[Note- Here are the notes I took that day, edited for clarity]
Notes – Day 3 Session 3
Young investigators: Connecting children with nature through project work —Results from the first four years of a collaborative early childhood professional development project in NW Iowa
Environmental Education for Children
1 1/2-hour session — limit 4 presenters
All Children
11/4/2016 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM Gold Ballroom 2
JW Marriott
Marsha Swanson, Early Childhood Consultant/Professor Emerita, Creative Ventures; Jane Shuttleworth, Education Coordinator, Iowa Lakeside Laboratory & Regents Resource Center; Vicki Hurley, Education Coordinator, Upper Des Moines Opportunity Head Start; Denise Wasko, Early Childhood/Special Education Consultant, Prairie Lakes Area Education Agency
The Young Investigators professional development training developed and implemented by Nature Connections of NW Iowa addresses professional development needs by providing a three year (with optional fourth year) training model of high quality, sustainable professional development that introduces teachers to connecting children with nature through project work. Nature Connections has documentation to show real change in teaching, administrative support, and student growth. The project’s trainer is Judy Helm who may do the workshop’s welcome and opening introduction. Presenters will then share the following content: • overview of the learning outcomes possible for this workshop session • description of the Nature Connections collaborative and previous nature-based projects • documentation of the need for professional development due to nature deficit and lack of understanding of the Project Approach • overview of the Young Investigators six year professional development plan including: o team composition & collaborations o funding resources o location and environment for training o administrator roles and training o naturalist roles and resources o coaching components o participant assignments – implementing nature-based projects; reflective questions on assigned readings, project planning journals, project binders, project documentation presentations to peers . description of methods utilized for teachers to share completed projects with peers and others – project binders, professionally created documentation panels, Pechakucha, and videos • sharing of 1 or 2 classrooms’ nature-based project . description of involvement with 2 large state universities in training and research • data collection and evaluation – including teacher and administrator testimonials • marketing and vision for replication • review of the possible learning outcomes for this workshop session
Nature connections collaborative
homework – interactions at home (not xeroxed worksheets)
Project results
deeper thinking by children
teachers develop in depth thinking
it requires a team for the training
They did something called a “PechaKucha” – 20 slides, 20 seconds each
Amazing how much they learned when they learn
showed mindmap – webbing color coded
green beginning
brown end of project
culminating activity
grasshopper show
the teacher pre-project was trying to take over
to set up grasshopper
problem solving attached to heads
[a child had an idea on how to attach bug antenna but the teacher took over for ‘efficiency’]
A project starts as one thing, but then turns into another
question from audience – Did students fall out of interest?
some are fully interested, others in and out
an expert came in
project work isn’t every minute of the day, rather it is incorporated in the day
[write a story about nature item]
“I wonder what will happen if…”
“I see you trying this..”
color coded – parent questions – preknowledge
based on questions kids were asking
[fair sticks – name with kids]
kids created books about what they know
create list – then come back to create the web
[EDIT: In a nutshell it was all about how they captured and documented projects, as well as best practices therein]