GreenSchools Poster to Inspire Your Class

GreenSchools PosterPLT has created a new GreenSchools poster to inspire students to take an active role in greening their school.  

Available online and in print, this poster illustrates the many elements of a PLT GreenSchool in action and how you and your students can lead the way to make these elements a reality in your school. This poster provides ideas to help reduce your school’s environmental footprint based on the five areas covered by the PLT GreenSchools Investigations.

Whether your school is a large, modern facility with many green features already in place, or an older school that is only able to take small steps to start, PLT’s GreenSchools program has the flexibility teachers need.

If you’re wondering how greening your school can benefit your students, your school, and your community, consider these facts:

  • Implementing energy-saving practices can help schools reduce their operational costs. (A typical PLT GreenSchool uses 30-50% less energy than other schools; Wyandotte High School  in Kansas saved $100,000 for a “Save a Teacher” campaign!)
  • Challenging students to apply STEM to make a difference in their world creates awareness of green job opportunities and develops 21st century career-readiness skills. (7 of the 10 projected fastest-growing occupations over the next 10 years are all in STEM fields.)
  • PLT GreenSchools! gives youth a voice and grows students’ leadership skills by inspiring and empowering them to become responsible environmental stewards.
  • In a recent independent study, educators agreed that PLT GreenSchools! Investigations and action projects develop students’ academic and life skills.

Not yet registered in PLT’s GreenSchools! program? Sign up today to access free materials and resources to help get you started on a pathway to a greener, healthier school!

PLT Awards 63 GreenWorks! Grants for Service-Learning Projects

Project Learning Tree has awarded 63 GreenWorks! grants to schools and organizations across the country to involve students in community-based environmental projects. Nearly 14,000 students in 33 states and the District of Columbia will participate in the different projects.

GreenWorks! is the service-learning component of Project Learning Tree that engages educators, students, and their communities in “learning-by-doing” local environmental stewardship projects. Since 1992, AFF has distributed more than $1 million to fund more than 1,000 PLT GreenWorks! action projects in communities across the country. The USDA Forest Service funded all GreenWorks! grants this year, up to $2,000 each.

“These grants help students take what they learn in the classroom and apply it to the real world,” said James McGirt, PLT manager of education programs. “Youth engage with the local community, and develop their critical thinking and leadership skills as they work to improve the environment.”

The GreenWorks! grants announced this week will fund elementary through high school students as they design native plant gardens, restore streams and riparian habitat, and educate others about environmental issues, among other projects.

For example, with GreenWorks! support:
  • In Baltimore, Maryland, the Parks & People Foundation will work with elementary students at Windsor Hills Elementary Middle School and Southwest Baltimore Charter School to turn their school grounds into gardens; 
  • In Brunswick, Maine, students at Brunswick Junior High will make a house more energy-efficient and collect data on the impact of their efforts;
  • In Indianapolis, Indiana, students in grades 2 through 6 will develop an outdoor learning laboratory on school grounds, including an area for weather instruments, a rain garden, and new trails;
  • In Kansas City, Missouri, teens involved with Green Works of Kansas City will develop creative ways to encourage community members and businesses to reduce the amount of single-use food packaging used in stores and carry-outs. 
  • In Nashville, Tennessee, Lipscomb Academy Elementary students will restore a stream in the Brown’s Creek watershed.

Proposals for the next round of grants will be due September 30, 2015. Application forms will be made available in the spring from www.plt.org/resources/greenworks-grants/.

NGSS: What Do the New Standards Mean for Environmental Education?

Next Generation Science Standards LogoThrough the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), K-12 students learn science content as it is integrated with real-world applications and common themes (called cross-cutting concepts). This teaching method aims to prepare students for success in STEM learning (science, technology, engineering, and math), as well as careers in the field and informed decision-making throughout life.

In mid-December, PLT had the opportunity to speak with Stephen Pruitt, Ph.D., Senior Vice-President of Achieve, Inc., about how educators can orient themselves to understanding and implementing NGSS and how environmental education can support NGSS’s vision of science education.  Achieve, Inc. coordinated development of the standards on behalf of the National Research Council (NRC), National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), and American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

The day before our conversation with Pruitt, Washington, DC, became the ninth jurisdiction in the nation to adopt the standards, joining California, Delaware, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.

Even among the states that have formally adopted the standards, Pruitt stressed the long time horizon inherent in their implementation. These states are now constructing 3-5 year implementation plans that will prepare and support teachers in making the transition a success. That being said, Pruitt suggested now is the time to start reading and understanding the standards with a careful eye to the future. Whether or not your state adopts NGSS, Pruitt reminded us that “they are based on research on the right way to teach science.”

Integration and Engagement

NGSS has three domains: disciplinary core ideas, scientific and engineering practices, and cross-cutting concepts. Integration of these three domains is emphasized to bring a context for application more fully into the realm of science education. Based on the Framework for K-12 Science Education developed by the National Research Council, NGSS focuses on a smaller set of core ideas than other academic standards. In doing so, NGSS favors depth of understanding and application of content over quantity of knowledge gained.

“The reaction has been very positive,” Pruitt said as he described his and his colleagues’ travels around the country to share and properly explain NGSS with educators. “A lot of science teachers are saying it’s what we have wanted to do for years.” NGSS is now positioned to offer the guidelines and rigor towards student performance expectations that will demonstrate science education has not only been done, but also that it has been done well. 

“Focus on One Thing and Do It Well” 

In April of 2013, the National Academies Press published Next Generation Science Standards: For States, By States. (The online version is free, and a print copy can also be purchased.) Recognizing that the two-volume publication takes time to absorb, Pruitt recommended starting piece by piece. “Get to know the standards slowly,” he suggested. One tactic: “Start with the front matter and the Appendices on the three domains. Then pick just one or two [of the standards] and do them really well.”

He stressed that the standards are goals, and the curricula used to meet these goals is up to the individual states and school districts.  As noted in NGSS’s executive summary, “the performance expectations do not dictate curriculum; rather, they are coherently developed to allow flexibility in the instruction of the standards.” 

A number of resources are available or under development to explain NGSS and ideas to support them. The Next Generation Science website and e-newsletter provide the latest updates.

 

Environmental Education and NGSS 

Environmental EducationPruitt noted that the  standards “do not shy away from using the environment” to teach science and observed that “it’s fairly easy to use the environment to teach multiple things in science.” Using the environment as a context for learning is something that Project Learning Tree champions. The PLT program is excited to make more explicit connections to NGSS in its next generation of educational materials (anticipated release 2016). 

Laura Downey, Ph.D., Kansas PLT State Coordinator and Executive Director of the Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education, was involved in development of the NGSS.

“One of PLT’s strengths in supporting NGSS, and for that matter, just good science in schools, is that PLT activities provide this rich, real-world context for learning the disciplinary core ideas while utilizing the scientific and engineering practices outlined in NGSS, ultimately supporting the cross-cutting concepts,” said Downey.

For instance, Downey cited how engaging students in Activity 21, Adopt a Tree from PLT’s PreK-8 Environmental Education Activity Guide provides opportunities for students to gain experience in several of the science and engineering practices while exploring the trees in their schoolyards and neighborhoods. The activity supports practices such as, Asking Questions, Analyzing and Interpreting Data, and Constructing Explanations. It supports multidisciplinary core ideas in Life Sciences and Earth Sciences, while deepening conceptualization of cross-cutting concepts like Structure and Function.

The NGSS are also relevant to nonformal educators, several of whom served on the writing team, for several reasons, Pruitt pointed out. “First, the standards are based on research about what is best practice for how kids learn,” Pruitt said, “and nonformal educators are sometimes able to do things that the traditional classroom cannot always do.” On a more pragmatic note, Pruitt said that eventually, principals may sign off on field trips and other programs that show they meet the standards.

Next Generation PLT

To address the NGSS, and, more broadly, other changes in education over the past few years, PLT is now taking an in-depth look at its PreK-8 Environmental Education Activity Guide. A committee of 30 members—university faculty, conservation educators, classroom teachers, and nonprofit partners from 15 states—will develop new PLT materials to pilot-test in the coming year.

As part of its activity, the committee “is engaged in unpacking NGSS and identifying areas ripe for PLT connections, including unit identification and pre-packaged activity bundles,” said Jaclyn Stallard, PLT manager of education programs.  She noted that subgroups, including grade level bands, learning progressions, preservice, and technology, are working on different aspects of the revisions.

PLT will continue to monitor and build on the Next Generation Science Standards to ensure we remain on the cutting edge of science education.

A Look Back at 20 Years of GreenWorks!

GreenWorks! is Project Learning Tree’s service-learning, community action grant program in which PLT trained educators, students, and community members work together to improve their schools, neighborhoods, and communities. Students learn by doing through service projects they undertake to address real community needs.

Project Learning Tree has been awarding GreenWorks! grants since 1992. During that time, over $1 million has been distributed to fund more than 1,200 schools and community partners. GreenWorks! action projects make a difference in young people’s sense of responsibility toward their communities, and in their understanding of their relationship to the environment.

“Twenty years ago and to this day, PLT has been on the cutting edge of promoting environmental service-learning by helping move students from awareness to responsible action,” said Kathy McGlauflin, Executive Director of Project Learning Tree. “We thank all of the many supporters and community partners who have provided financial and technical support in helping students make a difference.”

Highlights from the last 20+ years!

The Future

Great change can come from student-led ideas and projects. PLT remains committed to supporting service learning and all of the amazing work that students, educators, and community members set out to do. We are so thankful to have been a part of all of these incredible projects for the past 20 years, and we look forward to the next 20 years!

Would you like to be a part of the next round of GreenWorks! grants? Applications are due September 30th. Learn more.