Under The Sea at Bryant Elementary School
By Kate Tesch
Students at Bryant Elementary recently had the chance to enjoy a family Under the Sea Night thanks to the collaborative efforts of the Bryant PTO and the University of Wisconsin- Superior. Kaitlyn Baumann, Academic Service-Learning Specialist at UW-Superior, coordinated students from an Introduction to Psychology course section at UW-Superior taught by Dr. Kenna Bolton Hotz.
Dr. Bolton Holtz incorporates Academic Service-Learning (AS-L) into the Intro Psychology course to help her students learn the course concepts while serving out in the community.
Academic Service-Learning (AS-L) is a credit bearing, educational experience in which college students participate in an organized service activity that meets identified community needs and reflect on the service activity in such a way as to gain further understanding of course content, a broader appreciation of the discipline and an enhanced sense of civic responsibility.
The AS-L initiative aims to make UW-Superior a regional leader in academic service-learning, thus providing a distinctively public quality to UW-Superior’s liberal arts mission.
Each fall UWS partners with two elementary schools (Bryant & Lake Superior) to plan a family activity night that has a fun and engaging theme. The UWS students design and facilitate stations (original stories, crafts, take-home packet, and game/activities) that are all about a theme, this year it was, Under the Sea, and about a basic psychology concept.
The UWS students taught the children about the brain through fun under the sea crafts/games. By teaching the children about this basic psychology concept, the UWS students learn and retain their course material longer because they have a personal connection to the course material.
Our Bryant students were excited to play games and participate in activities with the UWS students and at the end of the night there was a drawing for free books and gift cards to Barnes and Noble donated by the Bryant PTO. It was a positive collaboration for our students and the students from UWS!
