We are joined by awesome guests who know a thing or two (or ten) about what happens when you take your kids out of the classroom, out of the building, and you go into the field. Pam Hayes is the Early College Coordinator for Metro Early College High School in Columbus, Ohio and Sheli Smith is the Chief Academic Officer at the PAST Foundation and the PAST Innovation Lab.
But this is not just a conversation about outdoor education. This is a conversation about how we can truly scaffold kids to have meaningful experiences in an early college setting that is really tied to helping these kids solve problems in the world. The program that these two women have done together is really one that stands out as not just a case study for great STEM education but a case study for how you can work very creatively within your community to make the opportunities and experiences that students can have very, very tangible.
We unbox:
What it means to deliberately scaffold learning experiences for students
What these in-the-field learning programs look like
How the students’ work on these trips is used after they leave
How these programs can change (and have changed) the course of childrens’ lives for the better
Don’t make lessons complicated – take the complex and make it understandable
Creating sustainable learning opportunities (and what that means)
Closing the gap between teachers and community partners
Resources:
Learn more at pastfoundation.org
Connect with Sheli: linkedin.com/in/sheli-smith-0a4b9b4/
Connect with Pam: linkedin.com/in/pam-hayes-ab985b34/