Reflections

As a teacher, I acknowledge many students are beginning to navigate some of the first big challenges and changes in their lives. I strive to truly listen to students. I understand that a classroom setting may be the only time some young students feel honestly heard. I scale questions accordingly to support students with words of encouragement and validation so all classroom members can feel supported and cared for.

Along with this, I practice vulnerability. I intend to create a classroom environment in which students are unafraid of using their voices and feel comfortable enough to engage in material without hesitancy. I want to evoke wonder and curiosity both in classroom settings and in an outdoor setting. I do this by asking questions that students are able to answer with confidence until I can scale challenging questions to promote problem-solving skills regardless of their existing knowledge. I approach this in an exciting and personable manner to ensure students are comfortable. Students should feel tha they are capable of answering questions in a teaching setting and beyond.

Watching students interact with the natural world throughout the day is in truth, magical. Any assessment I make analyzing growth will always be based on the individual learner and, not their achievement compared to others. I will remind students persistently to address their own physical and mental needs and above all encourage students to confide in me if they don't feel that their needs are met. If everyone's needs are met, everyone will be able to navigate the challenges and obstacles ahead with confidence.

Engaging with young students in an outdoor setting is a phenomenal and uplifting way to promote self-confidence and independence in youth, but I also acknowledge many students are uncomfortable with this idea. It is my role to awaken awe and wonder in this setting to promote strong bonds and relationship-building with our natural environment. Approaching the outdoors with excitement and sharing my reverence with students has allowed me to continue the practice of engaging in childlike wonder. I strongly engage with the idea that as a naturalist or as someone who likes to explore, our purpose is never lost rather we gain new meaning constantly. Learning is a lifelong career, and I intend to uphold my passion for curiosity and deep care for mentoring for both myself and my students.

Images of Lydia leading field trip at Mt Pisgah Arboretum 

Throughout my time as a member of the Wild Wanderers, a program from the Environmental Leadership Program at the University of Oregon, we were able to reach over 300 students at 3 different local elementary schools. My specific team focused on 1st-grade classrooms, while our entire team covered 16 different 1st and 2nd-grade classrooms. We constructed 3 different state standard-backed 30-minute lesson plans centering around the Oregon white oak’s changes throughout seasons to 8 different 1st-grade classrooms. Each classroom had a full-day field trip to Mt Pisgah Arboretum in which we facilitated small groups of up to 7 students, to engage in a full day of natural science class outdoors. 

One of our learning objectives of the Oregon white oak lifecycle activity was for students to display knowledge of seasonal changes of the oak. Initially, I believed this learning objective would be difficult to meet with young students. However, when students shared, almost all worksheets were accurate. Some students even drew pictures of different animals interacting with the Oregon white oak as discussed in the storybook that was read during the lesson. When I encountered students who needed more encouragement, I began learning how to scale questions. Instead of telling students they might need to reconsider their answers, I learned to ask students why they made these choices. For example, if I saw catkins placed in the fall we worked through existing knowledge of blooming leading to seed production to build the confidence of young scientists and their ability to problem-solve. 

At all of the schools we worked with, I encountered the need for a Spanish version of the activity sheet. To solve this we printed a Spanish version of the worksheet on the backside of every paper to guarantee that all students felt confident in their ability to read and understand seasonal changes. Throughout our lesson, my ability to incorporate Spanish,  American sign language, and Chinuk Wawa language improved immensely. I am not fluent in these languages, yet I began to learn with students. Incorporating different media and languages in our lessons overall improved students' retention of information and provided a fun interdisciplinary learning opportunity. 

I learned that there are multitudes of comfort levels in the natural world. When out at Mt Pisgah Arboretum some students thrived and I immediately saw the benefit of an outdoor setting in student learning ability. Others struggled with being outside for the full day, but my ability to meet students at their comfort levels improved immensely throughout the 9 weeks in the field. I approached our field trip days with awe, excitement, and gratitude to ensure that all students got an equal opportunity to create connections with the natural world. Overall this experience allowed me to improve my interactions with students, incorporate more interdisciplinary languages and media into state state-backed curriculum, and promote students' lifelong bond with the natural world.

Upon teaching in a classroom I was intimidated by my ability to keep twenty-plus 1st graders' attention at a time, but as the weeks went on my confidence and effectiveness in classroom management became strong. Wild Wanderers teaches students how to approach natural world interactions through being attentive listeners, make observations, and integrate these findings into life-long connections. I utilized Coyote Mentoring techniques such as "deer ears" throughout lessons and field trips by asking students to cup their hands behind their ears to amplify sounds when unfocused. This not only allows for students to refocus when too excited in the classroom, but it also established group agreements early on in classrooms, and directly related to lesson content. 

There were several logistics of these lesson plans that my team and worked through. The cutouts of the Oregon white oak lifecycle activity were initially placed in small handfuls on table groups, for the first lesson this resulted in conflict as there was not an equal number of cutouts for each table. Immediately after this first lesson, our team created packets of these cutouts to ensure each student got the same amount. 

In our classroom lessons and field trips I was able to incorporate kinesthetic movement and music into our lessons to include multiple learning methods. In one of our classroom lessons students learn about four different life cycles by physically acting out species' traits and behaviors. Additionally, I implemented a song about turkey vultures which builds upon this lifecycle knowledge. I introduced “soaring” from place to place using our arms to create a “V”  shape via singing this song. This allows students to identify turkey vultures by their “V” formation and incorporates children's passions of song and dance. When I returned to the classroom after our field trip at some schools I was often greeted by students in the class with the song as many students sang it to their friends after our trip.

Images of Lydia in the Field at Mt Pisgah Arboretum 

The Wild Wanderers project partnered with 90by30 a nonprofit in Lane County dedicated to reducing child abuse and neglect by 90% by 2030. Our project provided children with a connection to nature strengthening their confidence and inspiring them to pursue their lifelong bond with the natural world. I fostered this through countless impactful encounters with students who initially were not comfortable with being outdoors. In class, I was able to improve my equity practices by incorporating Spanish words, American sign language, and Chinuk Wawa language as well as incorporating Kalpuya ecological practices and natural history into our lesson material. 

Many students throughout the field trips came into it with intense fears, whether that was bugs, walking long distances, or being out in the sun for long periods of time. However these students left with the chance of observing their fears up close. This positively changed the attitude of many students. I approached each of the students' fears by constantly keeping an attitude of awe and excitement. I carefully observed students throughout the day and often had one-on-one time with nervous students. At the end of the day, we guided students to make their very own scientific observations of the natural world by spending ten minutes alone. Several students shared with me that this was the first time they had ever experienced a moment like this. Watching students' faces light up as I guided them through wonder and curiosity was truly magical.

The feedback I received from the program director and program manager of the Environmental Leadership Program confirmed my passion and effectiveness as an outdoor educator. I am constantly seeking feedback to improve my pedagogy and continually adapting to newly learned needs. During this program, I noticed I need to recognize students who have not been called on more often. I found that when I was able to get the classroom energy up to a level of excitement where all students felt involved in the lesson, I found myself calling on repeated students who I knew would fuel that level of excitement and keep us on track. Many students who are not usually participating have a unique chance with outdoor education to evoke new senses of participation. Oftentimes the students who might not feel comfortable raising their hand are the students who need this connection most. I found that with the smaller groups on the field trip, I was able to individually engage with all of my students for a larger amount of time than I would've been able to in the classroom. Engaging all students is an ongoing effort that I am committed to making. 

Both my project manager and professor shared that my enthusiasm and excitement were reflected in the students's participation, focus, and joy. At the end of a day of facilitating lessons outside, rigorously keeping track of students' safety and quality of experience, and building a lasting impression of excitement for the natural world, I am never exhausted. Rather I feel energized and inspired by young students to continue putting my best effort forward in becoming a mentor that students are uplifted by and motivated by to pursue a lifelong career as learners.