Final ImagineIT Report

To revisit the initial aims of this project, I am interested in:

developing deep conceptual understanding in environmental science and
cultivating science literacy and student efficacy with regard to the
environment.
In short, this project is about developing environmental literacy which can be
defined as follows: (FromUnesco-UNEP)
A individual who is environmentally literate is one who is aware of, and
concerned about, the environment and its associated problems, and [who] has
the knowledge, skills, attitudes, motivations, and commitment to work
individually and collectively toward solutions of current problems and the
prevention of new ones.
One thing that stood out in the fall implementation of this project is just
how useful it was to get feedback from colleagues and students. This relates to
What Should I Do? Confronting Dilemmas if Teaching in Urban Schools, especially
the section, The Moral Aspects of Teachers' Professional Responsibility. Decisionmaking for teachers takes place within a context of uncertainty. Teachers need to
weigh their own values with policies, rules, knowledge of students and content,
etc. Therefore what was truly helpful was getting good information from students
and colleagues that challenged my assumptions about student concerns, and
helped me develop better classroom activities.
The focus group I led and the survey that preceded it allowed me the
opportunity to consider my assumptions about my pupils. First, I learned while I
had anticipated student discomfort with activities in natural settings, most
students felt differently. I think the survey was useful, and I would now like to
know the degree to which those attitudes are representative of middle school
students in my school generally or are a function of that particular group. I would
also like to observe how attitudes shift after trips like the one I lead in the 6 th
grade to the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.

Second, what stood out most to my students was not the way I was using
differentiated instruction to accommodate student interests and curiosity with
nature, but the fact that activities that have differentiated assessments for
students tend to be few and far between. While differentiated instruction is not
the focus of this project, I think this information will help inform my leadership of
the middle school team.
The conversations with my colleagues were also very productive. Although I
try to create activities that appeal to different interests, my own biases are likely
to limit the kinds of choices I present to my pupils. By getting other perspectives
from other teachers, especially those working with different ages of children, I
was able to develop some truly creative activities. I recall thinking at the time
that teachers should be doing this more often, and I think that as I consider the
ways I hope to use this experience as a STEM leader at my school, I can revisit
the idea of harnessing the expertise of my colleagues on problems of practice.
As I consider my insights for this ImagineIT project, the biggest
consideration is that I need to get kids outside more often. Second, collaboration
with colleagues at other grade levels is exactly the right way to go about
addressing the issue of vertical alignment of environmental education, but it will
need to happen more frequently. Next, in reading Louv's Last Child in the Woods
with the Deep Play Group, I focused more on attitudes towards nature as a
potential impediment to realizing the importance of formal environmental
education and fostering efficacy that one can make a difference. Looking forward,
in addition to adding more time for reflection activities, I think my students are
ready to apply their field experiences to master environmental education topics.
On a final note, when I met with students and we discussed ways to differentiate
instruction, many of students shared a desire to work with modern technologies
to develop creative technology based assessments. As this project moves
forward, I intend to use some of the creative, technology-driven assessments
modeled in this program as a way for students to document the development of
their environmental education.