Recreational Therapy Project Cultivates Growth Mindset in Fifth Graders
Bethany Allen, a community and therapeutic recreation major, wanted to introduce elementary students to the role of a recreational therapist. Through the teamwork and communication exercises she formed, students became more engaged in the topic and showed increased interest in college. The post Recreational Therapy Project Cultivates Growth Mindset in Fifth Graders appeared first on UNC Greensboro.
UNCG undergraduate student Bethany Allen always loved working with children. The Community and Therapeutic Recreation major recently found a calling working with fifth-graders at Jones Elementary School in Greensboro for a project with her HHS Student Leadership Program class.
“In high school I found a real passion for supporting the differently abled population, which has continued to shape my career goals,” Allen said. “I’m drawn to Recreational Therapy, (RT) because I want to serve others. I want to help people heal, grow, and truly enjoy their lives.”
Allen, 20, chose to develop a presentation and activity for a fifth grade class at Jones Elementary for a spring project to demonstrate what a recreational therapist does and why the profession is important.
“Recreational therapy is a very unknown field, but it is something so many children and people in general could benefit from,” Allen said. “My goal was to teach the younger generation the importance of RT and send them home with information about it.”
RT is a form of therapy that uses recreation and other activity-based interventions to assist people with illnesses or physical ailments to promote psychological and physical health and well-being.
“I am comfortable and passionate about serving the next generation, so (being in a school) really helped me with pushing through my anxiety with presenting,” Allen said.
She ended up creating a slideshow, infographics, team division cards, group certificates, and supply and goodie bags. Allen also planned and facilitated a group activity and recruited volunteers to help with her event at Jones Elementary.
Allen worked with professors to ensure her activities were age-appropriate and engaging, having the students build the tallest towers they could in groups using spaghetti noodles and mini marshmallows in a designated time. It was designed to get the students to focus on communication and teamwork. However, the project helped Allen with her own communication skills, as well, as she had to effectively communicate with the students what they needed to do.
I didn’t know what I would walk into, or if the students would grasp what I was even saying. Just leaning in to where you are at and the work you put into (the planning) made it all okay. I poured my heart into this experience and in the end it was one of my greatest accomplishments.
Bethany Allen
Allen said she also knew she made an impact on the students she met with.
“Going into it, a lot of students talked about becoming athletes, but nobody really mentioned wanting to go to college. But after my project, I had multiple students tell me that they wanted to go to college when they got older,” Allen said.
A Jones Elementary School counselor also emailed her a few days after Allen was at the school to tell her the students retained the information from Allen’s presentation.
She has advice for anyone looking to try something outside of their comfort zone.
Keep with it, even when you feel overwhelmed or doubtful, and find something that you are passionate about.
