|
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Department of Transportation recently launched a new website with resources aimed at helping schools teach pedestrian and bicycle safety.
MnDOT modeled On My Way! Walk, Bike and Roll Safety Education after the longstanding requirement for bus safety training, starting students off on the right foot by teaching them the fundamental skills of how to walk, bike and roll safely in their communities. This campaign supports a 2023 state law requiring Minnesota schools to teach age-appropriate pedestrian and bicycle safety to students.
“Learning how to safely walk, bike and navigate your neighborhood are lifelong, core skills,” said MnDOT Commissioner Nancy Daubenberger. “People aren’t born knowing how to do them. Our new educational materials can help schools teach these important lessons in an age- and grade-level appropriate way.”
On My Way! includes ready-to-use teaching tools that are flexible, age-appropriate, and designed to fit into multiple classroom settings, including homeroom, advisory, health classes or at home. These include:
- Videos
- Slide decks and lesson plans
- Worksheets and activities
The short-format material is tailored to the appropriate level of attention and complexity. Students in grades K-2 learn safe walking skills, and in grades 3-8 the lessons expand to include biking safety skills. Every lesson has a pre-made presentation with educator notes and links to videos, with places to stop and have classroom discussions or activities.
This isn’t the first time that MnDOT has offered educational materials about pedestrian and bicycle safety. The agency’s Walk! Bike! Fun! curriculum covers similar topics, but On My Way! was built to provide a shorter overview that can be used by staff outside of dedicated physical education setting, too.
“We want school districts to tailor their safety curriculum to their needs,” said Will Wlizlo, MnDOT Active Transportation coordinator. “On My Way! can be done by classroom teachers, health and wellness teachers, principals, or bus drivers, depending on what the district needs. We wanted to make it incredibly easy for a teacher or school staff member, who has maybe never taught pedestrian and bike safety topics before, to be able to confidently talk to students about it.”
That flexibility is one lesson garnered from educators and student feedback during the development of On My Way! The student audience also informed the materials’ conversational tone, as students wanted to learn from each other and be talked “with” instead of talked “to”.
In the end, it’s about making it easy to both teach and understand foundational skills for safely moving around in the place where a person lives.
“Mobility is a big part of the human experience, and we’re excited that MnDOT has created something that will be easy to use, out of the box,” Wlizlo said. “It’s ready to go, just like the students who will be learning these important lessons.”
###
www.mndot.gov
|
