This unit was collaboratively created with an outdoor educator. The goal of this unit is to teach students the history of a location, create a sense of place, and to teach them about working in groups. The class would be broken up into multiple groups that will create their own dynamics. In addition to working on group dynamics, the students will be individually working on a historical event project. Each student will pick their own topic in hopes that it will make the assignment feel purposeful.

 

What I learned

While making this unit, I learned that it is hard to let go of some control when creating units and lesson plans. I had a particular vision of what the plan would look like and how we would go about making it. However, as with any collaborative effort, my partner and I did not see eye to eye on everything. This collaboration was hard but made for a great unit that teaches students skills and content. I hope to do a lesson plan or unit like this again either as a humanities class or in relation with an outdoor educator again. 

Throughout my student teaching I had many opportunities to work with other teachers. In the morning, I would talk about behavioral and engagement techniques with the Math teacher. I would often times be in the English department looking for resources to help students with writing. I regularly checked in with the Special e|Education department about how to accommodate students. Each of these educators were vital to my growth as a teacher. As a human ecologist, I can't help but see the need for connections to be made across content areas.  The most impactful collaboration I had with an educator in the school was  during the end of my student teaching when I was giving classes back to Mr.Gillett. This gave me the opportunity to join other classes. What just started as an observation turned into a multi-class lesson with the Humanities class. 

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The Humanities class at Penquis focuses on culture and language and is taught by the Spanish teacher Mrs.Cabral. Mrs.Cabral was more than excited to have my in her class and bring any historical context to the  content that I could. Their class was looking at the Odyssey. I had just watched a documentary about the physical proof behind the Battle of Troy and the legend behind the Trojan Horse. 

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I brought the film in and we talked about physical evidence that may lead to proof that some part of these stories were true. The walls around what would be the city of Troy are being uncovered and we discussed what that could mean for the legend of the Trojan Horse. The basis for our lesson was to get students to think about the importance of uncovering physical evidence of our history. 

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The discussion we had as a class was very fun. I followed up with some of the students I had in another class after my time with the Humanities class. I wanted to see what it was like having it team-taught. The students I talked to loved the team teaching especially since Mrs.Cabral and I had different perspectives and expertise. This differentiation made the students feel free to create their own views and allowed them to see a topic from multiple perspectives. 

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What I Learned:

During these classes, I truly felt like I was bringing human ecology into not just the classroom I was in but in other parts of the school. Our lesson together lead to many  after school discussions about what human ecology is and how it can be reflected in teaching with Mrs.Cabral.

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Through my time as a student teacher, I learned that I love working with other educators. I love collaborating and building upon one another. This reminded me to not forget to collaborate and to be a human ecologist. 

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Next year, wherever I will go will be a departmentalized school system, but I cannot let this get to me. It is important to talk to teachers in other disciplines. Every teacher has their own methodology and no matter how long you've been teaching, you can always benefit from observing and working with new styles of teaching. 

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I found my connections across the school vital to my ability to become not only a better teacher, but also helped me become a part of the Penquis Valley Community. Coming from a COA background, community means a lot to me and I cannot imagine being a part of a school community where the teachers do not talk to those outside their department. 

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I have a goal to become a part of a small school-community and bring some human-ecological thought to the way we teach. To do this, I simply ask my colleagues, "What are you teaching about right now" or "what skills are students needing or learning in your class?" These questions have lead to amazing discussions where we have noticed trends and connections between what I am teaching and what others are teaching. We were then able to reference the learning from the other classes to enhance our students' knowledge.

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My time at COA has taught me a lot about community and I have learned that it starts with the human connection between people. To become a part of a community, I must work with others. 

 

Below you will find an essay that I wrote about how I feel about the COA community. I hope to bring these thoughts and feelings into the next school community I become a part of.