Watershed Education

Watershed education, as Catherine and Jessica introduced us to it, is a great concrete example of "guided inquiry-based education." What was it like, being outside? What are the advantages and disadvantages of getting out of the classroom? Of not being "in control" of what's happening (like: the weather)?

I really enjoyed our activities this morning. I think it is a great idea to get out of the classroom from time to time. When talking about place based education I think it is important that our students get exposed to aspects of their surroundings that they might not even think about. Watersheds are a great example of something that affects everyday life in many ways, but is not really considered by our students. It seems that there are a lot of great resources out there as well as opportunities to bring in outside experts to lend a different perspective. Although presenting outside of the classroom does present unique difficulties, I think it is definitely worth doing from time to time. I also think that our activities this morning were a great example of guided inquiry that could be adapted to suit almost any level of instruction.

It was great being outside in the sunny Bryn Mawr environment. Every opportunity to get outside with your students must be utilized. The inquiry based lessons we experienced today demonstrates the importance of hands on activities. This year's activity at the pond were more meaningful-maybe because Wil agreed to be at the water's edge! I enjoyed taking time measurements with the stopwatch, but I was grateful to not do any calculations (beyond my knowledge). I know I can use similar activities on fieldtrips, and when I return to my school, I am going on a search for the storm drains adjacent to the parking lots.

In high school you have a very narrow area of specialization. Middle school covers watersheds very well and in HS physics or chemistry there's little if no connection other than perhaps a brainstorming question that starts a class.