The 2010 Environmental Project Based Learning Institute took place August 16-19. Below is the first of three installments about the Institute. Come back tomorrow to read the second installment.
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 High School group and host of the Institute was led by Paul Tweeds and Liz Seubert.
The middle school group, led by teachers Victoria Rydberg (River Crossing) and Jeff Hadorn (Wildlands) 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, led by Sandy Vander Velden and Joann Engel (Fox River Academy), 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.
Come back tomorrow for the second installment of the Environmental Project Based Learning Institute
