Program Details of the "Experiential Plant Learning Program Using the Five Senses (Junior High Department)"
Overview
Date
January 31, 2013
Location
Tsuchiura Special Needs Education School
Target Group
Students in the Junior High Department at Tsuchiura Special Needs Education School
Objective
Let's enjoy plants using all five senses! Experience plants through smelling, tasting, seeing, touching, and listening. Let's ask lots of questions and learn from the teachers at the Botanical Garden. Let's learn about many plants, including those
used in everyday life.
Program Details of the "Experiential Plant Learning Program Using the Five Senses (Junior High Department)"
Time
Learning Content and Activities
Teaching Strategies and Considerations
10:00 AM
Greeting and introduction of the botanical garden staff
Introduction of today’s theme
Four staff members will be in charge (normally three)
10:05 AM
Divide into three groups (4–7 participants per group) and begin activities:
(i) Plants to enjoy by touching
(ii) Plants to smell and taste
(iii) Plants useful in daily life
Activities were conducted in 10-minute rotations.
(i) Artemisia schmidtiana, succulents, cacti, and others.(ii) Herbs, garlic vine, jasmine flowers, sugarcane, grapefruit, coffee, and others.(iii) Soapberry, honey locust, various woods, and maracas made from fruits.
10:35 AM
Presentation of the plants that left the strongest impression
Introduction of large leaves, such as banana leaves
In some cases, it might have been better to conduct tasting activities altogether at the end for smoother flow.
10:40 AM
Closing remarks
Results of the Post-Program Teacher Survey
We will share the results of the post-program teacher survey .
Students who were able to follow instructions and participate independently
Junior High Department（ Group A : mainly composed of Students who were able to follow instructions and participate independently）
Q1: Were you able to experience plants using your sense of smell, taste, sight, touch, and hearing?
Yes
5
Somewhat
0
No
0
Q2: Were you able to learn that there are various plants and a variety of ways to use them?
Yes
4
Somewhat
0
No
1
Please tell us which plants the children enjoyed:
Plants useful for daily life ( bubble-forming plants: honey locust, Model airplanes: balsa wood, musical instruments)
Fragrant plants and edible plants (garlic vine, vanilla, grapefruit, mint)
Herbs in olfactory experiences , Large banana leaves.
Vanilla Xylophone (made from various types of wood).
Plants with pleasant scents, or trees you can enjoy tapping.
Please tell us which plants were most effective for learning and the reasons why:
Plants useful for daily life (Students were able to learn the unique characteristics of plants that are helpful in everyday living).
Plants with familiar scents (The scent of these plants was easily connected to foods in daily life, which sparked students’ interest).
Vanilla (Since vanilla is used in many products and its scent is well known, students were familiar with it).
plants with a scent (For example, some students clearly expressed dislike for strong-smelling plants like garlic, while they seemed to like the scent of vanilla and smelled it carefully).
Banana leaves and buds (Students were surprised by the size when they actually saw and touched them).
Spanish moss (Students enjoyed the texture, touching it and even placing it on their heads for fun).
Plants that did not attract much interest from the children, and possible reasons:
Children showed little interest in plants they could touch. However, they were interested in cotton.
If they had a little more time, the children might have taken the time to explore each one with genuine interest.
Balsa wood used for models (Children could feel how light it was, but since they had never played with a model before, it didn’t really click for them.)
Please share any positive points, areas for improvement, or requests regarding this program:
Having various activity sections within a single room allowed students to engage calmly and effectively, which I believe was beneficial.I felt this experiential learning approach aligned well with the students' needs.
If possible, I think it would have been more effective to schedule separate days for the elementary and junior high school divisions, allowing for a more relaxed pace of activities.
I think it was good for the children to experience various plants through their five senses.
It was unfortunate that the voices of the explanations overlapped because the space between tables was too narrow.
I think it would have been easier for our students to understand if we had narrowed down the number of plants a bit more, selecting just one species for each characteristic. For example, “rough plants,” “smooth plants,” “flowers with a pleasant scent,”
and “leaves with an unpleasant odor.”
If you could do this for about two years in a row, even with the same plant, I think the students would enjoy it even more.
One positive aspect was that the plants were divided into separate sections.
One area for improvement was that the plant names were somewhat difficult.
Some students tried to write down the names but couldn't recall them later. We thought it would be helpful to provide name tags that could be taken home from the site.
Students who required one-on-one support
Junior High Department（ Group B : mainly composed of students who required one-on-one support.）
Q1: Were you able to experience plants using your sense of smell, taste, sight, touch, and hearing?
Yes
5
Somewhat
3
No
0
Q2: Were you able to learn that there are various plants and a variety of ways to use them?
Yes
4
Somewhat
4
No
0
Please tell us which plants the children enjoyed:
The children enjoyed activities that involved using their bodies, such as making sounds by tapping wood or flying airplanes made of balsa wood.
The children thoroughly enjoyed the different textures.
Plants that become musical instruments , Airplanes.
Plants with enjoyable textures , Succulents (tactile)
Taste, Touch ,Vanilla (its aroma is easily recognizable and evokes ice cream).
Bananas (they could actually see and feel the size of the leaves and flowers).
Cactus-like plants, xylophone material.
Vanilla Beans
Rose Geranium
Please tell us which plants were most effective for learning and the reasons why:
When studying plants that use taste and smell, students actively participated in hands-on experiences and showed a proactive (enthusiastic) approach to learning.
Xylophone (because you can play it by hitting it).
Xylophone (The differences in sound and wood color were displayed side by side, making it easy to understand. We were able to experience striking it with force.)
Taste, touch (there are very few opportunities to experience plants in such a hands-on way).
Succulent plants (With their adorable shapes, children probably couldn't resist touching them. When they actually touched them, they seemed surprised that the sensation differed from what they had imagined).
I think it was good for the children to learn about the various plants.
They seemed to particularly enjoy plants and trees that make sounds (become musical instruments).
The plants used in detergent worked very well, as they clearly foamed when the plastic bottle was shaken, and the students were able to engage with the activity very effectively.
Wood (enjoyed its sound).
Students showed a strong reaction to plants with distinct odors, such as garlic and vanilla-scented plants. Even after the lesson, students shared impressions like, “It smells like vanilla ice cream...”
Plants that did not attract much interest from the children, and possible reasons:
The students showed interest in all sections.
The students seemed to be not very fond of plants with a strong leafy scent.
In the “Taste” section, many students didn’t seem to be very fond of the taste of grapefruit or sugarcane, and found it difficult to try new things.
In terms of “hearing” section I felt that my experiences and knowledge gained through previous learning activities resulted in a stronger reaction compared to other senses.
There was a student who had difficulty identifying scents.
In the “Touch” section, it seemed that few students reached out to touch the plants themselves. The students might have found it difficult to understand how the textures differed, as their image of “green” was strongly associated with the color of leaves.
Please share any positive points, areas for improvement, or requests regarding this program:
Many students were seen smiling brightly and happily playing (engaging) with learning activities that involved using their bodies and fingers (such as maracas, paper airplanes, and xylophones).
Depending on the actual circumstances of the junior high school, it may be appropriate to incorporate artistic learning as well.
We were able to engage in fulfilling plant studies through group-based learning. Thank you very much.
For students with severe disabilities, it is better to limit activities and proceed at a slower pace.
In everyday life and regular classes, I don't think we get to experience plants in such a hands-on way. Thank you for such a truly fun and interesting class.
I don't think we need that many varieties, but I would have preferred to take my time and do it more leisurely.
The large leaves were a hit, surprising the students.
Everyone was amazed by the huge leaves, saying “Wow!” I'm sure it was a lot of trouble to bring them here, but we really enjoyed them.
Everyone was very pleased with the souvenirs. Thank you very much.
It was really great to actually touch and smell the characteristics of each plant.
We were able to learn enjoyably using our senses like smell and taste.
The size of the banana leaves also made a strong visual impact, which was great.
(ii) Herbs, garlic vine, jasmine flowers, sugarcane, grapefruit, coffee, and others.
(iii) Soapberry, honey locust, various woods, and maracas made from fruits.
