SASAH 4th Year Capstone and Other Projects: Publications
Document Type
Publication
Publication Date
Winter 2022
Abstract
As part of my SASAH experiential learning requirement, I worked at the YMCA Cedar Glen Outdoor Centre during the Fall/Winter term of 2021/22. Although I had previously worked at the outdoor centre as an educator teaching groups, this year was a different experience due to the new responsibilities and unique learning opportunities presented by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout the year, I was responsible for the creation of lesson plans merging the arts and sciences in an outdoor setting according to the curriculum requirements of Ontario’s Ministry of Education. Moreover, I implemented inclusive learning options for each unit to ensure education can be equitably provided to all students attending the centre. Other responsibilities included adding curricula requirements from various subjects to entice teachers into using outdoor programming for their students’ learning, along with making self-guided activities to adapt to the pandemic while enabling the community to use the outdoor centre. In doing so, I learned that outdoor education is valuable to the learning and development of children and youth, however, it is underutilized due to time constraints, teacher hesitancy, and limited knowledge about the field. My work during this experiential learning sought to address these challenges and with the help of my team at the Y, I grew as a person, developed essential skills such as collaboration, communication, and problem-solving, and gained invaluable career-related experience in the field of education.
Included in
Arts and Humanities Commons, Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Early Childhood Education Commons, Educational Leadership Commons, Educational Methods Commons, Elementary Education Commons, Health and Physical Education Commons, Outdoor Education Commons, Secondary Education Commons
Notes
This report was submitted in conjunction with a live presentation—which occurred via Zoom on April 1, 2022, and is posted on the Experiential Learning page of SASAH’s website—as the final assignment for SASAH's Experiential Learning requirement.