professor of the English 111 service learning class, known as Teach2Grow. “This is a great event because we always take a theme and develop something relatable that we’re pas- sionate about.” Rule is passionate about gardening. She created Teach2Grow, a hands-on learning class that allows students to learn differently by dividing their time between the classroom and the com- munity garden on campus. Rule says the students still research and write the same as in a traditional English class, but they also have the opportu- nity to learn how to garden. “I don’t want to sit in the classroom for three and a half hours, so I figured some of our students don’t want to ei- ther,” Rule said. “A lot of the students make great connections with each other, especially since many of them take this class in their first semester,” she continued. “That connection is a benefit I didn’t expect when I original - ly designed the class, but it has been one of the biggest rewards. Plus, the campus English 111 pass rate signifi - cantly increased to about 90%!”
her knowledge of building monarch butterfly gardens to the community. She was part of making the monarch butterfly garden in Noblesville and is in the process of creating one at the downtown Indianapolis campus. Throughout the year, her Teach2Grow classes collected seeds in the garden to hand them out at Buzz & Flutter. “It’s beneficial to be out like this and educate our communities. Not only for the monarch butterflies but for people to know that service learning classes are available at Ivy Tech,” Rule said. Fine arts student Baily McKendry says she would’ve loved community art events such as Buzz & Flutter as a kid. McKendry held a workshop showing people how to make flower pens. It was her second time being part of Spirit & Place. “I came back for the experience. It’s a very nice event. The fact that it’s free and allows kids to come in and be creative in various ways is amazing. I definitely would’ve participated if I had something like this in my commu- nity as a kid,” McKendry said.
Robertson says she and those around her always look forward to their sub- sequent contribution to the Spirit & Place Festival because it’s a natural fit. “Spirit & Place is looking for com- munity engagement. And we’re a community college full of people who love humanities, art, music, theater, and education,” Robertson said. “Our Ivy Tech faculty loves to put together fun, interactive projects for the whole family. And if we can engage families – even if it’s only 20 families or just 20 kids – it means something.” Buzz & Flutter had over 225 attend- ees, a significant jump from about 40 the year before.
Rule’s part in Buzz & Flutter is bringing
Photo by: Shakkira Harris
Winter 23-24 | 33
Photo by: Shakkira Harris
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