Inquiry of perception : grade seven students express their views of self in relation to more-than-human-life
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Issue Date
2018-01-16
Editor
Authors
Hollingsworth, Pamela Louise
License
Subject
art
ethnography
grade seven
more-than-human life
nature-based learning
phenomenology
ethnography
grade seven
more-than-human life
nature-based learning
phenomenology
Abstract
This research was conducted over the course of several weeks late in the 2016-2017 school year at Highlands Elementary School in the Edgemont Village community of North Vancouver, British Columbia. I took my grade seven class outside to a semi-natural woods within walking distance of the school. The students were given 20 minutes to be in nature, were asked to choose a more-than-human life form they felt attracted to and one they were repulsed by, complete (through writing) five open ended sentences and then discuss what they had experienced. Upon return to our indoor classroom, students were provided art supplies and asked to create art that expressed themselves in relation to more-than-human life and were later interviewed about their art. This qualitative, ethnographic case study is rooted in the traditions of phenomenology, nature and arts-based inquiry. The results of this research highlight the complex relationship these children have with the living world.