Unfortunately, the pressures of this impossible academic year have caused me to neglect my writing and abandon my blog. Teaching and supporting pre-service teachers through the turmoil of the pandemic was challenging and burdensome, but I learnt a great deal. I sincerely hope to grapple with some of those understandings here on the blog very soon.
In the last week of the academic year, I chose to close two of my online courses face-to-face with creative and active events outside in the fresh air. Both courses were didactics courses for language teaching; one was for EFL pre-service teachers, and the other was for pre-service teachers of Hebrew language and literacy. Both courses focused on teaching in elementary school classes. I had never met most of the students outside of Zoom and was excited to meet them in a unique setting. I emphasised the importance of coming to campus to join me.
Preparing the activity required more from me than planning a regular lesson. I wanted every detail to be perfect and for the students to experience a wide range of activities and modes of learning in the two hours we had at our disposal. Planning the two activities at the same time was time-effective although one group of students experienced the tasks in Hebrew, the other group experienced them in English.
I aimed for the students to mingle informally and spend time differently than they had throughout the 18 months of social distancing and online learning. I wanted them to get a feel of the kinds of language and literacy activities that can be done outside the classroom, something I hadn’t discussed in depth.
Early in the year, I knew that I would use the goosechase digital platform to organise a special event. I have a goosechase EDU account that supports working with large numbers of students. In my “Teaching English to Young Learners” course, I had 36 students, and in my “Literacy: L1 Hebrew Teaching Didactics” course, I had 21. I wanted to divide the students into small groups to allow all participants to be active and involved.
Another decision I made early on was for the activity to occur in the botanical gardens on campus. I’m sure that many lecturers at the Oranim College of Education have not yet discovered the potential of this magical place. The greenery, the inviting secret corners, the opportunity to spread out and be together in beautiful natural surroundings are indeed a unique bonus of my college.
Rather than a regular email or a bland reminder on the Moodle, I sent out invitations to the event, hoping to arouse curiosity and a sense of excitement. Students downloaded the goosechase app to their phones before they arrived, and I asked them to bring a few items from home.
In preparation, I bought paper bags (those used for takeaway food) and put everything the groups would need for the tasks inside. I assumed that the students would appreciate the effort put into preparing and presenting the equipment and would put similar effort into completing the tasks.
After a short introduction, sitting in a circle surrounded by leafy green foliage, I divided the students into groups. I instructed them to spread out into the gardens and to choose the order to perform the tasks. I followed the progress of the groups on the goosechase app – responding to the photos, videos and written responses they uploaded, awarding points and giving written feedback. From near and afar, I could hear the chitchat, the laughter and the social interaction, which was an integral part of the activity. There was an easy-going, fun atmosphere in the groups, and I could tell that they were applying themselves in their work.
What were some of the tasks?
Significant quotations – The students shared inspiring quotations about reading and language they had brought from home. Each group chose a quote and wrote it with sidewalk chalk on the pavement, a bench or a rock in the gardens.
Video advertisement – The students produced a short video to convince students at the college to spend quality time in the botanical gardens.
Story cubes – Each group received a package of story cubes. Initially, the participants became acquainted with the cubes by watching a short video and then collaboratively created a story based on the images appearing on the cubes.
Principles for language teachers – Each group prepared a poster of five golden rules for teaching language in elementary classes. They decorated the poster and photographed it.
Sweet time – While sucking on lollipops, the members of the group brainstormed together. The Hebrew literacy students had to make a list of words containing the root מ.ת.ק. The ESL students had to generate a list of food cognates, terms like ‘pizza’ and ‘felafel’ that are identical or almost identical in English and Hebrew or Arabic.
Letter writing – Each of the students wrote me a short letter marking the conclusion of the academic year. The Hebrew language and literacy students each received a copy of the letter they wrote me in the course’s first lesson, read the letter, and responded. This activity reflected the ongoing communication between the students and me throughout the course.
Writing with pipe cleaners – The ESL students experienced forming letters with pipe cleaners, a multisensory activity for beginner writers that we had discussed in the course.
Designing a game – Each group created a game for vocabulary enrichment using wooden tongue depressor sticks.
Storytime – The Hebrew students heard The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein read by one of the group members. The EFL students had to search for hidden objects in the Spot What! book by Nick Bryant and Rowan Summers.
Summer is here – The Hebrew language students each brought an item from home symbolising ‘chofesh’ (freedom or vacation). They presented their items to the group and took a collage photo.
Phonological fun – I asked the EFL students to bring an item containing the ‘ch’ digraph in its name. Items included watches, chips, chains, change, chocolate, a lunchbox, and a charger. Together the group produced a short video, introducing the sound to elementary learners. The results were creative and amusing.
The botanical gardens were filled with laughter, chatter and a friendly competitive atmosphere. Following a year of social distancing and Zoom communication, it was rewarding to see peer interaction and social connections being formed and restored.
After the successful activity, I prepared a slide presentation with the photos, videos and written responses so the students could enjoy the products generated by other groups. I aimed to remind the participants of the experience and model the importance of documenting educational activities for various reasons.
In my experience, goosechase never disappoints. It is an exciting digital tool that is perfect for group building and out-of-the-box educational interaction. The technical side of adding the tasks to the goosechase app and monitoring the competition is simple. Planning these activities required thought and effort, but the result was well worth it.
Finishing the year feeling positive and refreshed, we managed to ignore the upcoming exams and assignments for a two-hour break in the fresh air.
