Transcript and learn scientific observation skills…

Improving Observation Skills
using Nature Journaling
for primary school children
(and ourselves and others!!!)
Northern California Botanists Conference
January 12, 2010
Carol W. Witham
www.vernalpools.org
Kids need to connect with nature
and learn scientific observation skills…
• Nature deficit disorder
• We need to heal the broken bond between
our children and the natural world
• Analytical observation skills
• Too much dependence on canned opinion
and too little reliance on personal and empirical observation
• Drawing, writing and other traditional skills
• Communication is more than MySpace, FaceBook, YouTube,
texting and email
www.vernalpools.org
A very brief retrospective
on successful place-based science education…
• Sacramento Splash
• Watershed curriculum based on the vernal
pool ecosystem and its plants and animals
• MAD Plants
• 3rd graders in Orange County learn how plants must move, adapt
or die in response to environmental conditions
• Other notable environmental education programs
• The Private Eye, Project Learning Tree, CalAlive! and many,
many others
www.vernalpools.org
Sacramento Splash
an elementary curriculum based on vernal pools…
Life In Our Watershed:
Investigating Vernal Pools
www.vernalpools.org
Splash - 12 years and still growing
major accomplishments and stumbling blocks…
• 15,000 Sacramento area students have explored the
magic and mystery of vernal pools
• Several Splash alumni are now doing their graduate
research work on vernal pools
• New programs have been added
• Exploring exporting the curriculum to
other locations
• Fiscal realities
• This program costs $180,000 per year
www.vernalpools.org
Other nature education programs
highlights and drawbacks…
• MAD Plants
• Students design a native plant garden and learn how plants must
move, adapt or die as conditions change
• The Private Eye
• Uses 5x loupes to focus observations
• The Learning Tree
• Brings the environment into the classroom
• CalAlive!
• Explores California’s biodiversity though multimedia CDs
www.vernalpools.org
A new CNPS education initiative
Nature journaling focused on plants…
• A collaborative effort with John Muir Laws
• Components include…
• Alignment with teaching standards
• Web videos of how to draw plants
• Lesson plans with web videos of the lessons
in action
• Can be used by…
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•
•
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Teachers
Scout leaders
Park rangers
Nature area docents
www.vernalpools.org
Nature journaling
what is it and why is it important…
• Uses drawing and writing to hone observation skills
• It is not about making pretty pictures
• It is about accurately documenting observations
• Children’s drawing skills change at about 7-8 years of age
• Symbolic drawing is replaced by representational drawing
• Kids decide early if they are good at drawing or not
• This is an outdoor activity
• Can be used anywhere there are plants to be observed
www.vernalpools.org
Nature journaling
what is it and why is it important…
www.vernalpools.org
Modular lesson plans
good for a single event or all year long…
• Secret plant scavenger hunt
• Observation Olympics
• Comparisons and contrasts
• Making a field guide
• Plant timelines
• Zoom in, zoom out
When we try to pick out
anything by itself we
find it hitched to
everything else in the
universe.
John Muir
My First Summer In the Sierra
• Nature’s treasure map
www.vernalpools.org
Secret plant scavenger hunt
learning disguised as a game…
• This an excellent beginning exercise in journaling
• Students are challenged to document a single plant in
sufficient detail so that a partner can find the exact plant
• Requires the student to really look at the plant and not just draw a
symbolic representation of the plant
• Minute details such as insect herbivory or odd petal shape become
important to observe and record
• Drawers are encouraged to write descriptive observations
• Writers are encouraged to add sketches to their descriptions
www.vernalpools.org
Secret plant scavenger hunt
learning disguised as a game…
• Then the partner looks for the plant based on the journal
sketches and descriptions
www.vernalpools.org
Observation Olympics
a team or competition exercise…
• Students explore the great variety and depth of
observations that can be made of a single subject
• In the cooperative version, each student reports on what feature or
features he or she found most interesting
• In the competitive version, students are asked if they think they
recorded something that no one else observed
• Encourages building a complete observation record
• Students learn about how others viewed the object
differently and thereby gain additional observational skills
www.vernalpools.org
Comparisons and contrasts
explores variability within a species…
• Students find two specimens of the same species, and draw
them side-by-side, noting differences between them
• By looking at two specimens of the same species, students are
forced to observe more closely to find the differences
• Can be used to introduce the concepts of genetic and
environmental variability
• Also explores the reason why species are described within ranges
of size, shape, color, etc.
• A great way to explore variability with a species
www.vernalpools.org
Making a collection or field guide
Josie’s favorite part of the project…
• Students make a collection of illustrations and observations
of local common plants (or leaves, bark, etc.)
• Students record a small part of local biodiversity and
develop the basic skills to distinguish between species
• However it is not a field guide until names are associated
with the journal pages
• Can be a place to begin a discussion of common names versus
scientific names
• The education and outreach benefits are unlimited
www.vernalpools.org
Plant timelines
or to us botanists, understanding phenology…
• Students record observations of a single plant over time
www.vernalpools.org
Additional journaling lessons
give students a variety of skills…
• Zoom in, zoom out
• Students begin to understand scale and the details apparent at a
variety of observational scales
• The ant and the cat and the elephant as an example from Splash
• Nature’s treasure map
• College graduates from natural science fields can get lost
in flatland even with north-south transmission towers running
through the site
• Mapping creates a sense of belonging and connection with the
environment
www.vernalpools.org
Products and timelines
this project is funded and on the fast track…
• Lesson plans & standards alignment
done
• How to draw flowers (web videos)
Feb 2010
• Lessons in action (web videos)
Apr 2010
• Field testing of lessons
Apr 2010
• Roll out of program
Jul 2010
• This will allow adoption of the program during the 2010-2011
school year
• Numerous CNPS chapters are in excellent positions to promote the
program in school gardens that they have sponsored
www.vernalpools.org
Closing thoughts
about the program’s importance and timeliness…
• The program will have a wide appeal in schools but also in
many outdoor education program
• With the web videos and detailed lesson plans, very little
instructor training will be required
• No one needs to be an expert or even know the names of plants
• The program will impart important observational and
analytical skills that will have lifelong value regardless of
the student’s future career path
• Everyone needs to learn to be a keen observer whether it be of
nature or human behavior or economic trends
www.vernalpools.org
Our testing grounds
www.vernalpools.org
Questions and comments?
Carol W. Witham
1141 37th Street
Sacramento, CA 95816
(916) 452-5440
[email protected]
www.vernalpools.org