In lab-based Honors Biology II, students undertake their own investigations to gain hands-on scientific experience, and Upper School faculty member Allison Bowden finds creative ways to empower her distance learners to fully engage with the class.
“I have changed my homework assignments to involve more field work at home, including backyard observations, photos, and collecting of plants,” she noted. “All students can share their findings, whether through the projection of my computer screen or with a show-and-tell in the classroom. I have also developed lessons and activities that can be conducted at home or participated in via online attendance.”
Those adaptations have proven invaluable to her distance learners. “Mrs. Bowden includes distance learners in discussions and activities the other girls are doing in person, makes sure we can ask questions while going over notes and homework, and lets us participate in labs and fun experiences,” said Ava Piebenga ’21. “When our class was working with air plants, she sent home two for me to plant as well.”
In particular, Bowden wants her distance learners to experience the lab experiments that are an integral part of Honors Biology II. When students began researching the inner workings of flowers, she saw the perfect opportunity to model scientific collaboration. “While conducting the lab, my on-campus students embraced the opportunity to teach their distance-learning partners,” said Bowden. “They carefully followed procedures as they worked to identify the structures together.”
Using compound light microscopes and dissecting scopes, students also practiced photomicroscopy to capture intricate photographs of flower anatomy. “Being able to call in and work directly with an in-person partner increased my understanding of the lesson content significantly,” affirmed Mallory Mease ’21. “As a virtual student, I was able to take pictures under the microscope which allowed me to look more closely at the parts of the flowers I had only seen on diagrams up until that point.”
According to Bowden, those partnerships are an indispensable component of her students’ educational experience. “I think the on-campus students learned more from the lab by seeing it through their distance partners’ eyes,” she said.
Nurturing relationships is a central element in the Early Education Center (EEC), and this school year, faculty members piloted some creative ways to help distance learning students meaningfully connect with their friends on campus.
“We love our distance learners and want them to feel included in the classroom setting,” said EEC faculty member Amy Kuenzel. “At circle time each day, we rub our hearts and say the names of any classmates not with us to send them good thoughts. We display their photographs and include their answers on any charts in the classroom and on our display board so that their names are written everywhere, just like their classmates’ names. Many of our children can even identify our distance learners’ names. We want each child to be welcomed back as a familiar face when they return to campus.”
Technology helps in maintaining these important connections. “We held a circle time via Zoom with our distance learners and allowed our in-person students to interact with them on the computer,” explained EEC faculty member Batey Self. “The distance learners were able to feel like a part of the classroom, and our in-person students enjoyed sharing activities with them.”
In addition to talking via video chat, students have discovered an old-fashioned way to communicate. “We also send mail to our distance learners!” smiled Self. “We send them notes or drawings from their classmates, materials for activities we are doing in the classroom, and even little surprises and stickers to make them feel special. They also send mail to our classroom, and our in-person students love hearing from their distance learning friends.” Together, they are bridging the distance and proving friendship knows no bounds.
This past fall, Performing Arts faculty member Kristine Peters encountered more than the usual challenges of starting a new position; as the teacher of Lower School General Music, the Intermediate Program’s Choral Music, and Caroline’s Carolers, she faced pandemic safety limitations of an important classroom element: singing.
“We don’t sing, but we approximate singing by chanting with inflection, and whenever possible, I accompany them on the piano so they can hear melodic shapes and continue their Tuneful development,” said Peters. “We create sound stories, using instruments as sound effects to build the mood.” Having spent a decade studying under master music educators to understand how children learn, Peters draws on her extensive training to ensure her classes remain musically rich.
Her approach enables students to perform well-known works in new and interesting ways. “A wonderful book like Goin’ on a Bear Hunt is given new life when we add the vibraslap to sound like the slapping of mud, or jingle bells to represent snow,” she noted. “We use movement and body percussion to analyze form and bring meaning to iconic music. The gradual tempo increase of a popular-classical favorite like Grieg’s ‘In the Hall of the Mountain King’ becomes much more satisfying when one is tapping out an intricate routine of pats, snaps, claps, and stomps. With simple melodies as the foundation, we start with a simple rhythm (the steady beat kept on a bass xylophone or a short repeating pattern played on rhythm sticks); from there we layer on melodic fragments as developmentally appropriate and un-pitched percussion to add musical color.”
The resulting lessons have inspired students to expand their understanding and appreciation of music. “Whether it’s playing or singing in an ensemble, dancing to music at a wedding, or chanting at a ballgame, when we synchronize in a musical way, we are communicating in a way specific to humans,” Peters affirmed. “We activate an abundance of esprit de corps that honors the heart of the humans around us.”
by Amanda Murrell, Ashley Hall Director of College Counseling
“College Counseling at Ashley Hall is more than a student resource—it’s an area of significant emphasis woven into the school’s Upper School program. Beginning in 9th grade, students become active participants in the college search process and are offered unlimited one-on-one meetings and the chance to interact with many college representatives. As juniors, all girls meet regularly with Director of College Counseling Amanda Murrell, who works individually with each student on applications, essays, and scholarships and ensures the application process is not anxiety-filled. The result? Graduates who have a clear understanding of who they are and where they would like to attend school—and how to juggle the pressures of getting there.
“We miss having students sitting on the couch in our office and chatting. However, in terms of working individually with students, thanks to the wonders of technology, little has changed. My days are filled with Google Docs and Zoom meetings, but I can see the girls without masks when we meet, so that’s a plus for me! All our college visits also have been virtual this year, but we have been the beneficiary of some visits that we wouldn’t have had in the past because of travel limitations. We’ve had representatives from international schools schedule visits, as well as a greater number reaching out from schools in California.
The greatest challenge for me is that many of our seniors have not been able to visit a lot of college campuses. Virtual tours and conversations with college representatives are useful, but our students are accustomed to being able to travel to see campuses in person. The silver lining is that the girls seem to be willing to look at schools that wouldn’t have been on their radar otherwise. They are attending virtual open houses and other online programming and learning about colleges that appeal for all of the right reasons, whether it is the mission of the school or academic opportunities.
The new building is a wonderful gathering place for everything student-related. Having Student Life and College Counseling under the same roof makes great sense because our worlds overlap so much. I look forward to having the café open and enjoying some time with our students in a relaxed, collegial atmosphere.”
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