Defining Lesson

Describe a lesson or unit that defines you as a teacher. How did you engage all students in learning, and how did that learning influence your students? How are your beliefs about teaching demonstrated in this lesson or unit?

When teaching about the environment, I believe that the most important thing is for students to be able to reflect and apply their learning. Teaching sustainability is all about the future - how are we going to ensure that the world is a better place for future generations? With this question lies a huge call to action. What will your impact be? How will you leave the world a better place than you found it? This is the basis for all of my classes. 

Whether students learned a skill or a concept, all units in my class end the same: with a call to action. The framework of my classes is built upon the concept of environmental justice; while we learn about sustainability issues, we must understand how they impact groups differently. Once students understand this, they can bring their knowledge and skills to life through community advocacy. My classes look at environmental effects of groups all over the world, but the way that we can achieve the most impact is by fixing our focus at home. 

This year, I joined the Pilot Light Food Education Fellowship. My goal with this program was to offer more hands-on opportunities for students to apply their learning in Hydroponics. I didn’t want my class to be a “sit and get”. I wanted to create experiences for students to directly interact with the environment, and in doing so, become more invested in the concepts being taught. As a result, this fellowship offered opportunities for students to think more critically about food and the environment. Every Friday, we have “Pilot Light Day”, where my students participate in a hands-on food experience that reinforces the learning objectives from the week. In our unit on food deserts, students were presented with food options bought from the Reasors and QT closest to McLain. By comparing food prices and the variety of options available, students were able to understand the impact of food accessibility. When learning about climate change, we made soyrizo breakfast tacos, prompting students to consider the relationship between food choices and carbon footprints. In our final unit of the semester, we harvested the kale that we had been growing to make breakfast frittatas (for most of the students, this was the first time that they had ever heard of or tried a frittata). 

Pilot Light Day has become my students’ favorite part of Hydroponics class. They love to work together to create a shared meal from scratch. We have a full-circle model in my class; in each recipe, we try to utilize produce that was grown right in the classroom. This way, students are able to have a hand in every step of the process. At the same time, they’re learning skills that they can carry with them outside of McLain - food production, cooking skills, and healthy eating. Not only are students able to continue using these skills after they leave Hydroponics, but they can share what they’ve learned with others to continue the impact. Often, I have students begging for a pass to my class to participate in the food experience. Other times, I’m approached by students that I’ve never seen before, asking if I’m the teacher with the cooking class. By providing exciting opportunities for my students, I’ve been able to increase student engagement and buy-in for environmental education at McLain.

This semester, my Hydroponics class will be focusing on a semester-long food advocacy project. Students will identify local food organizations in Tulsa, and choose one that they would like to raise money for by hosting a plant sale for potted plants, seeds, and fresh produce. Currently, we have six different types of leafy greens preparing to be transplanted to our hydroponic towers: lettuce, kale, spinach, arugula, cabbage, and swiss chard. In total, this will produce about 200 full-size plants inside of our classroom, which can be harvested and regrown. At the start of spring, my students will also begin to work in our outdoor garden, experiencing different growing methods to create more produce using seeds that have been donated by friends, colleagues, and family members from all over the country. Students will decide how to market and sell their products, collaborating with our Photography and Digital Editing classes. At the end of the semester, we will invite students, staff, and community members to what will hopefully be the first annual McLain plant sale, benefiting a local food organization. 

All of the above are examples of how I increase student engagement in my classes. Each class that I plan for, I try to find ways that students will get to experience something that they don’t see anyone else doing. Whether it’s building a prototype of a hydroponics system, cooking a recipe of their choosing, taking home their own plant that they started from seed, or caring for our class fish, students are developing a deep understanding and care for the environment that will continue past their completion of my class.