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In your small groups:

1. Introduce yourselves (name, school and grade)

2. Appoint a timekeeper and a notetaker

3. Take 2 minutes to reflect individually on the three prompts.

4. Discuss the prompts as a group. Notetaker record notes on the padlet!

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Videos were occasionally hard to understand and sometimes too short--extra visuals and subtitles might help (vocabulary charts and images would be great to help with journalling!)

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Students look at being outside differently, especially looking at bugs in a different way. See insects as being alive; living creatures that have a purpose, and now they don't want to hurt them.

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I learned to let them lead themselves instead of me leading them.

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K students were more curious about insects. They saw them at recess before and then they spent a lot more time with the things they found and spent time looking for insects.

Students get to learn and apply them. They get to learn it and do which contributes to their curiosity.

My students went on a field trip to Audubon. Many students were either multi-lingual or new to New England and experiencing nature.

Students had the opportunity to look at the campus through the lens of climate change effects and how to support resilience.

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Some kids were initially fearful for the insects they were looking for--by the end, they were more confident! Lessons helped to boost student vocabulary quickly. Going outside to see things in nature helped students solidify and internalize the learning they had done in the classroom through books, etc. Engagement was increase in comparison to the classroom--students were more excited to participate outdoors.

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Our outside area was too close to traffic and too big, they were running more than focusing on the task at hand.

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Vocabulary: Students consistently used academic vocabulary like habitat, mini-beasts, adaptations, and observe in their discussions and writing. These words became part of their everyday language, showing a deep internalization of key concepts.

Reinforcement: The focus on Mini-beasts perfectly aligned with our CKLA unit on insects. This cross-curricular connection allowed students to apply what they learned in ELA to real-world science experiences, reinforcing content across subjects.

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-nature trail in back of school, but isn't often used, it was great to get out more

-created structure in what was being taught about what is in their own backyard.

-great to hear kids use vocabulary, to get them outside, were able to incorporate Bill Nye, if students couldn't access outside

-more engagement from students, participants in shared learning, connecting with eachother and the content

-students started to realize there is nature all around them, and lots to observe and learn about even though they live in a city

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I want provide more outside activities to create learning experiences like the pizza oven.

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Being immersed in a different environment (outside) as opposed to the classroom allowed them to have more hands on learning and retained more information

Outside to learn and not just for recreation (being able to distinguish them)

Curiosity peaked

Students questioned more phenomena after Audubon lessons

Fear of “icky” things reduced; became more comfortable with environment/surroundings

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Starting in March kept us indoors more than we hoped because of weather. Improvements on the lessons meant to be outdoors when we have to stay indoors.

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My comfort increased with getting kids outside and broadened my horizons.

In the beginning you can do it! There's time there and I was able to bring their observations into their writing. Things they saw at recess they recorded during writing time afterwards.

We had someone to come in and support the class. Its rare to have someone else come in and teach your subject. Its interesting to step back and observe and think about how I can implement different strategies. I can also watch students more closely.

Short and sweet can be effective. Getting outside doesn't have to be a big time commitment to be impactful.

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The kids enjoyed working in the journal, but the examples in the teacher guide exceeded what the students were able to do. Grade level journals would be helpful.

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Lessons provided new or more in depth knowledge about content; gave a new mindset about how to approach outdoor learning and hands on activities. It can feel challenging to bring cohorts with high needs outdoors, but the encouragement and resources from the program provided motivation and inspiration and it was clear to see how students benefited from the experience even if there were behavioral challenges to navigate.

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Expanded Use of Outdoor Learning:

Taking students outside offered a refreshing change from traditional classroom routines. It provided a unique teaching environment that sparked student engagement and reminded us of the power of experiential learning. Leaving the classroom and teaching outdoors helped us connect with students in new ways and appreciate the benefits of nature-based instruction.

Peaking Student Curiosity Through Gardening:

Incorporating the gardening program alongside the Science of Mass curriculum helped spark students’ curiosity about living things and their environments. It offered additional hands-on opportunities for exploration and reinforced concepts like habitat and adaptations.

Inspired to Expand Science Instruction:
We felt encouraged by the success of this program to apply for a grant to develop and teach a different science lesson on erosion, also conducted outside. This shows growth in our initiative to seek resources and expand hands-on science experiences for our students.

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-looking deeper as a teacher, exploring with the kids, making those connections

-great having another coteacher that was like-minded, don't get to do as much science as one would like

-helpful to see quality science lessons being taught, provided a model of how to use nature in lessons, inspiring to see that extra materials could be things readily available

- easy routine to follow, journalling was a great way to access lots of different kinds of science and incorporate throughout the year.

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Learned to let go; let students lead

Not making presumptions about behaviors, letting the class play out rather than being apprehensive about kids acting out

“Mini beast” term - shift in energy

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Students looked forward to these learning experiences and they learned and used science vocabulary effectively and enthusiastically.

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We enjoyed the learning experiences along with the students.

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Suggestion for materials and journals - more kid friendly for weather unit with 3rd grade, the texts and workbooks/papers too advanced (more differentiation)

Resource bank for resources created to supplement lessons (slides, vocab cards etc)

Anitra - more sessions, and more time with journals

Pre-work - videos were sometimes hard to understand regarding crisp audio and no captions

More vocab forward instruction esp for multi-lingual students

It would be great if there was a preassessment that we could give and then share results with Audubon educators to tweak the unit to meet the needs of the group.

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-add more structure to outside time

-some videos weren't working

-have instructors talk about how to interact with nature respectfully prior to lessons outside

-starting earlier in the year, so that journaling could continue throughout the year

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Utilization/implementation of exemplars

More visual learning opportunities

More explanation; clearer directions (for ex. The permeable/impermeable activity)

Indoor activity alternatives for bad weather days

Writing down thoughts prior discussion/learning

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Improve Video Content and Alignment:
A suggestion for improvement is to provide videos that include more detailed explanations to support the lessons. Sometimes the videos did not clearly match the lesson content, which caused confusion. For example, one lesson did not have a matching video at all. Ensuring that each lesson is paired with a relevant, well-explained video would enhance student understanding and engagement.

Address Seasonal Challenges with Mini-Beasts:
Scheduling the unit later in the school year made it more difficult to find mini-beasts for outdoor observation. To address this, the program could be adjusted to occur earlier in the year when mini-beasts are more abundant. Alternatively, the curriculum could include a complementary winter unit with activities and lessons tailored for colder seasons, ensuring students have meaningful science experiences year-round.