An example of enjoying an aspect of your job

I had the privilege of joining educators from Minnesota and Wisconsin on a four day Environmental Project Based Learning Institute. Not being an educator myself I enjoy spending time and embracing the thoughts and expertise of teachers. Teachers encourage our children to explore their own thoughts and build upon the knowledge surrounding their everyday lives. As true educators themselves, those attending the four-day institute came to expand their own knowledge and add to the curriculum already taught in their own school. The Institute provides a resource to educators looking for strategies to incorporate the natural world into student projects and develop project based learning management skills. It was a time for all to become a student again and experience project based learning first hand. As the underlying theme expressed, the Institute allows for “No Teachers Left Inside.”

Hosted by Wildlands School, the Institute took place at the well-maintained Beaver Creek Reserve in Fall Creek, Wisconsin. The temperature dropped from the previous week to a pleasant 75° F. Although the humidity was kept at bay the mosquitoes were out in full force. However, everyone was well prepared with plenty of bug spray and good spirits. How could anyone resist a location where birdcalls welcomed guests to their home. One teacher was fortunate enough to have a bald eagle fly by the side of her car and direct her toward the reserve. A doe in the brush greeted another teacher as he set up camp.

The first afternoon entailed the technicalities and summary of the Institute. It was a time to introduce the instructors and familiarize attendees with project based learning and to find out specifically what they hoped to gain by the end of the four days. Some came knowing the meaning of project based learning and others hoped to understand the concept better and how to apply it with their students. Wildlands defines project learning as based on a constructivist model of learning that engages students in real-world scholarly activity. Students create meaning by designing and completing a project that ultimately benefits the community.

The middle school group jumped right into a project on Tuesday with the Great Lakes Worm Watch. After listening to an explanation of the project and gathering equipment needed, the groups divided into threes and headed outside for worm extraction. I was asked to close my eyes and put my finger on a map of the reserve. Agreeable or not, we headed off to the Savanna area based on my random map location. With bug spray in tow, we arrived a short distance to the well preserved Savanna area of the reserve. Each group dropped a wood frame (1/9 of a square meter) onto a lush duff area (a layer of decomposed leaves, needles, fine twigs, and other organic material found on the forest soil). Each group started the search for earthworms at this location. I did not participate in the actual extraction of earthworms, but watched as groups dug through the duff to find worms. To allow further worms to rise to the surface, groups poured a mixed solution of 1/3 mustard powder and a gallon of water in the wooden square. As the earthworms squirmed to the surface, forceps and fingers were on hand to put them into a container of isopropyl alcohol. By the time everyone arrived back at the lab, the worms would be ready for identification and study under a microscope. As worms were gathered, others used the GPS to gather longitude and latitude, and used the kestrel (a technical weather hawk) for recording of temperature. These results would be used for nature mapping to create a baseline for the location of worms. Since earthworms are not native to the Great Lakes region, this project is one of many educational projects available for students to learn first hand about the land around them and how it changes based on invasive species.

As the middle school group explored earthworms, the elementary group studied watersheds (an area of land where all of the water that is under it or drains off of it goes into the same place). All living things are linked to this common water source and obtaining water samples allows for a better understanding of the water source. The elementary group found the PH of the Eau Claire River (6.5 – acidic), turbidity (clarity – clear) and velocity (timed the floatation of a ping pong ball down the river). On the third day of the Institute the elementary group created a project to incorporate water sampling into their curriculum. One project is to create a field guide.

The Institute did not stop with only the 22 hours of learning during the day. Evening events took place every day as teachers participated in archery, bat monitoring and visiting the observatory. After dinner on the first evening everyone gathered to experience archery first hand. Fox River Academy brought their archery equipment and the lead teacher, certified to teach archery, guided everyone through the safety of archery. The feeling is incredible to place the arrow on the bow, pull back your arm (remember to keep your elbow up and use your shoulder) and watch as the arrow sails through the air and hits the bulls eye. O.K. in my case some arrows may have hit the board behind the target, but it was a great experience never the less. As dusk fell on the campsite, the gathering continued at the campfire. Not being a girl scout myself, I was a little hesitant in my ability to start the fire. Luckily others had more experience and gathered the twigs and placed one piece of paper under the twigs. “It will only take one match”, insisted one of the teachers. In my past camping experiences one match was never enough, but I was willing to try. I lit the match and was pleasantly surprised to find out that it did take only one match. As we stoked the fire, a whippoorwill called to us to announce its presence. The evening ended with everyone recounting his or her first teaching experience. The dedication of these teachers never ceases to amaze me.

The second night allowed for everyone to participate in hands on acoustic bat monitoring. Volunteers survey the bats and the ultrasound calls through a hand held system that records the bat calls. Combined with a global positioning system (GPS) and personal data assistant (PDA) volunteers capture bat calls in real time. The final night allowed for observation of the night sky at Hobbs observatory. Unfortunately, it was a little foggy, so we did not see any passing comets, but did glance at an amazing view of the moon. Each person took his or her turn at the telescope waiting for the clouds to pass and I wish I recorded the excitement in each person’s voice as the clouds slowly shifted and the moon came into view. The ‘wows’ echoed in the observatory. You can see here my view of the moon, as I was able to capture it through my camera. As I learned that night the telescope and digital camera are both afocal, allowing for images from the telescope to be recorded on a very simple digital camera.

The Environmental Project Based Learning Institute became more than a place to learn about projects for students. As I asked one high school teacher what brought him to the Institute, he responded that at first he only wanted to become familiar with Project Based Learning (PBL). However, he has changed his goal and would like to see how he can fit PBL into his high school as a whole. The key is to bring these ideas to the teachers not attending the institute, and find a way to incorporate PBL into the professional development and use different ways to evaluate students. The final outcome for him at the Institute was designing the course for a nine week Green class. The course will include for these students group work (such as rodent tracking), then teacher directed time on using GPS and service learning with a final individual directed project. Another middle school teacher was looking for further ways to use the resources that surrounds the school. The school has a school forest, water test kit, land fill and rock sites. The goal is to find projects to engage students in these resources. One school was also looking into community involvement with project-based learning. They want to provide students with service learning and a hands-on cross-curriculum learning style. Teachers walked away with a framework to infuse a small project and integrate it across curriculum.

The teachers that attended the Institute are not all teaching in charter schools. There were many teachers from schools searching for a chance to meet others and gather ideas to bring into their own classrooms. This is a primary goal of charter schools. Charter schools focus on the areas of critical thinking, creativity, and innovation, and serve as a “testing ground” for new curriculums and teacher methods. These methods are modified and developed into successful models that are then rolled out to non-charter public schools. This Institute served as a good example of three different charter schools (one elementary -Fox River Academy in Appleton, one middle school –River Crossing in Portage and one high school –Wildlands in Augusta) sharing their experience of project based learning and allowing other schools (charter and non-charter) to use these projects within their own school.

One main focus I took back from the Institute was that project based learning created a method of excitement and enthusiasm for the students. As Jeff Nania stated, a volunteer at River Crossing and retired Executive Director from Wisconsin Waterfowl Association, “There’s a rock skipping, frog catching heart inside very child. Teachers are the ones that make this come alive”. Students look for meaningfulness in science. They are not looking for busywork, but a place where what they do and learn makes a difference in their community. The Institute was a great experience because everyone wanted to be there and everyone wanted to learn.

Good Oak
There are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm. One is the danger of supposing that breakfast comes from the grocery, and the other that heat comes from the furnace.
To avoid the first danger, one should plant a garden, preferably where there is no grocer to confuse the issue.
To avoid the second, he should lay a split of good oak on the andirons, preferably where there is no furnace, and let it warm his shins while a February blizzard tosses the trees outside. If one has cut, split, hauled, and piled his own good oak, and let his mind work the while, he will remember much about where the heat comes from, and with a wealth of detail denied to those who spend the week end in town astride a radiator.
Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac

This is a favorite passage of students at River Crossing. One reason is mainly that a lot of their projects encompass this chapter. As the lead teacher of the school states, “the students write their autobiography in reverse chronological order, like they were cutting through the rings of the tree.” Another reason is that they learn about the tree anatomy and the types of tissue, and experience first hand cutting and splitting of their own good oak. Not only do these students learn the environmental history of Wisconsin, but embrace the land ethic as described so clearly by Aldo Leopold in the Sand County Almanac. “The land ethic simply enlarges the boundaries of the community to include soils, waters, plants, and animals, or collectively: the land.” “In short, a land ethic changes the role of Homo sapiens from conqueror of the land-community to plain member and citizen of it. It implies respect for his fellow-members, and also respect for the community as such.” As Leopold would put it, these students are “Thinking Like a Mountain”. The students are learning first hand their role in nature and their responsibilities to respect the natural involvement of land.

Educators at the Institute had the pleasure to meet and listen to Marybeth Lorbiecki, author of “Aldo Leopold – A fierce green fire”. This biography tells the life story of Aldo Leopold and his story on the conservation of land use. The environmental projects that students engage allow the students to learn first hand about nature and themselves conserve the land. Another author, Greg Summers, spoke at the Institute not on “Thinking Like a Mountain” as Leopold would state, but “Thinking Like a Home Owner”. Summers uses the house as a metaphor. He wants people to consider nature in terms of a home, by going room to room and finding the connection of the resources brought into the home and where they originate. The goal is for homeowners to recognize what resources are used for the heating of their house, water coming from the faucet and electricity running their appliances. As homeowners recognize these resources as the comfort of nature, they can begin to help sustain these resources.

As described in the evening activities and speakers, the Environmental Project Based Learning Institute provided so much more than projects for teachers to bring into their classrooms. It provided a network of resources to everyone that will continue to grow. It brought a better understanding on how to incorporate the natural world not only into the student projects, but also across the curriculum and to the school as a whole. A teacher also mentioned once that project-based learning is based on relationships; the relationship between the teacher and student; the relationship between the student and parent; and the relationship between the teacher and parent. Environmental project based learning takes it a step further with the relationship of all these people and nature.