Browsing by Subject "Outdoor education"

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    Aligning Elementary School Garden Curricula to Education Standards
    (2015-04-24) Hansen, Erika
    Garden education programs have the academic documentation to prove that they are a creative, viable, and successful way to enhance learning. However, a key limitation to using gardens for learning is the lack of garden learning resources correlated to applicable science standards. The purpose of this project was to review and analyze the literature to determine the impacts of garden-based learning on students, obtain an understanding of the prevalence of school gardens in the state of North Carolina, and determine what tools elementary school teachers need to improve the access to and efficacy of school gardens for their classes. Based on this research and on input from my client, NC Cooperative Extension, I correlated four reputable garden-based curricula to the NC Science Essential Standards and produced a database that allows North Carolina educators to identify individual lessons within the curricula that are directly aligned with specific science standards.
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    Imaginative Approaches to Science Education
    (2016-11-21) Scott, Britain
    Can an outdoor education curriculum promote environmental awareness and address the needs of children from diverse backgrounds? In what ways can a science curriculum founded in environmental awareness engender inclusivity and help students embrace the idea of life-long learning? Drawing from many different outdoor education curricula and current “best practices,” my research shows the overwhelming need for positive experiences in nature. It is through the use of natural curiosity and wonder that children can develop pro-environmental habits of mind. When a child sees snow melting into a drain on the side of the road they begin to question where that water is going and the impact the chemical residue left on the road may have on its final destination. Environmental stewardship comes from positive experiences in the natural world and a clear understanding of how each and every ecosystem is interconnected. The primary part of my project is a 5th grade curriculum, which aims to encourage exploration and student driven inquiry in order to better understand the world and its systems and to develop a love of learning and the natural world.