Friday, February 24, 2012
Curriculum Planning
I love the idea of incorporating the world around us into our curriculum. I know that depending on the school and the kids and their ages it might be more than challenging at times, but I think it's essential. Being associated with the military I have had to move many times to different states that have different personalities. The first thing we do when we move is to jump right in and find out everything we can about our new home. We end up finding all the good divey restaurants, the great places to hike, where to go look at birds. To find new places we talk to people who have lived there for years and often end up finding places many people who live here don't know about or don't visit often. We only get 3 or 4 years in a place before we leave and we want to make it the best experience possible! It has lead to many different adventures and I love it. My favorite was hiking on the knife edge volcanic ridges of mountains in the middle of Oahu and feeling them literally shake when they were testing munitions nearby.
I think by planning a curriculum to include the neighborhood around you, it's possible to open new opportunities for learning. I can see how it would be easier to do with elementary students where you can incorporate a topic like the Sandia mountains into all aspects of your curriculum. But, I think it is possible for middle schoolers and high schoolers as well. I am considering being a middle school science teacher. In an earth science class for example we could study the geology that formed the mountains. Then we could study the water cycle and observe and measure how much water flows through the arroyo behind the school. We could then study plants that grown in the Sandias, and discuss photosynthesis. We could study the effect of altitude on the plants that are able to grown at the bottom of the mountains versus the ones at the tops of the mountains. We could end out studies with a hike in the Sandias to observe the biodiversity of the mountains and the geology first hand.
By planning a curriculum like this it would let the students feel involved in the world around them and to feel like what we are studying actually has some relevance to where we live. We live in an extraordinary state and the mountains and bosque provide wonderful opportunities to study science right here where we live.
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I agree that there are so many opportunities here in Albuquerque to study earth sciences. I believe that many lessons covered on standardized tests can be taught through practical and engaging strategies like the ones you described. You'll be a great science teacher!
ReplyDeleteWell said! The beauty and complexity of New Mexico is everywhere, i like the way you refer to the immediate aspects of the environment (arroyo and water flow) as well as the mountains. There is much to do and much to learn and if we utilize all aspects of our surroundings we will be successful in education. Keep up the passion, creativity and the will to think "OUTSIDE" as oppose to tradition and inside only.
ReplyDeleteSarah, I agree that using our environment to learn from is a wonderful idea. I imagine that you can teach biology, physics, geology, chemistry (all of the sciences), using the physical world. I think that you could have so many cool field trips and excursions for your students to go on. And for times when you have to be in the classroom there are a lot of things that can be brought into the class, that are from right outside! I think you will have a lot of fun in teaching your classes!
ReplyDeleteThat is an excellent idea. I wish I took a middle school class like that. In my ecology class in college we walk down a few blocks to a river. Our class split into groups and counted the number of bird species and number of individuals in each species that we saw. Then then as a class we combined all our data and analyzed it. That lab was by far the classes favorite and most meaningful because we were able to go out and collect real data and get some fresh air and exercise.
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