One of the most difficult things about educating children, and actually
older students up to adults, is how difficult it is to understand
abstract concepts without a great deal of practical, meaningful and
authentic experience. Learning theorists emphasize this point
repeatedly. Hence, the move toward hands-on and inquiry learning.
However, when our hands-on activities are also abstract representations
of reality, it may not actually be any easier for students to make the
connection. If you haven't read Richard Louv's book, /Last Child in the
Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder/, I highly
recommend it just to get a taste of how -- in general -- today's
children are deprived of basic experiences in nature most of us had
growing up. These experiences are the foundation upon which concepts
of nature can be cultivated.
So if you have the opportunity, I strongly recommend getting the
students actually exploring out in nature themselves to gather direct
experiences related to this concept. It is often erroneous to assume
they have such experience. (Louv has galvanized the movement called No
Child Left Inside, with a bill passing the House -- yet to go to the
Senate -- see the Children and Nature Network --
http://www.childrenandnature.org/)
One of the most effective activities I've used (and actually learned
from a favorite prof of mine) was to imagine oneself as an insect-eating
bird such as a nuthatch or brown creeper in the winter, and go out and
try to find in the bark of trees what they are eating. Watch their
utter amazement at what they find! A follow-up discussion can then
center around how many insects per day they think a bird eats. What do
the insects eat? Does anything rely on eating the birds? What happens
if the microbes the insects eat disappeared?
Whatever trophic webs exist in the region you live in, including urban
areas, you can think of similar examples of having the students go out
and try to find the organisms at lower trophic levels. Some will be
plentiful (pastures for cattle; fields for grasshoppers, fields and
woods for deer, mice, etc.), some not so. It's interesting to juxtapose
a challenge with a plentiful resource and a scarce resource.
Nothing takes the place of direct discovery in the authentic
environment, with hands-on experiences that are real, not a hands-on
substitute of the real thing. Coming back into the classroom and doing
the math (as well described in a previous post), then, is so much more
relevant, and they can be awed by the conceptual discovery then too.
Examining their own dinner menu is a great follow-up exercise. Or
exercises of calculating how many heads of cattle can be supported by so
many acres of land, etc.
I am indeed disturbed by the dearth of direct experience many students
have with nature, though the ones that do are a breath of fresh air! It
may sound just too simple, but starting at a very young age, children
need such direct experiences. There's also a growing body of research
supporting the very beneficial aspects of unstructured free play in
nature for children (from developing observation skills to
problem-solving skills and innovation as well as increased degrees of
self-efficacy). I know it's often not possible to take students
outdoors, but when it is, it's important in ways that go beyond just our
specific lesson plan.
I know -- I'm preaching to the choir. So I'll stop. The cold day
outside beckons............
Teresa
Teresa M. Woods, M.S.
Coordinator
Olathe Educational Partnership
K-State Olathe Innovation Campus, Inc.
18001 West 106th Street, Suite 160
Olathe, KS 66061-2861
Office: Olathe Northwest High School
21300 College Blvd., Rm. 1833
Olathe, KS 66061
Tel: 913-780-7150
Mobile: 913-269-8512
Jim Biardi wrote:
I work with a local environmental education group that is developing
curriculum on local watershed issues. They are currently searching for a
hands-on activity appropriate to primary (4-6) grade levels that can
illustrate the energetic principles underlying biomass pyramids. We¹ve
discussed several ideas, mostly centering on OEforaging¹ for beads or some
other counter used to represent food items, but haven¹t yet come across
anything that avoids a lot of bean-counting by the students.
If anyone has suggestions or leads to a tried and true activity on this
topic, we¹d appreciate feedback. I¹d be happy provide a summary of responses
to others interested in this.
Thanks,
Jim
