# data[].attributes.body
In my class, named the Central Orientation Class (COC) by my school board, I teach the same group of English Language Learners (ELLs) Math, Science, and English. These are English Literacy Development students, meaning they have significant gaps in their prior education. Many of the students have suffered trauma. Along with being ELLs, some of these students have undiagnosed learning disabilities.

Last school year, to better understand sustainability, I put together a recycling project to tally the waste collected at the school. Our school didn't have recycling bins in major spots where students congregated, so the students thought we should focus on those bins and look at the amount of waste that could have been diverted using proper recycling. Using their data, students then made graphs and paired that with some English language objectives. Originally, only one group was going to make a video, but I ended up doing that with all three groups with another excellent experience.

Through a funding opportunity offered by an Itinerant Teacher of Experiential Learning in my school board, I was able to bring in a community group called Youth Active Media. Two facilitators helped my students to make videos on the importance of recycling. The videos were then played on the monitors throughout the school. It was a great experience for them not only in learning about sustainability, but also in media creation and story telling.

# data[].attributes.headline
Kara Peterson in "Nature, Nurture, Knowledge: The Promise of Experiential Learning for Students with Special Needs" (2011)

# data[].attributes.subject
Kara Peterson in "Nature, Nurture, Knowledge: The Promise of Experiential Learning for Students with Special Needs" (2011)

# data[].attributes.body
Peterson's paper reports that "outdoor, nature-based instruction ... assists students socially, emotionally, and academically" (32). She also concludes that "incorporating the environment and outdoors into teaching is an effective strategy to increase student achievement ... [and] improve student learning" (33).

Peterson's study focused on five students at Barnstaple Horace Mann Charter School in 2010 where students with significant disabilities attend. All five of the students were happier and focused better after they took learning outdoors.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Nature, nurture, knowledge_ the promise of experiential learning for students with special needs_.pdf

# data[].attributes.body
YES!

# data[].attributes.headline
Ontario Ministry of Education in "Community Connected Experiential Learning" (2016)

# data[].attributes.subject
Ontario Ministry of Education in "Community Connected Experiential Learning" (2016)

# data[].attributes.body
Students have "authentic learning experiences" (9).

This guiding document from the Ministry of Education asserts that through experiential learning as well as modern technology students are able to connect their learning with real-world examples immediately. Due to this, students are more engaged and see greater relevance to what they are learning.

# data[].attributes.headline
Ravindra Goonetilleke in "Make Impact with Experiential Learning" (2019)

# data[].attributes.subject
Ravindra Goonetilleke in "Make Impact with Experiential Learning" (2019)

# data[].attributes.body
"Learn to know. Learn to do. Learn to be. Learn to live together."

Goonetilleke is an instructor at the University of Hong Kong and he argues that experiential learning is the best way to teach students, especially through the asking of "Why?" questions. He asserts that a major benefit is that students will have increased empathy as they learn through experiences and collaborate with other individuals.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Make Impact with Experiential Learning | Ravindra Stephen Goonetilleke | TEDxEdUHK

# data[].attributes.headline
Ed Cooke in "Experiential Learning" (2019)

# data[].attributes.subject
Ed Cooke in "Experiential Learning" (2019)

# data[].attributes.body
"When you're bored by definition you're not learning; when you're not bored by definition you're learning."

Although in this video Cooke is focused on language acquisition, the idea that learners perform best when they are having fun can be applied to experiential learning for students with special needs. When students are having fun and don't feel as though learning is a chore, educational outcomes are better. This can happen successfully with experiential learning.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Experiential Learning | Ed Cooke | TEDxVeniceBeach

# data[].attributes.headline
Gerald D. Klein in "Student Disability and Experiential Education" (2009)

# data[].attributes.subject
Gerald D. Klein in "Student Disability and Experiential Education" (2009)

# data[].attributes.body
"Experiential learning involves a direct encounter with the phenomena being studied rather than merely thinking about the encounter ... it contributes significantly to the transfer of learning" (16).

Klein's article is focused entirely on students with disabilities in post-secondary education. Klein has a central argument that experiential learning improves academic performance in students with disabilities. However, it is important for the instructor to provide flexible and responsive accommodations for students with disabilities, otherwise the learning nor the experience will be as effective.

# data[].attributes.headline
Could activities related to sustainability help students with special needs learn through experiments?

# data[].attributes.subject
Could activities related to sustainability help students with special needs learn through experiments?

# data[].attributes.headline
Would having activities linked to nature or the environment better reach students with special needs?

# data[].attributes.subject
Would having activities linked to nature or the environment better reach students with special needs?