All About Wild Treasures
Real Problem Solving Science for Grades 5-12 |
Mission Statement: To empower students of all ages to become knowledgeable, skilled, actively engaged citizens who lead the way in building a sustainable future for our planet.
Imagine a global initiative in which the primary purpose of science education is to empower students to use the discipline of science to help make the world a better place, now. Wild Treasures involves real problem solving, real decision-making and consequences, real community participation, proposals based on first-hand research, and actions in which students improve their own schools.
By integrating science and civics into a seamless, rewarding curriculum, students can reduce their school's carbon and toxic footprints by minimizing their solid waste, implementing school-wide alternative energy and energy conservation programs, initiating large-scale composting, developing organic lunch programs, and creating sustainable purchasing criteria for school equipment and services.
Imagine a global initiative in which the primary purpose of science education is to empower students to use the discipline of science to help make the world a better place, now. Wild Treasures involves real problem solving, real decision-making and consequences, real community participation, proposals based on first-hand research, and actions in which students improve their own schools.
By integrating science and civics into a seamless, rewarding curriculum, students can reduce their school's carbon and toxic footprints by minimizing their solid waste, implementing school-wide alternative energy and energy conservation programs, initiating large-scale composting, developing organic lunch programs, and creating sustainable purchasing criteria for school equipment and services.
This is more than a sustainability education curriculum. Wild Treasures exemplifies what science education can look like when students are asked to solve real problems that affect their lives. It does it via a seamless integration of multiple disciplines in a joint effort to teach complex concepts. It’s an effective model for framing much of what can happen in a science classroom: (1) Work with a small set of big ideas over a long period of time, in a variety of ways; (2) Design and carrying out self-designed research about this small set of big ideas; (3) Submit proposals to real audiences like school boards and commissions in order to have an impact on the real environment in which you are a part; (4) Turn ideas, based on rational research, and democratic participation into measurable actions that effect real lives.
“Wild Treasures bridges one of the most difficult gaps in our society--between the unfocused knowledge that something is wrong, and the skills and mindset to start changing it. I sure wish there'd been something like it in my school!” — Bill McKibben, author
Wild Treasures believes the active engagement of youth in solving real problems should be at the heart of our nation's science education curriculum. We just have too many issues on all sorts of scales to not take advantage of our youth's abilities and readiness to help. What if our national science curriculum shared a common goal: to teach science in ways that will engage children in using science to help make the world a better place?
Wild Treasures: Sustainability, Naturally (WT) begins with students trying to solve a variety of engaging problems introducing them to big ideas about sustainability: waste, exponential growth, feedback loops, cycling and entropy. It "ends" with a class transforming the way their school operates, based on these principles of sustainability.
Through real problem solving science, students investigate their school's sustainable practices, create and present a persuasive proposal for changing their school's operation, and then turn their school board approved proposal into action.
If you are a middle or high school teacher interested in hands-on, minds-on, student centered, student directed, real problem solving interdisciplinary science teaching, I hope you'll enjoy the opportunities inherent in a curriculum that's centered around using the discipline of science to make a contribution to the world.
Wild Treasures: Sustainability, Naturally (WT) begins with students trying to solve a variety of engaging problems introducing them to big ideas about sustainability: waste, exponential growth, feedback loops, cycling and entropy. It "ends" with a class transforming the way their school operates, based on these principles of sustainability.
Through real problem solving science, students investigate their school's sustainable practices, create and present a persuasive proposal for changing their school's operation, and then turn their school board approved proposal into action.
If you are a middle or high school teacher interested in hands-on, minds-on, student centered, student directed, real problem solving interdisciplinary science teaching, I hope you'll enjoy the opportunities inherent in a curriculum that's centered around using the discipline of science to make a contribution to the world.
All Wild Treasures Curriculum Available for Free
All the curriculum that you find on the Wild Treasures website is available for free. Please use it as one model in which to connect science education and civic responsibility.
Please feel free to adapt the curriculum and let us know what you accomplish.
Vermont Commissioner of Education, Ray McNulty was so impressed with the educational integrity of Wild Treasures he said, “I wish all middle school students can experience this exemplary sustainability education program.”
Wild Treasures offers a variety of other incentives and designs that will sustain your students’ interests. The Challenges have a playful gaming structure accompanied by engaging problems with real and perceived risks. Each phase of the program provides students with positive and constructive feedback. During the final action phase of the curriculum, students feel a wonderful sense of having accomplished something significant and meaningful.
Please let us know how you use our materials - we would love to hear how Wild Treasures has been adapted to suit your needs.
Sincerely,
Jimmy Karlan
Founder & Senior Project Manager
Please feel free to adapt the curriculum and let us know what you accomplish.
Vermont Commissioner of Education, Ray McNulty was so impressed with the educational integrity of Wild Treasures he said, “I wish all middle school students can experience this exemplary sustainability education program.”
Wild Treasures offers a variety of other incentives and designs that will sustain your students’ interests. The Challenges have a playful gaming structure accompanied by engaging problems with real and perceived risks. Each phase of the program provides students with positive and constructive feedback. During the final action phase of the curriculum, students feel a wonderful sense of having accomplished something significant and meaningful.
Please let us know how you use our materials - we would love to hear how Wild Treasures has been adapted to suit your needs.
Sincerely,
Jimmy Karlan
Founder & Senior Project Manager
For More Information Contact:
Jimmy Karlan, Ed.D.
Director, Science Teacher Certification Founder & Senior Project Manager, Wild Treasures: Sustainability, Naturally Antioch University New England Department of Environmental Studies 40 Avon St. Keene, NH 03431 603.283.2341 [email protected] |
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