Name Class Standing Term
Reid D. Ellingsen SNR Spring 17
Program Title Project Title Mode
Student-Originated Studies: Commodification Processes and Alternatives Education Through Agriculture and Outdoor Play Undergraduate In Program Individual Learning Contract
Credits Sponsor Name Subcontractor Name
16 Sarah Williams Rowan M. Lang

Description

This quarter will be comprised of volunteer work at a year-round outdoor preschool Tiny Trees, internship at Cascadia Elementary 3rd grader garden program,  and managing the garden program’s website for Cascadia Elementary.  The student will write weekly reflections on their experience, newly learned skills, and anything else applicable to that work.  Over the course of the quarter the student will actively participate in aiding outdoor and garden educators with classroom behavioral management, leading student activities and lessons, and maintaining outdoor classrooms.  The student will also participate in training workshops to become a garden educator put on by Tilth Alliance in Seattle, over the course of three weekends.  This quarter the student will develop many skills and participate in valuable hands on experience related directly to education by means of agriculture and outdoor play.

Learning Objectives  Activities that will help me to attain this objective What my sponsor will evaluate
To develop an understanding with working and teaching children in an outdoor setting year round. Volunteer as a classroom aid at Tiny Trees Outdoor Preschool.  Help with classroom behavior management and generally engage in play with preschoolers.

8 hours total volunteering a week.

2 hours a week on reflection paper.

 I will submit a weekly reflection on my volunteer hours to my professor.  I will reflect on classroom activities we participated in, new techniques learned from the lead educators, and my overall assessment of my work that week in each class.  I will turn in my reflection through email to my sponsor.  I will also turn in a timesheet of my fully accomplished hours, signed by Tiny Tree supervisor at the end of the quarter documenting my completion
Learn what current agricultural teaching methods and lesson plans are.  How to effectively keep a class of elementary students interested throughout an entire school day.  How to develop a strong lesson plan and implement it in a school garden I will intern at Cascadia Elementary school third grade garden program, in Wallingford Washington every Friday.  I will work directly under the garden educator and help with class set up, student behavior management, and lead some lesson plans.

8 hours a week interning.

2 hour reflection paper a week

 I will write a weekly reflection on my experience of my time spent interning which I will turn in through email to my professor.  I will also turn in a time sheet signed off by Cascadia’s lead garden educator (my field sponsor) at the end of the quarter
Participants will learn:
-the basics of place-based education and the experiential learning model
-basic organic gardening practices
-Standards complement outdoor garden learning
-effective outdoor classroom management techniques
-basic garden design for new and existing spaces

Seminar participants will:
-learn ways to connect the garden to the classroom
-examine programming components such as volunteer management, fundraising, garden maintenance, community engagement, events and summertime garden care
-explore the role for a successful garden coordinator(s)
-find synergies between the school year and growing calendar
-learn how to develop a garden lesson on your own

Seminar participants will:
-explore multiple models for summer garden management
-learn what to plant and how to sustain production for the beginning of the next school year
-harvest and prepare a simple garden meal to share with one another
-practice how to lead basic cooking activities with students
-experience hands-on lessons about insects and the garden ecosystem
-discuss Integrated Pest Management practices
-learn ways to measure what and how much students are learning in the garden

 I will participate in three garden educator workshops and seminar classes put on by Seattle Tilth non profit organization.  These are designed to help future garden educators.

Garden Educator Workshops Spring Seminars

1. “Learn”

2. “Grow”

3. “Eat”

These are 8 hour courses, which breaks down to 2.1 hours each week.

 I will show through some kind of evidence that I did participate in each seminar given by Seattle Tilth
Gain experience in website development/management while learning how to effectively communicate to community members, school faculty, and student’s parents about their child’s studies As apart of my internship I will post weekly to Cascadia Elementary’s garden program website.  There I will summarize and document the 3rd graders’ learned activities in the garden program.  I will take photos of the children in action participating in the lessons.  I will craft a weekly post, edit, and manage the website.

5 hours a week.

  I will demonstrate my completion by sending my weekly post to my professor by email

Evaluation of Work

  • Receive an evaluation from my field supervisor at the end of the quarter (week 9)
  • Turn in weekly reflection for Tiny Trees Preschool
  • Turn in a weekly reflection for Cascadia Garden Program
  • Email my website publication every week for Cascaida Garden Program
  • Turn in all service learning hours signed off by supervisors by week 9
  • Narrative evaluation from field supervisor emailed to sponsor
  • Narrative evaluation from sponsor
  • Narrative self-evaluation from student

Faculty Support

I will participate in Tuesday class at the Evergreen campus, and email my professor my weekly assignments on Sundays.

Related Experience

Courses taken at The Evergreen State College:

  • Teaching for a Cause: When Social Justice Meets Education
  • The Practice of Organic Farming
    Courses taken at Seattle Central College:
  • Math and Science Teaching Methods in Early Education
  • Bioregional Food Systems Seminar
  • Early Education Child Development
  • Introduction to K – 12 Education

    Volunteer:

  • Tiny Trees Outdoor Education Preschool – 20 hours +
  • Cascadia Elementary 3rd Grade Garden Program Internship – 60 hours +

    Work:

  • College Level Personal Tutor