The Principal and 4th grade team from United Local Schools (OH) recently visited Barrington Elementary of Upper Arlington Schools (OH). The purpose of the visit was to learn how the Barrington 5th grade team has integrated more authentic learning into their instructional practices. The driving questions that became the focus of the Barrington 5th grade team’s year-long collaboration include:
What does legacy mean?
What legacy do you hope to create here at Barrington?
What legacy have both Bol Aweng and Salva Dut (former “Lost Boys”) created in their South Sudan communities?
What words come to mind when you think back on our Authentic Learning lessons?
This year’s study began with reading A Long Walk to Water and will culminate in a “legacy project” designed by the 5th graders. Each student will create a footprint. On this footprint, they will illustrate something that has resonated with them during their time at Barrington. The footprint will represent the story they each leave behind. The footprints will be placed along the walls and will symbolize the journey staff and students took together.
The footprints will ultimately lead to a large tree that will be painted using handprints or something of that nature. The tree being at the end of the path will symbolize that each of our own personal stories lead us on a journey. The result is that we all come together to learn, grow, and inspire change.
This authentic learning experience brought Barrington educators together with United Local educators on a practitioners field trip. As a result of instituting more authentic learning into teaching and learning, Barrington staff shared how students have:
taken ownership of their learning
increasingly demonstrated more positive, caring behaviors
and provided leadership for their classmates on a regular basis.
The teachers pointed out the collaboration, changes in the role of the teacher, and intentional decision making that led to these positive results. United Local staff used the opportunity to learn about the professional practices that can help make this type of authentic learning possible in their district as they dedicate themselves to their shared vision to make learning irresistible.
To learn more about how Partnerships can help you to coordinate a practitioners field trip, email us at info@partnershipsforall.org.