Outdoor Ed Reflection Questions

1. The thing that I remember best from outdoor ed is the canoe trip on June 8th.

2. The thing that challenged me the most in outdoor ed was having to do the things that were way out of my comfort zone such as public speaking and being out on the water.

3. The thing that I found interesting was interpretation with the little kids. I’ve never done something like that before so it was kinda neat.

4. I would have liked more group work because its easier to get stuff done when working in groups because there’s more than one person.

5. The skills that I developed in this class that will be useful in my future are tying knots and partially overcoming my phobia of public speaking.

6. I think more hands on activities and group work will make outdoor ed an even better experience for students in the class.

7. No, I really think that we don’t need to go to different eco systems to fish or hike. I would not be willing to pay for this, as we can just continue to hike and fish in local areas.

8. In my opinion, I don’t think there’s an equal balance between outdoor activities and theory. We do a little too many PowerPoints and projects about wetlands, rather than actually getting out and experiencing the great outdoors.

9. To improve outdoor education class, do more hands on activities outside at the wetlands to give students an opportunity to experience nature in action.

10. Yes. We should do more of the concept/skill development activities acquired in the class. This way, students can learn these concepts and skills in a more fun way. Instead of doing presentations.

All day canoe trip

What I did well? I did well communicating with my group members. I said this because I don’t normally talk much but I talked a lot on this trip actually.

What I need to improve? I need to improve on paddling

What I really enjoyed? I really enjoyed the view and since I was sitting in the middle of the canoe I could just sit back and chill and that was nice!

What I found difficult and why? I found it difficult to enjoy the rest of the day because I was really starting to get tired and so were my group members. But we got through it and in the end it was pretty fun

Would I recommend this in the future and why or why not? I would recommend it because it was a great experience and it’s good to be outdoors rather than stuck in a classroom all day

Interpretation with kids

1. What worked? I think our game called Plankton, Pike, Perch and Planaria worked really well because the kids were able to burn some of their energy
2. What didn’t work? Sometimes the time schedule was a little off so we didn’t have time for the conclusion of our station
3. Unexpected difficulties? Sometimes the adult of the group would leave and walk to the next station and that caused some confusion because some of the kids thought our station was done when it wasn’t
4. Were there outstanding students? Why? There were more outstanding students on the second day because the kids knew a lot about what we were saying than I expected
5. What could we do better? I think we could have been a bit more organized on the first day but the second day was better
My comments. I had lots of fun with all the kids and I hope we can do it again someday

Questions about Interpretation

1. How do I get kids to listen to what I’m saying?
2. How do I properly interact with kids?
3. What are the different types of interpretation?
4. How do I keep kids entertained?
5. How do I get kids to understand what is being said?

Quick Wetland Tour

We went on a quick tour of the wetlands after canoeing. 5 things I learned were:
1. Lady slippers and orchids are related
2. A lot of different beavers live in the wetlands
3. There was a birds nest in the rafters of a little building in the wetlands
4. There was a deceased muskrat that had long teeth for chewing cattails
5. I saw lots of animal tracks there too

Canoeing Experience

I really enjoyed canoeing actually. At first I thought I wouldn’t but after getting in the canoe and getting out on the water I started to enjoy it a lot! The canoe was very heavy and I had a hard time carrying it. My arms were also killing me after all the paddling but it was good!

Testing water

There was a presentation on Friday about testing water. We tested water temperature and depth. Also we tested ammonia, phosphate, phosphorus and we looked at a sample of water that had been contaminated by a disease spread by beavers. People in class volunteered to help out and it was a fun experience.