MUS reflection - Sam S.

I noticed during the MUS outreach trip how environmental factors seem to have a profound effect on student behavior and engagement. I also noticed how difficult it can be to link one element of facilitation or environment to student engagement, since so many factors changed between each class.

KJ was obviously much more prepared and familiar with the curriculum, on top of having lots of  experience facilitating school groups. She was able to keep the class excited and informed while she introduced the activity. In the second two groups, Kevin, Juliana and I by no means failed to prepare the classes or completely lose their interest, but we didn't have the flow and continuous engagement that I felt led to greater collaboration and enthusiasm in the first group.

However, there may have also been an influence on the behavior of the first group in that it was earlier in the morning, and the students had fresh minds with no mental fatigue. By contrast, the second two classes were immediately preceding and following lunchtime, so they could have been more antsy, hungry, full, drowsy, irritable, etc. I don't have the experience to predict how groups of third graders generally behave differently throughout the day. It just goes to show that lots of iterative and consistent observation is needed to infer the influence of different environmental and facilitations factors.

One thing that was clear is that MUS is not a typical elementary school. It was clear that all the students had ample resources and support for learning, which can't be counted upon when facilitating elsewhere. Compared to most third graders, these students were patient, enthusiastic, and receptive to input. They were also working in a classroom with few distractions, that was a different setting than their normal classroom. This must have had an effect on their behavior.

The students also clearly changed their behavior due to the sheer number of adults in the room helping and engaging with them. Not only were they aware of being observed, they had little opportunity to goof off with so much supervision. They also had an excess trained Sparks constantly nearby to help and question them. I look forward to seeing how behavior might change with a different student/facilitator ratio.

- Sam S.