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Audience: Elementary aged learners who are interested in learning about gardening
Responsibilities: Content Creator, Instructional Designer
Tools Used: Google Suite, Canva
The learners I was creating curriculum for are very interested in gardening because they have a strong family tie to nature. They lacked some of the general plant based knowledge needed to comprehend a more advanced unit about how plants thrive and the steps that are involved in growing a backyard garden. Interviews with my learners led to the creation of a gardening unit focused on the learning points needed to understand the basic plant life cycle and concepts needed to be beginning gardeners.
After further brainstorming, I realized the solution is a student focused project with hands on components to engage the students and allow them to increase their gardening knowledge.
This unit was created as part of a course to complete a certificate in the Foundations of Learning Design. The project’s intent was to create a learning unit based on the needs of the learners we are serving based on our foundational educational beliefs. I interviewed two of the students to learn more about their preferred learning styles and interests. They shared information about what they like about learning and topics they enjoy spending time engaged in while in school. I also gained insights into their motivations for learning and about any supports that would be helpful to guide them.
The interviews helped to guide my next step, which was brainstorming ways that the unit could be focused and activities to include. Brainstorming gave me a great starting point for the activities and allowed me to create five learning objectives for the unit and complete the unit activity plan, which I will share below.
The Let’s Grow a Garden Unit plan is the culmination of several weeks of work and a comprehensive guide to the activities that will be completed in it. In completing the unit, learners will first construct the Life Cycle of a Plant by first creating a drawing and then constructing it out of art materials. Secondly, learners will work in a small group to learn more about native Minnesota plants and eventually create a short report sharing five facts. Third, they will label the parts of a plant when given a blank flower template Fourth, they will classify five different seed types based on size, shape, and color. Finally, they will design a plan for a garden space in their own backyard. Additionally they will complete a plant journal based on plants they have observed in their learning setting.
The finished project components include: