Live It Learn It

LILI PARTNERS WITH PUBLIC SCHOOLS WHICH RECEIVE TITLE I FUNDS AND CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS TO CREATE AND DELIVER EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS IN ORDER TO INCREASE THEIR SELF-EFFICACY, BUILD ON THEIR INTRINSIC MOTIVATION, AND SUPPORT THEIR SCHOLARLY ACHIEVEMENTS.

FOR ALMOST 20 YEARS, LIVE IT LEARN IT HAS ADDRESSED EDUCATIONAL INEQUITIES IN WASHINGTON, DC BY IMMERSING ELEMENTARY-AGED STUDENTS IN LEARNING EXPERIENCES THAT EXPOSE THEM TO NEW PLACES, CONTENT, AND CAREER OPTIONS. AS A RESULT, STUDENTS BUILD SCHEMA (A CRITICAL COMPONENT OF LITERACY PROFICIENCY), GAIN CONFIDENCE AS LEARNERS, AND DEVELOP A SENSE OF BELONGING TO THE BROADER DC COMMUNITY. IN WASHINGTON, DC, WE ARE SEEN BY SCHOOLS AND CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS AS THE PREMIER PARTNER IN EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING. ALL OF OUR PARTNER SCHOOLS ARE DESIGNATED AS TITLE I SCHOOLS, AN INDICATOR OF HIGH LEVELS OF POVERTY. IN THE 2021-2022 SCHOOL YEAR, WE PARTNERED WITH 78 CLASSROOMS FROM 13 SCHOOLS, SERVING APPROXIMATELY 1,400 STUDENTS IN 3RD-5TH GRADE. OVER THE COURSE OF THE SCHOOL YEAR, STUDENTS ENGAGED IN TWO EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING UNITS FACILITATED BY LILI. LILI UNITS PROVIDE STUDENT-DRIVEN CURRICULA ON ART, HISTORY, AND SCIENCE. DURING EACH UNIT, STUDENTS PARTICIPATED IN A CLASSROOM PRE-LESSON, A FIELD EXPERIENCE, AND A CLASSROOM POST-LESSON WHERE THE STUDENTS SYNTHESIZED THEIR NEWFOUND KNOWLEDGE THROUGH DISCUSSION AND A HANDS-ON ACTIVITY. ADDITIONALLY, OUR CURRICULA HIGHLIGHT VOICES OF SUBJECT-MATTER EXPERTS FROM POPULATIONS WHO MIGHT TYPICALLY BE MARGINALIZED. FOR EXAMPLE, ARTIST KEHINDE WILEY AND MARINE BIOLOGIST DR. AYANA JOHNSON ARE FEATURED IN OUR PAINTING OUR IDENTITY AND PLASTIC OCEAN UNITS, RESPECTIVELY. AT THE END OF THIS SCHOOL YEAR, 95% OF STUDENTS REPORTED A STRONG FAMILIARITY WITH CORE CONTENT FROM OUR PROGRAMS IN ART, SCIENCE, HISTORY, AND CULTURE. AFTER LEARNING WITH LIVE IT LEARN IT, 96% OF STUDENTS SELF-REPORT FEELING CONFIDENT ABOUT SHARING THEIR NEWFOUND KNOWLEDGE WITH THEIR PEERS. THIS DEMONSTRATES THAT OUR STUDENTS FEEL A STRONG SENSE OF SELF-EFFICACY AND OWNERSHIP OF THEIR EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS IN TOPICS THEY LEARN ABOUT WITH LILI. GIVEN THAT 75% OF STUDENTS VISITED OUR PARTNER DESTINATIONS FOR THE FIRST TIME AND 90% OF STUDENTS EXPRESSED THE DESIRE TO RETURN WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS, THIS CONFIDENCE IN LEARNING SHOWS THAT STUDENTS WILL CONTINUE TO ACCESS INFORMATION AND EXPERIENCES THEY ENCOUNTER WITH LILI AS THEY PROGRESS IN THEIR ACADEMIC CAREERS. THROUGHOUT THIS SCHOOL YEAR, WE FREQUENTLY HAD TO ADAPT OUR PROGRAMMING TO ADDRESS COVID VARIANTS, QUARANTINES, AND MUSEUM CLOSURES. WE CREATED LESSONS THAT COULD BE CONDUCTED THROUGH VIRTUAL FIELD TRIPS, WHEN NECESSARY. WE ALSO REDESIGNED FIELD EXPERIENCES TO BE PROGRAMMABLE IN MULTIPLE LOCATIONS. FOR EXAMPLE, THE FIELD EXPERIENCE FOR OUR UNIT ENTITLED PAINTING OUR IDENTITY IS USUALLY DONE AT THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY. WHEN THAT LOCATION BECAME UNAVAILABLE, OUR TEAM CREATED AN ENTIRELY NEW FIELD EXPERIENCE AT THE NATIONAL MALL. THIS ALLOWED STUDENTS TO HAVE THE VALUABLE EXPERIENCE OF EXPLORING WASHINGTON, DC WHILE ADHERING TO THE HEALTH AND SAFETY REGULATIONS OF THE MOMENT. AS A RESULT OF OUR EXPERIENTIAL UNITS, STUDENTS GAINED NEW KNOWLEDGE IN KEY CONTENT AREAS. THIS NEW KNOWLEDGE BUILDS IMPORTANT SCHEMA FOR STUDENTS; REFERENCING SCHEMA IS A READING COMPREHENSION STRATEGY USED BY PROFICIENT READERS.ALTHOUGH TEACHERS FACED MANY CHALLENGES THIS SCHOOL YEAR, WE ARE PROUD TO REPORT THAT OUR EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING FELLOWSHIP HAS A 100% RETENTION RATE. THIS COHORT, CONSISTING OF FIVE TEACHERS FROM THREE DIFFERENT SCHOOLS, MET MONTHLY TO LEARN FROM EXPERTS ON ANTI-BIAS AND ANTI-RACIST EDUCATION AND ON SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING. ADDITIONALLY, HEAD OF PROGRAMMING MARYAM TROWELL PROVIDED ONE-ON-ONE OBSERVATION AND COACHING TO TEACHERS THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL YEAR. THIS YEAR, NOT ONLY DID WE LEARN THAT THE ORGANIZATION HAD THE CAPACITY FOR INCREASED FLEXIBILITY, BUT WE ALSO LEARNED THE EXTENT TO WHICH THE ORGANIZATION IS CAPABLE OF ADAPTING OUR WORK TO MEET THE NEEDS OF OUR STUDENTS, TEACHERS AND PARTNER DESTINATIONS.