A few years ago we traveled out west to go skiing in Utah. Aside from the amazing conditions, there was much to see and learn from.
Take a peek at my wordle creation:
http://www.wordle.net/delete?index=4360142&d=SUDB
One of our stops was at the 2002 Olympic museum in Salt Lake City. We were visiting right around the time that the 2010 winter Olympics were occurring. The boys were able to learn about the various events featured in the Olympic games and stood by the torch that was used in 2002.
Ski Jumping
Alpine Racing
Speed Skating
Max the Gravatar: http://www.voki.com/pickup.php?scid=4749102&height=267&width=200
Take a look at this family's experience at the Olympic Village in Park City
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YMrTUf_xrQ
We visited the University of Utah and the boys want to be Utes!
-is at the base of the Wasatch mountains
-serves over 31,000 students-has 90 major fields of study at the graduate level
-is within 40 minutes of 7 world class ski resorts?
Skiing was exhausting!
What is an avalanche?
Why is the city called Salt Lake City?
What are the hot springs?
What temperature is considered freezing?
What does altitude mean? How can it affect you?
How is skiing out west different than the east?
What religion is predominant in Utah?
There is so much to learn through traveling!!
Now here is a twist. How can we trick the brain in thinking they are experiencing physically, when they are actually sitting in the room? To explain my theory: I am ( or have learned) a traditional teacher. I teach to the students, history, or various subjects, and I try to engage them in the subject matter. I try different techniques, small group, presentations, tests and quizzes for assessments, technology projects, drawing, and reading and writing with re-teaching. But I rarely leave the room. This is not my fault. The traditional school setting, and the thousands across the country do not have the ability to "take a walk" outside to "experience" something. Not that I believe taking a walk outside, really engages the students more. It often is less confined and more distracting. So to my point, what happens in the brain, that students who are experiencing the real act of doing something,so that we can learn from that, and simulate it in the traditional school environment? Research shows that students have many different intelligences, this we know. We know that all students do not learn best by experiential activities, likewise, all student do not learn best by traditional paper-pencil-classroom learning. But is this a viable approach, to learn from experiential educational strategies, and replicate the methods in the class? Do students really have to do something to activate that area in the brain, so that an "imprint" can be made of that activity ( the learning)? How can we authentically bring the knowledge of experiential education into the classroom, besides having the students climb ropes, swing on vines and run in circles to understand concepts that are being taught in schools across the globe? Just wondering....
ReplyDelete