Place-based Science for Educators: Module 1
Assignments
There are two assignments due as part of Module 1:
Assignment #1: Submit Intro Slides
Your first assignment for our course is set up your own Course Notebook — a Google Slideshow — that you will use to share your work with Mike and one another, and to share a couple introductory slides.
Step 1: Go to this slideshow and follow the directions on the first slide to get started. Important: you will need to make a copy of the slideshow (see the directions slide), and add a link to your slideshow here.
Step 2: create an introduction slide and intentions slide; details are in the slideshow.
Assignment #2: Site Visit, Question Marathon, and Slide Summary
Your second assignment is to choose and visit a site at which you’ll complete our first wonder journal entry: the question marathon. Again, if you live near the school at which you teach and there is an outdoor space you hope to use there with students, consider going there for your wonder journals. The key is to choose a location that has some diversity of species — a small patch of woods will go much better than a mowed backyard or a beach.
Instructions to complete the question marathon are below; you can also watch the video summary here.
Step 1: At your wonder journal site, pick ONE aspect of your site to ask a ton of questions about. You might consider birds, mammals, tracks, rotting logs, wacky trees, unusual patterns in the forest — anything that piques your interest!
Step 2: Take a photo or make a quick sketch of your chosen subject.
Step 3: In a notebook you bring with you, create a numbered list of 25 questions about what you chose to observe. Your brain may rebel about halfway through, but keep going – the more interesting questions will come after you’ve exhausted all the obvious ones. Ask a variety of question types: a mix of how, why, where, when, and what questions.
Step 4: Submit a few of your favorite questions to your Google slideshow (add to the one you copied for the first assignment above; see the slides for details).