How can we hold fast to the innate curiosity and wonder often present in young children? When do you feel that child-like excitement as a learner? Consider how phenomena and provocations support passion.
Bringing student-centered inquiry into the classroom is an important part of implementation of the standards for science, social studies, and environmental literacy and sustainability. Before we can Get Started with Inquiry, we need to first know our learners.
Wisconsin Standards for Environmental Literacy & Sustainability state that “students engage in experiences to develop stewardship for the sustainability of natural and cultural systems” (ELS.EN7). Take a closer look at the learning priorities in this standard and you will find that students are not just engaging in stewardship experiences, they are designing the experiences. How do we make this shift from an educator-directed experience to one led by students? Inquiry.
Sometimes the best lessons are the hardest-fought ones. When the students of Fox River Academy, an environmentally focused charter school in Appleton, Wisconsin, identified a section of Pierce Park, adjacent to the school grounds, as an area they wanted to restore, they ran up against a severe physical challenge and some unexpected social challenges.