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Above: Students visit Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest to learn about watersheds, acid rain and how scientists are experimenting with huge tracts of land to learn about climate change and other impacts on ecosystems.
Doing work in or with your community, often called "project based learning," allows students to feel a sense of purpose, accomplishment and accountability. What better way to learn "real-world" skills than to partner with an organization or individual who is doing real work? But it can be hard to find the time to make contacts or to find a project that is appropriate in scale, time-frame, content and/or compatible with student interests and competencies. If community-based projects are something you're hoping to be more involved in, or even if you're just looking for a field trip or dynamic in-class speakers, Inquir-Ed can be the liaison.
For a project about Podcasting and communication, students recorded their own podcast episode on the professional equipment at NHPR in Concord and learned how engineers edit sound.
It is important to consider whether a project is age-appropriate before jumping in. Below is a research-based graphic Aubrey developed as a guide to thinking about a child's expanding worldview and what types of projects will meet them where they are.
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