Download Engaging Students In Environmental Stewardship

Minnesota’s Changing Climate:
Engaging Students In Environmental
Stewardship through
Adventure Learning
Minnesota’s Changing Climate: Engaging Students in Environmental
Stewardship Through Adventure Learning
Goal
1. To build awareness and interest in:
• Minnesota’s natural environment
• The impact of climate change
2. To provide educators and students with the tools
necessary for active and lifelong stewardship.
Outcomes
• Minnesota’s Changing Climate Curriculum for
Grades 3-8 and 9-12
• Minnesota’s Changing Climate Online
Classroom
• Three Summer Institutes in 2010, 2011 and
2012
• Project Evaluation
Curriculum Overview
• For grades 3-8 and 9-12
• Reviewed by Minnesota educators,
scientific and educational partners
• Aligned to Minnesota state standards
• Integrates Will Steger’s lifelong archives and
journaling
• Culminates with a stewardship project
Curriculum Outline
1.
2.
3.
4.
What is a journal for?
What defines Minnesota’s biomes?
What defines Minnesota’s climate?
What is climate change and what does it mean for
Minnesota?
5. What does the data show?
6. What can I do?
Lesson Components
Journal Assignment
and/or Connection
Extensions
Online Classroom
Connection
Take it Outside-Connecting With Your Place
CopyMaster Page
Will Steger Journal Page
Lesson 6: What can I do?
Many communicators of climate change focus
on simply educating their audiences about
climate change by providing more
understandable information about the
science. Others focus on the possible and
mostly negative impacts of climate change to
motivate people into action…
Instead …discuss solutions, practical help and
realistic hope.
Moser, Susanne C.
Environmental Research Letters 1, no. 1 (2006).
Preliminary Curriculum Feedback
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82 responses to a post curriculum training evaluation
indicated the following
Will teach climate change and environmental stewardship: All
respondents reported that they thought the curriculum would be “useful
for teaching about climate change” and “useful for teaching about
environmental stewardship.”
Useful and engaging: 96% thought it would be useful in their teaching and
expected that their students will find it engaging
Organized and easy to use: 96% said it is clearly organized and easy to use
Matches curricular goals and comprehensive: 91% said it matches their
curricular goals and thought it is comprehensive.
Plans to implement: All said that they would definitely (67%) or likely
(33%) implement the curriculum next year.
Summer Institute 2011
• Over 100 registrants representing all four
biomes of Minnesota, formal and informal
educational settings, and a variety of
disciplines and grades 3-12
• Two days long with large group and breakout
sessions focused on skills and content related
to exploring Minnesota’s changing climate
• Included evening public forum on Sense of
Place in a Changing Climate with 200
attendees
Online Classroom Overview
classroom.willstegerfoundation.org
• Interactive content on Minnesota’s
biomes and climate impacts
• Video and audio from Will Steger and other
Minnesotans sharing their connection with
Minnesota’s biomes.
• Opportunities for online sharing between
participating classrooms.
Minnesota’s Changing Climate Learning Module
Features text, photos, video and audio content on:
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Minnesota’s four biomes
the impacts of climate change in Minnesota
an introduction to different types of journals
historical journal observations from
Minnesotans
Minnesota’s Changing Climate Curriculum and
Supporting Materials
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Free curriculum download
Full color handouts to download
Explore Minnesota’s Biomes Kit
Video Gallery
Image Gallery
Connecting via the Social Network
• Share Observations and Action Project
Examples
• View Observations and comment on them.
• Classroom Social Stream features the twitter
feed for the Minnesota’s Changing Climate
project (@mnclimate) and the Will Steger
Foundation (@willstegerfound).