Learning+Locally+Outside

Okay here is a very draft rubric for using Local Learning as a strategy. Comments? Where are you?

Bruce Trail Learning Opportunties and Projects
Ron raised the opportunity of using this community resource and we disucssed a few options. I would think it would be a good goal to have every student experience a hike on the Bruce Trail and be involved in a related learning project by the time they leave Glen Williams. Here are some photos from our January 26 hike (not sure how to rotate them):



















So some background and approaches about 2 km from the 10th line for the north section 3. So here is a project -the class plans to make a hike on one of these short sections on the trail. Once successful, they plan a more adventurous hike in the nearby Silver Creek area. Who is game, Stan will help? 4. Learn about and communicate to the community the opportunties it has for hiking the BTC side trail. 5. Hike the trail and prepare a class booklet which you send to the president of this section of the BTC. They will be thrilled. The booklet can be very integrated and link to whatever you want to address in the curriculum (e.g., Grade 3 Plants, Grade 4 Habitats, etc.) 6. Have the class ask for a job to pay for BTC hike bus costs. I like this one the best. So what can they provide that people might pay for (e.g., cleaning up the trail of litter, promotion to the community, getting each student's family out on the trail)?. Sound far out? Well just think how engaged they will be if they get a "contract" to do the work. The money is out there for them to get!!! If you wish I will pitch it to your class by speakerphone (Grade 3 or up).
 * 1) Bus costs - I would try to see if, on your busses leaving in the morning, a class can get a ride to some distance away from the school so that they can hike back (and that this is done at low or no cost - yea not likely but worth a try).
 * 2) Maps and map reading - your area is Map 13 - do you have a copy of the BTC maps in the school? You should have this since they sent one to every school a few years ago. Have a student or students write them an email and request one (or Ron will provide one). Doable distances here -about 3 km from the drop off point for the south section from the 10th line, or 2 km from river road

Okay that's enough to start - Stan

A Rubric for Learning Locally

Okay we started with using get outside once a week as a criterion for this goal. I am posting a rubric here to help advance discussion for this learning strategy and goal. Have alook below and looking forward to your comments and suggested changes that make it more relevant to our work together. Stan

Students learn about their local natural and built environments through guided first-hand investigation. Direct, experience is essential for many aspects of learning and development. || -Study of the environment happens primarily through electronic media, lectures and text books || -Going outside the classroom to learn is a rare, “special” event. -Stand alone organized field trips not linked directly to classroom instruction. || -Local environments outside the classroom are often and regularly used for student research and data collection || Learning outside the school is a regular activity that is an integral part of instruction. || Leadership and initiative are supported through learning activity design. || Students are passive listeners and significant time is spent indoors when on fieldtrips way from the school. || Activity-based learning plays a significant part of the outdoor learning activities. || Inquiry and student interests a are apart of the learning experience. || There is significant student involvement in what takes place before, during and after the outdoor learning. || Areas of the school grounds are built and/or maintained to be used specifically as a location for regular, on-going learning. The scale of school grounds projects matches the developmental abilities of younger and middle-aged students, preparing the way for older students to do similar work out in the local neighbourhood and beyond. || School grounds are dominated by pavement and fences and are used primarily for activities not directly connected to learning ♦ Informal opportunities may exist for field observation of natural areas or features. || One outdoor area is fairly well know within the school as an observation or study area. ♦ Students are involved at some level in taking care of outdoor and/or indoor plants. ♦ Learning on school grounds is occasionally supported by curriculum expectations and tools such as weather stations, bird feeders, gardens, water features, etc || Gardening activities (vegetable, flower, butterfly, greenhouse, etc.) are prominent and extensively integrated into many disciplines and grade levels ♦ Strategic effort (with some student involvement) is being made to expand the quality, quantity and frequency of learning on the school grounds || Conscious, consistent effort is made to develop school grounds to take maximum advantage of opportunities given existing constraints (e.g. roof top gardens for urban, nature trails for rural) ♦ Students take a leading role in the design and maintenance of school grounds as a vital place for learning about the natural world and other subjects. || Areas of the school grounds and/or nearby community are managed to enhance ecological integrity. This gives students first hand experience repairing compromised ecosystems || The built environment is the primary landscape feature. ♦ Existing vegetation is sparse and/or limited to ornamental (such as grass or non-native shrubs) ♦ The school landscape is inhospitable to other living things. || Some effort is made to reduce asphalt/ concrete, and increase green space ♦ Some school ground and/or local habitats are inventoried and monitored for species composition ♦ Students begin researching ecological history of place. || Small scale habitat projects are underway that emphasize native and migratory species and ecosystems ♦ Significant effort is made to plan for larger habitat improvement projects. ♦ Students research and document habitat restoration scenarios for nearby areas. || Schools work with local community to tie school grounds efforts to other land and habitat conservation projects ♦ Students take leadership advocating for and implementing significant school grounds and/or local habitat restoration projects ♦ School grounds are a thriving habitat for lots of native, nonhuman life || Being and playing outside (alone and in groups) is consciously supported as an essential component of healthy human development This encourages exploration and general comfort in the outdoors. || Safety of and respect for school grounds is an ongoing concern ♦ Structure, containment and reducing maintenance costs are the main concerns. || Some natural areas and equipment exist Specifically for outdoor play. || Schools grounds provide inviting places for students to have safe, vigorous and non-structured interaction with the natural environment with minimal adult supervision. || School grounds are the hub for a vibrant (both active and reflective) community life for students and a wide diversity of local people ||
 * An Educator’s Rubric for Local Learning Experiences**[1]****
 * || Level 1 || Level 2 || Level 3 || Level 4 ||
 * **Field Studies**
 * **Role of Students**
 * **Outdoor Learning Labs /Structures**
 * **Habitat Improvement/**
 * Restoration**
 * **Play and Recreation**