When | Begins March 6, 2021

Who | K – 2 Teachers

Clock Hours | Teachers who complete the course can earn up to 10 STEM Clock Hours.

Stipend: Washington state public school teachers will receive a $400 stipend upon completion of the course.

Incorporating your schoolyard into your classroom can be a powerful tool for meaningful and engaging science learning. Local and relevant phenomena can connect to student’s prior knowledge, better reflect their interests and identities, and help engage all students in science. Plus, taking learning outdoors reduces COVID-19 risk!

In this online course, IslandWood staff will share strategies for schoolyard science learning, and easy-to-use activities that incorporate core Science and ELA Standards. You’ll join IslandWood educators and fellow teachers for an introductory online session to try out a few activities and make a plan for implementing outside learning with your students. Then, you’ll have two weeks to implement an outside activity with your students before coming back together as a group to debrief and brainstorm next steps. We’ll meet again a month later to discuss your experiences and take about lessons you can carry forward into future science units.

The course includes:

• An introductory online session on March 6th from 10:00am – 2:30pm (3 clock hours)
• An online session on March 24th from 3:30 – 5:00pm (1.5 clock hours)
• A summative online session on April 21st 3:30 – 5:00pm (1.5 clock hours)
• Additional work completed outside the above sessions (up to 4 clock hours)

By the end of this course you will:

• Learn ideas, tips, tricks and activities for using your schoolyard as a learning space
• Explore how phenomena and the Science and Engineering Practices
• Experience how using local phenomena can increase equity and support student engagement
• Collaborate with and learn from other teachers as a part of a professional learning community
• Reflect on how local and relevant science supports anti-racist teaching and is integral to the pursuit of equity and justice in science education

Important Notes:

• This course is intended for teachers of K-2 students who are meeting with students in person this Spring and have some flexibility in the science you teach. Informal science educators are also welcome!
• If you are continuing your teaching entirely online or have a national science curriculum you need to implement, we suggest that, instead of this course, you sign up for a small team planning session, where we can collaborate together to figure out how to connect your online science teaching with student’s interest and identities. Go here for more details.
• If you have taken IslandWood’s “Science in your Neighborhood” or “Science in Your Classroom” workshops, some of the activities shared will be familiar.
• Teachers will need to claim and pay for the clock hours after the course is complete on PDEnroller.
• Washington State Public School Teachers who implement the materials shared in the course will receive a $400 stipend upon submission of teacher and student work and completion of assessments. This stipend will be paid through a contract with the Northwest ESD from OSPI ClimeTime funds.