Science Process Skills and Environmental Science

If you have access to an outdoor classroom or learning environment this activity would be a great way to encourage the development of observational, investigative and recording skills in rel... See More

If you have access to an outdoor classroom or learning environment this activity would be a great way to encourage the development of observational, investigative and recording skills in relation to environmental science. The project as discussed in the article is quite lengthy and would involve the dedication of at least 1 week or more of time spread out over a season. I would also be concerned about students not maintaining a lab notebook for the length of time required for this project. (I teach middle grades, and my students misplace or forget to bring their lab book frequently.) I would have the students complete “lab reports” to stay in the classroom to overcome this potential problem. Overall, this is a great lesson for combining environmental science exploration with scientific process skills. I hope to try it out this fall.