Learning By Doing

Experiential Learning at Its Best

At Rowland Hall, field studies begin as early as 3PreK and continue through high school, with trips to theaters, science and art museums, governmental landmarks and offices, and—perhaps most notably—the natural wonders of Utah and the Intermountain West. Students from grades 1–8 enjoy a variety of sports experiences for five weeks every January and February through the Winter Sports program. Overnight trips, beginning in Middle School, take our students on excursions that include curricular themes, welcome new friends into each grade level, and strengthen the bonds between teachers and students.

Rowmark Ski Academy, athletic teams, debate, the World Language Department, and the service-learning program also take advantage, when appropriate, of statewide, regional, national, and global opportunities for competition, service, or connection to academic studies.

Experiential Learning defined

Experiential learning is the process of learning by doing. Distinct from rote learning (where students are passive in the learning process), experiential learning develops new ways of thinking, persistence, and autonomous learning. Best of all, when students understand the relevance of what they're learning, they're more engaged.

School Trips

Middle School

  • Sixth grade: Weeklong Wasatch Adventure filled with paddling, rafting, climbing, and exploring in and around the Wasatch Front
  • Seventh Grade: Weeklong adventure with four nights at the Teton Science School in Jackson Hole, Wyoming
  • Eighth Grade: Nearly a week in Washington, DC, exploring the rich experiences of our nation’s capital

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Upper School

To kick off their high school career, ninth graders spend four days at YMCA Camp Roger in the Uinta Mountains for class bonding and interdisciplinary studies, from botany and geology to history and art.

Ninth through eleventh graders enjoy Interim, a weeklong exploratory program unique among Utah schools. Students have the option of participating in a variety of in-town and out-of-town experiences such as film studies and videography, hiking in Moab, and world-language immersion.

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Experiential Learning Stories from Fine Print Magazine

Three Rowland Hall seventh graders work on an invasive species bug trap.

Utah has seen an influx of new residents in recent years—and not all of them have been welcomed with open arms.

Balsam woolly adelgids, fox squirrels, field bindweed, quagga mussels, and other invasive species have found comfortable homes in the state, and in some cases have made life difficult for native species by competing with them for limited resources. It’s a real problem, and it recently presented a perfect project-based learning opportunity for students in the seventh grade. Science teacher Lindsay Mackintosh challenged her students to use skills from across the curriculum to find a solution and put it into action—and maybe even impress scientists working in the field.

“The students designed and built traps to capture invasive insect species, and help ecosystems be more biodiverse by limiting their impact,” said Lindsay. “This required them to explore engineering concepts to research, build, and revise their traps.”

Engineering helps students become problem solvers and think critically..—Lindsay Mackintosh, seventh-grade science teacher

Engineering may appear to be an advanced topic for seventh graders, but these kids were up to the challenge. It all comes down to problem solving in a methodical way, while at the same time considering numerous possibilities. That’s why increasing engineering opportunities is expressly mentioned in the school’s strategic priorities.

“In making these traps they had to consider some constraints but also had freedom to be creative,” Lindsay said. “Engineering helps students become problem solvers and think critically.”

Research was the first order of business for the students, as all bugs can’t be caught the same way. “We had to do a lot of research so we could engineer the trap around the bug,” said seventh grader Atticus P., whose group chose the elm seed bug as their target. “We had to figure out, What does it eat? Where does it live?, and other things like that so we could catch it.”

The design and build process came next, with students doing multiple concept sketches and revisions before building their first prototype. There were lots of different factors to consider when coming up with designs. Students only had ten dollars total to spend on materials for their traps, and that wasn’t the only practical concern facing them.

A group of Rowland Hall middle schoolers collaborate on their invasive bug trap project.


“We had to think about where we would put it,” said seventh grader Ben D. “We had to think about how it would be sustainable so the wind or rain wouldn’t destroy it. We had to think about so many different things when creating a good and effective trap.”

Once the first prototypes were built most students found themselves going back to the drawing board. While that may have been frustrating for some, it was a valuable lesson that engineering is not a linear process. “Some groups had to make drastic changes when they saw their first prototype,” said Lindsay. “It was interesting to see them walk through this process and decide what changes they want to make.”

We took our mistakes, and we turned it into something better.—Harper J., class of 2029

“Our prototype was trash. It was really bad,” said seventh grader Harper J., who was in a group chasing down Japanese beetles. “We used Saran wrap to keep them from getting out, but it was too sticky, so we switched that out to mesh. We took our mistakes, and we turned it into something better.”

Students started their bug studies at the beginning of the school year, perfecting them by mid-November. Then it was time to present their inventions to scientists from the University of Utah who study invasive species. This is when they learned that you can have a great idea, but that might not matter if you don’t know how to communicate it. Presentation preparation built upon lessons the students had already learned as part of their writing curriculum, and seventh-grade English teacher Jill Gerber helped them apply those skills to the science realm.“We talk a lot about task, audience, and purpose in class,” said Jill. “That’s what they had to do here. Identify their key points and have a clear idea and message going into the presentations so their audience would come away understanding their content.”

This shift from focusing on their content to focusing on how the audience received it meant the students had to change the way they viewed the project. While they had a wealth of information about their bugs, the invasive species problem, and their design and construction process, all of that data could now be a hindrance to clearly and succinctly communicating their message.

“Our goal was to tell everyone how the trap worked, and what the purpose of the trap was, and how we would get the bugs to the trap,” said seventh grader Stella O. “We had to take a lot of information about the bugs out because the main purpose of the presentation was talking about the trap.”

In the end the presentations were successful, and the students not only got to show off their work, but also interact with working scientists. Additionally, they got a deeper understanding of how all learning is connected and, when used together, is greater than the sum of its parts: problem-solving skills learned in the science classroom can be applied to other subjects, and communication skills from English can be used to get messages across in any field. It’s a kind of understanding that’s already gone far beyond this fall project, continuing to benefit students in the second half of the year—and will undoubtedly continue to do so beyond seventh grade.

“Layering skills and concepts is something I know we all try to do,” said Lindsay. “That way we are giving students skills that are transferable and can be used across the curriculum and outside the classroom.”

It all adds up to creating people the world needs, whether they are building bug traps to combat invasive species or shaping solutions to the world’s hardest problems.

Authentic Learning

Rowland Hall fifth graders gather on the banks of the Salt Lake Valley's Jordan River.

Tribulus terrestris is a deceptively lovely plant.

It fans out across surfaces with delicate fern-like leaves and, when in full bloom, displays tiny and charming yellow flowers.

Under the surface, though, this plant is a nightmare. More commonly known by names like goathead, tackweed, devil’s weed, and puncturevine, it has learned to adapt to almost any environment, pushing out native plants in its wake. It also has a myriad of defenses, making it hard to kill. Students in Rowland Hall’s fifth grade can tell you all about it. The first problem? The thorns.

“The thorns can get stuck in tires and shoes and all sorts of things,” said fifth grader August P. “It was sharp enough that it would just go through your gloved hands when you were pulling it. It went through the trash bags too.”

Hannah Blomgren got the fifth graders involved in puncturevine eradication efforts after seeing the vine’s damage on the trails along the river and realizing how perfectly the situation illustrated lessons she was teaching about the problem of invasive plants in Utah.

The roots also pose an issue. They go deep into the soil and spread around the plant in all directions. “You have to get all the roots,” said Katie P. “If you leave any of the puncturevine it’s going to regrow. It’s hard to pull it all out. Some of them were very heavy and bigger than they looked.”

The students battled the prolific and hazardous weed this fall as part of the Jordan River Commission’s puncturevine eradication efforts. Science Specialist Hannah Blomgren got the fifth graders involved after seeing the vine’s damage on the trails along the river and realizing how perfectly the situation illustrated lessons she was teaching about the problem of invasive plants in Utah.

“In fifth grade, we talk about what plants need to survive, and how invasive species use up the nutrients native plants need,” Hannah said. “We also discuss the environmental impacts involved, like erosion, especially in river areas.”

So in late September, the grade headed to Jordan Park on the west side of Salt Lake City to help remove the vines from fields and riverbanks. While working to pull the puncturevine, the students quickly learned that the tools provided to them (basic two-prong weed pullers) were not up to the task. “We noticed seeds were being left behind,” said Freya S. “We needed a machine that would pull out the roots, but then vacuum up the seeds too.”

Rowland Hall fifth graders show puncturevine gathered from trails around the Jordan River.

Fifth graders show off massive puncturevine growths gathered on a soccer field near the Jordan River.


Luckily for the students, TREC (technology, robotics, engineering, coding) teacher Kaelis Sandstrom had joined them for their field trip and was ready to help them design better tools for the job. After returning to campus, the students were given class time to build their own. Using LEGOs and basic building materials, the kids built models of their ideal puncturevine pullers. Groups came up with lots of ideas, like a puncturevine-sensing drone that could destroy the weed on sight, or a robot that looked like a small animal but was designed low to the ground to successfully get under the vines and pull them out. Since coming back from the field trip, the students have continued working on these designs in the TREC Lab on campus, working through design issues and developing new prototypes. 

They’re taking on the engineering process. They are learning you can build something really cool in a short amount of time, but in order for something to be lasting and useful, it takes time and work. And they’re learning that they can take on local problems here in Utah.—Kaelis Sandstrom, TREC teacher

“They’re taking on the engineering process,” Kaelis said. “They are learning you can build something really cool in a short amount of time, but in order for something to be lasting and useful, it takes time and work. And they’re learning that they can take on local problems here in Utah.”

Community engagement was a big reason for getting the students involved in the puncturevine eradication efforts. Part of Rowland Hall’s first strategic priority is about cultivating community partnerships, and the students did just that in a part of the city many had not visited before.

“We wanted to tie this into the idea of all of us being a part of a community or an ecosystem,” said fifth-grade teacher Samantha Hemphill. “One area where they were working was a soccer field, and so pulling out the puncturevine and helping the people who would play there made it feel important.”

In addition to the time spent working, the students also got to spend time exploring the International Peace Gardens, a site on the banks of the Jordan River that features different areas devoted to the diverse populations that call Utah home. Fifth-grade teacher Rachel Slivnick said the visit highlighted lessons the kids were learning in social studies at that time.

“We had talked a lot about the idea of windows and mirrors, learning about how their cultures can be both a window into a different way of life and also a mirror that reflects your own values and the things that are important to you,” said Rachel. “So, at the International Peace Gardens, it was almost like a scavenger hunt or a treasure hunt, identifying what makes cultures unique and how students could relate to them.”

The students aren’t done with their work along the Jordan River. In the spring they plan to return, not to pull out plants but to place new ones. They will be planting trees in the area along with their kindergarten buddies. And their impacts on the community go beyond the banks of the river. You see, puncturevine has a bounty on its leaves, and the students received two dollars a pound for the plants they pulled. A grand total of $204 will be donated to the school on their behalf, and they have lots of ideas on how it could be used.

“Maybe they use some of it for the new Upper School,” said fifth-grader Aster S.

Tribulus terrestris is a terrible plant, but Rowland Hall’s fifth grade may have helped stop its spread. At the same time, the lessons they learned planted seeds that have already grown roots, sprouted, and will continue to grow for years to come.

STEM

Rowland Hall ninth graders hike Utah's Uinta Mountains near Camp Roger.

Kicked off in 2013, the annual ninth-grade Camp Roger trip is a special experience for the newest members of the Upper School community.

Camp Roger, which took the place of the annual Southern Utah trip led by the late Peter Hayes, offers ninth graders an unforgettable chance to come together in a natural setting to learn and build community as they establish connections and bonds they’ll carry through their Upper School experiences.

The Camp Roger itinerary was revised to better complement the ninth-grade curriculum, to emphasize points of connection among students and teachers, to strengthen the place-space aspect of the experience, and to add opportunities to break down learning silos, enabling learners to find connections among subjects and apply them to real-world scenarios.

And while Camp Roger has long been a thoughtful opportunity to build on on-campus learning and community, this year a group of Rowland Hall educators—Rob Wilson (biology/climate studies), Ben Smith (computer science), Ryan Hoglund (ethical education), Joel Long (English/creative writing), and Laura Meyer (science)—came together to find ways to further strengthen the experience for students.

Thanks to the generosity of the school’s Bamberger grant program, sponsored by the Ruth Eleanor Bamberger and John Ernest Bamberger Memorial Foundation as a way to support teachers’ professional growth over the summer, the group spent time in summer 2023 rethinking the Camp Roger trip itinerary. They revised it to better complement the ninth-grade curriculum and emphasized points of connection among students and teachers, as well as the place-space aspect of the experience—the idea that what students learn in school is relevant in where they live. They also looked for further opportunities to break down learning silos, enabling learners to better find connections among a variety of subjects and to apply them to real-world scenarios

Among the outcomes of this work was a 38-page field notes document that guided this year’s experience, housing not only the trip’s lessons, schedules, and group duties, but also space in which students could record thoughts and observations as they made their way through seven rotations that built both hard skills and self-understanding—areas they’ll need as they continue to identify and build on their individual strengths, develop their voices, and find their leadership skills.

Below, three ninth graders share their reflections on their Camp Roger experiences. Responses have been lightly edited.

Rowland Hall students learning on the banks of the Provo River.

Ninth graders enjoying a rotation about stream flow on the bank of the Provo River. This year's rotations were cartography, hiking, timber cruising, water flow, team building, EARTH, and watercolor. Enjoy more Camp Roger photos in this year's Beyond the Classroom story.



Much of the Camp Roger experience is about building community with other Upper School students. What moments from camp were especially important to you when it came to building community and how do you think those moments will play a role during your time in the Upper School?

“Moments from camp that helped build the community in Upper School for me were being in a cabin with people that I haven’t spent too much time with and might not have gotten to know without sharing a cabin with them. The talent show as well helped build community because we were all just there to share with people and have a good time. These moments will play a role throughout Upper School by improving relationships and memories between people. We now all have memories that we all share with each other and can remember or discuss.”
– Mina Granger

“Some moments from camp that were especially important to me when it came to building community happened during our recreation time, when we were done with everything we had to do for the day and we could all just have fun with each other. I think these moments will play an important role in my time in the Upper School in the way that my community sees me, because I feel like they taught everyone a lot about me, and me a lot about them.”
– Grey Obermark

“It showed who would stay with you up in the middle of nowhere with only a volleyball, a bed, and bad food. I love that it shows people what you're made of—doesn't matter if you're a frequent camper or a first timer, the mental challenges/stress is hard for everyone. It allows you to be closer. I said things up there to people I had only known in the past few minutes that I wouldn't dare to down here.”
– Jacob Gerhardt

How did your Camp Roger experience teach you to think beyond first impressions? How will you apply this to your learning this year?

“This trip has taught me that you should always consider the bigger picture and impact everything has, rather than focusing on the object or person in one part. This will help me in the future by making me look at many different and close details in classwork and allow me to see the whole picture as well as small parts of that picture.”
– Mina Granger

“It changed how I see water. A lot more water goes down that stream every second than I thought.”
– Jacob Gerhardt

How did you surprise yourself at Camp Roger? What did you learn in that moment and what did it teach you about who you are as a person, learner, and community member?

“During Camp Roger I didn’t feel too well and got pretty sick, but I surprised myself by still going on the hike even though I wasn’t feeling up to it. It showed me perseverance in a harder time for me and I eventually did accomplish it proving that I can accomplish hard things and I shouldn’t give up just because of an inconvenience.”
– Mina Granger

“I surprised myself at Camp Roger because I realized how much nature was in my day to day life. I spent so much of my time at the start of the trip paying attention to myself that I almost forgot to pay attention to the world around me. But when I finally did, it was beautiful. Nature tends to really surprise you like that. It taught me that maybe I needed to look around more, that maybe there were more things to learn about the world than what I’d like to see, and that maybe my community isn’t as different from me as I might have thought.”
– Grey Obermark

“It taught me it doesn't always have to be your friends, or in my case, my brother, that I hang out with. Everyone here is a spectacular person that you could talk to, no matter what age, for hours on end.”
– Jacob Gerhardt

Community

Rowland Hall senior Diego Ize-Cedillo in front of People's Health Clinic in Park City, UT.

For 10 years and counting, Rowland Hall’s Upper School internship program has played a role in shaping the people our world needs.

Established in summer 2013 (then known as Project 12, a senior job shadow program), the summer internship program has exposed more than 150 Rowland Hall sophomores, juniors, and seniors to a variety of careers, helping them build real-world skills, explore professions, and even uncover their passions. And the program’s future continues to look bright: this summer, which marked its 10th anniversary, the program had its highest number of participants to date.

English and publications teacher Dr. Laura Johnson, known as LBJ to students, manages the internship program and sees the many benefits these opportunities provide to Rowland Hall students who are thinking about their future careers and the impact they could have.

“Through our internship program, students get exposure to various professions and what going into those professions entails,” said Dr. Johnson. “They see in real time where there are gaps in our systems—medical systems, social systems, governmental systems, and so on—and consider the roles they might play in filling those gaps.”

Through our internship program, students get exposure to various professions and what going into those professions entails. They see in real time where there are gaps in our systems—medical systems, social systems, governmental systems, and so on—and consider the roles they might play in filling those gaps.—Dr. Laura Johnson, English and publications teacher, internship program manager

And while students often come to Dr. Johnson for help in finding internships that meet their interests or career goals, it can work the other way around too. This was certainly the case for now-senior Diego Ize-Cedillo, who, in spring 2023, was approached by Dr. Johnson about a new opportunity for the Rowland Hall internship program. People’s Health Clinic, a nonprofit medical clinic in Park City that provides high quality, no-cost health care to uninsured residents of Summit and Wasatch Counties, was looking for volunteer medical assistants, and because such a high percentage of the clinic’s patients speak Spanish, they wanted a fluent Spanish speaker. Many Upper School teachers, including Dr. Johnson, thought Diego, who is bilingual as well as emotionally mature, empathetic, and curious, may be the right fit for the role. And although Diego, who comes from a family of medical professionals, hadn’t considered a career in medicine, he was excited about the opportunity—especially because it would allow him to share his language skills in a way that would give back to the Park City community, where he and his family live.

“LBJ brought it to me and it was such a good fit,” said Diego. “I was like, ‘That sounds so cool.’” It would also give him the chance to learn more about People’s Health Clinic, a community resource he was shocked he hadn’t known existed until then. “It showed my ignorance,” he said.

So for three months this summer, Diego rose early to report to People’s Health Clinic at 8 am, where he’d receive his daily assignment. (Diego worked five half days each week, and though his title was volunteer medical assistant, he was paid for his work.) As an intern, Diego provided both administrative support (answering phones, scheduling appointments, notifying patients of lab results) and was trained to assist doctors by taking vitals, completing patients’ medical history questionnaires and depression/anxiety screenings, charting, and acting as a translator during appointments, among other duties. Diego said this work could be nerve-racking at times, given doctors’ seniority and knowledge, and because he knew he was responsible for providing accurate, thorough information to provide the best care to patients. “There’s this sense of accountability—real mistakes have real consequences and can affect people's health,” he explained.

But even though the role could be intimidating, Diego also understood what an incredible opportunity it offered him to get hands-on experience in a variety of medical specialties, and to be coached by the People’s Health Clinic team. “I had great mentors who showed me how to do everything,” he said.

Beyond the hard medical skills he gained, though, what Diego may be most grateful for from his unexpected internship is how it opened his eyes to the most vulnerable in his community. “People’s Health Clinic is really trying to help a population that sometimes people choose to not see,” said Diego, despite the fact that these community members play vital roles in the tourism industry that Park City is known for. The clinic even goes beyond providing high-quality, essential medical care by helping patients find resources that support their overall well-being.

“What’s really important to the clinic are social questions: Who’s running out of food? Who needs a stable place to live? Who’s struggling with transportation?” said Diego. He saw firsthand how the clinic works to acknowledge and care for all community members as part of health care. “Empathy is essential in order to provide good quality care,” explained Diego in an internship reflection assignment. “I saw how the doctors … took the time to empathize with everyone, asking them about their living situations, food insecurity, and issues with transportation, as well as truly dedicating time and energy to finding the best course of treatment.”

Dr. Johnson said this kind of understanding about one’s ability to make the world a better place within a chosen profession is a strong takeaway for many Rowland Hall interns. “I’ve watched students become fired up to address inequities in nursing care, or to follow in their mentors' footsteps to create a more representative democracy at the state level,” she said. “On the ground, they see the kinds of people the world needs, often in their mentors; they see the need for more such people; and they see how they can continue and further the kinds of projects they contribute to over one high school summer.”

Diego Ize-Cedillo, Rowland Hall class of 2024, takes a selfie at his internship at People's Health Clinic.

Diego takes a selfie in a People's Health Clinic exam room.


Dr. Mairi Leining, chief executive officer of People’s Health Clinic and a Rowland Hall parent and trustee, said she’s touched by Diego’s takeaways from his summer at the clinic. “That’s the awareness that comes with working with the vulnerable population, and it speaks to how important it is to work for nonprofits addressing these needs,” she said. Dr. Leining also complimented Diego’s work, calling him an exceptional intern and praising his natural ability to connect with patients, to break down medical conversations for them, and to make them feel comfortable.

“He was responsible, dedicated to the patients and the importance of his role,” she shared. “He was able to adapt to challenging patient situations very quickly and with a maturity that I haven’t seen out of high school students in the past. It wasn’t just his Spanish skills, but his intuition in helping patients and discerning urgent from not urgent—usually you need a lot of clinical experience to know how to react to these situations.”

In turn, Diego is grateful for People’s Health Clinic’s patients and the many lessons they taught him this summer.

These mentors have inspired my future professional goals. What's more clear than ever to me is that I want to dedicate my life to doing something that helps people on the ground. I think this will be the key to a fulfilled life, and I look forward to finding out how I will help the world be a better place for everyone.—Diego Ize-Cedillo, class of 2024

“The patients taught me the value of shared humanity and of realizing that we might be different—we might not go to the same schools or interact often—but in the end, everyone is human and has this essential right to health care,” he said. “In a world so polarized, this experience showed me we need to realize that divisions and differences are superficial, and creating the world we want requires a recognized shared humanity—realizing that in the end we are all human and we all have undeniable human rights. In its simplest form: we need to be kind to each other now more than ever.”

Diego expressed his gratitude to all who made this valuable internship experience possible and said he hopes to return to the clinic as a volunteer after graduating in June. Whatever lies ahead, he shared, he knows he’ll carry the experience with him and it will shape his future.

“I want people to know how grateful I am to LBJ and all the mentors at the clinic for such a unique opportunity,” said Diego. “Please, know how grateful I am for my invaluable time at the clinic, and that I left with this sense that there are such good people in this world—people who are so kind and so selfless and dedicated to others. These mentors have inspired my future professional goals. What's more clear than ever to me is that I want to dedicate my life to doing something that helps people on the ground. I think this will be the key to a fulfilled life, and I look forward to finding out how I will help the world be a better place for everyone.”


Are you a Rowland Hall student or parent who’s interested in the Upper School internship program? Check out our internship web page to view available opportunities or reach out to Dr. Laura Johnson for help finding an internship that meets your interests.

We are also always looking for professionals who are willing to host Rowland Hall interns. Submit your internship opportunity.

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