the network for middle school math and science teachers
Service learning and STEM
There have been a couple of posts on MSP2 about service learning and STEM. Eric Biederbeck shared information and his thoughts from a conference session entitled Teaching STEM through Service Learning. Tom Jenkins shared posed the question, "Service Learning-Why not it Math, Science and STEM?" after attending a workshop.
It's safe to say that Eric, Tom, and I, at least, are in agreement that service learning and STEM work quite well together, and in meaningful, substantive ways. But we're not the only ones! A group of teachers in Westerville, OH have been weaving service learning with math and science, developing student leadership skills, connecting with the community and various agencies in the community. What's more, student's have had direct influence on the activities and the learning.
A group of middle school teachers (mostly math and science) have been tapping into the issues of hunger and homelessness as they've taught math and science. But what's interesting is that they've begun from the local perspective: where is there homelessness and hunger in our community? From there, they've taken the conversation more broadly so that kids are looking at the issues from a state, national, and eventually global perspective. But this hasn't just stayed in the classroom and been confined to the school calendar. These teachers had an opportunity to develop a program this summer that builds on the knowledge and skills that students have acquired during the school year. And kids have been eager to participate.
So, with the support of Suzanne, Kile (an enthusiastic school administrator and exceptional leader) and a partnership with the Center for Community Engagement at Otterbein College, the "Legacy" advisors/teachers (Liz Stimer, Alexis Acosta, Marky Schmidt, and Marty Wicks) have put together a week-long kick-off to a summer full of service learning. Here's the rundown of the week's activities:
I'm hoping that we'll hear directly from Liz, Marky, Marty, and Alexis (and maybe the kids) here on MSP2. I'm also looking forward to learning from this group of talented, creative, thoughtful, energetic teachers and students.
It's safe to say that Eric, Tom, and I, at least, are in agreement that service learning and STEM work quite well together, and in meaningful, substantive ways. But we're not the only ones! A group of teachers in Westerville, OH have been weaving service learning with math and science, developing student leadership skills, connecting with the community and various agencies in the community. What's more, student's have had direct influence on the activities and the learning.
A group of middle school teachers (mostly math and science) have been tapping into the issues of hunger and homelessness as they've taught math and science. But what's interesting is that they've begun from the local perspective: where is there homelessness and hunger in our community? From there, they've taken the conversation more broadly so that kids are looking at the issues from a state, national, and eventually global perspective. But this hasn't just stayed in the classroom and been confined to the school calendar. These teachers had an opportunity to develop a program this summer that builds on the knowledge and skills that students have acquired during the school year. And kids have been eager to participate.
So, with the support of Suzanne, Kile (an enthusiastic school administrator and exceptional leader) and a partnership with the Center for Community Engagement at Otterbein College, the "Legacy" advisors/teachers (Liz Stimer, Alexis Acosta, Marky Schmidt, and Marty Wicks) have put together a week-long kick-off to a summer full of service learning. Here's the rundown of the week's activities:
- Monday: Visit to Homeless Families Foundation (Columbus, OH) and meeting and eating with clients of the Holy Family Soup Kitchen
- Tuesday: iInvestigating the water and soil quality of Blacklick Creek with the support of
Franklin County Soil and Water Conservation District. Students explored the life cycle of various macro-invertebrates as well as studied the effects of water quality and creek conditions. Students did a hands-on enviroscape activity and the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation donated materials to facilitate students visiting conservation zones, tillage, and watersheds. - Wednesday: Visit to Westerville Area Resource Ministry (WARM) to learn about the local need for food and services. Students are going to be helping WARM with a garden from which produce will be harvested for clients. Students have already recognized that people in need of food assistance are often unable to obtain fresh fruits and vegetables. They also learned that WARM provides vouchers that its clients can use to purchase locally-produced, fresh, organic products from Westerville's own Wednesday Farmer's Market.
- Thursday: Backyard chickens (I'm a little biased here). An informal session with a couple of folks (my sister and brother-in-law and me) who have a few chickens they raise for eggs. I think we can safely say the chickens were the star of the session! After that, the students went to the Otterbein Equine Center where they will be planting and tending the garden for WARM and helping the Otterbein Food Service folks with their garden (fresh produce for college students, too!).
- Friday: Back to the garden to plan and plant.
I'm hoping that we'll hear directly from Liz, Marky, Marty, and Alexis (and maybe the kids) here on MSP2. I'm also looking forward to learning from this group of talented, creative, thoughtful, energetic teachers and students.
Views: 10
Tags: organic, partnerships, service learning, sustainable practices
Comment
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Comment by Tom Jenkins on July 5, 2010 at 12:22pm -
Hi Karen. You know, in my experience students are much easier to motivate when compared to adults........I generally lay out the project and am really open with my kids (what and why) whenever we take on a new project. The amount of empathy that young people possess can be pretty incredible- they just want to know that they are making a difference. My biggest piece of advice is making sure that they have closure and are aware of the specifics of their impact. It helps greatly, the next time around.
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Comment by Karen Jones-Hennessy on July 4, 2010 at 10:22am -
This is exciting stuff! To take a small step backward, I'm looking into how to get students interested in community service projects (without an academic directive). Maxine Greene says we must promote the arts to our students in an effort to teach empathy. http://www.maxinegreene.org/ How do you motivate (so many) students to care enough about the project that they are willing to give so much of their time?
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Comment by Liz Stimer on June 29, 2010 at 10:45pm -
Hi, Tom! Glad to hear that you are interested in doing something similar with your students. I would be happy to share. I love to talk about it! In fact, I find myself talking about it with anyone that will listen.
The program is growing daily, which is very exciting for all involved! The week-long kick-off camp was extremely successful. We had 15-20 students from across the district participate each day. We're currently meeting with the students two or three times a week. One day a week is set aside for work in the garden. The remaining time will be spent visiting local organizations, participating in service activities, reflecting, enhancing leadership skills or engaging in character development activities. We are a busy group! Do you have any questions? What would you like to know? I would be happy to share specifics.
In addition, we’re hoping to help our students hold a community event that would generate an awareness of homelessness and hunger in our community. This would involve students designing/creating shelters using minimal resources. The shelters or dwellings would be built in a prominent location in our community and we would live in them for 20-30 hours (we’re discussing our options). We hope to do this during an annual community gathering/festival. The students would discuss hunger and homelessness with members of the community and encourage others to help make a difference. We also plan to collect donations (monetary or food/goods) for local organizations. We're considering incorporating a 30 hour famine to really bring out the issue of hunger. We're still in the very early stages of planning and trying to figure out the best way to move forward. We are hopeful that we will be able to make it happen. Exciting stuff!
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Comment by Mary Henton on June 29, 2010 at 11:22am -
Hi, Tom, I've asked Liz Stimer and Marky Schmidt (two of the teachers who are also here on MSP2) to share/post. Hmmm....maybe we could put something together in the NSDL wiki? Would that be of interest and/or helpful?
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Comment by Tom Jenkins on June 28, 2010 at 11:44pm
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Wow. This is wonderful! Please post as many details as possible. I was thinking of doing something very similar with one of my STEM groups next school year. It's a great feeling to be with the kids when they realize that they are making a difference. Good Luck!
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