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Can a Web-based Handbook Serve as an Open-ended, Useful Guide for Schoolyard Ecology Program Leaders? We certainly hope the answer is, "YES!" This Handbook is for scientists and educators who want to develop and lead teacher enhancement programs — summer and/or school year workshops, and ongoing support and networking — to help teachers use their schoolyards or other nearby sites for inquiry-based teaching of ecology. Since one of our central principles is to model best practice with teachers, we've tried to apply the same principle of modeling in writing this Handbook. Thus, it is intended to be a guidebook rather than a prescription, and we hope it grows as our own and our shared experiences evolve over time. In it, we share our questions, strategies and the background and rationale behind them. We present diverse and sometimes even contradictory approaches, explore various outcomes, and reflect on directions and challenges for the future. Throughout, we celebrate the rich diversity of experience generated in several dozen Schoolyard Ecology (SYE) Institutes held over the past decade. We expect your experiences, too, will be as varied as the schoolyards, the teachers, the school systems, and the leaders you work with. Viva la difference!
Using the Handbook Navigating Navigating through the Handbook should be straightforward. You can use your web browser's tools as with other web sites. To help you navigate, we've created these features: The top navigation bar appears at the top of every "page". Here's an explanation of each button:
The Table of Contents gives a quick overview of the Handbook and its four sections. Click on the heading for each section to go to a page that explains what's in the section and lets you link to each part within it. The Introduction gives a quick view of our vision for schoolyard ecology and inquiry-based teaching and learning. In the How-To Chapters, we present specific strategies for planning and implementing a Schoolyard Ecology Institute. The Appendices contain supplementary resources and materials to help schoolyard ecology leaders. The Handbook's OriginsSchoolyard Ecology for Elementary School Teachers (SYEFEST) began with a group of ecologists and science educators who knew that they had something special to offer — inquiry-based learning in real environments near schools — but also knew they were on the outside of where the action was, teachers working with kids in schools. Many things have happened, some surprising, some exceeding our expectations, some humbling. One wonderful outcome has been a rich collection of ideas, insights and reflections on schoolyard ecology and teachers. We've chosen this Handbook as our way of sharing these in a provocative and, hopefully, useful format. From our work, several essential elements of a SYEFEST program have emerged that characterize our common vision of professional development in schoolyard ecology: TEACHERS / SCIENTISTS CO-LEADING: Validate both arenas through joint team leadership of the program.MODELING: Use "best" practice, from the personal behavior of the leaders to the way that strands and the whole program are organized. INQUIRING: Engage teachers as learners in real ecological inquiry, in their own schoolyards. REFLECTING: Encourage reflective practice, fostering transfer of training. APPLYING: Provide the time, resources and support to develop and refine concrete, practical plans. SUSTAINING: Give on-going support and encouragement as teachers practice innovative teaching. |
The next step was to craft partnerships that would marry the two worlds of education and science. With the support of an NSF grant aimed at testing, documenting and disseminating a model for elementary teacher enhancement in schoolyard ecology, we formed Lead Teacher/Lead Ecologist teams at 15 sites around the nation, convened them for a 4-day Leadership Workshop in the spring of 1994, and set them loose to work with local teachers over the following year. Since then, many of the teams have continued to work with teachers and several dozen distinct SYE Institutes have taken over the past 8 years.