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X-Stream TeamAdams Elementary 2013
Final Report
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Team Members: Angela Duncan, Hayden Hockett, Nico Hall, Taylor Coronel, Kailyn Haskovec,
Nora Kaywin, Derek Leung, Ariana Nelson, Madison DeLong, Maddy Brachvogel
Table of ContentsAbstract
Introduction
Project Overview
1. Winter
2. Spring
Pedagogical Approach
Evaluations (outputs in the form of a chart, outcomes/challenges, quotes from students?)Acknowledgements - Community Partners
Conclusions
References (works cited)
Appendix- Empty worksheets
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AbstractThe Environmental Leadership Program is a two-term program for University of Oregon
students who work together in groups on various environmental programs ranging from
conservation projects to film production to education outreach. The X-Stream Team, a
group of ten University students, spent winter term creating an environmental education
curriculum to teach at Adams Elementary in the Spring. Adams students in 1st through 5th
grades learned basic scientific principles of water through exploration of the McKenzie
River. The overall theme of the 2013 X-Stream Team was interconnectivity between the
McKenzie Watershed and its inhabitants. We worked to cultivate action through spreading
awareness and knowledge. Following David Sobel's (1996) framework of connecting with
animals in grades 1 and 2, exploring nearby environments in grades 3 and 4, and
examining human impacts on the environment in grade 5. Using principles of engaged
pedagogy, we strove to recognize students as complex and unique individuals, structuring
our lessons accordingly. In this way, the partnership between Adams Elementary and the
University of Oregon creates passionate stewardship of the environment in collegiate,
elementary, and greater Eugene communities.
IntroductionDue to a disconnect between the natural world and those who rely on it, the ELP
X-Stream Team strove to inform Adams Elementary students of their water source.
Citizens of Eugene have the unique privilege of receiving our drinking water from a localsource, the pristine McKenzie Watershed. As environmental educators at the University of
Oregon, we saw the need for community education and outreach in an effort to regain this
lost connection. The Environmental Leadership Program (ELP) was created in 2001 to
encourage more service learning between University students and the community. The
X-Stream addresses the lack of placed-based environmental knowledge within our local
community. Using various environmental education theories, such as constructivism
(building upon students previous knowledge) and bell hooks theory of engaged
pedagogy, we created place-based curricula that acknowledge the history of the place
where we teach, and the background of each individual student: their heritage, previousknowledge, personal strengths or interests, and even their mood on a given day.
This years iteration of the ELP X-Stream team includes ten members of the University
of Oregon community. We have spent the past six months working together in an effort to
bring place-based McKenzie Watershed curricula to Adams Elementary School. In the
winter we studied educational tools and theories in order to gain a deep understanding of
cognitive development theory and how to apply that theory while building our curricula. In
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the spring, we taught our lessons to students in grades 1 through 5 at Adams Elementary
and guided students on field trips in the McKenzie Watershed. Recognizing that all
students learn differently, we approached our facilitation by implementing our lessons
through an interdisciplinary framework. Art, music, ecology, language arts, mapping skills,
and myriad hands on activities engaging multiple intelligences structured our
implementation. We acted as facilitators rather than teachers, allowing the students to
incorporate their interests to their own education. This exercises critical thinking, as
students are given the opportunity to be an active participant in their own learning
processes by navigating the world around them. Our overall goal as facilitators aims to
increase the students environmental knowledge and awareness while helping them to
claim their agency in creating positive change.
Pedagogical StatementContemporary education settings use standards to ensure equal education. Rather than
promoting equity, this standardization can homogenize both the teaching and learning
experience. Using the tenets of bell hooks Engaged Pedagogy, we endeavor to
recognize and acknowledge differences in our students and facilitators, converting diversity
and variant learning styles into strengths, rather than challenges to overcome. Engaged
Pedagogy regards each student as a whole, and teaches to their unique mind, body and
well-being. We work as facilitators rather than teachers, directly engaging with the students
using inquiry and encouraging them to find answers on their own.
We aimed to allow the students to use nature as their learning environment as much aspossible. We incorporated the outdoor setting into our lessons, weaving the information
into games, scavenger hunts, and art projects in order to facilitate the development of well
rounded, creative students who have a deep understanding and respect for the world and
communities around them. We utilized place-based lessons to teach the unique history of
the environment with which the students are engaging, so they learn to recognize difference
in context as well as respect for all histories. Ultimately, our lessons are shaped to promote
deep engagement with challenging materials, profound love and respect for the
environment, and sharp critical thinking and inquiry skills. These larger frameworks include
map skills, math, language arts, species identification, geology, ecology, environmentalsciences, and lots of physical activity.
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Project Overview
Because the natural environment is intrinsically made up of multiple interdependent
systems, the overall focus of our project was interconnectivity. We emphasized
interconnections within our lesson plans to demonstrate how multiple elements within a
system rely on one another.
In the winter we studied various environmental education techniques and theories while
also creating our individual curriculum and working through a cohesive theme. We listened
to inspiring speakers from environmental education organizations throughout the
community talk about their experiences in the field. In the spring we implemented ourcurriculum at Adams Elementary, Green Island, and the Delta Old Growth Grove Nature
Trail.
First Grade
The concept we conveyed through our lessons is that animals are interdependent and
rely on their environment because it is important to understand that one action can affect
many different organisms. In our first lesson, Wondering about Watersheds, we explained
that many animals use the McKenzie
River and that it is also the source of ourdrinking water. Through the song, We All
Live Downstream by The Banana Slug
String Band and the use of American
Sign Language, first graders learned that
we are connected to the environment,
animals, and other people. On our
second day, The Web of Life visually
displays the interconnections between
animals and the McKenzie River. By
having the students hold a string
connecting them to other species and then tugging it, they all literally feel the effect of the
interconnections. On this day, we also taught about predator and prey relationships,
illustrating how animals rely on other animals. On the field trip, the students acted the native
predator and prey relationships through a tag game called Live It Learn It, so students
actively participated in understanding interconnected relationships. Through this game
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students were exposed to stable and unstable food chains depending on the amount of
predator and prey in the environment. We tailored our lessons to different learning styles
through the use of visual representations, hands on activities, and song and dance, to help
first graders respect and understand the dynamics of an interconnected environment.
Second Grade
In second grade our curriculum focused on the wonders of the water cycle and
connecting students to special places and
animals within the McKenzie Watershed. We
also emphasized the importance of local
institutions, such as the McKenzie River
Trust, and taking part in community action.Our first lesson began with the basics of the
water cycle through song and dance,
followed by an interactive class diagram.
These prepared our students for the final
activity, in which we discussed the different
sources of water on Earth and the small
amount available for human use. The
concepts of our first lesson were then carried over into our second lesson where we played
a water molecule role-playing game. Students traveled through the the stages of the water
cycle while interacting with places specific to the McKenzie Watershed such as Clear
Lake, The Cascades, or McKenzie River. Our final lesson was a field trip to Green Island,
just north of Eugene, it is the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers. There we
had 3 stations consisting of a bird watching, scavenger hunt, and a tree mulching activity
run by the McKenzie River Trust employees. Our lessons also focused on demonstrating
interconnectivity between the water cycle and all other living things.
Third GradeThird grade focused on conceptualizing the McKenzie Watershed as a dynamic system
composed of living and nonliving elements. Our goal was to familiarize students with the
potentially unobserved processes in the
McKenzie Watershed and to illustrate the
connection between living components like
pants and non-living matter such as soil. The
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first lesson was an introduction to the processes to erosion, runoff, water quality, and
sediment. Stream tables were used to facilitate an experiment with the students that
highlighted these processes, focusing on the importance of plants in the watershed. The
second lesson used a story to present the many forms of life, both large and small, found in
the McKenzie Watershed forest. We emphasized the role of decomposers as crucial to a
healthy watershed system. The final lesson was a field trip to Delta Old Growth Grove
Nature Trail where we continued our exploration of ecological relationships. Students
participated in a guided walk to identify previously taught concepts and to generate
enthusiasm for spending time outdoors in their local environment. Students also
participated in dissecting a fallen log, which offered a hands-on opportunity to examine
important decomposers. Finally, our lessons incorporate a multicultural element through
descriptions of traditional uses of native plants.
Fourth GradeFourth grade focused on the concept of plants and their interconnectedness with theenvironment in the McKenzie Watershed. Our goal was to make students more familiar
with local flora within the McKenzie Watershed, to show them how important plants are to
the local ecosystem as a whole, and
why we should care for our watershed.
Our first lesson included discussion
about the importance of a healthy
watershed and students developed and
tested hypotheses about the flow of
water by constructing watershed
models. We also included an activity
where students followed the path water
takes through the McKenzie Watershed
starting at its headwaters and ending in
the Pacific Ocean. The second lesson
incorporated building the students
skills at identifying plant species that grow in the McKenzie Watershed as well as
discussion of the cultural significance of certain species. Students used a plants leaf
shape, leaf arrangement, and other characteristics such cones, flowers, and fruits toidentify five native plants. The third lesson was a field trip to the Delta Old Growth Grove
Nature Trail, where students had opportunities to engage all of their senses in exploring the
natural environment and to practice identifying the various plant species they learned about
in previous lessons.
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Fifth Grade
Fifth grade focused on the interconnections of
humans and the McKenzie River. We decided tocenter our curriculum on human impacts, naming
our lessons Dynamic Dams. We hoped that in
designing our lesson plans around human
impacts the students would grasp the delicate
importance of their presence in the watershed.
Our first lesson was an hour of visual learning to
show the two types of dams that are specifically
on the McKenzie using two models that explain
exactly how hydroelectricity and flood controlwork. The second lesson was based on the idea
of getting the students to understand some positive uses for dams and their beneficial
outcomes. In order to do this, we created a lesson where students wrote skits about the
various ways we rely on the McKenzie dams, performing the skits to the class in an effort to
teach out the knowledge they gained from writing their short plays. The students jumped
right in, creating skits about safe drinking water, hiking clubs, conservation teams on the
river. The third lesson was designed to tap into the artistic abilities of the students while
building an attitude of understanding and awareness of the McKenzie. The students wrote
acrostic poems and created a mural that focused on the McKenzie River to be posted in
the Eugene Public Library. The students took pride in their work and the opportunity to
share what they learned about the McKenzie.
EvaluationsWe included various forms of evaluation for our teaching effectiveness in order to learn and
grow as facilitators. As environmental educators, our overall goal was to guide the students
towards being knowledgeable stewards of the environment. Evaluating the effectiveness in
achieving this goal provided a unique challenge because the quality of the students
respect for and future decisions about the environment is difficult to detect. Therefore, we
used various evaluation methods and authentic assessment techniques. Part of authentic
assessment included speaking with our partner, teacher, project leader, and managers
about our strengths and weaknesses in facilitating. In addition to our teammates critiques,
we also evaluated ourselves to improve our curriculum.
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Long term goals are difficult to evaluate, therefore we emphasized the short term goals, for
example, ensuring all objectives for each lesson were met. Some of the methods we used
for evaluation of short-term goals were fill in the blank worksheets, questionnaire handouts,
student participation, and feedback from teachers. Reflecting after each lesson clarified
our perception of ourselves as facilitators. We made sure our objectives were clearly
conveyed and understood. Coyotes Guide to Connecting with Nature by Jon Young, Evan
McGown, and Ellen Haas, provided us with the information to look for signals among the
students concerning their attitude about and understanding of the material. Some of these
indicators include self sufficiency, common sense, awe and reverence, and inquisitive
focus. In each lesson we measured our teaching effectiveness by watching for these
indicators.
The students in first grade filled out provided worksheets
answering where their drinking water comes from, a
predator-prey flow chart, and adjectives that describe
what the students saw on their field trip.
Forsecond grade, evaluations from the first two lessons
were based on the students journal entries which
include, a personal water cycle diagram and reflections
made after each lesson. Evaluations for the field trip
were much less concrete facilitators looked for a sparkle
in the students eyes and smiles on their faces.
Third grade evaluated based on student illustrations and
retention of vocabulary. Student journals were used as
another evaluation tool which showed what they gained from their time.
Fourth grade evaluated their lesson one based on the an inquiry-based review discussion
at the end of the lesson where we observed if the students learned our lessons main
objectives. For our second lesson we looked at the students worksheets, which involved
identifying the five plants in our lesson by listing two characteristics they used to identify theplant and a vocabulary evaluation quiz. In addition, we had an inquiry review discussion to
evaluate if they remembered the plant fun facts.Lastly, for our field trip we looked for
indicators of learning such as awe, a sparkle in the eye, and smiling faces.
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Fifth grade used a KWL chart as an evaluation tool. This
chart is comprised of three columns, the first column K
stands for what the students already KNOW, we filled
this column with the students previous knowledge of the
McKenzie, watersheds, and dams at the beginning of
the first lesson. The second column, W, represents
what the students WANT to know by the end of the
3-lesson series. We filled this column in as the students
thought of things they wanted to know about McKenzie
river and dams. The third column, L, is filled in after
each lesson is complete with what the student ultimately
Learned.
Outputs
We created a place-based curriculum for grades 1-5 which includes 15 lessons. We
spent 20 hours outside with the students and 26 inside the classroom. These hours were
spent with 347 elementary students in 12 classes. During the 1st and 2nd grade field trips
to Green Island Property, the students mulched 300 trees, making them active participants
in the community.
347 elementary students participated
20 hours spent outside
~2500 hours of development and
implementation
26 in-class lessons
300 trees mulched
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4 day-long field trips
OutcomesShort Term Long Term
Mapping skills
Familiarity with binoculars
and magnifying glasses
Ability to create an acrostic
poem ASL
Plant and animal
identification skills
Interest and involvement in
their local environment
(hikes of summer)
Reuse of our curriculum at
Adams Elementary
ConclusionsFollowing the Tbilisi declarations framework of how to effectively practice environmental
education through awareness, knowledge, attitude, skills, and action, we taught awareness
of the environment in order to inspire future action. Using activities that utilized inquiry
skills, we guided students to increase their curiosity for nature and their awareness of the
natural world. We encouraged active engagement with the McKenzie Watershed by
structuring our lessons to involve all senses, increasing deep sensory awareness of the
surroundings. Through the exploration of dams, students became aware of human impacts
on the McKenzie River and its role in providing energy and drinking water. We taught about
native animals of the McKenzie Watershed, increasing students knowledge of their local
surroundings. We encouraged appreciation, gratitude and inspiration of nature, fosteringtheir value of nature. Some of the skills students gained are proper use of binoculars and
magnifying glasses, cartography, insect and plant identification and language arts skills.
This lead to students embracing their agency in taking action. In the back of the students
journals we included local hikes in the McKenzie Watershed, inspiring future exploration of
their environment. We hoped to encourage responsible stewards of the environment who
embrace an active role in the community.
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Throughout this experience in the Environmental Leadership Program, the members of the
X-stream team gained a wealth of practical skills and knowledge that are applicable
towards a range of future endeavors. One of the most useful skills gained is the ability to
work effectively in a team setting. For example, members facilitated team meetings, set
agendas, and learned to communicate in a respectable manner. In addition, members
gained valuable experience working with community partners. The team was in constant
contact with the faculty at Adams Elementary from the planning stages of the curriculum all
the way to the last teaching session with the students. More relevant to this program
everyone also grew as educators. The team became better facilitators by reflecting on
experiences after every teaching session, constantly striving for improvement. Lastly, from
this experience team members received a plethora of satisfaction by creating an
environmental service learning project that reached over 300 elementary students.
Watching the students engage with these lessons that the team spent countless hours
preparing validated all of the hard work.
Acknowledgements
The Environmental Leadership Program X-Stream Team would like to take this opportunity
to thank all of the organizations and individuals, who made this program possible. Firstly,
thank you to The Gray Family Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation for funding our
work. Secondly, thank you to the Adams Elementary community - the teachers, and their
principal, Cindy Sainz - for fostering the facilitation of this program. Finally, we would like to
thank our project manager, Lokyee Au, and our professor, Kathryn Lynch, without whom
none of this would be possible.
Sponsors
Gray Family Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation
Community Partners
Adams Elementary School students, parents and staff National Forest Service (Willamette
National Forest) The Green Committee Adams Elementary
Cindy Sainz (Adams Elementary)
McKenzie River Trust
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