Home News SCHOOLS WIN CAMP DISCOVERY VIRTUAL FIELD STUDIES

SCHOOLS WIN CAMP DISCOVERY VIRTUAL FIELD STUDIES

12/14/2020

Inspired by the dedication of teachers to their students and profession during the pandemic, Camp Discovery officials decided to honor them by donating virtual field studies for their classes. Three lucky classes in Richland Two won Camp Discovery’s American Education Week "Virtual Field Study" giveaway in November. Camp Discovery has developed a collection of asynchronous instructional units to further enrich student learning. The Virtual Field Study winners are Ny'Asia Milton’s third grade class at Killian Elementary School, Casey Avant’s 2nd/3rd grade Montessori class at Pontiac Elementary School, and Sarah Campolongo’s fifth grade class at Bookman Road Elementary School.

Camp Discovery Program Facilitator Heather Phelps says they have been touched by the countless stories of teachers going above and beyond to ensure that their students are engaged, connected, and learning. While the field studies may look a little different at this moment in time, she says, the learning, connections, and discussion are just as rich.

“We created an array of both live, facilitated, ‘Friends of the Forest’ field studies as well as pre-recorded, on-demand style programs that have transformed our most popular in-person field studies into virtual experiences. Our very first synchronous field study debuted at the ZooBot Magnet Program at Longleaf Middle School earlier this fall thanks to the generous support from the Richland County Conservation Commission,” said Phelps.

Killian Elementary School teacher Ny’Asia Milton says, “I am very excited to start this virtual field study with my students. I love that making learning fun can be done in so many ways. I know my students will have a blast.”

Richland Two won three of the five virtual field studies donated by Camp Discovery, which is located in Blythewood on a 116 acre property.