Into the Field

By Bunmi Afolabi, 1st year MDP student

Hello again!

Since my first blog post, I have been developing the Evaluation Matrix tool that will be used to monitor and evaluate some of the programs and services that N.E.E.D.S delivers. For July, I engaged in fieldwork, visiting some service delivery sites to observe and gather information about the program. My main focus has been the Settlement Workers in School program (SWIS), which runs out of three schools in the Winnipeg School Division.

 My first visit was to Brock Corydon school. I sat in one of the classes, which had about 14 elementary-age participants. The participants are recent newcomers to Canada, noticeably from African, Asian, and Middle Eastern countries. The topic for the day was learning about Road safety. The facilitators used audio/visual educational material to teach the participants about various road signs, modes of transportation, school signs such as children crossing, and other road safety rules. For example, in one class, the facilitator played an audio clip of various modes of transportation, such as airplanes, trains, etc. and asked the students to identify each sound. In another class, the facilitator played a video illustrating how traffic signals worked with physical movement. For example, at the Green sign, participants walked quickly around the classroom. They slowed their walking pace at the Yellow sign, and at the Red sign, they came to a complete stop. These activities used fun and interactive way to teach the participants about road safety in a way that is relatable and easy to remember.

My second site visit was to the Wellington school program delivery site. At this location, most of the participants were from Ukraine, Mexico, Colombia, and Asian countries. On this day, the students learned about the Olympics. The facilitators asked the participants to mention their favourite Olympic sport and then played a video showing that sport being played or performed at the Olympic games.

To make the lesson more immersive, the facilitators organized in-house Olympic games. This included various sports like building a tower using drinking cups (the group with less time wins), tossing ping-pong balls into cups, and a race across the field. These exercises taught the participants about teamwork, respect, patience, hard work and self-motivation. It also encouraged active movement rather than sitting all day in a classroom.