Student Centered Science: Backyard Nature Journaling

Join Maine teacher John Van Dis to explore strategies for getting students out observing their immediate environment and reflecting in journals. Inspired by David Haskell’s The Forest Unseen: A Year’s Watch in Nature and Gulf of Maine Research Institute’s Nature Notes from their student work publication Findings from the Field, John began developing a structured approach to observing and journaling. During the workshop, we’ll look at graphic organizers and rubrics and discuss different ways to engage students, whether it’s regularly observing a small circle of forest floor or embarking on 30 minute walks through their neighborhoods. This is the first session of a two-part conversation about engaging students in their own student-focused citizen science projects.

To learn more and register, visit Community Learning for ME.