While it has taken some time, we are happy to say that the results of The Walking Classroom Midyear Survey for 2018-2019 have been tabulated. It is always good to get feedback from folks using our program. The insights and ideas shared are always invaluable!
Who responded?
For The Walking Classrooms 2018-2019 Mid-Year Survey, we focused our attention on our new adopters — those 694 folks who received the program and began using it for the first time in the past year!
Among those who responded, 85.2% responded that they use the program during the school day. 12.2% said they use it in an afterschool program or other out-of-school time setting. 1.0% indicated other use (using it during the school day and for a before-school or afterschool program); 1.0% indicated that they were preparing to use it but had not yet. The remaining 0.6% indicated that they were administering the program and that others were the ones using the program.
What Brought Folks to Our “Door”?
For the first time, we asked respondents to indicate to what degree the following features of The Walking Classroom were important (very important – important – not important). The responses were then weighted and ranked as below, with those at the top being the most important.
- Increases physical activity
- Builds core content knowledge
- Aligns with standards
- Addresses different learning styles
- Differentiates instruction
- Foster health literacy and healthy habits
- Enhances social-emotional learning
- Develops character values
Training? For Sure!
88.6% of respondents reported that they had completed The Walking Classroom’s free online or onsite training before implementing the program. As we find that folks who complete the training have the most success (and a positive experience!) implementing the program, we sent out our training link to those who indicated they had not been trained. If you haven’t received training, let us know, so that we can share that information with you too!
Resources and More
A resounding 97.6% of respondents indicated that, in their implementation of the program, they use the supplemental resources that The Walking Classroom provides. The Teacher Guide and/or Discussion Guide prove to be the most used, with 84% of respondents citing referring to those in planning or executing their lessons.
Interestingly, some folks had not yet explored the Adopter Resources page. Thus, they were unaware of the array of other resources we provide for our adopters, such as slide decks, electronic quizzes, supplemental videos, and more! If you are an existing adopter and need information on how to access those resources, feel free to contact us.
Challenges at the Fore?
64.1% of respondents reported no challenges incorporating The Walking Classroom. The remaining respondents cited time, weather, and student behavior as their occasional obstacles, with time taking the lead at 35.9%.
Have you come up with some tips or tricks for triumphing over these troubles? Feel free to share! We will incorporate your ideas in future blog posts presenting specific strategies for addressing these very things!
Things to Explore!
When we inquired about suggestions for additional resources or webinar topics, 38.6% of respondents had ideas to share. These were primarily comprised of suggestions for additional podcast topics, but also included requests for more program management tips and/or ideas, opportunities for Skype or Google Hangouts between classes using the program, and other resources like those below.
- anchor charts
- interactive notebooks
- graphic organizers
- writing prompts
- books or read-alouds
For the latter, be sure to check out the Literary Links series of blog posts. These eight (so far!) posts focus on specific themes and pair podcasts with reading level-appropriate books!
How Do We Score?
An overwhelming 97.6% of respondents indicated that they feel supported by the staff of The Walking Classroom, and 95.6% indicated that they would recommend The Walking Classroom to a colleague, so we’re definitely feeling the love!
. . . and What’s in Store?
In the next several weeks, The Walking Classroom’s Year-End Teacher and Student Surveys will be heading out to the same group of folks, so keep your eyes on your email inbox. We look forward to receiving your feedback and using it to make our program even better!
As well, if you have been using The Walking Classroom for more than a year, feel free to contact us to share your feedback, insights or ideas. We’d love to hear what you have to say!
We love The Walking Classroom! Learning and exercising together are so much fun. Our Language Arts class use the system every week. We especially enjoyed the idioms, rhymes heme, meter and verse, and preposition podcasts. They all provided a great intro into each lesson. The follow up activities proved to be beneficial as well. Our success rate in these areas have improved along with our health. Thank you, Walking Classroom!