UNITY — A group of 13 Unity College students and two faculty members recetntly welcomed 33 middle school students and two teachers for a Gear UP Field Day at the college. The Unity students were fulfilling their experiential placement requirement by presenting lessons to the Gear Up students about sustainability science, according to a news release from the school. A goal of Gear Up is to “Make college a dream that becomes a reality.”

The day started at 10 a.m. with the group participating in ice breakers, getting their group assignments. Jeannie Hamrin, assistant director of Teacher Education, followed Group I to the Heritage Barn for a lesson on sustainability and farm animals. The Animal Barn curriculum focuses on learning about sustainable practices for animal agriculture.

Other activities centered around orienteering, solar energy, a low ropes challenge course and a scavenger hunt. All activities took into account the developmental needs of young adolescents, the changes in their thinking and social-emotional behavior.

Project Gear Up and Unity students offered a mentor relationship with teachers through the creation of small communities of learners and a flexible interdisciplinary curriculum that encouraged personalized and active learning. Unity students learned about how to teach sustainability science in ways that fit the needs and skills of middle schoolers by taking all of these factors into account.

Working in pairs and small groups, MVMS students were encouraged to think cooperatively and group problem-solve.

For more information, visit Unity.edu.


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