Students from MHC's education program get hands-on with the educational school activities at the Esplanade.--PHOTO COURTESY COLLEEN ANDJELIC
In collaboration with the Medicine Hat College’s Education program, the Esplanade recently teamed up with program co-ordinator/instructor Colleen Andjelic to create a learning opportunity beyond classroom walls for her Social Studies Pedagogy students.
Colleen’s goal was to deliver a meaningful experience at the Esplanade for her students, and to provide some guidance on how they can engage their future students in worthwhile learning at cultural sites. Last week we saw this plan come to fruition as we had the pleasure of hosting 32 teacher candidates slated to enter the teaching world later this spring.
In this day long immersive program these soon-to-be teachers let the Esplanade become their classroom, utilizing its varied educational resources. This day was beneficial to all as we were able to simultaneously supply nascent teachers with new teaching tools while also ensuring that future generations recognize the value of recording and protecting our local stories and history.
The group was invited to participate in a few of the Esplanade’s grade-specific education programs, which are developed with curriculum links in mind. Through these programs, teachers gained a better understanding of how the Esplanade can help the past come to life and create new multidimensional learning opportunities for their students. Not only do these programs respect curriculum, but they are also highly experiential through hands-on components specifically designed to engage all learners.
Participating in programs that utilize the heritage related to local people and events creates the perfect environment for deeper learning and community connection. By allowing students access to historical records with local relevance, learning becomes more impactful and layered. The importance of local history becomes more apparent through engaging with the lived experiences of people from the same community that the students themselves live in.
What was perhaps one of the most memorable encounters of the day was the chance to interact and get hands-on with real primary resources. Something magical occurs when a person physically holds the diary of a Prisoner of War internee or the personal scrapbook of Charlie Thompson, 2SLGBTQIA+ activist and defender of early queer rights. In handling these precious objects, a direct connection is made to the people of Medicine Hat’s past bringing their stories to life.
We are so grateful to have been able to provide a learning opportunity through this alliance in how an arts and heritage site can supplement and inform teachers in their own practice. It is our hope that by equipping educators with the tools to make places like the Esplanade integral to the learning experience, this partnership ensures that future generations of students will have access to a rich, multidimensional education that extends beyond the classroom walls.
Dayna Walls is the education co-ordinator at the Esplanade Arts & Heritage Centre
