Backyard Adventures with Harbor Springs Middle School
The middle school learners have a deeper understanding of their town, what makes Harbor Springs so special, and see how they might connect to their town in ways not realized before.
5th graders realize the importance of knowing one's bearing and learning basic navigation skills.
6th graders understand the kinds of water we have, the importance of our freshwater lake, and where our water comes from.
7th graders, hearing real-world stories from elders and historians, know the importance of our city’s history and their place in it.
8th graders, having met 11 Community Connectors, see job and career opportunities here in Harbor Springs long-term and for as soon as the upcoming summer.
Overview of Workshop
By responding to a need and desire for Fall “learning in the field” experiences for the entire middle school, the collaboration yielded a positive outdoor learning experience for students. New understanding and connections were made between students and their community due to the TOPOnexus way of learning.
HS Middle School (HSMS) was seeking start-of-the-year field trips, unique to each grade level and focused on the following:
Getting outside
Practicing real-world skills
Doing team tasks
Exploring and connecting with the local community
TOPOnexus provided the following services, using the TOPO way of learning, in order to meet the identified needs of HSMS stated above:
Custom design of Prep Work and Post Work
Coaching of 3 Lead Teachers to deliver Prep and Post Work
Custom design of 4 x 2-hour real-world experiences (Grades 5-8, 244 total students)
Recruitment and onboarding of Community Connectors (15 volunteers)
Recruitment and onboarding of Support Crew (18 adult volunteers)
Facilitation of 4 x 2-hour real-world experiences downtown
All materials needed
“Better than ‘learning’ in a classroom.”
“It was a way to learn more about the jobs in our town, and it was pretty fun.”
— HSPS 7th grader
Impact & Deep Reach
244 Students
52 Adults
“This is the kind of learning that we want to be doing. It’s such a great fit with our Social Studies standards; I definitely want to continue this partnership.”
–HSPS Middle School Principal
Outcomes
Middle School learners (grades 5-8) experienced a 50-minute Backyard Adventure, with each grade level having its own theme:
5th Grade: This Place Matters
6th Grade: We All Need Water
7th Grade: Real-World Stories
8th Grade: Community Careers
“It was fun and it made me a lot more curious about Harbor.”
“A cooperative, fun and adventurous way to explore.”
–HSPS 5th graders
Collaboration
Our co-laboring was successful on multiple levels. We worked together to:
Help learners feel empowered in their learning
Facilitate real-world skills, i.e. introducing oneself, shaking hands, giving eye contact, speaking clearly, writing a thank you note
Provide learning experiences that enhance HSPS curriculum
Connect learners to their community
Encourage deeper learning of each grade level theme
“It is a great experience. There are many cool people to help. The most interesting thing is learning about the history of the first people to find Harbor Springs.”
— HSPS 7th grader
Wonder & Whoa!
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WHOA!
Learners were so excited to dive into the adventure! Here are some of the TOPO Staff WHOAs. For a complete list of Student Whoas, click WHOAS.
The Support Crew was also excited; after the BYA, the Support Crew was excited about seeing BYAs continue
• Team configuration
• Guide map
• Sounds & tones effective
• Agenda
• Realized that the Send-Off needed to be restructured
• Getting our Bearings
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WHOA!
Here are some of the TOPO Staff WHOAs. For a complete list of Student Whoas, click WHOAS
• All groups worked well together
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WHOA!
Here are some of the TOPO Staff WHOAs. For a complete list of Student Whoas, click WHOAS
Learners were engaged in a “spiraled way”, i.e. they remembered what they experienced in the 6th grade BYA, and were excited to revisit some places in town, and wondered what would be different.
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WHOA!
Here are some of the Whoas from Community Connectors. For a complete list of Student Whoas, click WHOAS
• “Another great BYA!,” Tom (teacher)
• “I really like this!,” Heather (Principal)
• “I got a few questions that stumped me!,” Drew (Real Estate agent/Community Connector)
What is Wonder & Whoa?
Without wonder, we cannot gain new perspectives or innovate. With wonder, we become lifelong learners. We are full of wonder. Whoa is something that stops you in your tracks and inspires, surprises, or shocks you. Together, wonder and whoa have the transformative power to create meaningful personalized learning.
“You get to have fun in the community and be free.”
“Lots of questions and cool with checkpoints.”
— HSPS 6th graders
