Science Education

By Pete Barnes

Many teachers are, understandably, in survival mode this semester, hoping just to make it through the pandemic and return to “normal”. But for those with the bandwidth to think beyond the present chaos, planning a project that will get kids outside, help the natural world, and beautify the school campus may be a welcome relief. A pollinator garden does all of these things with minimal financial and technological resources, and is a great project for schools that are conducting as many classes outside as possible in order to limit potential spread of the virus. Science, math, and language arts concepts can all be taught in the garden, but students will most remember making the earth a more liveable place.

At this very moment, I am at a workshop with educators from the United States and all over Europe, the theme of which is Nature-inspired approaches to teaching STEM. It’s gratifying: some 14 years ago, when I first started teaching educators about this pedagogical approach, Nature-inspired STEM in schools didn’t even exist. Today, hundreds of primary and secondary school teachers in schools all over the world wouldn’t think of teaching STEM any other way.

But for some of you STEM educators out there, I may have just said something a little surprising. Nature? What does the natural world have to do with teaching STEM? The short answer is: everything.

Tag: Science Education

Creating a Pollinator Garden at Your School

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