Kathleen

CS and inquiry-based learning are fun for children and adults.  The young birders' club that I lead visits nearby natural areas monthly.  I would like to explore ways to make these field trips more actual science based rather than a hike for families and a chance to be outdoors. The kids attend with their parents who provide the transportation.  Most parents want their children to have these experiences or the children are interested in birding.   I wish there was a method of conveying to the parents the value of these field trips and what their children are gaining through these experiences.  This class has brought these deficits to my attention.  Furthermore,   the club often visits natural areas and the staff at these sites generously shares their time and knowledge with the kids.  These talks with the experts  (scientists) could be framed as more of inquiry experiences where the kids can ask questions.  Using the "I wonder" board may be a method for the kids to reflect and develop questions in advance what they would want to know when we talk to these experts.   I am not sure if the families and kids are utilizing the science lessons that can be realized through these encounters.  It would be great if they could take more responsibility in these field trips.   Since the viral outbreak, may of our field trip have been cancelled.  The young birders club offers these hands-on and engaging field trips, I need to contemplate a better approach to make these field trips more science bases with inquiry components identified.  Perhaps using something where the club members could stay engaged beyond the monthly field trips would be smart.  These lessons have given me a lot of consider.

Thank you for embracing these CS at your site.  It sounds like you have a lot of resources and opportunities for your students.  Kudos to you.

I really like the idea of a nature journal.  This is a great assessment tool.  When you think about some of the great naturalists, they all drew and journaled.  The concept of phenology spans time.  Since you only have a snapshot of time with students - is their something that they can take away to continue their learning after their short time with you. Can you invite the students to return to complete a journal with their parents to see something on the trail during a different time of the year.  Perhaps, these journals can be showcased at an event where students can share with others.

These are great ideas and applications.  It sounds like you have given your instruction and implementation a great deal of thought.  Do the student really like your classes?  They sound extremely interesting and experiential.  Thank you.

Using citizen science a great way to engage students and adults.  When students conduct citizen science projects, they gain personal knowledge of organisms and/or  natural areas where they live.  This experience can create life long bonds and build stewardships values with the students.  In working as an educational specialist/naturalist at a park district for a number of years, I used NestWatch, Project FeederWatch and the Frog Survey.  I enlisted volunteers to assist with these projects.  These CS projects have specific protocols and reporting procedures that can easily be learned and used.  In addition, each project can be easily adapted to the classroom to allow students to conduct the work with little teacher guidance.  I primarily, worked with young adults and adults with these three CS programs. College students and adults seeking community service hours as conservation stewards often volunteered. Sometimes, parents participated  with their children. High School students were required to dedicate time through community service as well.   Volunteers were asked to learn the protocol of each program and then sign up for time or assignment to conduct the work.     The park district had a bluebird trail.  Volunteers were needed to check and monitor the nest boxes annually during the nesting cycle.  Volunteers adopted boxes and checked them regularly during the nesting cycle.  NestWatch provided instructions and many learning opportunities along with a reporting format.  The data collected through NestWatch helped inform park stewardship management, it was also reported on a database accessible to researchers plus, the data was valuable for work reporting in general.  Project FeederWatch became an activity that elevate the importance of feeders at park nature centers.  Many nature centers have feeders for visitors to view.  Project FeederWatch provides a protocol to collect metrics about the birds using the feeders.  Project FeederWatch  involves STEM.  Students can evaluate the birds that regularly visit the feeders, count and graph their numbers and their presence.  FeederWatch provides opportunities  for students to explore and experiment. Additionally FeederWatch maintains records annually which helps researchers track changes and trends in bird populations over time.  Frog Survey was a survey done in the spring through the state department of natural resources.  Volunteers learned the songs of local frogs and visited specific areas and reporting on the species calling and rated their numbers based of the volume of the choruses.  This information was reported to the state department of natural resource which provided an annual report for the entire state.    Our local watershed council provides a learning opportunity twice a year for students to monitor streams within the watershed.  This program is called Stream leaders.  I worked with high school students monitoring a stream for a number of years.  They visited the stream in the spring and the fall.  The students collected physical, chemical and biological data at the site.  The data were reported to the local watershed.  For the teacher, this was her favorite activity.   Through Audubon, I have participated in the Christmas Bird Count for a number of years.  It is a historical CS program which was started in 1899.  The data collected through the CBC has informed bird conservation for years.  Audubon also has another program called Climate Watch which looks at target species and their presence in a area in the winter and spring.  Participation in these CS project enriches and informs student lives. They  are  doing active science and contributing to conservation while learning.

Kinta - I think there are some common core activities that can be adapted.  Kudos for you to doing more for the students. They are worth it.

Annette - bravo for having live animals in your classroom.  Very cool.

I really don't teach science lessons, but facilitate science learning through engaging young birders and their families on bird hikes to local parks and natural areas. During hikes instead of calling out birds that we are encountering on the trail, I ask families to download Merlin which is a smart phone bird identification app.  Families are asked to identify birds through the Merlin app when feasible.  Merlin poses a series of questions for families to answer based on their observations.   Along with local birds sightings from eBird, families are able to identify birds most of the time.  This activity involves guided and open inquiry strategies based on reading the "Many Level of Inquiry" article.  The families enjoying using technology.  Once the bird is identified correctly, then more questions can be posed about habitat and behaviors that can observe in the field. In terms of the NGSS, this activity involves analyzing and interpreting data at least. In addition, some field trips are timed to align with Bird events like the Great Backyard Bird Count and the Christmas Bird Count.  These activities give participants field experience in actual citizen science activities.  There are a number of benefits beyond science.  learning from these hikes.

Amy - your thoughts about what drives inquiry aligns with what I believe is true.  Thank you.

@Liz Holly - I like your concept map and agree with Liz that inquiry is circular and you return to your initial question and thoughts as you seek understanding during the process.