In a lighthearted blend of education and camaraderie, Upper School AP Psychology students recently spent time with Senior Kindergarten students in the vibrant world of Lower School. Leaving their textbooks behind, they buddied up and bridged the gap between theory and reality, immersing themselves in the nuances of developmental psychology.
Led by Upper School History & Social Sciences Teacher Diane Gioia, this annual adventure continues to expand and brings joy to learning for all students involved.
For the developmental psychology unit, Upper Schoolers learned about cognition, social dynamics, and physical mastery, which are hallmarks of childhood, before they even stepped foot in the halls of Beasley. There, they witnessed the brain’s magic hard at work as the younger students traversed reading lessons and music and P.E. classes.
Senior Kindergarten Homeroom Teacher Stacie Schneider said, «Our students were so excited to welcome the Upper School students into their space. It was great to watch the students take their guests around the room to their different centers and get to be the ‘experts.’ You could tell they were feeling proud! It is always a pleasure to collaborate with students from the Upper School, and it’s always fun to see some of my former students.»
In music, Upper School students were briefed by Dr. Katy Nichols, Lower School Music Teacher, about the main objectives of the class: tempo, beat competency, rhythm preparation, and preparing songs for the Grandparents Day event in April. She said, «Each Upper School student paired up with an SK student around the circle. They volunteered to help with our music games, playing the instruments, and using Mr. Stretchy – a giant stretchy band that the students love for movement. The psychology students participated with such enthusiasm. They quickly joined in the singing, beat-keeping, and music-making of our young musicians. It was a joyful experience for everyone in the room!»
In P.E., Upper Schoolers were in full observation mode of SK and first graders playing floor hockey, paying special attention to movement patterns, skill levels, and social-emotional behaviors. After the floor games, the students connected with each other in small groups, forming bonds over commonalities or simply the love of the game.
Gioia shared, «In these more relaxed environments like music class and P.E., it forces students to think about repetition, which relates to something they learned in class: encoding. It demonstrates how things go in the back door [of your brain] that you don’t always pay attention to.»
Students shared impactful reflections about the experience:
«It was interesting meeting with the kindergarteners at MICDS. They’re all so bright, respectful, and energized. Their energy in the classroom and their love for class makes me wonder what we can learn about life from children.» – Lachlan Murray ’24
«My Beasley visit was something that I greatly enjoyed. I enjoyed this as it felt like I could reconnect with some parts of my younger self and see how I may have been thinking. Seeing the colorful classrooms with ‘Respect’ plastered everywhere on the walls was awesome because I remember similar teachings at my old school and how heavily reinforced respect was. Working with them helped me understand many different cognitive ideas associated with AP Psychology and, at the same time, was a fun and meaningful experience for me. If I could do this again, I would do it. I think that this is one of the best activities for the community as a whole as you allow the younger students to see how an older ‘friend’ listens to instructions, so it helps them, but also allows for the older students to explore potential past versions of themselves and connect it to their current learning.» – Aidan Helms ’24
«Visiting the kindergarten music class was an amazing experience. We got to get hands-on in our learning of developmental psychology and observe the way that four- and five-year-olds interact with one another and with their teachers.» – Rachel Phillips ’24
«It was so refreshing to visit a Beasley classroom and interact with the kids for psychology. Being able to apply content is so essential for psychology, and it was a new and interesting way of learning.» – Cora Bryan ’24
«Going down to the Beasley room and visiting the SK students, one thing I really enjoyed was how stress-free everything was. It allowed me to leave all my work and assignments out of the classroom and, for the next hour, enjoy my time and have fun with all my classmates and the SK students.» – Haider Malik ’24
«I had a lot of fun visiting the SK classroom. It was interesting to see how different their class is compared to mine and how much I forgot from my time as a kindergartener. The whole experience was great because I saw how willing the kids were to learn and show what they knew. I also got to see what different strategies the teacher used to get their attention and teach them.» – Liam McCarthy ’24
«I found the experience interesting because we saw a clear difference in how children process information versus how teenagers and adults do it. I also enjoyed seeing the different strategies used by the SK teachers to help the students learn. An example was when Mrs. Schneider read the kids a new book; she made a chart showing what the students already knew about the topic and what they learned after reading the book.» – Intisar Iqbal ’24
«I really enjoyed going to the Lower School not only because I got to see my little brother but also because I got to revisit the Lower School classroom dynamics. I remember being in SK, and it’s crazy to think about how much things have changed in terms of activities and curriculum, but some things have also stayed the same, like the teacher’s willingness to help us learn and consideration of every student’s feelings. Also, because I’m a senior, it felt like a full-circle moment to get to go back to where I started here at MICDS.» – Mia Krieger ’24
«Meeting all the Beasley kids was such a wonderful experience! We have been learning about developmental psychology in AP Psych, so it was super cool to observe the SK kids in their homeroom and apply our knowledge. I had the opportunity to read with some of the kids and play word games, which was fun. Thank you to the SK homeroom for having us! –Abby Gray ’24
This exploratory adventure demonstrates to all students that there is no substitute for human interaction and the human experience. It enriches the understanding on both sides while building community in the JK-12 environment!