KLEIN's
GUIDE TO
SCIENCE EDUCATION
PHOTO CREDIT: Nadene Klein at Tuolumne Meadows Yosemite National Park
Autumn 2022 in Colorado has been absolutely spectacular. The colors and weather have been ideal, making me and my students year to be outside. To oblige their requests, I recently took all of my classes outside to do a Solo. A Solo is a protocol that I use a few times per year in all of my classes. The term Solo comes form the notion that students work in isolation, alone. This is an opportunity for students to make connections to self and the real world. It is also an opportunity to integrate mindfulness in the science classroom. This is a low risk, high reward, easy to plan, and easy to grade activity. The procedures goes as follows: 1. Go outside. Have students spread out to have their own space. This can be on the lawn or any outdoor area accessible to your school. 2. Students get comfortable sitting outside and remain silent for the entire activity. 3. Instruct students to be still and pay attention to all of their senses. At this point, they do not have a specific prompt--just notice. What do you see that you might normally not pay attention to? What do you smell? What do you hear? What do you feel? OPTIONS: At this point, you may choose to do a land acknowledgement to the native people of the place you are. You may also ask students to close their eyes to better focus on their weaker senses. 4. Students should continue to sit in silence. Determine a time frame that suits your students needs, age, attention span, and class schedule. I usually use 5 minutes. 5. Give students a prompt to which they can record their observations. This will depend on your content. Sample prompts are given below. Students may record their observations in words, drawings or a combination of both. PROMPTS: Zoology: Describe the macro and micro animals in this space. Then classify them. How doe the animals you observed interact with their environment/habitat? Earth and Environmental: Describe the landforms around you. Describe the weather . How have people changed the environment in this area from how it was naturally? Physics: How do you notice things moving in and around? What forces are working on the objects in your space? 6. Gather together in a circle and share observations as a group. 7. Debrief the experience with your students. Ask how they feel after spending the time in silence outside. See if they can express how they were able to notice things that they otherwise would not have noticed on a both a macro and micro level. The feedback I most frequent get from students is that they feel more calm. They can't believe how much they noticed. They enjoyed the experience and they would definitely like to do it again. So, plan on doing it again. Scientifically yours, Nadene P.S. Special acknowledgement to Laura Arndt for teaching the Solo to me many years ago.
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AuthorNadene Klein, M.Ed. has been an educator for over 25 years. She brings a passion and love for science to the classroom and through this blog to you. Archives
March 2024
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