STORY PROMPTS
The study begins by gathering stories of place-responsive educator practice from around BC. The next part of the study is specifically for educators working in North Central BC (the areas served by SD27, 28, 57, 91), but for this first part, any adult who has or does work with or supports K-12 students can submit a story – employment with a school district is not a requirement.
What kind of story should I write?The stories are like snapshots of practices from the field, and will help us understand why, how, and where educators decide to teach and learn in and from place, and also about the challenges of dynamics that went with these decisions.
The stories will be read by focus groups of educators from Northern BC to make sense of them in the context of their own practice. They will benefit from reading stories of different lengths, so the stories can be short (e.g. less than a page, even a few lines) or longer if you wish. The stories could focus on what you did, how what you did translated into what students did, or just what students did and how you felt about it. I am especially interested in WHY you are interested in place-responsive teaching. Don't worry too much about polish and finish; we're looking for the raw experiences of educators. |
Schoolbus waiting to pick up students at the Ancient Forest / Chun T'oh Whudujut, 114km E of Prince George. Photo G. Thielmann, 2014
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WRITING PROMPTS – consider some of these, maybe just one, as you decide what kind of story to write:
THINKING PROMPTS – consider some of these, maybe just one, as you decide what kind of story to write:
- Talk about a special experience with place that you had with students.
- What's your favourite memory of teaching outdoors?
- Tell us about a time when students surprised you with the way they reacted to a new learning environment.
- Using an example, what's going on for you or your students when you learn outside the classroom?
- What is place that has been special for you and your students... what characteristics did this place have... and how did you perceive them?
- Describe a meaningful lesson or activity you do with students on the land.
- Why has learning in outdoor spaces been important to you, your work, or your students?
THINKING PROMPTS – consider some of these, maybe just one, as you decide what kind of story to write:
- Why do you put time and energy into place-responsive teaching and learning? What do you hope to get from it -- either for you as an educator or for your students and their learning?
- Is there a connection between who you are – your identity, your lived experience, your sensory engagement with the world – and your choice to teach and learn in response to place?
- How have you personally experienced and responded to place in a way that had special meaning for you? What influence has that had on your teaching practice?
- What kinds of sensory experiences, patterns, symbols, or concepts regularly come up for you or your students when you are learning in or from place?
- When you think about how you or your students respond to place during activities outside the class, how might this state of being and/or learning be characterized? How might the space be characterized?
- Have you seen or sensed a difference in learning experiences that simply happen to take place at a location that makes sense as opposed to learning from an actual place or in response to something offered up by the place itself?
- When you think about these motivations and connections to you as an educator, what is the result? What kinds of place-responsive work do you do with students?
- What kinds of problems, joys, headaches, breakthroughs, delays, restarts, and challenges – I'm calling them dynamics – have come up as you have engaged in place-responsive practices? How have you adapted and responded to these dynamics?
WRITING TIPS
- The stories do not need to be overly polished or masterfully written -- we're looking for the raw experiences of educators as they reflect on opportunities they have had to respond to place in their teaching practice. Shorter is often better.
- Try to make the story about one thing or a set of connected things or events. If you want to talk about multiple different things, themes, or disconnected experiences, consider submitting more than one story.
- Don't feel too directed by these suggestions -- literally any kind of story about your teaching in some place other than your classroom, or even a way you have responded to place from within your classroom, will be a welcome addition to the study.
What do I do with my story?
Stories can be submitted using an online link which is provided after providing consent to participate in the study. You can submit your story anonymously, or you can choose to identify yourself and have your name attached to their story, and/or include some biographical information if you think it helps the story make sense. There are some examples below.
Examples of stories
UNBC teacher candidates panning for gold at a "Place in Education" symposium help in Barkerville. Photo: Glen Thielmann 2018
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UNBC teacher candidates after a lesson in the old schoolhouse at Barkerville. Photo: Glen Thielmann 2018
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