Reaping the benefits of
Experiential Learning By Jenny Shorten
At
the heart of all learning is the way we process experiences, especially our critical reflections on our experiences. Aristotle once said, “For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.” This year, we have had the opportunity to engage our students in critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making in contexts that are personally relevant to them. Sixth graders studied The Age of Exploration in Mr. Webb’s class and were delighted when he said that they would learn about the Columbian Exchange in a unique way. The Columbian Exchange, also known as the Grand Exchange, was a dramatically widespread exchange of animals, plants, culture, human populations (including slaves), communicable diseases, and ideas between the
American and Afro-Eurasian hemispheres following the voyage to the Americas by Christopher Columbus. During this time, exciting new food was introduced to different parts of the world - sugar, tea, and coffee came from the Eastern Hemisphere to the West and tobacco, potatoes, and chocolate came from the West to the East. Before 1492, there were no tomatoes in Italy, no pineapples in Hawaii, no potatoes in Ireland, no oranges in Florida, and no cattle in Texas. What better way to celebrate this amazing exchange than to indulge in a day of chocolate. That’s right....chocolate. Mmmmmm! A very special and important committee of sixth grade moms called “the Chocolate Chicks” was formed. They chose an M&M theme and planned all the yummy decorations around a giant M&M. Sixth grade parents donated chocolate SUMMER 2013 {11}