Teton Science Schools
Introduction
Prior to serving as an AmeriCorps member at TSS I had worked a variety of jobs with students. My experience in teaching and youth leadership has included working as a Teaching Assistant in the World Religions class at the Advanced Studies Program for the St. Paul's School, acting as a Trip Leader for the Catlin Gabel School Outdoor Program for middle and high school students, and as the Buddhist Philosophy Teaching Assistant for the Emory University Tibetan Studies Program in Dharamsala, India for college juniors. I was drawn to TSS to gain practical experience working in the outdoor classroom and to continue to learn about and work in the field of experiential education.
Capacity Projects
Geology:
Over the course of the term Carolyn Prescott, a fellow AmeriCorps member, and I worked together to increase the scientific literacy at TSS by improving our geology resources. We developed a survey to assess the immediate needs instructors had for pertinent resources to narrow our scope. The responses were clear that the best way we could serve the needs of the instructors was to find a way to make the geology resources more accessible and easier to incorporate into a day in the field. Based on the responses, Carolyn and I decided to reconstruct a rather dilapidated shelving unit that was intended to be home to the rock collection of TSS. The shelving unit was not being utilized by any instructor, so Carolyn and I rebuilt the structure, creating shelves with clear vantage points for rocks, apt descriptions of each rock, and enough stock to provide instructors with ample teaching samples to bring out into the field. On the back side of the shelving unit we painted a geologic timeline of the Teton Range and a space to pin a geologic map of the area for instructors and students to learn from. Ideally this structure will act as a space for Field Instructors and AmeriCorps members to pick up materials for use in the field as well as serve as an on-campus location to bring students to learn about rocks in the GYE and the geologic history of the Tetons.
Wyoming Stargazing:
During my time as an AmeriCorps member at TSS I had the opportunity to work closely with a Jackson community non-profit, Wyoming Stargazing, along with other AmeriCorps members, Carolyn Prescott and Rosalyn Price-Waldman. While the organization puts on many public events and private tours, our role was to aid the organization by helping design the website to be more user friendly. We created a resource page for the site and wrote in resource descriptions and helped in designing the layout to help clients navigate more fluidly.
Pedagogy
My experience as a member of the TSS AmeriCorps program has provided me with a wealth of experience in the field of environmental education. Before beginning my internship I had minimal scientific content knowledge and almost no science teaching experience. Having led several outdoor program trips for high school and college age youth I had spent significant time in the outdoors with students, however not in a role as an environmental educator. Throughout my time at TSS I have begun to understand that my role is not simply to deliver science content, but to act as a facilitator for students to begin to feel comfortable interacting and learning in a new setting. While I understand the incredible science and placed based learning opportunities available to students in the outdoor classroom, my goals are more centered around inspiring students to develop observation skills and the ability to explore and connect to the natural world, in the Tetons and at home.
I look forward to implementing my appreciation for scientific study into the field as I move on from TSS. My understanding of teaching science has altered a lot since first applying to work at TSS. Going forward I will use a variety of assessments to relay important concepts to students. During my time at TSS I became more comfortable incorporating creative methods to deliver scientific content. I will continue to set aside time for student led observation in nature, poetry that relates to scientific concepts, creating art as a way to view our surroundings, and map making to instill a sense of place in students.
Coming into TSS this winter I was nervous that my non-scientific background would be a hinderance as I navigated through the new world of the GYE. I had taken one course on geology in college and that was the extent of my science experience since high school. For the first few weeks of my internship I took a back seat on many lessons my co-teacher led, trying to learn as much content as I could before delving head first into teaching alone. When it came time for me to lead my first evening exploration I was nervous, worried that I did not have the content knowledge to lead an adequately scientific lesson. Understanding the importance of "observation" to TSS' curriculum, I chose to focus my evening alone with students on the importance of being present and observing the natural world in the moment. When we set out for the evening I told my students that "tonight is about being observant and paying attention to the world around us." My plan was to read the poem Summer Day by Mary Oliver and express to the students how much I enjoyed the poem for it's focus on detail and for us to think of this evening as an opportunity to develop the observation skills that Oliver does an excellent job of expressing through her poetry. Before reading it however I found my self discussing my background as an Art History major and the concept of "mindfulness," neither of which were topics on my lesson plan. The point that I found myself making on the spot was that one does not need to have a strictly scientific background to be a scientist, that just by being present in the moment and mindful of what is around, anyone can be a scientist. We took two minutes of silence after the poem was read to simply observe the sounds and sensations we felt. The depth of the comments that were shared once we began talking again opened my eyes to how students can make connections between being mindful and present to being a good scientist. The courage I gained as a science educator that night has led me to incorporate much more of my own background into my teaching, and to not shy away from being inventive in my content delivery and lesson planning. I will never forget this moment, and will take my learnings with me as I move forward in my career.
Transference
I look forward to continuing my experience at TSS as I take on a role as a Field Instructor over the summer. I am eager to continue working with my colleagues here, and to share my stories and to learn from theirs'. The time I have spent as an AmeriCorps member has provided a wealth of experiences to take with me as move forward in the field of experience education and any position working with students. I hope to continue working with youth in the outdoors as I move forward in life.