Hold Onto Your Sails! Experiential Learning is Taking a New Turn in The Hive

Understanding how much benefit the kids reap from actively experiencing their learning through PBLs, design thinking and field experiences (even when field experiences happen via Skype), we hoisted our sails as teachers presented learners with a new way to experience their learning: through interactive simulations. As we continue to strive to foster deep and meaningful learning, we find that interactive simulations really seem to hit the mark when it comes to exploring historical events. They can be both motivating and empowering, providing opportunities for learners to put their investigative interests and skills to work, to take on responsible roles and develop important critical thinking and problem-solving skills as a result of their interaction.  

This week, learners engaged in two different interactive simulations that offered them an opportunity to deepen their understanding of some of the challenges that early European explorers faced during their expeditions to the "New World". This week's guest bloggers reflect on their experiences. 

The simulations helped me to understand how hard it must have been for explorers to try and find land, explore, and be successful. I didn't know that explorers first had to find someone to finance their expeditions, that they had to load certain supplies on their ships and after they were at sea, their boat could sink, they could run out of supplies, or they might not find new territories or resources and be unsuccessful. I think the biggest challenge for explorers was finding someone to finance their expeditions.    - "Cat"

These simulations helped me to better understand what explorers might have experienced on their voyages to the New World because I realized how hard it was for them to navigate without a lot of knowledge about where they were going (they did not have the best maps). Also, they didn't know how long they would be at sea and they could run out of food and supplies. In my opinion, the biggest challenge that explorers faced while they were at sea was keeping morale high.     - "Blinga"

The simulations helped me understand how hard it must have been for the explorers - something I never thought of. I learned that a lot of bad things would happen on their voyages because they didn't have the technology to help them navigate. In my opinion, some of the biggest challenges explorers faced while they were at sea were getting blown off course or running out of supplies.      - "Clover"

The simulations helped to develop my understanding of what explorers might have experienced when coming to the New World because during the simulations, I kept going back and forth between "Europe" and "Visit With the Royals", which meant that it must have been hard to get funding for expeditions. I also learned that if you didn't have a reliable crew, your expedition would not go very well. In my opinion, the biggest challenge or obstacle that explorers faced was keeping the crew's morale high and the possibility that they would run out of supplies.      - "Glisten"

These simulations helped me to understand some of the challenges that explorers faced while at sea. It was important for everyone on board to do their job correctly because the rest of the crew was relying on you. In my opinion, the biggest challenge that explorers faced on their voyages was keeping the food from spoiling and eating only a little bit at a time so that they didn't run out of it before they got to their destination.     - "Water"

The simulations helped me develop a better understanding of how hard it actually was to get across the Atlantic Ocean. For example, their caravels could freeze in the ice (navigating through the Northwest Passage) and they could be stuck in it for a long time, sometimes years. I think the most challenging obstacle that the explorers faced was the lack of food on their ships. If they ran out, they could starve to death - especially if they were stuck in the ice for a really long time.      - "Wifi"

In my opinion, the biggest problem that explorers faced on their expeditions was keeping morale high so that their crews would not commit mutiny.    - "Yo!"

The simulations helped me to better understand some of the problems that explorers experienced while at sea, like running out of supplies, weather, and going off course. In my opinion, the biggest challenge for explorers was trying to keep the food from going bad.     - "Fia"

The simulations helped me learn a lot about what explorers experienced on their expeditions to the New World. I learned that keeping the crew's morale high was really important, otherwise, they might commit mutiny. Lots of sailors would get seasick on their journeys and that made things worse for the crew. In my opinion, I think the biggest challenges that explorers faced were getting funding for their expeditions and not finding new land or territory to claim.     - "Cheese"

In my opinion, the biggest challenge that explorers faced was navigating their ships because maps weren't that helpful back then and they did not have a lot of tools to help them find new land.    - "Champ"