Teaching Experiences

Every field trip begins with a moment of anticipation and preparation. As we gather our groups of 5 to 8 students, we discuss objectives for the day along with potential hazards, but most importantly, we share our excitement and goals for the day ahead.

Our approach revolves around fostering inquiry and curiosity through nature journaling activities found in Law and Lygren’ “How to Teach Nature Journaling”. Their comprehensive method lays the foundation for scientific thinking and journaling—a crucial aspect of our program. By the end of our field trips, each student will have produced a nature journal full of their observations, serving as a testament to their growth and curiosity.

One particular memory stands out—a student who spoke little English joined us for a trip and was in my group. Fortunately, we had a fellow undergrad who was able to accompany us that day, ensuring the student felt welcomed and included throughout the day. As we began on our nature identification hike this particular student I noticed was very quiet and tended to keep towards the back of the group towards the fellow undergrad.

Once we reach a section of the trail that is at an incline I like to invite the students to run to the top of the trail and wait for me, which I’ve learned is a good idea because they have a lot of energy. Although this student didn’t want to run with the others or engage in observations while we were hiking, but rather was telling the fellow undergrad and my professor, that “his feet hurt” and “he didn’t want to be there”.

At the top of the hill I like to start a nature journaling activity called “zoom-in and zoom-out” , an approachable activity for all students regardless of language barriers and for all environmental skill levels. Students get the opportunity to use scientific tools such as a magnifying glass to make observations in their very own scientific nature journals that we had made for them.

Once I handed this student a magnifying glass you could physically see the difference on his face. I witnessed the spark of curiosity ignite in the student's eyes. The student who was just saying “he didn’t want to be there” was now running along the hillside looking at small pink flowers, and different types of plants near him.

Seizing the opportunity, I sat down with the student on the trail, along with my fellow undergrad, and we began documenting our observations in our nature journals. Suddenly, the student who had been vocal about not wanting to be there was now wanting to share with me what he noticed and what he wondered with the help from the undergrad team member.

Their questions and observations reflected a newfound excitement for learning and exploration. With a sense of joy and accomplishment, the young scientist continued their studies. It's moments like these that reaffirm the impact of our work, when a teacher who had been with this student in the classroom the prior weeks had said “it was so cool to see this student talk so much”. Witnessing their transformation from reluctantly, to quiet observation, to active engagement was truly inspiring.

1st Grade Student Quotes, Drawings, and Identifications

While on the field trips students showed increased ecological knowledge by identifying the Oregon white oak, camas, oso berries, black-tailed deer and many more species we had introduced. Below are just a few quotes from students to show what they had learned as well as some of the students scientific nature journals.

“I don't wanna leave, I wanna live here!”

"The leaves are beautiful they are light green"

"I notice that there is some cool plants by me"

“I loved everything about today, I want to come back!”

“I thought today was going to be boring, but it wasn’t!”

When talking about camas one student stated; “my new favorite flower!”

When discussing oso berries one student made an “it reminds me of statement” a key aspect in making observations; “it reminds me of mangos”.

Plant Drawings and Identifications