Student Work

Students in the SOP program work to create their community agreement, establishing

Students in the School Overnight Program work to create their community agreement, establishing norms for their group. I believe it is important for students to create their community agreement and feel empowered to make decisions. Through this activity I learned students could represent their own identities and show how they connected to the larger community.

Students learned about natives versus invasive plants, using their skills as artists and scientist to create reusable paper from the invasive plant collection

Students learned about native versus invasive plants, using their skills as artists and scientist to create reusable paper from the invasive plant collection. I believe it is important for students to connect to their local surroundings. I learned this activity can be a great team building experience as three different school groups worked together to create cool art pieces out of collected stinky bob.

A student designed drawing and identification card of an insect they found while looking at macroinvertebrates

Students created identification card for their favorite plant or animal using their textbook resources and personal observation

Students examined different leaves by creating pressure sketches of their favorite leaf.

In this activity, students were encouraged to created identification cards of their favorite plant or animal using their textbook resources and personal observations. Taking the observations to a new level through rubbings, students were able to observe their item through a different perspective. This activity showed me how important student choice an be as I allowed them to express whatever artistic form they wanted and their passion clearly shows through these examples.

A student created identification card of a common butterfly. Created as part of an observation activity to represent their "notices"

Student Feedback

Student letter to a future student reflecting on what they learned and enjoyed at IslandWood

Part 2 of the student reflection letter to the left.

Students reflected upon their experience by writing a letter to a future IslandWood student

At the end of each week, I ask my students to write a letter to a future IslandWood resident. The outcome of these letters are solely directed by the students as I give them minimal prompts such as "What should the future resident know about IslandWood," or "What is something you enjoyed?" I learned through minimal prompts I can give the students the opportunity to express their thoughts and feelings about the week and better reflect upon my instruction.

A discussion between student through journaling

A written journal discussion between me and one of my students. I believe it is important to assess a student's continual learning throughout the week. This discussion allowed me to ensure I was achieving my goals at the end of each day and students were thinking critically.

Students from different weeks filled out stick figure assessments to help me reflect upon my teaching throughout the week. As an educator I believe it is of utmost importance that we reflect upon our teaching practices and continue to learn. This activity taught me a lot about what I say to my students and how my lessons are being conveyed.

Stick figure asessment of my instructor by my students