Experiential Learning at Its Best

It’s not every day you get to be among a first group of performers who premiere a song, but that’s exactly what happened to this year’s fourth graders.

That song, The Great Salt Lake by local composer, and former principal oboist of the Utah Symphony, Robert Stephenson, was recently shared for the first time with the Rowland Hall community on Thursday, February 27. On that lovely late winter day, families, faculty, staff, and even two classes of beginning schoolers gathered in St. Margaret’s Chapel on the McCarthey Campus. As the afternoon light gently streamed through the stained glass windows, the accompanist began to play and the students’ voices joined together.

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“Once covered by Lake Bonneville, above the waves eleven rise,” they began. “The islands of the Great Salt Lake reaching for the skies.”

As they sang through each movement, the students led the audience on a tour of the famous lake: its islands and the many creatures that call them home, its essential role in bird migration, its conservation needs. It was an honor for those gathered to witness the piece’s first public performance, as well as to learn how this opportunity came to be.

It all started with a trip to the Great Salt Lake.

Any time we can get them out in the field, it’s huge.—Haas Pectol, fourth-grade teacher

Each September, Rowland Hall’s fourth graders, joined by 10th-grade learning buddies, travel to the Great Salt Lake for a field study of the lake’s ecosystem, history, and impact. This trip, one of many the grade takes during the year as they study Utah’s past and present, is designed to engage students’ senses as they connect their in-class learning to a local landmark.

“Any time we can get them out in the field, it’s huge,” said fourth-grade teacher Haas Pectol, as these experiential learning opportunities invite students to engage their senses, which helps them more easily grasp concepts, make connections, and care about the subject at hand.

At the lake, teachers encouraged sense engagement by having students make scientific observations through the I see, I think, I wonder lens. As they named what they saw, the students began to notice more in the environment around them. They noted their observations as they walked. We wonder, they wrote, why so many dead brine shrimp are floating around … why the sand has waves … how dead fish got out so far … why it smells so bad. 

“I looked at it with a new perspective because we were learning about it while we were there,” remembered fourth grader Jojo T.

Ryan Hoglund, director of community engagement and impact, said sensory learning approaches like I see, I think, I wonder are powerful when it comes to building lifelong learners and critical thinkers because they don’t allow learning to be siloed. As scientific observers at the lake that day, students sparked their own curiosity and wonder as they asked questions and made connections across their knowledge and interests.

“Wonder is a cue,” he said. “There’s a wow there, but you also know you need to go beyond yourself to learn more—do some research, talk to an expert, hear stories.”

These experiences can also help shape people who are empowered to find solutions to the world’s hardest problems by connecting them to a place, person, group, or cause. At the Great Salt Lake, students began to understand that they, too, can advocate for the lake they hear so much about.

“They care more and take more ownership because we’re creating a really meaningful, memorable experience and instilling that this is an awesome place,” said Haas.

So when McCarthey Campus music teacher Susan Swidnicki approached Haas about a multidisciplinary opportunity to link the students’ scientific observations from the lake to an artistic experience that would further their role as its advocates, Haas was excited to help out. Susan explained that her friend Robert Stephenson, who goes by Bob, was writing songs for the school’s children’s choruses. They wanted to include a piece about the Great Salt Lake and hoped fourth graders could contribute to its creation by sharing with the composer what about the lake most inspires them.

Did you know that collaborating with Bob Stephenson wasn’t the only way fourth graders built on their Great Salt Lake field study? The students and their 10th-grade buddies also created brochures for the lake’s 2024 intercoastal cleanup event. And the teachers shared their expertise with FRIENDS of Great Salt Lake, which creates fourth-grade curriculum for Utah schools. Their advice? Build in opportunities to engage students’ senses so they feel more connected to their lake studies.

The teachers decided to use picturing writing, a sensory engagement project in which students create a piece of art, then describe elements of that art through poem or prose. Susan led the students through the artistic process, providing photographs of the lake to inspire the class as they created crayon and watercolor paintings. Next, Haas led them through a descriptive writing exercise where they interpreted their paintings through vivid descriptive language. Thanks to their field study, they were well prepared.

“They drew on their own senses,” said Haas. “They’ve been there, saw it, smelled it.”

When the class was done, they had a gallery showcasing a range of subjects, from the lake itself to the landscape that surrounds it. Salty banks. Invasive phragmites grass encroaching on nesting areas. Mountains. Bird nests. The lake’s animals were there, too, from brine shrimp and antelope to the snowy plover. Even Pink Floyd, the legendary Chilean flamingo who wintered at the lake from 1988 to 2005, was represented. Below each image, the students’ words brought the lake to life, waking the reader’s own senses as they described the colors of sunset, the grit of a shoreline, the prickle in your nose as you catch a whiff of the lake’s signature scent.

The class then invited Bob to campus to view the gallery and gather inspiration for the subjects that would shape his songwriting. Bob said it was important to him to incorporate as many aspects of the lake as possible to illustrate its vital, multifaceted role, and its importance to the community and environment. Over time, this took shape as three separate movements: “Above the Waves,” which describes the lake’s landscape through the lens of its 11 islands; “Brine Shrimp, Brine Flies,” which playfully highlights the lake’s role in bird migration; and “Nowhere to Go,” which addresses the crisis of the shrinking lake. The goal, Bob explained, was to inspire listeners to aid in Great Salt Lake’s preservation.

“I hope somebody listening to the piece realizes the lake’s relevance, and that if we put our minds together and we collaborate, and we’re careful, it’ll be something that lasts,” he said.

It’s a perspective that fits beautifully with Rowland Hall’s approach to shaping empathetic, ethical citizens through our curriculum. In music class, this happens through discussions of musical changemaking. “We’ve been trying to teach them that music can sometimes get a message through to people when other things can’t,” explained Susan.

This role as musical changemakers, coupled with their own experiences from the field study, inspired and energized the entire fourth grade, which agreed to perform the song’s world premiere. Over the months they prepared and practiced, Bob visited rehearsals several times to collaborate with the students, gathering feedback and making adjustments in real time. The teachers hoped these experiences were memorable not only because they gave students a peek into how a professional musician works, but also because they proved that others are invested in and available to them as they work to make change.

“We want students to be exposed to all these different people in our community—it makes them feel having access to community partners is normal and within the realm of feasible things that can happen,” said Haas. And the chance to work with Bob, like the chance to visit the lake, more deeply connected them to the learning experience.

“They feel so lucky to have a composer work with them and really honored to be part of the process,” said Haas, “and they really took it seriously,” even and especially as they were challenged to learn three complicated movements, stretch their singing abilities, and master new vocabulary. Fourth grader Noelle B. explained that learning the song could be challenging (like when she was trying to hit the high notes!) but it was fun to be part of the process. It’s clear that the confidence built through the experience helped students like Noelle feel real ownership of the collaboration.

“It’s exciting that we get to have our own song,” she said with a smile.

And the students are excited about the song’s potential impact. After the February premiere, Bob began the process of searching for a publisher, with the goal of making the piece available to more schools so it can, hopefully, inspire greater advocacy.

Our goal is for children to awaken all senses and know they can use their whole self to learn.—Susan Swidnicki, McCarthey Campus music teacher

As for the song’s first, and perhaps most passionate, singers, the teachers hope the multidisciplinary process behind this experience has a long-term impact on how they view themselves. After all, this kind of learning, explained Susan, is one of the best ways to help students see themselves as multifaceted people: scientists and musicians and writers and painters, as well as people who can make a difference, all at the same time.

“Our goal is for children to awaken all senses and know they can use their whole self to learn,” she said. “We want to grow and encourage the whole person, and help them understand they can come at challenges from many ways to make their lives, and others’ lives, more beautiful, worthwhile, and better.”

Experiential Learning

When it comes to learning about wise spending and saving, you can never start too young.

“It’s important to make sure kids are growing up with financial knowledge,” said Samantha Hill, the Upper School’s entrepreneurship and innovation teacher.
 

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It’s also important to start building that financial knowledge early, which is why, in late October, upper schoolers spent two days teaching first and third graders about smart money choices.

Teaching something to someone else—especially to younger kids, because you have to put it in a language they will understand—helped me to reinforce my own knowledge.—Jane Borst, class of 2026

This project—assigned to students in both Samantha’s Business & Finance and Entrepreneurship classes—ties into the Jump$tart Teen Teach-In program, which brings high school students into elementary classrooms to teach personal finance lessons. It’s a win-win opportunity: not only do the older students engage with their class lessons in fresh ways as they prepare to teach, but it also introduces the younger students to important financial concepts.

To prepare for teaching, the students tapped into the knowledge they’ve been building in class this fall, as well as reviewed Jump$tart materials on the topics they’d be presenting: “Needs and Wants” for first graders and “Saving, Spending, Borrowing, and Lending” for third graders. They split into pairs or groups, depending on how many students they’d be working with, and each team chose how they wanted to present the information to the students. It was a valuable exercise.

“Teaching something to someone else—especially to younger kids, because you have to put it in a language they will understand—helped me to reinforce my own knowledge,” said junior Jane Borst. “I also had to be prepared for any questions they would ask, so I had to go more in depth than normal.”

Students chose to present their topics in several ways, from presentations to a variety of games (for example, one group asked first graders to sort pictures of items—such as clothing, a teddy bear, water, and a puppy—into “wants” and “needs” columns). Whatever the approach, the younger students were engaged, active, and thrilled to interact with the big kids.

“They were all so sweet and funny. They seemed to enjoy themselves the whole time too,” said junior Eliana Jansen, who also found the experience beneficial. “It helped me solidify my knowledge by helping others learn, as well as made it more memorable by having a fun experience associated with the information.”

For Samantha and the Lower School teachers, it also served as a reminder of the real benefits of cross-divisional collaborations, including deeper learning, increased student confidence, and even joyful moments. The latter was certainly true for junior Duke O'Neil, who was assigned to a group of Ms. April’s first graders—10 years after being one of her students.

“It was super cool to come full circle and teach some of her class,” said Duke. “My personal favorite part was watching the kids really grasp onto the ideas. We spent a lot of time and effort composing a fun lesson for them, and seeing them really have fun with it and learn something gave the assignment purpose.”

Perhaps most importantly, these opportunities also strengthen bonds between age groups, reminding all students that they’re valued and important to their school community.

“They’re all connected,” said Samantha. “They’re all Winged Lions.”

Experiential Learning

When Kavitha Kasturi walked into her first Student Diversity Leadership Conference in 2022, it was the first time she had been in a space in which most people belonged to historically underrepresented groups.

“The first moment you step into a room with thousands of kids from diverse backgrounds, it’s a different feeling—a great feeling, an immediate feeling of belonging,” said Kavitha.

The first moment you step into a room with thousands of kids from diverse backgrounds, it’s a different feeling—a great feeling, an immediate feeling of belonging.—Kavitha Kasturi, class of 2025

Held every year during the week after Thanksgiving, the Student Diversity Leadership Conference brings together student and adult representatives from independent schools across the US and abroad. Organized by the National Association of Independent Schools, SDLC takes place alongside the organization’s People of Color Conference. Both gatherings provide opportunities to self-reflect, connect with others, and learn how to build inclusive, equitable, and just classrooms and communities.

Because Rowland Hall believes in the importance of these conferences and the benefits they bring to the school community, every year the school pays to send a group of faculty and staff, as well as six Upper School students, to them. Each year, these representatives leave SDLC and PoCC inspired and excited to share what they learned with their community at Rowland Hall.

As in years past, when the 2023 SDLC wrapped, the student representatives—then juniors Kavitha Kasturi, Tenzin Sivukpa, Mattie Sullivan, Sylvia Rae Twahirwa, and Evan Weinstein, and then 10th grader Gavin Schmidt—were looking forward to sharing their experience back at school. But the group, some of whom were repeat conference attendees, also felt a pull to think bigger.
 

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That’s because the students knew, as of 2023, Rowland Hall was the only Utah independent school that attended SDLC—meaning very few students in the state benefit from the four-day experience. While they’d be sharing what they learned with their Upper School peers, they worried it was too small an impact. They wondered if there was a way to expand their reach. As the Rowland Hall representatives gathered for a debriefing on the last day of the conference, an exciting idea was floated: Could the students create their own SDLC-inspired conference for other Utah high schoolers?

It’s the kind of idea that could easily be shared then forgotten, but in the weeks following their return to campus, the SDLC group—along with then junior Hasan Rahim, who had attended SDLC in 2022, and then ninth grader Aoife Canning—kept the conversation going. Guided by advisors Dr. Kate Taylor, Dr. Chandani Patel, and Harper Lundquist ’16, the students began discussing all that actually goes into planning a conference, as well as what elements of SDLC they wanted to keep and what they thought was missing from the experience. Dr. Taylor wasn’t surprised by what she witnessed.

“This group happens to be very action-oriented, which is something I love about them,” she said. “They’re big visionary thinkers.”

And before they knew it, these visionaries’ questions had transformed into a solid plan. By January, they were working on what would soon be known as Wings of Inclusion: Cultivating Joy in Education, a first-of-its-kind student-led conference scheduled for Friday, September 6, and Saturday, September 7, at the Lincoln Street Campus.

In the months that followed, the students immersed themselves in the complicated world of event planning. Between classes and extracurriculars, and then during summer break, the group tackled a long to-do list: design a logo and marketing plan, craft a schedule, communicate with speakers and performers, extend invitations, identify facilitators, arrange catering, decide on activities, gather discussion questions. In line with priority 2 of Rowland Hall’s strategic vision, advisors were on hand for guidance as needed, but focused on empowering the students to make decisions and take the lead as much as possible.

As summer drew to a close and a new school year ramped up, the group put the finishing touches on their conference and prepared to welcome students from Wasatch Academy, the Waterford School, Copper Hills High School, and Olympus High School to campus.

The Wings of Inclusion conference aimed to provide attendees with a space of belonging and safety, where everyone is celebrated for who they are and can connect, and even be vulnerable, with others.

Guided by the theme of Cultivating Joy in Education (which builds on Rowland Hall’s 2024–2025 school-wide theme, Joy, and was inspired in part by a presentation the students heard from Dr. Gholdy Muhammad, author of Unearthing Joy), the Wings of Inclusion conference aimed to provide attendees with the kind of space Kavitha remembered walking into for her first SDLC—one of belonging and safety, where everyone is celebrated for who they are and can connect, and even be vulnerable, with others. The schedule, thoughtfully crafted by the student organizers, included space for both affinity groups (groups that share identities) and family groups (groups of randomly mixed participants), as well as unstructured social time, meals, and performances by Punjabi Arts Academy, Salt Lake Capoeira, and Best of Africa.

The students also scheduled three guest speakers: Stacy Bernal, a candidate for Utah State Senate; Michelle Mooney, impact manager for the Salt Lake City Mayor’s Office; and Dr. Mary Ann Villarreal, vice president for diversity, equity, and student success at American Association of Colleges and Universities, and a Rowland Hall trustee. “Our main goal was to show there are people of color or other diverse identities in positions of power,” said organizer Sylvia Rae. They hoped student attendees would see themselves in these community leaders, and that the speakers’ stories about their personal and professional journeys would help attendees understand that leadership and changemaking were within their reach.

And while the conference’s attendees certainly had an impressive group of adults at the event to look up to (in addition to the speakers, Ryan Hoglund, Robin Hori, Dr. Lydia Jackson, Dr. Nate Kogan, and Stacia McFadden served as conference facilitators, while advisors Dr. Patel and Kaleb Nielsen coordinated the program), the strongest role models of the weekend were the student organizers themselves. In addition to managing the flow of the event, these students all took on the facilitation roles that make breakout spaces safe and provide valuable, joyful experiences for attendees, some of whom may feel unwelcome in other communities.

“There’s definitely a nurturing role, a caretaking role,” said Sylvia Rae about being a facilitator. “You’re bigger than yourself at that moment: ‘I’m facilitating this conversation and it's not about me now; it’s about others.’”

And though the Wings of Inclusion turnout was smaller than the students originally hoped for (30 people attended the inaugural conference), the size turned out to be beneficial. It allowed facilitators to lead deeper conversations and for all attendees to more fully participate. “It was the perfect amount of people,” reflected Sylvia Rae.

Speaker Michelle Mooney, who stayed for a breakout session after addressing the group on Saturday morning, said watching the student facilitators lead their groups was heartwarming, and even reinvigorated her feelings about her own role in the community—particularly when it comes to empowering rising leaders. Though still in her 20s, Michelle said she’s already thinking about the legacy she’ll leave for the next generation to carry on, and she hopes more professionals will recognize the capabilities of students and young adults and help cultivate them as leaders.

“We don’t need to doubt that the youth know what to do, and we really need to empower our youth to feel like they have a place,” said Michelle.

And as Wings of Inclusion showed, when students are empowered, they can do incredible things. As the conference wound down on Saturday evening, a feeling of joy could be felt on campus—an attestation of the small-but-mighty power of this student-created gathering that, only nine months earlier, had been but a question, a dream of a space in which students from across the state could gather to pour strength, love, and inspiration into one another.

To close the event, the organizers gathered the group for an open mic session. Though they knew speaking in front of others is scary, and they were a bit worried the minutes may be filled with silence, they wanted to provide a moment of reflection for attendees. They didn’t wait long before one student stood up. Another followed. Then another. As each student came to the mic, they shared their gratitude for this welcoming conference, for this safe space in which they could share their experiences and be themselves. Some said they had never had this kind of opportunity before. Some called out the guest speakers who made them feel that they, too, can make a difference. They were grateful. They were inspirational. “It was the best moment of the conference for me and my peers,” said Kavitha.

They felt so good for having created a space for people in the broader community, to see their efforts can have a positive impact, that their voices, their actions, have power.—Dr. Kate Taylor, Upper School English teacher

For Dr. Taylor, who supported the students’ dream from its earliest days, the positive feedback the students have received is incredibly well-deserved. And, perhaps more importantly, it’s an ongoing reminder to these leaders that they are never too young to make real change.

“They felt so good for having created a space for people in the broader community, to see their efforts can have a positive impact, that their voices, their actions, have power,” said Dr. Taylor.

And the organizers can know that the inaugural (and soon to be annual) Wings of Inclusion conference will play an important role in helping more young adults from across the state believe in themselves and their ability to make a difference.

“Little things like this really matter. It made an impact,” said Kavitha. “It’s inspiring, and it made me want to keep going.”

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Banner: Rowland Hall seniors Tenzin Sivukpa, Mattie Sullivan, Evan Weinstein, Kavitha Kasturi, Hasan Rahim, and Sylvia Rae Twahirwa smile for a photo at the 2024 Wings of Inclusion Conference.

Equity & Inclusion

Excavators. Rocks. Dump trucks. Mud. When it comes to all that’s found on a busy construction site, there may be no group that appreciates it more than preschoolers.

And on one sunny Friday in early September, a group of Rowland Hall beginning schoolers had an experience that’s rarely available to those their age: they got to walk into a real construction site.
 

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Donning hard hats and highlighter-orange vests that hung past their knees—and safely contained within a taped-off section of the Richard R. Steiner Campus—the 4PreK students were hard at work. In between chatting with the crew and enjoying a front-row view of the excavator, water truck, and grader on hand for the day, the students could be seen scooping excavated soil into two wagons. Something exciting was happening.

While it’s never surprising to see Rowland Hall students learning in new spaces, this activity was noteworthy as it marked the first time this year that students were using the construction site—future home of the Middle School and Upper School, as well as a performing arts center and athletic complex—in their learning. And it seems only fitting that 4PreK students, who not only love construction but study it each year, were the first to engage with the rising campus.

“There’s nothing better than a construction project for preschool kids,” said Jennifer Claesgens, Rowland Hall’s early childhood experiential learning and science specialist, who has spent months thinking about how to connect students with the Steiner Campus site. She saw a natural connection with 4PreK, where the study of construction progresses from topics such as learning to identify shapes to studying the building techniques behind strong, stable structures. (A favorite way students put this work into practice each year is by creating block models of the Utah State Capitol.)

This focus on finding ways to connect students with their campus, as well as the wider community, isn’t new for Jennifer. As an experiential learning and science specialist, she focuses on learning by doing and partners with 4PreK through second-grade teachers to build on what’s happening in their classrooms. As part of this work, she’s always keeping an eye out for new spaces in which students can learn. These spaces take many forms, including the Lower School science garden, where she takes students to see the apple trees when their fruit is at its peak, and the McCarthey Campus quad, where students studied shadows during April’s solar eclipse.

Already, the Steiner Campus promises to be a wonderful new resource for student learning. As Jennifer stood among the four- and five-year-olds on that bright late summer day, she could see how engaged they were. During the visit, the students learned from the construction crew, excitedly observed the excavator dig a hole, and took turns adding shovelfuls of dirt to the wagons. It’s clear the site will continue to be a resource for students of all ages between now and the campus’s 2026 opening, thanks to the support of the school and the partnership of Okland Construction, Rowland Hall’s contractor.

“Okland went above and beyond to make this happen,” said Steiner Campus Project Manager Kathryn Pickford of the 4PreK visit, which she coordinated with Okland’s project manager, Scott Thomsen. “They are keen to do this when the opportunity arises and as we move through construction.”

Okland can certainly look forward to continued interaction with the 4PreK students—the classes’ afternoon site visit was only the first step in what will be a yearlong observation of the rising Steiner Campus, which will complement their in-class units and follow students’ interests.

For instance, in Isabelle Buhler and Mara Kushner’s class, students are already at work building their own school on the dirt they wheeled from the Steiner Campus to their play yard. Since their visit, they’ve transferred the dirt to a kiddie pool and started preparing their building’s foundation. Like the construction crew across campus, the preschoolers have been removing materials, such as rocks and wood chips, in order to level the ground so that they can build. In the coming weeks, they’ll be thinking about the materials they’ll need for their school, and will use ongoing observations of what’s happening on the Steiner Campus as their guide.

Best of all? All of this hands-on, deep learning will complement their in-class studies on subjects including 2D and 3D shapes, materials, literacy, math, and even engineering and physics. And along the way, they’ll be continuing to learn how to work together, communicate, observe closely, and take learning risks—all practices that will support their learning for years to come.

It really is exciting.

Experiential Learning