Teresa
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Viewing 11 posts - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)
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TeresaParticipantFor this I think it is best to prime the class with expectations and your ultimate goal. Provide examples of other simple projects completed. Then, take a nature walk with a scavenger hunt specific to your topic. After the class has been primed with an overview of info and some hands on activities (requiring knowledge about the topic), then make an I Wonder board (if you weren't doing it all along). I think this would get the ideas going.in reply to: Launching Investigations #907123
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TeresaParticipantI explored budburst app and the website. I recorded various species and their life stage though the app. This program would be very beneficial for students to engage in to gain a deeper understanding of phenology and devolop deeper appreciation for their local environment. Based on my limited experience with the app, students would become very familiar with local and invasive species around our education program. They would learn how scientists collect data, the life stages of plants, and how to determine coordinates using a map. This program would be a good base for inquiry based teaching where the students could develop their own studies about local wildlife.in reply to: Symbiosis in the Soil – Classroom Case Study #906805
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TeresaParticipantYou give them something worth observing. Jessifer mentioned that by just taking kids outside, they have a natural tendency to make observations. My ideas are taking my students (with sticky notes) on a walk through our nature preserve and asking open ended questions about the environment to get things going. Or taking them into our garden and doing the same. There is also a park we could visit. In any case, the great outdoors provides a feast for kids to abserve and wonder.in reply to: Supporting Open-ended Questions #906150
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TeresaParticipantI think being flexible but prepared for each class. My location is gold. My classroom is under a Mulberry tree right by a grove of trees. The kids and I will easily be able to set up a little areas for the birds to conduct all kinds of studies. The downside to this tho is I have to bring all my stuff out to the classroom. If I forget something like the field guide books, then it takes 5-10 minutes to get them from the storage. Also, research is limited. We have no internet and I hate using phones, so I will have to figure out how to encourage research in a way that the kids will follow through. I think I will put together binders of info for bird research.in reply to: Linking Citizen Science & Inquiry #905634
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TeresaParticipantI appreciate the emphasis of a child not being an assistant, but an actual scientist. I love how this can change the perspective of the learner and create meaning, responsibility, and significance to their role. To incorporate this practice, I plan to inform them from the beginning that they are not helpers or assistants, but scientists in my class. I will give the learner control and time to process this role and explain to them what it means to be a scientist. I plan to explore the significance of this role and also engage in discussion with the learners what they believe it means. I will also have to change my perspective of the learners act as a facilitator/helper while they are on this learning experience.in reply to: Citizen Science in Your Classroom #905483
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TeresaParticipantI would really like to do a bird feeder project. At my all outdoor education program there are multiple areas away from students where we could place bird feeders. This project opens the door to so many opportunities to learn in manageable doses. From what feeder birds we might expect to see in our area, to analyzing choices of feeder placement, to what type of birds we might see depending on the bird feeders we make. There are opportunities for analyzing species and behavior. This project also opens the door to hands on crafts such as home made bird feeders and also making structures for nests.in reply to: Intro to Citizen Science #905233
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TeresaParticipantI work with grades 2-12 in an all outdoor program. One of my lessons discussed hurricane Katrina and levees. After discussing hurricane Katrina and the failure of levees that contributed to absolute devastation, I challenged my 4-6 graders to be engineers and develop a levee with materials that had to be purchased with a limited amount of mad money provided to them. Students were instructed to develop a design, determine materials needed, construct the design, and then test its effectiveness. The team with the best levee won. This level of inquiry is Open Inquiry, I believe. Science practices somewhat used were Asking Questions and Defining Problems and Engaging in Argument from Evidence. This was a really fun lesson but it definitely could have been better. I would need more time for this lesson than I had originally but I think it would have been cool to bring some small structures symbolizing houses or buildings. Place the structures on the ground, in an open space (remember we are an all outdoor program and gave 9 acres to work with) and inform the students that the structures are a city that is below sea level. How do we protect it from hurricanes and flooding? With this type of activity and with the student’s age group I would keep this activity Open Inquiry. We would develop a question, analyze solutions, determine materials needed (I would bring various materials from the dollar store and allow kids to use natural materials around the school), design a model, execute plan, and then test it. Once we tested our structure we would analyze our data. We could also compare each team’s structure and see who’s structure held up the best in protecting the city from water. The final part would be developing solutions to problems encountered and trying the experiment again. I believe all practices could be applied to this lesson, but for the students I would with, the following practices would currently be appropriate and doable: Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering) Developing and using models Planning and carrying out investigations Analyzing and interpreting data Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering) Engaging in argument from evidencein reply to: Inquiry in Your Classroom #905176
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TeresaParticipantInquiry begins at infancy and leads to a natural course of learning. Through inquiry we explore our unknown and take charge of our own learning. Inquiry results from our own desire to make sense of the world. It is exciting and intrinsically motivated. Our brains are more prepared to learn when it has chosen its own point of interest and is provided the control to answer its own questions, make its own investigations, and determine its own meaning.in reply to: Intro to Inquiry #904572
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TeresaParticipantI love watching bird feeders and watching birds soaring on a wind current we have in the evenings in our backyard. I love discovering wild plants you can eat.in reply to: Work on Your Beginner Mindset #902813
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TeresaParticipantWe go camping and my kids naturally disperse to do what they love. My son hikes with his cousin and my daughters build forts and structures. I believe camping is one of the best ways for kids to learn to appreciate nature. When we hike, snacks are always a big hit and make the whole activity more enjoyable foe my 6 year old. At home my son loves looking in field microscopes, binoculars, and taking photos. My youngest daughter loves gardening with me and planting seeds she finds in fruit she eats. My oldest daughter loves just playing outside with natural materials to build things like fairy houses and neighborhoods.in reply to: Building Enthusiasm for Getting Outside #902712
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TeresaParticipantWhen I was 2 or 3 years old I was babysat by out neighbor 1x per week. At the end of the day my babysitter would take me outside under her huge walnut tree and we would sit together and feed the scrubjays walnuts. That is one of my favorite memories.in reply to: Remembering Your Moments in Nature #902646
Viewing 11 posts - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)