Taking Class Outdoors with Environmental Education | Edutopia

Taking Class Outdoors with Environmental Education | Edutopia:

At Minneapolis's School of Environmental Studies, learning is about becoming an expert and solving real problems.

VIDEO: Taking Class Outdoors with Environmental Education

 

Running Time: 10 min.

When Mark LaCroix and his classmates at Minnesota'sSchool of Environmental Studies (SES) discovered patches of buckthorn crowding out native species at a local park, they didn't just write up their findings as a science report to be read by the teacher and then handed back. They compiled data in a form familiar to government agencies and submitted a technical report to local officials, who used the information to direct park gardeners to eradicate the invasive plant.

At SES, learning is about becoming an expert and solving real problems -- doing in-depth, interdisciplinary research using innovative technology that results in practical applications. Every aspect of the school, from its curriculum and close student-teacher relationships to the architecture of the building, supports the school's get-out-there-and-do-it approach to learning.