It’s All About the Hook: Activating Kinesthetic Intelligence with Learning Adventures (South Carolina)

Profile

Doby’s Mill Elementary is a public school in Kershaw County, SC, and serves roughly 600 students from Pre-K to 5th grade.

Alixandra Little is a first grade teacher in Berkeley County, SC, with 12 years of instructional experience.

“Walkabouts’ activities get kids excited and engaged with the content quickly!”
– Alixandra Little

Challenge

Alixandra Little is a seasoned first grade teacher and knew that COVID restrictions plus her recent move to a smaller classroom required a fresh look at providing opportunities for her students to move their bodies. Though very familiar with Jean Blaydes Madigan’s research on Action-Based Learning and having developed tried-and-true activities with colleagues and teammates, Little wanted to breathe new life into her teacher toolbox and found Walkabouts.

Solution

Little signed up for a Walkabouts account via the South Carolina Innovation Grant Program. She noted that the online Walkabouts platform is easy to use and requires no additional training. After her students understood the Walkabouts format, they looked forward to each Walkabouts adventure and even cheered when Little started one and excitedly guessed the lesson’s avatar! Her students were hooked, engaged in learning, and activating their kinesthetic intelligence.

Additional Outcomes

The ability to employ Walkabouts' learning adventures as both a preview for new content and a review before the assessment was critical for Little. When playing a Walkabout, Little could see which of her students struggled with the concepts and who had a solid grasp of the content, making Walkabouts a great formative assessment tool.

“You can see what kids understand about a specific topic when it's introduced and adjust and modify your teaching and instruction based on what you see. Walkabouts allow you to get meaningful information about what students know."

Walksheets, worksheets that accompany Walkabouts activities, include a "just right" number of practice and application questions, empowering Little's students to feel successful when tackling new material without feeling frustrated or overwhelmed.

Finally, Little noted that her struggling students loved connecting Walkabouts and Walksheets to their current learning. The content available in Walkabouts lessons and Walksheets is accessible to learners of all ability levels and strengths.