Category Archives: Contact with nature

Surrounding pedagogy with nature to boost results

Posted on January 29, 2018 | Comments Off

New research continues to strengthen the case for devoting school resources and time to connecting kids with greenery. One paper just published describes an experiment that found students better focused on instruction when they’re back in the indoor classroom after a lesson outside in a more natural setting. Even the sight of trees and natural landscape from classroom windows, according to the authors of Continue reading →

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Posted in Contact with nature, Teaching, Uncategorized

Why work so hard to get kids outside (#2)?

Posted on January 5, 2018 | Comments Off

Hang around the kind of high school where droves of students do not graduate or graduate on time and you might hear about all sorts of efforts to provide students with more support in classes seemingly posing the most significant challenges. Tutoring after school, breaking year-long algebra classes into two years and writing daily learning objectives on the board, among others.

These tactics, however, do not necessarily address issues that for too many Continue reading →

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Posted in Contact with nature, Teaching, Uncategorized

Experimenting with science classroom experience

Posted on December 9, 2017 | Comments Off

young girl examining a test tube in a science class

Trying to find the right classroom formula takes considerable trial and error.

We are conducting a controlled experiment, of a sort, in a couple of high school science classes. We are seeking to determine whether we can capture the attention of seriously disaffected living environment students by significantly altering the their classroom experience. And to the extent that we can, we are seeking to determine whether teachers who are at their wit’s end will see the same progress with students that we see.

The context, which we see discouragingly often, are classes with many, many, students who show just about Continue reading →

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Posted in Compost, Contact with nature, Planting, Science, Soil, Teaching, Uncategorized

Work group forming for outdoor classroom project

Posted on December 4, 2017 | Comments Off

Want to roll up your sleeves and help make development of an outdoor classroom at Myers Middle School happen? We are looking mission-oriented folks who see the potential value in teaching and learning outdoors and getting kids working with their hands and using all of their sense to join a work group that will plan, solve problems and move this venture forward. We will be meeting this Saturday, Dec. 9, at 10 a.m. Please drop us a line at [email protected] if this sounds of interest to you.

Please visit https://vegetableproject.org/outdoor-classroom and https://vegetableproject.org/myers-middle-school-outdoor-classroom-background for all sorts of information about this idea.

–Bill Stoneman

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Posted in Contact with nature, Outdoor classroom, Teaching

Why do we work so hard to get kids outside?

Posted on November 18, 2017 | 1 comment

Why do we talk so much about getting kids outdoors, in January when it’s freezing and in July when it’s broiling, when we know it is such a big challenge for their teachers? And so many of the kids aren’t eager either?