refreshing influence on my ideas for lesson and unit
plans for my teachable subjects. My plan for this practicum is to complete
curriculum documents (at least one unit) for secondary subjects that
incorporate gardens as learning environments. It’s also daunting to have to
consider how much I can actually accomplish in 3 weeks! But I can always
reassure myself that lifelong learning doesn’t have any deadlines. All in all,
I am inspired to see that teaching and learning practices can take many
different forms, and I am looking forward to exploring different lessons and
teaching techniques in garden environments." - Alison
"Today is
the first Friday of the Alternative Practicum here, at The Orchard Garden. I am
loving it so far. Transitory phases are always a tad clumsy; my mind, stress
levels, and physical self have all had to ‘switch gears’ this week. The past
three months have been spent teaching Art 9, Art 11, and Ceramics 10 in Nelson,
BC. Now, I am back in Vancouver and am experiencing a flood of ‘adult-face-time’.
Conversations centered on pedagogy, curriculum, gardening, farming, food, art,
and education have been in full force this week. In two words I would describe
my feelings as ‘ultimate comfort’ or ‘ultimate happiness’. This first week has
been filled with meetings, discussions, and emails about all of the
possibilities for an alternative practicum. A few of which are signage,
research, web design, ‘field trips’, workshops, newsletters, curriculum
documents and resources, garden planning, plant variety selections, soil
testing, community schools, Landed Learning, bees, planting seeds, mushroom
manure, research, etc. So much to think about and collaborate on, but only
three weeks!
Stay tuned
to hear about our visits next week to some Learning Gardens and Farms…….
Thank the
land,
Lauren."
No comments:
Post a Comment