Enhancing Webster Transitional School's Environmental Education Through an Activity Guide for the Outdoor Classroom
File(s)
Date
1996-05Author
Levy, Janice M.
Publisher
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, College of Natural Resources
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
In 1977 an outdoor classroom was designed and developed at
Webster Transitional School in Cedarburg, WI. No curriculum or
inservice accompanied the development. Although a district
environmental education curriculum was written in 1988, use of
the outdoor site did not improve. This project involved
enhancing the existing natural area at Webster Transitional
School, and the implementation of an activity guide that
infuses the sixth and seventh grade science and environmental
education curriculums into the natural area. Literature
suggests that learning in an outdoor classroom is an effective
approach to more efficient learning of EE. The plan at Webster
involved developing the outdoor classroom in four main ways: 1)
general clean up; 2) prairie planting; 3) tree identification/
nature walk; and 4) shrub planting. The local Cedarburg Rotary
Club was invited to help with the general clean up. This
generated their interest in the natural area and evolved into
continuing support through funding for the remainder of the
outdoor classroom development. To achieve the goal of having
sixth and seventh grade science teachers use the newly
developed outdoor classroom, an activity guide was designed.
The activity guide integrates the science and environmental
education curriculums into the outdoor classroom. The
activities from the guide were tested in the fall of 1995. In
March of 1996 all sixth and seventh grade science teachers were
introduced to the activity guide with the hope that they would
find it useful.