Implementation of ImagineIT ProjectReflection Assignment

For a first activity, I chose to take my students to the Lincoln Park Zoo's Nature Boardwalk. A previous date for the trip in October had tobe rescheduled, so the trip took place in December.

In this trip, the mainchallenge was negotiatingthe tension betweenunstructured time and timefocused on completing atask.

In order to address studentdiscomfort with naturalsettings, I planned this tripto be a place that wouldoffer chances to view wildlifewithout being to rugged.

Students responded verywell to the menu of activity options that I developed in collaboration with colleagues. They enjoyed great weather, and students completed their assignments with a high rate of success.

In order to increase chances of seeing interesting animals, I had each of the two homerooms on the trip divided into three groups. I trained chaperons in the morning of the trip and went over the work that students would need to complete. All chaperons reported enjoying thetrip, but smaller groups led to the problem that not all chaperons were knowledgeable about exploring nature with children.

When I take students outside, I realize that it is necessary to be spontaneous: if an opportunity for an interesting observation presentsitself, one needs to make sure young naturalists take it. For example, on the trail, I spotted a red tailed hawk and took the group to a place where we could monitor its flight from a higher vantage. Students thought it was cool that we had been able to track its behavior and we

Illustration 1: The Nature Boardwalk at the Lincoln Park Zoo. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

discussed it with staff at the zoo when we checked in again before ourdeparture. In other groups, chaperons were more focused on getting the assignment completed and were not as confident identifying animals. For subsequent trips, I will do a better job making sure that chaperons feel like they are empowered to diverge from the planned activity if an interesting opportunity presents itself.

One shortcoming of the trip was that since we participated in a formalprogram with the Zoo (The Lincoln Park Zoo's Young Researchers Collaborative), it cut into the time students would spend outdoors. As I read student responses on the initial survey on ideas about nature, Ilearned that a majority of students enjoyed being outside when it is peaceful, calm, and quiet, and I did not allocate enough time on the trip to tap into this interest. In the past, on trips to the Indiana DunesNational Lakeshore, I have led trail groups in individual reflective writing as they are spread out over a larger area. On future trips, I would like to include more activities like that.