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Leading a Project: Field Challenges? Creativity Is the Name of the Game!

In a conversation with a project leader, it became clear that the actual events, with the students in the field and in the classroom, give rise to fascinating and creative stories that illustrate just how important the ability to improvise is when leading a project to gain the most  from it for the students

Maya Benichou MB
Told by Maya Benichou
Noam Malkinson NM
Noam Malkinson
The story took place in Shorashim, Golan Heights, 6
Project Nature Observation
story image

As an educator and researcher, I was interested in the practical experience of leading the project, so I spoke with a project leader. I decided to share my impressions following an interesting conversation that led to several insights that others might also find interesting.

 

Logistical Challenges

 

Leading a project is no small feat. It requires careful preparation and clear coordination with the teachers involved in the class. It also requires advance logistical planning, such as ensuring that equipment, measurement tools, and collection materials, including binoculars, test tubes, and technological devices, are available and functioning properly. In challenging field conditions, such as winter puddles, it is important to make sure that waterproof clothing is available for students in all required sizes. Teachers should also be familiar with the data-processing software, so that educational continuity can be maintained over time, even after the scientist is no longer present. Finally, the scientific topic itself needs to be clear to the teachers, enabling them to support students in pursuing an ongoing research project.

 

The Challenges and Creativity on the Ground

 

And yet, no matter how clear the steps and logistics may be throughout the project, the dynamics of events on the ground give rise to many scenarios that are difficult to predict in advance, especially when dealing with a class of young and middle-aged students. When the situation is challenging, one creative way to overcome such situations is to involve the students in solving the unexpected situations. Is there a wide range of student abilities? It’s a good idea to delegate responsibilities according to those different abilities! (For example: assigning roles for those who are more handy responsiblity for the equipment, those good at writing are responsible for recording and documenting, and those good at math are responsible for counting items, etc.). Broken or insufficient equipment? Encourage students to think of ways to overcome the problem in the meantime! Cold and wet in puddles? Turn this experience into a positive one with an energizing game! Additional challenges? Encourage students to think like researchers!

 

Recommendation from the Project Leader

 

These are examples of challenges the project leader I spoke with faced and overcame in the field. The more familiarity and understanding there is of the project itself, clear overarching goals, and a general, determined positivity in leading the project—the more room there will be for creativity in making the necessary adjustments during activities with students and conveying to them the experience of real-world exploration.

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