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| Community mapping at Conway Elementary School |
Community
engagement, a pillar of the TRRE residency program, was initially conceived as
a community-based summer internship experience. Community-based internships
were designed to give residents an opportunity to meet local community members
and to identify local resources to bring into the classroom. Fast forward four
years, and the concept of competency in community and family engagement has
evolved.
To supplement
remote and online community internships Cohort 4 experienced in summer 2020 due
to COVID-19, TRRE residency supervisors with Emilie Coppinger, TRRE Director of
Community Engagement, implemented new strategies to teach family and community
competency. Residents designed community resource maps using Mindomo as part of
their teaching seminar course and collaborated in the organization of a series
of community and family engagement panels.
Evidence
of community mapping was seen this year in Rachele Harvey’s work with students at Conway
Elementary (SAU 9). She taught a multi-day unit on community in her
kindergarten classroom during a solo week. Students explored rural, suburban, and urban communities at home and overseas. Lesson activities include making
pop up towns (pictured above) and an independent research project.
The first of the community engagement
panels, Bringing Community into the Classroom, occurred on March 31.
Panelists were educators from Tin Mountain Conservation Center, Appalachian Mountain
Club: A Mountain Classroom, a curriculum coordinator from SAU 61-Farmington,
and two TRRE secondary science graduates teaching in TRRE partner districts.
The main theme that emerged from the conversation was the increased students’ motivation
and engagement from local problem solving, project-based learning connected to
community people and resources. Educators
form Tin Mountain and AMC emphasized their eagerness to support teachers with
resources and curriculum. All the educator panelists shared examples of community-based,
project-based learning. TRRE Graduate, Shannon Wydra, shared her students' video on
a project to help NH Fish and Game and Hike Safe locate lost hikers in the
White Mountains, as an example.
We look forward to the final community and family engagement panel
on May 4. The three TRRE community engagement panels described below are a
great addition to TRRE Cohort 4’s method and practice of teaching seminar.
Bringing Community into the Classroom, Wednesday,
March 31, 2021
Children are the future; therefore, educators and community members have an
opportunity to connect the next
generations with their communities
and pass local knowledge onto our youth. Panelists include educators and community members who will
provide examples of “real world” learning experiences for their students in and out of the classroom. The goal of this panel is
to facilitate dialogue about making abstract community engagement concepts more concrete,
applicable, and relevant to education in practice. Panelists discuss pedagogical
approaches to building authentic and meaningful connections within the classroom and the greater community.
View the full one-hour program:
https://media.unh.edu/media/TRRE+Community+Engagement+Panel+-+Bringing+Community+Into+the+Classroom/1_vqpayjqt
Food Insecurity and the Power of Community, Thursday April 15, 2021
In this season of unprecedented unknowns living
in the pandemic of COVID-19, one in nine (1/9) New Hampshire residents are
experiencing food insecurity. Our hope is that, through this informational
panel, together we can increase our awareness of food insecurity, leverage the
power of local communities, and identify resources that can help to support our
New Hampshire families and children.
View the full one-hour program:
https://media.unh.edu/media/UNH+TRRE+Community+Engagement+-+Combating+Food+Insecurity+in+Rural+NH/1_m07hrfjz
Handling Trauma in our Classrooms and Communities, May 4, 2021
Join our panelists to learn what different NH communities and schools are doing to address trauma. What does trauma look like in our rural communities? As we define trauma and its impact in classrooms that teachers observe, let’s examine our responses to deeply distressing experiences. Invited experts will share how we, in our roles as educators and caregivers, can best support our students.
View the full one-hour program:
https://media.unh.edu/media/UNH+TRRE+Community+Engagement+Panel+Handling+Trauma+in+Our+Classrooms+and+Communities/1_u5s40z0h
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