ICE: Experiential Learning at Its Best

Winter camping, an urban history scavenger hunt, and painting on the shore of Georgian Bay. These sorts of experiences are part of The York School’s unique Integrated Canadian Experience (ICE) Programme, an innovative combined study of Canadian history, geography, civics, and literature undertaken by all Grade 9 students. 

In this episode, Sara Gardner, an architect of ICE, shares how students uncover the story of Canada and its inhabitants by combining field research with classroom learning and developing observational, inquiry and communication skills. Reese Feldberg, an ICE alum, shares her experience as a student. And Andrea Lossing, Trip and Camp Curriculum Coordinator, talks about the other amazing experiential learning opportunities at York.

To see experiential learning in action, search the hashtag #Yorklearns on Twitter, follow @ICEGardner and follow @a_lossing. 

You can read more about the ICE Programme here, find Sara Gardner’s article about winter camping here, and watch a winter camping (2015) video here. And here's a link to the Grade 9 ICE Showcase from 2020. Links to different ICE documentaries can be found on The York School’s Vimeo page including B.C. 2019, Alberta 2019, Newfoundland 2018, and Killarney 2015. 

The 2018 International Service Trip to Global Pathways School in India offers another glimpse into experiential learning as does the 2017 Music Trip to Cuba.

Written and produced by Natasha Estey
Audio editing by Andrew Scott

Transcript

Natasha Estey: 0:02

Hi there, and welcome to YORK Talks, a podcast for families wanting to learn more about The York School, Toronto's leading co-ed, independent school, delivering the IB Programme from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12. I'm your host, Natasha Estey. Join me in conversation with school leaders, teachers, students, and parents in The York School community about different aspects of the school, providing you with a more candid look inside York. Welcome to Episode 4 of YORK Talks. Did you know that The York School has a motto? It is Experiencia Docet - or Experience Teaches - and is the core value behind York's commitment to enhance learning and understanding by having students step outside the classroom to explore the world around them. In this way, students not only discover what the world is all about, but are able to find their unique place within it. Today, we're going to be talking about experiential learning at York. In particular, we will be looking at the Integrated Canadian Experience - or ICE - Programme, an innovative combined study of Canadian history, geography, civics and literature undertaken by all Grade 9 students. Joining me today are Sara Gardner, ICE teacher and architect of the programme, Reese Feldberg, a Grade 11 student and ICE alumni, and Andrea Lossing, our Trip and Camp Curriculum Coordinator, who will be able to tell us about all the other amazing experiential learning opportunities at York that start in the Junior School. Sara, Andrea, and Reese, thank you for joining me today.

Sara Gardner: 1:57

Thanks for having us, Natasha.

Natasha Estey: 1:59

All right, Sarah, I'm going to start with you. Can you take us back to the 2006/2007 school year? That was the year the Grade 9 ICE Programme officially launched. So I'm curious to know, why did you develop the ICE Programme? And what did you want to achieve in taking this unique approach to teaching Canadian history, geography, civics and literature?

Sara Gardner: 2:27

The programme really started before it launched with the students. And it was in speaking - I was teaching in a different independent school in Toronto, and I was speaking with a good friend of mine who was at The York School and had this, you know, the beginning, this little seed of an idea that he had already, I think, started calling the ICE Programme. And he was telling me about it and the more he told me about it, the more I thought, why aren't I, like, why in the world am I not doing something really exciting like that? And finally, he looked at me one day, and he said, well, why don't you? And so he convinced me to come over to The York School and develop the programme with them. And really, you asked me why, you know, why did I get involved or what were we hoping to achieve and I think, fundamentally, Paul Gifford - so the one of the original founders of the programme - and myself, both of us as educators wanted to develop a programme that would meet students where they were at their age and stage of development, and make learning for them something that would be exciting and unforgettable.

Natasha Estey: 3:27

And when you think about sort of how the programme was, in those early years, when it was really just getting off the ground, as compared to what it's evolved to today, what have been some of the biggest changes you've seen over the years?

Sara Gardner: 3:40

The changes that have developed over the years have helped the programme become more institutionalized, which, in some ways means it's a little bit less flexible and adaptable. So we used to do a lot more thinking on the seat of our pants, which allowed us to be really responsive to the students and to the environment, what was happening in the city, etc. At the same time, it also meant it was really relying on our delivery of the programme. So the fact that this ICE Programme has been able to exist since 2006, until today, in the school, I think, is a testament to, you know, the fact that it is adaptable. So it's been able to change over the years to meet whatever needs or priorities the school has placed in front of us. But also the fact that it's become a little more institutionalized. It's not, you know, if I go away on a mat leave, it doesn't fall apart. There's an element of the Mm hmm. I mean, here we are talking about, you know, talking programme that changed dramatically from its inception to where it is now that I think is important to recognize. And I think that it's an illustration of how responsive the programme has been. And so when the programme started, it really reflected the Founder's interest in early Canadian history and Canada's identity being tied very much to, you know, its first settlers and the explorers, the adventurers, our relationship to the land and to the indigenous people. And I think that, since then, it's become much more of an urban based programme. And so has fast forward, really, into the 21st century, and is looking at, you know, urban growth in Canada, looking at how our Canadian identity is tied to the diversity of people that have come to live here, etc. So it's really shifted from that sort of colonial perspective to one that's much more, I think, contemporary and reflective of our diverse society. about this amazing programme. I mentioned that it incorporates Canadian history, geography, civics and literature. But can you describe for our listeners, just in a nutshell, what the ICE Programme actually is? It's always the hardest question. The ICE Programme, so essentially, it combines four disciplines, four subjects. And these are Ministry of Ontario subjects, so English Literature, Grade 9, Canadian Physical Geography, Grade 9, Canadian History Since World War I, Grade 10, and the open Civics course. So it's an integrated programme that combines those four disciplines and presents them to the students in as much of an experiential manner as possible. We believe that at 14, students are very much, they very much want independence, and are capable of being very much more independent and responsible in their own learning. And so we want to meet them there. And the more we can make their learning connected to the real world around them, the more invested they are in that learning. So we created an integrated an experiential programme.

Natasha Estey: 6:40

Yeah, and that's so in line with the, you know, part of the philosophy of the Middle Years Programme as well, putting the student at the centre of, you know, their own learning experience and giving them that sense of agency. Thank you. Okay, Reese, I want to turn to you now, because you have experienced the ICE Programme as a student. I know it was now a couple of years ago, but can you tell us a little bit about what your ICE experience was like?

Reese Feldberg: 7:08

Sure. So I had a pretty good experience at the time. My perception of it is very different to what it is now, but I think it's like that for most students. So in my experience, we started off the year at Camp Wanakita where we got to know each other and really got an introduction to the programme because in the Middle School, you sort of hear about ICE, but you don't really know what it is until you get to Grade 9. At the beginning, we got to do lots and lots of field trips. So we went to Toronto Island, we went to Regent Park. Later in the year we went winter camping. We basically like did - we went to Spidana House in December. And then of course after winter camping, our focus became Challenge Week. Having a core class like that is really helpful, like having the same teacher who teaches you for four things was very helpful for me in my adjustment from Grade 8 to Grade 9 at the school. Because before that you're used to having the same class for everything.

Natasha Estey: 8:13

Mm hmm.

Reese Feldberg: 8:13

So that was very nice to have that.

Natasha Estey: 8:17

What is the sense you had of how different your experience was from your friends experience as it related to how they're learning about, you know, Canadian history and Canadian geography and civics and all these courses that you're starting to take in Grade 9?

Reese Feldberg: 8:31

Well, like for us we did geography in English, like at the time we were supposed to, but history and civics the year before. And the main difference is that we connected geography to English and history and to civics. Everything was sort of interconnected to each other, which was really helpful. Like, when we went into civics and we spoke about the current election. And then before that, we were talking about the Prime Ministers before that and it was all just really interconnected and you could really see the links. Whereas my friends at other schools, everything was very separated. And it gave you the chance to do some really interesting projects where they were they were all linked. So you could do a creative history project, you could do more of a creative geography project, as opposed to just writing paper after paper after paper.

Natasha Estey: 9:21

What would you say, looking back, was like a big highlight for you from the year? Does something really stick out that you remember from that experience?

Reese Feldberg: 9:29

Well, besides Challenge Week, I would say the beginning part, like when we went to Toronto Island, that was a really good part of the year.

Natasha Estey: 9:38

And Sarah is that something that the students are going to be able to do a version of this year considering some of the, you know, sort of protocols and etc. in place due to the pandemic? So normally we go to the Toronto Island to look at, specifically, land use and how land is used on the Toronto Island and how that's changed over time and we get the students to practice interviewing people. But we have, instead, taken the project and we're getting students to look at their own home neighbourhoods, and getting them to do that same field work - what we call field work - out in their neighbourhoods, examining land use in their neighbourhoods, how it's changing over time, investigating the history of their neighbourhoods, and interviewing local residents in their own neighbourhoods. So, this is the way that we and I try to be responsive to the context around us. And it's interesting, because while we miss going to the island, because it's a very memorable and fun trip, it's been great to see the kids engaged in their own neighbourhoods and learn history about their neighbourhoods that they didn't know. And so it's a way that, in some ways, the curriculum has become enriched, and they're still getting those experiences. The sad thing is, we can't share it in the same way. We share when we get back. They create photo essays and they share, you know, but it's a little bit different for sure. We still try to maintain a focus where the kids are still experiencing, in some way, communally. So they're sharing that. And I think it's a big part of what we do. Reese mentioned that, sort of, core aspect, having a teacher that's working with her over the course of the year. But it's also having each other, I think. The students learn to lean on each other and to celebrate with each other the work that they're doing or the experiences they're having. And I think that puts them in a good position as they move ahead into their Diploma years. Absolutely. I just wanted to sort of finish and round out my questions of you, Reese. With just to finish, where did you go for Challenge Week in Grade 9? Because I know that there are some different options that you have. So what trip did you choose to go on?

Reese Feldberg: 11:39

I chose to go to New Brunswick. We focused a lot on, like, the aquatic life there and immigration as well, too. I wrote, it was like a magazine sort of piece. So I included some photos and wrote a paper, but it wasn't a photo essay. I did mine on possibly immigration or like the or talking about the aquatic life there because that's such an important piece of New Brunswick.

Natasha Estey: 12:09

And, Andrea, I want to come back around to Challenge Week. Could you just maybe describe a little bit what Challenge Week is, like, what is this whole idea of Challenge Week? And what does it look like for middle school students, for example, or for students in Grade 10?

Andrea Lossing: 12:24

Challenge Week is really based on the motto that you were mentioning before. So The York School's motto, Experience Teaches. And also, the school's mission. So developing knowledgeable, caring young people who are engaged citizens of the world. That, you know, tied to the curriculum in each grade level really leads to Challenge Week. So it's something that we work towards for the whole school year in Grade 6 to 10. And so, in Grade 6, 7, and 8, the students have a grade-wide trip that's linked to their curriculum. So, for instance, most recently, Grade 6 would be going to Ottawa for a week in May. And they would be exploring the area, the region, and focusing in on science, humanities, and French. Grade 7 would be travelling to Quebec City for that same first week in May, focusing on humanities and French. And Grade 8, this year, we were revisioning the Grade 8 Challenge Week trip to focus on STEM. So science as well as responsible decision-making, so social emotional learning. And offering some choice in Grade 8. In Grade 9 and 10, we offer multiple options to the students and so, in Grade 8, we wanted to start to scaffold that this year. So offering two trip options working with Outward Bound to offer a hiking trip to Halton Hills so that the students could get to know the outdoor spaces in their own backyard and also the watershed and get to learn about indigenous communities as well in our own backyard and the indigenous history connected to the land and to the water. And then also working with Future Design School to offer a different option to students that would be focused more on design and problem solving. And so being at an outdoor centre in the Caledon area and also travelling to Waterloo to go to the Google Headquarters. And then to work with Future Design School to decide on a problem each student would be able to come up with something they want to solve and hands on work with experts and develop a solution throughout the week as well as having community-building and outdoor activities. And so, yeah, I mean, I think Challenge Week really brings together the curriculum as well as the the social emotional learning for students, so learning about themselves, challenging themselves, and coming together with their peers, so community-building. I think all three of those elements are really there for Challenge Week throughout Grade 6 to 10. So that's the Middle School, that's the the grade-wide trips that happen in Middle School. And then in Grade 9 and Grade 10, there are about five or six choices that link to curriculum as well. And so for Grade 9, those choices are throughout Canada and they are linked into the ICE curriculum. And then the students are, as Reese mentioned, working on a culminating project. And so they're working on a film, a podcast, a magazine, and the ICE teachers are working with those students, you know, for months and months leading up to that for the whole school year to scaffold those skills. And then, after that, we have the the showcase of ICE Pics. So we get to see their experiences interviewing local experts and citizens and also having those experiences together that are also just really fun. So they get the evening activities of going bowling, exploring the local area, if it's in BC, or Alberta, Quebec, New Brunswick or Newfoundland. And then in Grade 10, each trip choice is linked to a course. So most recently, the trips were across North America. So there was different options. So we had two trips to New Orleans. One was focused on music and that's our Jazz Train trip. And so the students, they get to learn from and perform with musicians in New Orleans, they get to busk on the streets, they get to go to Preservation Hall, they get to go on a cruise and experience music in all different forms, they get to go to the Jazz Festival. It's always a trip that I've wanted to go on. They get a really great experience of music, both learning from and performing as a group.

Reese Feldberg: 17:20

So I was supposed to go on the Jazz Train trip to New Orleans. So our final was supposed to be we'd do a recording. We hadn't really done that much preparation, but we were starting to look at our setlist before March. But for one of our group pieces, we recorded it by ourselves, but our final summative was done - same thing with band, I think - they chose a song and recorded it, just them, and the teachers marked it.

Natasha Estey: 17:50

Oh, Reese, it's too bad you weren't able to go on the New Orleans trip. Sounds like you made the most of the situation, though. Andrea, what are some other experiential learning opportunities in Grade 10?

Andrea Lossing: 18:01

Resilience of a City is our World Issues Grade 10 trip. And so that has been going on for many years. And it's focused on climate change and the impacts of Hurricane Katrina, but also the resilience of the city of New Orleans. Our teachers have created really strong connections. So both in our Grade 9 and Grade 10 programmes, very strong community connections. Our students are really lucky to be able to get to know local politicians down in New Orleans and stay in The Bayou and get toured around by locals. And really, it's not superficial. They're actually really getting to, like, talk to and learn from locals that have great experiences to share and they get to learn about the impacts of climate change hands-on right there. As well, we have trips to Killarney where the students get to kind of walk in the footprints of the Group of Seven and explore visual art and do paintings and hiking and explore Killarney. We have a Phys Ed trip that is hiking on the Juan de Fuca Trail on Vancouver Island. Getting to experience that as a small group together of Grade 10's, I know that's been a really memorable and challenging trip. But leading up to it, students and teachers are working together throughout the school year for that hiking trip, to get their skills up to par and they're challenging themselves. And then we also have had a trip to Montreal every year that focuses on French language, French cooking, exploring Montreal and trying out different activities there from improv to getting to know the universities that are there, to expand their French language knowledge. So the the Challenge Week, I think it's always a very memorable experience for our students. I know at the end of their career at York, it's something that they speak about, highly and I always really enjoy- I'm kind of the mission control at the school, so I get to see what's happening through our teachers and supervisors tweeting and sharing their stories. And then afterwards at the end of the year showcases. It's an amazing programme that I think is very unique to The York School, where students get to really have that end-of-the-year experience that is going to stick with them for the rest of their lives.

Sara Gardner: 20:37

Natasha, something that I think is worth mentioning, you know, Challenge Week, when it was first envisioned by Barbara Goodwin-Ziebots, our Founder at The York School, the Challenge Weeks were not curriculum related. They were just sort of a week-long break in which students really worked on that personal level of challenge and took on different opportunities that were presented by the school to them. And I think the ICE programme is the first one that tied it to curriculum. And we thought it was this great opportunity to enrich what we were doing in the classroom and then combine, as Andrea mentioned, other activities that were fun too, that we're just community-building and personal building, like character-building.

Natasha Estey: 21:16

Mm hmm.

Sara Gardner: 21:17

But then, it's really a kudos to Andrea, I think, that she has really encouraged faculty to find ways to make these Challenge Week trips relate in a meaningful way to what students are doing in the classroom. Because, in the end, you know, when the trips themselves are so rich and wonderful, the students, I don't believe, see them as, ugh, my Challenge Week has been co-opted by the school. In fact, it's the opposite. It just makes the Challenge Week trip that much more exciting, because there's actual, you know, intellectually stimulating as well, it connects to what they're doing in the classroom, and when they come home, it makes what they're doing in the classroom that much richer too.

Andrea Lossing: 21:56

We are constantly evaluating and adjusting what we offer. And, you know, the ICE teachers, the teachers in the middle school years, the Grade 10 teachers, there's so much passion and enthusiasm to try new elements and to add different pieces in. We recently developed the New Brunswick trip for Grade 9. So Reese would have been the first class to go to New Brunswick. There was a trip to New Brunswick long ago, but we kind of brought it back and made it new again, and focused in on the marine biology and the fisheries there and the newcomers, the immigration. I think the ability to offer new options is also a testament to our faculty members, and their, you know, dedication to enhancing what we do.

Sara Gardner: 23:00

And also a testament to our students, right? They're all, it seems to me - like, I've worked now with these students for, I guess, for a long time now, but, you know - they're open to all kinds of new experiences all the time. And so, you know, Reese, when we present her with different things in the ICE programme, I'm sure there were times when she probably was thinking, why are we doing this? But I'm going to do it! I'm going to do it and I'm going to trust my teacher and see where this goes. And inevitably, I think, you know, things work out and it's worth it. But they're really open to new experiences and I really appreciate that about them.

Natasha Estey: 23:34

Reese, what are your thoughts on that? Has that been your experience?

Reese Feldberg: 23:39

Yeah, that's definitely been my experience, especially with winter camping. When I was first told about it was, like, I wasn't so sure. Then Prep Day happened, it was like, okay, maybe it'll be fine. My experience was a bit different because we did have the snowstorm, but we were still able to go for just a day-and-a-half. half.

Natasha Estey: 24:00

I remember that year. That was the big huge snowstorm year.

Reese Feldberg: 24:04

Yeah.

Natasha Estey: 24:04

And Sarah, there's an article that you'd published back in February, talking about the the winter camping trip in particular. And one of the things that you did talk about is how, you know, one of the big lessons offered by the Canadian winter is this idea of self-reliance. And you had acknowledged that these sorts of experiences that come through the ICE Programme's experiential learning opportunities - but I would also imagine more broadly with all these other amazing trips and experiences that Andrea has talked about - is really helping students learn how to, as you'd call it, discard the bubble wrap. So do you have any reflections on seeing how that's happened for students over the years?

Sara Gardner: 24:52

I think students, especially with the winter camping experience, I think students realize that they're much stronger than they give themselves credit for sometimes. In the city, living at home, going to school at The York School where they're very well supported, I think they assume they always need the support that they're getting. And when they're out winter camping, and they're cold, and the only thing that's going to work for them is to move around and keep themselves warm, they realize, oh, I can do that, and I will be okay. And not only am I going to be okay, I'm actually gonna have fun doing this, and no one's even doing it for me. I'm stronger and better because I'm sharing this with my peers, and they're around me, but really, it's on me. And when they come back, inevitably, they're very proud of themselves. And I think that they must carry that forward. They realize, you know, they are stronger than they know. There's one thing that I think of, and I think it's really the product of this kind of experiential learning, and it's the idea that, you know, the students - I see it when they finish ICE, when they graduate from ICE, but I think we see it in all aspects of our experiential programming - students, because they're learning in this mode, they really are - or they really do-become much more actively involved in the world around them. You know, fundamentally, when we promote exponential learning, we're getting kids to connect what they're doing in the classroom to the world. And they don't go back from that. Like them there, they are entrenched in the world, and they have a position in it and a place in it. And I think, for me, as a teacher, that's what makes me most excited. And at the end of the year, when we do have our showcase or ICE Pics night, it's what makes me most proud of our students. When I hear them reflect on the Canadian identity, what it means to be Canadian. They're so mature in what they have to say because they've been so actively engaged. And I think that's a real benefit of experiential learning.

Natasha Estey: 26:45

Yeah, it must be such a wonderful feeling of fulfilment, for sure, to to see it all come full circle that way as part of the journey.

Andrea Lossing: 26:56

Yeah, I was just gonna say, I think in the same way, just reflecting on, you know, I think of our class of 2020 that graduated, and they're sharing their memories. And it just reminded me that when I go into the classrooms of the Junior School students and we talk about their camp trips that we're going to be going on, just for one night or two nights, or even just a day experience, they're starting on a journey at The York School. And it's starting when they're in JK, because experiential learning is really, I think, what drives our teachers. And, you know, it is, again, that motto of Experience Teaches, is something that we live at The York School. And so, when I talk to the students that are in Grade 11 and 12, I'll say I'm heading to Norvel with our Grade 5's and they can remember their trip to Norvel and it's so vivid in their memories. You know, I think that is just such an important part of what we do and it makes me definitely nostalgic for those times. I think it really makes us appreciate those larger experiences that we're hoping to be able to get back to in the near future.

Natasha Estey: 28:13

Thank you all so much for this. I'm just even more excited about all the amazing opportunities that students have at The York School for these experiential learning trips. So thank you all very much for joining me today.

Sara Gardner: 28:30

Well, thank you for giving us time to showcase what our students are doing.

Andrea Lossing: 28:35

Yeah, thanks, Natasha.

Reese Feldberg: 28:36

Thank you.

Natasha Estey: 28:43

That's a wrap for a jam-packed and informative episode. Thank you for listening. And thanks again to ICE teacher, Sara Gardner, Trip and Camp Curriculum Coordinator, Andrea Lossing, and ICE alum, Reese Feldberg, for joining me today. You can read more about the ICE Programme and experiential learning at York by visiting our website www.yorkschool.com. To see experiential learning in action, search the hashtag #Yorklearns on Twitter and follow Sara Gardner @ICEGardner and Andrea Lossing @a_lossing. Find links to ICE films and other examples of experiential learning in the show notes. Visit YORK Talks online at www.yorkschool.com/YORKTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to YORK Talks where you get your podcasts and tell other families wanting to learn more about how The York School views education. I'm your host, Natasha Estey. I hope you enjoyed the conversation today. Please join us again for more YORK Talks.