Teaching and Learning

Our vision for all of our outdoor science programs is that they will be:

• Student-Centered

  • Students will be doing most of the work of learning - observing, exploring, collecting data, writing/drawing, discussing, arguing from evidence - Instructors are facilitators of this/guides on the side vs. sage on the stage

• Nature-Centered

  • Whenever possible, lessons will revolve around direct interactions with the natural world vs. games or activities

  • Place-based, too - directly connected to the local environment - and more relevant to students in that way

• Meet Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) performance expectations

  • In NGSS, using science process/scientific thinking is key, vs. memorization of facts

  • To begin to address NGSS, regardless of the topic, make sure students are engaged in practices, exploring science ideas, and figuring things out during science instruction. “In order to be fully engaged in the practices, it’s simply not enough to merely learn about the science idea, however creative and hands-on the task may be. To engage in the practices, and really participate in them, a student has to frame the task as an exploration. The intellectual work... has to be centered on figuring out how or why something happens.“ — Cynthia Passmore, UC Davis School of Education

• Meaningful and Memorable

  • Learning should connect to them personally

  • Adventures should be had!

In looking at revising the curriculum to align with our Vision and NGSS, we are looking less at changing content and more at changing delivery - Following the teaching methods below will lead to the kind of outcomes we want to see in student experience and their thinking and communication about science.

To move our teaching toward this vision, we'll be using the tools below - click the links to learn more...