In preparation for their high street visit, K1 students in Patrick Lee's class called on their HS friends. The K1 students had worked with the older students previously when Axel Forrester's architecture class dropped by K1 to practice interviewing skills. This time it was the K1 students' turn to visit the architecture class to practice asking questions.
After brushing up on their interview skills, K1 students went to the high street to do some research about what to study next: maybe a store or a restaurant. They spoke to shopkeepers, butchers, hair stylists, and pharmacists, to name a few. Through the data they collected, the kindergarteners will come up with a list narrowing in on what to study in the weeks to come.
K-12 Service Learning Coordinator and ASL parent Tamatha Bibbo said, "What an experience with the K1 teachers, children and parents. Each student visited at least four different shops; they asked many questions, including 'What do you do here?,' 'What time do you open and close?' and 'Why do people come here?' The students reflected on their visits and what they learned, and will be using the data to develop plans for their own experiential learning environment in the classroom based on one of the places they visited."
K1 teacher Patrick Lee said, "Project work is about children having real hands-on experiences. To be able to go out onto the high street, to actually see what kind of stores or restaurants they may want to study, makes it all the better. The children get to dictate what we study next. How exciting is that?"
Axel Forrester said, "It's great to see what happens when we find cross-divisional connections. It is worth the extra effort to enhance the students' learning experiences."
As part of the project, the high school students visited architects Foster and Partners to learn about how architects work together and how they identify clients' needs in projects around the world.
