Teacher as Researcher Follow-Up Sharon Ritchie

Research: Lenses and Ammunition What does that mean?

Lenses: Focused Observations Relationships Teaching approaches Child engagement and behavior Equity Environment –Indoor and outdoor –Emotional climate –Instructional climate

Ammunition Evidence-based practice: –What other people know –What you know

Motivation for research “Having began my career at a school that boasted a 17.3 acre nature trail and supplemented classroom learning with camping and hiking trips, it was distressing to work in schools where “bubbling” practice was more important than allowing students to make connections between class work and their surrounding environment.”

What other people know: The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP): benefits to outdoor play include: physical development increased physical activity enhanced decision making skills improved academic performance though the increase of blood flow to the brain decreases in anxiety, stress, sleep problems and depression exercise sessions with children diagnosed with ADHD provided the same sedative/calming effect as the medications typically used for these disorders inactivity has been linked to childhood obesity, childhood-onset diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol

What she found out:

What might you find out? How does your school environment promote physical activity for children..what kinds of activities?..What activities are not possible? How does your school environment promote engagement with nature? How do you incorporate the outdoors in your educational planning? How do you promote health and good nutrition in your outdoor environment?

POK: Lenses and Ammunition POK needs ammunition to demonstrate the effectiveness of this project. POK needs to view your work through several of the lenses we have discussed Need a systematic way to describe what happens in POK classrooms, now and over time This is not an evaluation or a judgment, but a way of getting rich descriptions of your instructional practices