Throughout the course we were able to receive feedback from our peers that helped each week apply and evolve ourselves to better suit the students' needs. It is important as educators that we receive feedback and apply that feedback as part of the growing process. I received feedback from my peers at the beginning of the term in regards to the following examples; incorporating more trails while on the field trips, making sure there was purposeful structure throughout the day and having many different activities to keep focus while engaging students in the classroom and field trips.
I was able to incorporate aspects of feedback that I had received in many different ways. I was able to implement more structure by reiterating group agreements throughout the day as was needed, as well as being informative on the plans and goals while out in the field. It was important that I was able to establish the outdoors as a learning space and discuss objectives for the day along with potential hazards, but most importantly, to have everyone share their excitement and goals for the day so I could foster and engage with the students' interests.
I could tell by the end of the term that I had learned much from my peer evaluations when I received feedback that stated things I did well such as; reviewing classroom agreements, repeating instructions, incorporating purposely trails and that I was communicating in an engaging way.
We were able to reach over 300 first and second grade students all at title 1 schools. Which would not be possible without the help from Mount Pisgah Arboretum staff and volunteers. I was able to receive feedback from staff especially in the beginning when it came to storytelling and engaging students' interests. Kevin, a staff at Mount Pisgah Arboretum was able to give feedback and had stated; “good job asking questions, directing attention, encouraging observation, and establishing boundaries”. Kevin was also more than willing to share his ecological knowledge when it came to oso berries, camas, and more while knowing that it was a goal of mine to expand on.
Feedback from the project managers and professor was very helpful throughout the term, when it came to field trip planning, activities and overall students communication. Towards the beginning of the 2024 spring term our team received feedback to help with facilitation from our professor to instill more confidence in our words and to hold the space for the younger learners. By applying what our professor had told us, I was able to implicate structure such as; stating what we were going to do, rather than asking the young students if they would like to do something. This led to structured activities during the field trip and reiterated the outdoors as a learning space.