Ducks @ Oregon - University of Oregon

Project Learning Tree Workshop

Trafton B.

February 8, 2010 - 12:24 AM

What am I still doing awake?

It's definitely past my bedtime, although I think I'm going to push back that curfew considering the way classes have been going lately. I'm wicked tired and today I know exactly why. This weekend has been dedicated to lesson planning and conservation education.

Today, my team and I met again for a few hours to rework our lessons after discovering last week that we grossly overestimated the face time we would have with our students - we planned for around four or five hours of lesson and found out we have about an hour and a half. Plus, we had to meet early enough to ensure we would be done by the time the Super Bowl kicked off. But yesterday was even more of a marathon.

Saturday, the entire ELP class spent six hours at a Project Learning Tree workshop in environmental education. At first I was weary at the prospect of a six-hour workshop taking up my Saturday afternoon, but I came around very quickly. Kate, our local PLT trainer, led a few activities that she thought appropriate for our specific projects. We played "Wonders of Water," which put us in the point of view of a water molecule traveling through the water cycle. It was like one of those Choose Your Own Adventure books, except we rolled die to see where we went next. I started out inside a fruit, then I was eaten by a human, exhaled into the air, rained down into a stream, drunk by an animal and, finally, peed out on top of a mountain (that was my favorite part). Then after we were finished playing the game, she had us write out a story version of the entire cycle.

We also looked at tree cookies, and became energy "sleuths" by the end of the day. We took a quiz about our opinions on controversial topics like "Should someone who owns a piece of land be able to do whatever they want to it?" or "Does the government have full responsibility for protecting the environment?" Afterwards we paired with a person that expressed the opposite view to our own to discuss and listen to alternative perspectives. It was very interesting, and I was pleased with how cordial the discussions remained. It may have something to do with the fact that most of us have similar beliefs when it comes to the environment. That's sort of why we're all in this class to begin with.

At the end of the day, Kate gave us all personal copies of the Project Learning Tree activities guide and time to discuss in our teams some activities that we could use or adapt for our respective projects. We also discussed the interdisciplinary aspect of environmental education, which I also find interesting. For example, the energy sleuths activity meets academic requirements for reading and science. "Wonders of Water" falls under science and language arts. And the opinions quiz activity is strictly under social science. I think that's my favorite part about environmental education. It can fit under so many categories. And now I have one hundred different activities to choose from.

To be completely honest, I'll probably play some of these games in my free time. Well, what little free time I have left, that it.