Westridge’s First Tiger Week Offers Students Hands-On, Experiential Learning from Home with Nearly 60 Faculty-Led Workshops

Last week was Tiger Week at Westridge, a celebration of experiential learning featuring nearly 60 virtual workshops exploring a wildly diverse range of non-academic topics. Westridge faculty and staff members submitted proposals for workshops based on their personal interests and experiences, resulting in offerings that ran the gamut from dog photography and woodworking to web game design and music journalism. Just a few of the workshops presented included:

• “Create Your Own Dutch Still Life”
• “The Politics of Self-Care: Learning from Audre Lorde”
• “Slow Stitching – the Art of Relaxing Through Sewing and Connection”
• “Creative Technology Game Design with Guest Dr. Aisen Car Chacin”
• “Indigenous Technology of the Pacific: Keanhala Weaving”

In a typical year, the week before spring break is devoted to experiential learning opportunities that have ranged from day trips to local museums to international service trips to Kenya. Dean of Upper School Student Activities Brittany Coker had to completely reimagine what these experiential learning opportunities would look like in a remote learning setting.

“Experiential learning is so important because it allows students to connect with learning in a new way and make discoveries about themselves and the world around them,” said Coker, who spearheaded the creation and organization of Tiger Week. “This year, we had to think outside our traditional programming and come up with something fun and different, but still COVID-safe. I was amazed by the variety and creativity of workshop proposals we received from our faculty and staff. The whole community really came together to fill this week with exciting experiences for our students.”

Westridge School, 324 Madeline Drive, Pasadena, (626) 799-1053 ext. 200 or visit www.westridge.org.