Washington Sea Grant
So, what is it actually like to participate in a summer youth program?
OYPC got to join in on two virtual sessions this summer: one by Washington Sea Grant for DO-IT Scholars and one session with DO-IT Neuroscience for Neurodiverse Learners to learn first hand what it’s like to be a student participating in youth programming! Because DO-IT and WA Sea Grant are in partnership this year, both groups are DO-IT students and WA Sea Grant provided content for the DO-IT Scholars program.
In our session with WA Sea Grant, we got a tour of the rocky intertidal zone on the north end of Vashon Island with marine ecologist Jeff Adams.
As we all began to shuffle into the Zoom room, we were warmly greeted by the entire Washington Sea Grant team, Maile, Anita, and Lisa, as well as Alexis and Angela who are DO-IT Ambassadors.
Anita kicked off the exciting tour session by sharing the community contract and highlighting the agreements and expectations students created for one another. Community agreements allow students and staff to hold one another accountable to maintain a respectful, safe and comfortable class environment for everyone.
After the community contract recap, we got right into preparing to go on our virtual tour of Vashon Island’s coastline! Students were given links to rocky intertidal notes and a beach guide to prepare us for what we will be talking about and seeing during our tour.
Jeff joined us on the Zoom call right from the beach. Jeff’s personable approach in showing students the wildlife while also educating us through conversation made this tour engaging, interactive and most importantly, fun!
We got to see so many different organisms that many of us may not see or know about when visiting the same beaches ourselves. We got to see moon snails, sea stars, ship worms and so much more – all in real time with Jeff, and all via his phone!
Lisa, Maile and Anita acted as the facilitators for the sessions, prompting participation from the students, sharing resources and relaying questions to Jeff.
The session wrapped up with a recap allowing us to circle back to group conversations to share what we learned. We jotted down what we learned in a shared document and got to read what our peers learned as well. This served as a great way to capture information and check for comprehension with students, as well as providing an easy way to engage in an online environment.
What a great way to spend a morning. Thanks for an engaging and fun session, Jeff and the Washington Sea Grant team!
DO-IT Neuroscience for Neurodiverse Learners (NNL)
Our second sample session began with a fun question – “What are you drinking?” – to get our brains awake and ready to learn. In this session, Bree Callahan, the UW’s ADA Coordinator, spoke about accessibility and accommodations in college.
After introductions from Bree, we got into announcements and were reminded of our group norms, the chat function and Zoom icons. (We especially loved the use of emoji in the Zoom chat!) The purpose of this session was to help students feel confident about leaving high school and navigating the resources available in higher education to support them in their education. To allow Bree and the DO-IT staff to know us better, we were given interactive polls to answer anonymously.
We had a very honest conversation with Bree about the reality of college as someone who is neurodivergent. We learned that college is about independence, meaning that we have to take the lead in seeking and accepting support in our chosen institutions. It was emphasized that college is a privilege and that we are choosing to continue our education beyond what is required. Because college is not guaranteed, schools are more focused on providing equal access, but not necessarily equal success. For students with access needs, this can be a challenging switch from the K-12 environment.
Fortunately, programs like DO-IT exist to give students a taste of college-like environments that many students will experience in the future. For example, DO-IT hosts sessions in different campus spaces such as auditoriums and labs, exposing students to the campus environment and the experience of moving between locations on campus.
An important lesson learned was understanding that accommodations in college are not presented to students like a menu; accommodations are individualized based on your course of study and specific needs.
We finished the session with time to ask questions and a checklist on things to do to prepare for college and things to think about for those who might still be in the application process. With this session, students feel more confident and prepared to begin their new journeys!