Week 3:
What went well?
This week was geared much more towards the logistical aspects of immersive programming, such as "training the trainers" and ensuring that all of the necessities for working with students (CPR training, run-hide-fight training, emergency preparedness) were set. Additionally, discussions about thematic arc for the programming felt good this week.
What could have been done differently?
I feel that this week we could have placed more of an emphasis on confirming some of the site visit logistics. Things felt a bit rushed and stressful as the program for the high schoolers drew near and some of the community organizing partnerships that we had prioritized for being congruent with our arc and the different pathways for social justice that we are centering our program around were not confirmed.
What did I learn about myself while working with others?
I learned that I need time set out to summarize where my team is at every day. At the end of each day, it was really helpful to go over what had been done and what still needed to be tackled in the coming days to ensure that my team was on track and my personal work was set out fine.
What did I learn about leadership?
I learned that you cannot forget the things we often take for granted -- ensuring that our leaders are prepared to handle any sort of emergency is just as important as ensuring themes are present and program goals are met.
What do I want to develop or focus on next?
When I work on the Canvas guide for social justice immersive programs, I want to take the emergency preparedness skills I learned throughout this week and implement that in. While it may be considered less important, ensuring that a knowledge of safety is present is comforting for people engaging in immersive programming to ensure that they are comfortable enough to open themselves up for engaged learning and reflection.