The quote: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has” by Margaret Mead, rang out loud and clear during a four-day “Leave No Teacher Inside” institute in August. A small group of dedicated educators from Wisconsin and Minnesota who are striving to change education came together at Beaver Creek Reserve in Augusta to learn about engaging students through environment-focused projects. Conversations around quality instruction and learning started before breakfast and didn’t end until after sundown. The energy and excitement was intense as this group figured out how to use environmental projects to change their classroom climate and increase student learning!
Educators of kindergarten to Grade 12 were immersed in the project-experience, shared ideas, and learned from veteran EE and project-based learning educators including Paul Tweed, Jeff Hadorn, and Liz Seubert (Wildlands), Sandy Vandervelden and Joann Engel (Fox River Academy) and myself (formerly, River Crossing Environmental Charter School).
Many teachers may ask, “How can you think about environment-based projects when we are being tested in reading and math?” The answers these educators discovered was: “Not only, can we do environment-based projects, we can also engage students in critical thinking and problem solving and raise reading and math achievement at the same time!”
Environmental education is not new; in fact it has been mandated as a part of K-12 curriculum in the state since 1990. Many schools integrate EE into science and other curricula areas. The model of using the Environment as an Integrating Context for Learning ™ was first trade-marked by the State Education and Environment Roundtable in 1997 (http://www.seer.org/). Today, however, “green” charter schools in Wisconsin are leaders of the pack in the environmental project-based learning model where students are designing and implementing projects in the outdoors, educators are facilitating rather than lecturing, and an emphasis on 21st Century Skills is found throughout the educational program.
I left the institute on Thursday morning with the feeling that environmental literacy in our state was achievable, knowing that these 25 dedicated educators represented just a fraction of the educators in the state striving for environmental literacy! I look forward to the student success stories that will emerge from these incredible efforts.
This fall we will be embarking on many new adventures to help achieve environmental literacy. Please stay tuned, keep in touch, keep providing feedback, and keep up your good work! Please don’t hesitate to call on me to support your efforts in EE!
Victoria Rydberg
Environmental Education Consultant
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
608-266-0419
victoria.rydberg@dpi.wi.gov
http://www.dpi.wi.gov/cal/environmental-ed.html
