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A hands-on approach to climate change education in New Jersey
In August, BASF and the New Jersey Audubon (NJA) organized, for the first time, the Teachers’ School of Ecology (TSOE), a three-day workshop for middle and high school teachers to learn about how natural ecosystems are impacted by climate change.
From August 14 to 16, BASF and the New Jersey Audubon (NJA) put together a novel workshop to bring climate change closer to classrooms, providing 13 middle and high school teachers of New Jersey with the knowledge and resources to understand the effects of climate change in the ecosystem.
Held at the NJA’s Scherman Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary, participants were challenged to solve real problems through exploration, discovery and critical thinking. The topics in the workshop were tailored to New Jersey’s Student Learning Standards, which would in turn make it easy for teachers to adopt the experiments and learnings into their own curricula.
I really enjoyed all the activities. We didn't do a lot of sitting in the class. Everything was so hands-on and so wonderful.
Teachers learned basic environmental and ecological concepts, as well as skills and tools. They monitored water quality, assessed the habitat, collected data, surveyed, and investigated environmental issues.
Sustainability is the most important topic for me as a teacher, and the reason I chose this career. And I hope to impart to my students an awareness and appreciation of the natural world. If they have that feeling of caring about the natural world, they’ll want to protect it and make a difference.
As Allison Mulch, Director of Education of the New Jersey Audubon explains, “We welcomed the opportunity to provide the Teachers School of Ecology at our Scherman Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary, exploring the impacts of climate change on our watersheds, wildlife, and communities in a three-day institute preparing teachers to facilitate student-led projects and implement New Jersey’s Student Learning Standards related to climate change.”
This workshop is part of the ongoing efforts by BASF to promote STEAM education, which integrates science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics, and fosters an interdisciplinary education to nurture creativity and collaboration. We do this by implementing different Kids’ Labs across the country, but also through activities such as these, where teachers can approach complex subjects in a more relaxed, fun atmosphere.
To learn more about BASF’s STEAM programs in North America, visit the STEAM Education website.