Slow Down, Paddle Backwards! An Educators Reflection on Instructional Style

EBLS faculty during a learning retreat to the San Juan River. The rapids called “The Ledge” were located just upstream of this photo. Courtesy & © Joseph Kozlowski, Photographer
EBLS faculty during a learning retreat to the San Juan River. The rapids called “The Ledge” were located just upstream of this photo.
Courtesy & © Joseph Kozlowski, Photographer
On an Edith Bowen Laboratory School teacher professional development retreat last summer rafting the San Juan River, a specific experience made me question my instructional style. I was sitting in the front of what they call a Ducky – a tandem inflatable raft with the passenger in the front and the experienced rower in the rear – with a vibrant and tough 6th grader named Kylie captaining from the rear. Although Kylie was in the captain’s seat, she was not an experienced rower. In fact, she was just learning, and I, from the front, was trying to teach her a thing or two from my very limited knowledge of rowing.

As I sat in the Ducky giving instructions, I reflected on my own instructional style and wondered how I would teach something that I had never taught before? I found myself giving her little challenges like “Try to get the nose of the boat to run straight over that gurgling water boil!” I also found myself showering her with positive, and specific reinforcement such as “I loved the way you corrected the steering by giving a tiny left forward paddle!” However, it wasn’t until we prepared to head down a set of rock smashing rapids called The Ledge that I found the golden nugget of self-knowledge I had been looking for.

Dr. Eric Newell, our guide and true rowing expert on the trip, was leading a separate 16ft. inflatable raft ahead of us. He called us over and was preparing Kylie and I for the upcoming rapid. “Stay pretty close behind me and let me run the rapid first so you can see the line.” All was agreed upon and Dr. Newell expertly launched toward the rapid with Kylie close on his heels. When the rapid was nearly upon us, Dr. Newell shouted backwards from his boat, “Give us a little more space!” In response, I shouted two important phrases back to my own young captain “Slow down,” then without allowing her time to think or react, I yelled “Paddle backwards!”

And this is where I stop the story, for those two phrases ended up being the key to my learning. The first phrase “slow down” was an objective, a goal. It was a problem to be solved and a self-driven adventure to be had by Kylie. You see, Kylie could have made any number of right or wrong decisions in response to the phrase “Slow down!” She could have spun the boat and went upstream, she could have dragged her paddles, or she could have even jumped out of the boat and anchored. There is no knowing, and no absolute safety or certainty in what Kylie could have done in response to the phrase “Slow down!” The only certainty is that she would have had to think, trust herself, and make a decision. In contrast, the second phrase “Paddle backwards!” was a directive, an order. It was a command to be followed and a prescription to be obeyed. There was nothing for Kylie to critically think about in response to this order. She had but one option which was to take the paddle, thrust it into the water, and heave in a reverse direction.

Ultimately, it was the distinction between these two phrases “Slow down!” and “Paddle backwards!” that forced me to reflect on my own instructional style. Am I the type of teacher to challenge my students to think critically by offering open-ended environments that yes, can be risky, but ultimately unmeasurably powerful? Or, do I merely pose teacher-centered directives that precipitate little more critical thinking and decision making than a person on a raft, being told to ‘paddle backwards.’

This is Dr. Joseph Kozlowski, and I am Wild About Utah!
Credits:

Images: Courtesy & Copyright Joseph Kozlowski, Photographer, Used by Permission
Audio: Courtesy & © Friend Weller, https://upr.org/
Text:     Joseph Kozlowski, Edith Bowen Laboratory School, Utah State University https://edithbowen.usu.edu/
Additional Reading Links: Joseph Kozlowski & Lyle Bingham

Additional Reading:

Joseph (Joey) Kozlowski’s pieces on Wild About Utah: https://wildaboututah.org/author/joseph-kowlowski/

San Juan River, Utah Office of Tourism, https://www.visitutah.com/things-to-do/River-Rafting/San-Juan-River

Frisbee Fun!

Frisbee Fun! EBLS Disc Golf and Ultimate Club Courtesy & © Joseph Kozlowski, Photographer
EBLS Disc Golf and Ultimate Club
Courtesy & © Joseph Kozlowski, Photographer
If you’re like me, you’re always on the lookout for new outdoor activities! I would love to draw your attention to a sport that has many names, but that many have not had the pleasure to enjoy. I’m talking about the great hucking and slinging adventure, the sport of roll-aways and tree hits, the family fun activity called Frolf or Frisbee Golf, formally known as Disc Golf.

I first played this sport at 6 years old by tagging along after my father as he navigated the course through a forest and around a lake, starting each hole at a concrete tee pad and counting how many throws it took him to get his disc to settle in the metal basket with dangling chains. Once in a while I would throw a disc, but mostly my little legs tried to keep up on this exciting hike that involved throwing, putting, strategy, patience, and lots of searching through the woods for nearly lost frisbees! Now, 25 years later I still enjoy all the sport has to offer, and one of the primary reasons is because it is an all too easy excuse to get outside and enjoy the different landscapes and environments this great state has to offer.

We Utahns shouldn’t be too unfamiliar with this sport. In 2021, the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) World Championship tournament was held in Ogden at two disc golf courses, Fort Buenaventura and Mulligan’s Golf and Games. History was made at this event when James Conrad, on the final shot of the tournament, curled the disc 247 feet in a single throw to land in the basket; forcing a sudden death play-off, which he won, to become the world champion. This shot is widely accepted as the greatest shot in disc golf history.

According to the PDGA course directory, there are at least 91 disc golf courses throughout our state, and 50 spread along the Wasatch front. Most of these courses are free to play and include exposure to a diverse outdoor experience. Some courses wind and wiggle through heavily wooded areas while others meander through manicured city parks. If you are really up for an outdoor adventure, try one of the extreme mountain courses, like the Solitude Ski resort course, where you launch discs up and down rugged mountainous slopes, sometimes more than 1000 feet in a single throw! Try not to lose too many discs.

In this sport, some people prefer to have just one disc, go out on a beautiful sunny day, and simply enjoy nature while throwing a frisbee; scores don’t need to matter! Other people take a different, more competitive approach to this sport and focus on the dynamics of how each of the many discs fly. They learn that based on disc shape and weight and the technique of their body, they can manipulate the disc to bend and turn, go right or left, skip or roll, or limitless other maneuvers that may be required to get the elusive birdie!

Two years ago, I started an afterschool Disc Golf and Ultimate Club at USU’s Edith Bowen Laboratory School, which was open to all our 3rd-6th grade students. What I experienced was kids passionately enthusiastic about the comradery, the physical activity, and the special wonderment that only objects in flight seem to bring. Each session has hosted around 40 girls and boys and many end up introducing the sport to their own families. It seems there is something special about this sport that naturally draws the love of children.

And so, whether you are looking for something outdoor and active to do on your own, with children, grandchildren, or even a niece or nephew, disc golf might be a soaring success!

This is Joey Kozlowski, and I am Wild About Utah!
Credits:

Images: Courtesy & Copyright Joseph Kozlowski, Photographer, Used by Permission
Audio: Courtesy & © Friend Weller, https://upr.org/
Text:     Joseph Kozlowski, Edith Bowen Laboratory School, Utah State University https://edithbowen.usu.edu/
Additional Reading Links: Joseph Kozlowski

Additional Reading:

Joseph (Joey) Kozlowski’s pieces on Wild About Utah: https://wildaboututah.org/author/joseph-kowlowski/

https://www.pdga.com/course-directory – Helps identify and find courses

https://udisc.com/courses – Helps identify and find courses

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOhO7FfVQlE – Video of the ‘Greatest Shot in History’

Antler Math and Memories

Courtesy & © Joseph Kozlowski, Photographer

Courtesy & © Joseph Kozlowski, Photographer

Courtesy & © Joseph Kozlowski, Photographer 7- and 8-year-olds with tape measures in their hands eagerly grasp at hard, smooth yet knobby, tined objects. These students are my 2nd-graders at USU’s Edith Bowen Laboratory School, and they are working on a measurement, addition, and estimation math lesson in small groups. This lesson isn’t a normal math lesson where students follow along in a textbook and complete standardized problem. Instead, this lesson centers around a natural artifact from the Utah wild. The students are measuring and exploring deer and elk antlers.
All three images:
Courtesy & © Joseph Kozlowski, Photographer

Growing up, I was surrounded by rural friends and family. Much of their livelihoods and lifestyles revolved around the outdoors, and it was commonplace to enter their homes or ranches to see spindly antlers laying on mantles, mounted above doors, or carefully placed in gardens to add a western feel. Over the years, I made my own personal connection to antlers such as when I found one when I was chucker partridge hunting up Blacksmith Fork Canyon with my trusty Springer Spaniel, Wyatt, who is no longer here to share such adventures. Each antler is a memory, each one makes me reminisce on an outdoor adventure that will only live on as a thought.

As a teacher, I am always pondering ways to make learning more relatable to students, and one day realized the method employed by professionals to score antlers would be a meaningful way for my students to practice measurement! So, I loaded up the truck with my collection of outdoor memories, and brought them to school.

I launched the activity and each and every eye lit up at the sight of an antler. We hadn’t even begun the activity yet and my students started sharing their own memories of times with their family that related to antlers; a rafting excursion on the Green River, an elk hunting trip with their dad and big brother, or even a family vacation to Yellowstone National Park where they saw lots of bull elk. These stories were powerful to the students, and powerful to me.

We continued with the measurement activity and each student group collaborated to measure the tines and three circumferences of each antler. Then, they would struggle, and succeed, to add all those sub-measurements together to get a total score for that antler, which we collected as data. Groups would rotate to a new, unique antler and repeat this process, collecting student-generated data which we compiled. By the end, our data consisted of multiple scores for each antler, as various groups had scored each one. We analyzed the data, looked at discrepancies in scores, posed and solved antler math problems, and even ended the activity by showing a new antler that hadn’t been scored, having all the students make a visual estimation of the total score for the antler, and then giving the antler to the student who made the closest estimation.

In the end, this activity brought together what I value in education. It connected to the place and culture in which my students live, was directly focused on academic content needed by my students, and elicited engagement and personal stories from my students. In a perfect world, all my lessons would be as powerful and relatable to students as this one was. In fact, right before leaving for Spring Break one of my students declared “We’re going to stay at an elk ranch in Southern Utah so I can try to see some antlers!”

On normal years, your family is welcome to collect antlers year-round, only needing a free gathering certificate between February 1st-April 15th (https://wildlife.utah.gov/antler-gathering.html). However this year due to the harsh winter, Division of Wildlife Resources put a ban on the activity until May 1st https://wildlife.utah.gov/news/utah-wildlife-news/1593-dwr-implements-emergency-statewide-shed-antler-hunting-restrictions-to-protect-big-game.html).

This is Dr. Joseph Kozlowski, and I am Wild about Utah!

Credits:

Images: Courtesy & Copyright Joseph Kozlowski, Photographer, Used by Permission
Audio: Courtesy & © Friend Weller, https://upr.org/
Text:     Joseph Kozlowski, Edith Bowen Laboratory School, Utah State University https://edithbowen.usu.edu/
Additional Reading Links: Joseph Kozlowski

Additional Reading:

Joseph (Joey) Kozlowski’s pieces on Wild About Utah: https://wildaboututah.org/author/joseph-kowlowski/

Gathering shed antlers or horns, Take the Antler Gathering Ethics Course between Feb. 1
and April 15., Division of Wildlife Resources, Department of Natural Resources, State of
Utah, https://wildlife.utah.gov/antler-gathering.html

DWR implements emergency statewide restrictions for shed antler hunting to help
protect wintering big game in Utah, Division of Wildlife Resources, Department of Natural
Resources, State of Utah, https://wildlife.utah.gov/news/utah-wildlife-news/1593-dwrimplements-emergency-statewide-shed-antler-hunting-restrictions-to-protect-biggame.html

Winter Wonders of Utah

Juan Luis on Cross-Country Skis with Rustic Poles, Courtesy & © Joseph Kozlowski, Photographer
Juan Luis on Cross-Country Skis with Rustic Poles
Courtesy & © Joseph Kozlowski, Photographer

Charri's Snowman with Carrot Nose and Oreo Eyes, Courtesy & © Joseph Kozlowski, Photographer Charri’s Snowman with Carrot Nose and Oreo Eyes
Courtesy & © Joseph Kozlowski, Photographer

My name is Joey Kozlowski and I live in frosty Logan, UT. For me, most winter days are relatively mundane. The waking hours, which lay only between rising from bed in winter darkness and returning from work in the same darkness, could be described as routine, rhythmic, and rehearsed. During this time of year, it is easy for me to forget the many phenomena around me that make this place I live so unbelievably special. However, certain spontaneous occasions precipitate pause, and make me reflect and appreciate this beautiful and wild place I call home. Recently, I experienced just one of those occasions.

A few weekends ago, my wife’s family came to visit. Her sister (Charri) and sister’s friend (Juan Luis) call the central city of Celaya, Mexico, home. It was Charri’s second time to Utah, and Juan Luis’ first time to Utah, and in fact, it would be his first time ever experiencing snow. The thrill and charm of the natural beauty around them was apparent as they first got out of the car in our driveway. The piles of snow along the sidewalk and the frozen white yard seemed like novel wonders to them both. One of the first things Juan Luis said, that brought me a childish smile was “I’ve always wanted to try shoveling snow,” which I thought to myself go right ahead, here’s the shovel!

Our first outing was a cross country ski/snowshoe trip up Green Canyon. Charri used my MSR snowshoes and Juan Luis fit into my old Fischer XC skis, which no longer had real poles but two wooden sticks to be used as supporting tools. With two black floppy ears bouncing around our legs, the three of us headed off up the trail. It was hard to get 50 feet without them stopping and just taking in the surrounding snow-covered cliffs, picking up fluffy white powder from the side of the trail, or even, in the case of Juan Luis, trying to capture a slow mo video of himself jumping from the trail into the deeper snow. To them, the beauty was so apparent.

The next day, I returned from Edith Bowen Laboratory School where I work, to my home on what is locally known as “The Island,” only to be surprised by a large and perfectly formed snowman in my yard, fully formed with a carrot nose and Oreo eyes. It turns out that Charri, taken back to the excited youthfulness of a child, had spent hours that day just playing outside in the snow and building the snow creature, of which, would quickly lose its eyes and nose to a happy and hungry black lab once we went back inside.

That night, we all received another gift from the great outdoors, at least 12 inches of fresh snow. Juan Luis and I got up early and started shoveling. I’d never seen such an enthusiastic shoveler! It was as if each shovel scoop was filled with ice cream, not snow! He didn’t even seem annoyed when his shovel got snagged on the pesky concrete cracks that seem the bane of my existence! Then, for the climax of their trip, we decided to go to our local ski resort, Beaver Mountain. It was the day any skier dreams of, lots of fresh powder! The awe and excitement in their eyes was present from the moment we started driving up the canyon until the moment their heads started gently nodding off on the tired ride back home. I can’t describe all the beautiful moments of the ski trip, but I can say they truly appreciated each moment for what it was, wild and beautiful, as they struggled to board the magic carpet, laughed as they fell over and over and over again, and nearly burst at the seams with joy when they were finally able to go up the Little Beaver lift and get all the way down on a green trail. In the end, to say these guests appreciated the beauty and excitement of everything a Utah winter has to offer would be an understatement.

So it was, on this occasion with my international family come to visit, that I was reminded of the natural beauty and wonder in all the little things that surround me each day, and that I too often take for granted. I am Joey Kozlowski, and I am Wild about the Winter Wonders of Utah.

Credits:

Images: Courtesy & Copyright Joseph Kozlowski, Photographer
Audio: Courtesy & © Friend Weller, https://upr.org/
Text:     Joseph Kozlowski, Edith Bowen Laboratory School, Utah State University https://edithbowen.usu.edu/
Additional Reading Links: Lyle Bingham

Additional Reading:

Joseph (Joey) Kozlowski’s pieces on Wild About Utah: https://wildaboututah.org/author/joseph-kowlowski/

Greene, Jack. 2020. I Love Snow. Wild About Utah, https://wildaboututah.org/i-love-snow/

Larese-Casanova, Mark. 2014. Utah’s Rich Skiing History. Wild About Utah, https://wildaboututah.org/utahs-rich-skiing-history/

Liberatore, Andrea. 2011. Snowflakes. Wild About Utah, https://wildaboututah.org/snowflakes/

Strand, Holly. 2009. A Utah Skier’s Snow Lexicon. Wild About Utah, https://wildaboututah.org/a-utah-skiers-snow-lexicon/