Before launching the station at Sheep Show, WSF Youth Education Coordinator Ryan Brock piloted the experience with fourth-grade students at Mt. Rose K-12 School of Languages in Reno, Nevada.
Because the presentation was incorporated into the students’ science curriculum, the visit provided an excellent opportunity to measure what students learned. Students completed a pre-assessment before the lesson and a post-assessment afterward, allowing teachers and WSF to see the impact of a hands-on experience followed up by the video that was created just for this challenge.
The visit also served another important purpose: testing the potential for bringing wild sheep education to classrooms beyond a single school or community.
While Brock conducted the hands-on lesson in one classroom, students in another classroom participated through a live digital connection. The pilot provided an opportunity to work through the logistics of using the school district’s Microsoft Teams platform to broadcast an interactive lesson to multiple classrooms.
The setup also demonstrated some of the advantages of conducting a program within the same school. After Brock used the hands-on materials in one classroom, a teacher was able to take those materials down the hallway so students in the second classroom could have a similar experience. Brock then visited the second classroom following the presentation to answer students’ questions in person.
The successful pilot showed tremendous potential for a much larger program.
The goal is to eventually connect with classrooms across the school district where students are currently studying a common unit on National Parks. WSF will serve as the expert on one of the mammals students might encounter in these protected areas: wild sheep.