Exit slip - Orchard Garden

Our lesson in the Orchard Garden last Thursday was a lot of fun. Being outside and breathing in fresh air is almost always good for the soul, but even more so when it is coupled with a clear sky and warm weather. The Orchard Garden really brought out creativity in the students, but further creativity in the instructor.


Changing the teaching setting from a classroom to something else grants access to different instructional instruments. This access results in lessons that are more dynamic and exercise different strengths and weaknesses within the students. For example, the drawing exercise worked on looking at the geometrical elements present in both man-made structures and things that result arose from nature. Even though some student would really excel in a drawing activity such as this due to their previous experiences with art, all students will be able to make connects between math and the special world around us. Further, there is no need for an specific mathematical background and allows for open-ended questions, something often lost in traditional conceptualizations of mathematics education.


I thoroughly enjoyed our field trip to the garden and it certainly made me more open minded to using non-conventional education tools whose use might not be immediately obvious.