Artifact Two

Artifact Commentary

During the late-spring and summer prior to beginning my MATC courses in the fall of 2018, I worked with our Evaluation Specialist and her graduate assistant to conduct parent interviews. By this time, Farm Sprouts was in its third year and we were interested in gaining a deeper sense of the program’s impacts beyond the intake forms and Qualtrics parent survey we were utilizing for program evaluation. That summer I was also enrolled in a course on the Reggio Emilia approach through Antioch University Midwest, my last of the Nature-Based Early Childhood Education Certificate Program. I became fascinated with the role of the teacher in an early childhood education setting, specifically the impacts of listening as a teacher and leader within the program. Upon beginning TE 808, my first of the MSU MATC courses, I decided to carry this topic of inquiry into the action research project we were to undertake for the duration of the semester. The paper I wrote, titled, “Meet Me at the Edge: Teacher Language & Routines and their Impact on Young Children’s Social & Emotional Learning in Farm- and Nature-Based Learning Environments,” challenged me to investigate the complexities of embarking on research as a practitioner (e.g. literature review, data collection and analysis), valuing the social-emotional aspects of learning, the nuances and impacts of language and the many ways we communicate with learners, and developing inclusive programs and learning environments (Standards 1, 2, 4 & 5; Goals 1 & 2).

This artifact represents the most tremendous effort of those undertaken during my MATC experience, hence the inclusion of nearly each of the standards and all of the goals for the program. This artifact represents new efforts and ideas of what it means to develop, lead, and teach programs which value justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (Standard 1). Subsequent artifacts take my thinking further, broadening my thinking and perspectives on education for equity and social justice. For this paper, diversity and inclusion were at the forefront of my mind, particularly with consideration to language, an area that I’ve long been studying through both personal and professional experiences. Following my teaching internship year at MSU, I lived and taught in both Mexico and Germany for a combined duration of seven years. While living in Mexico, I added a minor and concentration in Spanish to my teaching certificate following my undergraduate experience. Diversity, including linguistic diversity, was highly valued as a part of our program philosophy as a result of my experiences, evidence of which is captured by one of the case studies I wrote for the fellowship I was awarded while attending Antioch University New England. The case study focuses on our program’s inclusive language practices with our linguistically-diverse learners and will be published in a book, The Sky Above and The Mud Below: Lessons from Nature Preschools and Forest Kindergartens by David Sobel (2020), my fellowship advisor, thanks to funding to support the fellowship from the George B. Storer Foundation (Standards 1 & 5, Goals 2 & 3). Key ideas from the series of case studies I wrote, including language and inclusion, are also integrated into Artifact 1.

Following the submission of Artifact 1 at the end of the semester, Dr. Joanne Maricano, my professor, encouraged me to publish my work. I reached out to Dr. Chelsea Hetherington, the Evaluation Specialist who supports our program, to pursue the possibility. We invited another colleague within MSU Extension and set to work to write a submission for an international journal utilizing aspects of this paper specifically focused on family engagement in relation to our curricular approach and the impacts supported by evaluative data. Family engagement is core to building an equitable program and we were very intentional in working to build strong relationships with our families, as we understood the benefits such ties lend not only our learners, but also to our farm community. As of February 2020, following one year of intermittent work on the paper, we are now prepared to submit to the journal. In addition, Dr. Hetherington and I wrote a short paper and proposal for the National Council for Family Relations (NCFR), which was accepted, thus we shared our outcomes at the 2019 NCFR National Conference (see p. 6). These outcomes include families spending more time gardening, more time talking about food and the sources of their food, and more time outside as a family as a result of their child’s participation in Farm Sprouts (Hetherington & Larm, 2019). The various scholarship efforts I’ve pursued alongside others, resulting in publishing to presenting, hold common themes related to curriculum design, instruction, and assessment and illustrate continued growth in my communication and leadership skills as I worked to contribute to the field over the past years as a graduate student (Standards 2, 5 & 6; Goal 3).

This experience of engaging in action research and the resulting scholarship supported my growth in several ways. It solidified my understanding of the importance of developing threads of inquiry not only with those we are teaching, but also for ourselves as educators. Adopting a researcher mindset invigorates my teaching, driving me to constantly reflect and reinvent, leading to the creation of an engaging, dynamic curriculum which yields positive impacts for all involved, including teachers and parents. I expanded my understanding of data collection and my ability to synthesize and develop coherent arguments. Artifact 2 explores a broad range of ideas. I'm one who enjoys brainstorming and visioning, taking ideas in different directions. Over the past year I worked with a writing team, two MSU Extension colleagues, to prepare a manuscript for the International Journal of Early Childhood Environmental Education, again on our family engagement efforts based on themes and data from Artifact 2. My writing team appreciated my ability to “think big,” creatively, and broadly, providing the vision necessary to draw together the data and details, while they also challenged me to hone my focus. In future writing projects, I believe I’ll be better equipped to balance the contrasting lens of both researcher and teacher/leader to provide sound scholarship.

References:

Hetherington, C. & Larm, B. (2019). Planting the seeds for family engagement through a farm- and nature-based early childhood education program. [unpublished manuscript]. Michigan State University Extension, East Lansing, MI.

Rymanowicz, K., Hetherington, C., & Larm, B. (2020). Planting the seeds for nature-based early learning: Impacts of a farm- and nature-based early childhood education program. [manuscript submitted for publication]. Michigan State University Extension & Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI.

Sobel, D. (with Larm, B., et al.). (2020). The Sky Above and the Mud Below: Lessons from Nature Preschools and Forest Kindergartens. Redleaf Press: St. Paul, MN.