Real Problem Solving Science for Grades 5-12
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.
Antioch University New England's Wild Treasures: Sustainability, Naturally program benefited science teachers and their students throughout the region for over fifteen years. Now we have a new version of the program to share with you: Wild Treasures: Climate Change! Using the successful Wild Treasures model but with a new twist, students will put into practice an interdisciplinary approach to combating climate change. After grappling with the science behind our changing planet, students take action in their own schools. Some may promote off-the-grid energy sources, some may focus on sustainable food systems, and some may want to create a community campaign to raise all toxic household products 2' above basement and first floors --all working towards reducing the schools' carbon footprint and helping prepare their school and community for more frequent severe weather events.
Antioch University New England's Wild Treasures: Sustainability, Naturally program benefited science teachers and their students throughout the region for over fifteen years. Now we have a new version of the program to share with you: Wild Treasures: Climate Change! Using the successful Wild Treasures model but with a new twist, students will put into practice an interdisciplinary approach to combating climate change. After grappling with the science behind our changing planet, students take action in their own schools. Some may promote off-the-grid energy sources, some may focus on sustainable food systems, and some may want to create a community campaign to raise all toxic household products 2' above basement and first floors --all working towards reducing the schools' carbon footprint and helping prepare their school and community for more frequent severe weather events.
Wild Treasures: Climate Change Mission Statement: To empower students of all ages to become knowledgeable, skilled, actively engaged citizens who lead the way in building resilient communities in the face of climate change.
The Wild Treasures Model
Wild Treasures exemplifies what science education can look like when students are asked to solve real problems that affect their lives. By integrating multiple disciplines, this model can be used to approach complex ideas from a variety of perspectives and to guide students in becoming engaged citizens in their communities. Put simply, here's how it works:
- Work with a small set of big ideas over a long period of time, in a variety of ways.
- Design and carrying out research about those big ideas.
- Submit proposals to real audiences in order to impact your environment.
- Through rational research and democratic participation, turn those ideas into measurable actions.
Wild Treasures: Climate Change begins with students trying to solve a variety of engaging problems that introduce them to the Five Core Concepts of Climate Change: systems, cycling, exponential growth, feedback loops, and resilience. The Wild Treasures Challenges, have a playful gaming structure with real and perceived risks. From there, the students move on to the Research, Proposal, and Action phases of the program. Along the way, the program provides students with positive and constructive feedback as well as real cash prizes to help turn their proposals into reality. The program culminates with a class transforming the way their school operates, based on their application of the Core Concepts of Climate Change and their vision for a more resilient community.
“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, educator, and environmentalist, commenting on the original Wild Treasures: Sustainability, Naturally.
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, please take a look around our site, download our free resources, and get in touch!
“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, educator, and environmentalist, commenting on the original Wild Treasures: Sustainability, Naturally.
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, please take a look around our site, download our free resources, and get in touch!
Wild Treasures Curriculum is Available for Free
All of the curriculum that you find on the Wild Treasures websites are available for free, under a Creative Commons. We hope you use it as one model in which to connect science education and civic responsibility in your classrooms! Please download and use the materials as you want, as long as you attribute us as the source. While you're at it, let us know how you use our materials - we would love to hear how you adapt Wild Treasures to suit your needs!
For More Information, Contact:
Jimmy Karlan, Ed.D.
Director, Science Teacher Certification Founder & Senior Project Manager, Wild Treasures Antioch University New England Department of Environmental Studies 40 Avon St. Keene, NH 03431 603.283.2341 [email protected] |