For the past two weeks I have been involved in an academic course that is focusing on issues of environmental justice. We have been assigned the task of interviewing various organizations around the country and to compile a list of goals and methods they use to address and educate about issues of environmental justice.
My focus has been on urban systems of education and I have interviewed organizations in Brooklyn, Milwaukee, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. Many of these organizations educate students about urban ecology - the aspects of their urban ecosystem that they should be aware of such as where their water comes from (the water cycle), sustainable design buildings (and renewable energy sources), water quality testing, waste treatment, food systems, etc. It was been very interesting to speak to various people about this topic that is so vast and prevalent in today's urban centers.
From the information we gather, a cohort of five graduate students will be organizing a workshop that will be presented at the Shepard Symposium for environment justice at the University of Wyoming in April. Stay tuned for our future findings...
In the meantime, we have 24 8th graders coming from Sheridan, Wyoming today who will be the beneficiaries of our knowledge of systems theory, sustainability, and aspects of environmental justice.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
Complex Systems Theory
For the past two weeks I have been taking a class focusing on advanced instructional strategies. We discussed different educational philosophers including Dewey, Piaget, and bell hooks, we analyzed the pros and cons of constructivist education, and we looked at different pedagogical foundations based on Montessori, Steiner, and Waldorf. Additionally, we were asked to read Tom Wessels book, The Myth of Progress, in order to learn about complex systems theory.
A complex system, as explained by Wessels, is any system that feeds back on itself. It is involved in a cyclical process that uses energy efficiently, wasting as little as possible. Enmeshed in this theory are branching ideas such as entropy, self-organization, nestedness, emergent behaviors, and co-evolution. The purpose of learning about this theory is to recognize the interconnectedness of ecosystems and help students understand the "big picture" behind natural, as well as human-created systems.
For example, the idea of emergent behaviors states that unpredictable events may happen when elements of an ecosystem are changed. In Australia, adding toads to the ecosystem produced an emergent behavior that resulted in the explosion of the toad population. This was an unpredicted result of a human action. Self-organization follows the theory that organisms in nature will organize themselves as to minimize competition and increase chances of survival. The ungulate population in Jackson Hole (elk, moose, antelope, deer, bison, etc) feed in different areas at different times of the year and might migrate in the winter to increase their supply of food and decrease competition. Nestedness is the idea that organisms are embedded in different elements of a system; they have a specific niche. For example, I am part of a family, but also part of a group of friends. I am a graduate student at Teton Science School yet I am also a teacher. Organisms exist in different circles as well - at times they are predator and at times prey. They can destroy a group of willow trees but will feed the earth when they die.
These ideas are heady and take some careful thought but the book is wonderful. However, what do complex systems have to do with teaching and education? Well, many of these elements can be used to explain why human behavior is not sustainable and is not creating a healthy complex system. Many of our actions are linear transactions. When we are buy a new ipod we throw the old one away, when we get new sneakers, the old pair goes into the garbage. We have not created a self-organizing system. Additionally, this theory explains why climate change is such a large problem.
In a complex system, energy is being given off and then reused in different forms. For example, a tree that is in an entropic state is losing more energy than it is gaining. Eventually this tree will decompose and its nutrients will return to the ground to provide energy for another organism. In our system, we are releasing carbon dioxide in large quantities and that energy is not being reused. In fact, it remains in our atmosphere where it is causing emergent (unpredictable) effects on a large scale.
I am still wrapping my mind around these issues and theories however it is important for students to understand the complexity of natural ecosystems and the way in which humans affect the natural rhythms of these natural spaces. Our final assignment for this class is to come up with a two-day lesson plan that will allow students who come to Teton Science School to access this material. I am basing my lessons around the concept of sustainability and the lessons humans can learn from the natural systems around them. I will be using these lessons to teach the 8th graders from Tongue River, WY who will be coming in two weeks. I look forward to seeing how students process this information.
A complex system, as explained by Wessels, is any system that feeds back on itself. It is involved in a cyclical process that uses energy efficiently, wasting as little as possible. Enmeshed in this theory are branching ideas such as entropy, self-organization, nestedness, emergent behaviors, and co-evolution. The purpose of learning about this theory is to recognize the interconnectedness of ecosystems and help students understand the "big picture" behind natural, as well as human-created systems.
For example, the idea of emergent behaviors states that unpredictable events may happen when elements of an ecosystem are changed. In Australia, adding toads to the ecosystem produced an emergent behavior that resulted in the explosion of the toad population. This was an unpredicted result of a human action. Self-organization follows the theory that organisms in nature will organize themselves as to minimize competition and increase chances of survival. The ungulate population in Jackson Hole (elk, moose, antelope, deer, bison, etc) feed in different areas at different times of the year and might migrate in the winter to increase their supply of food and decrease competition. Nestedness is the idea that organisms are embedded in different elements of a system; they have a specific niche. For example, I am part of a family, but also part of a group of friends. I am a graduate student at Teton Science School yet I am also a teacher. Organisms exist in different circles as well - at times they are predator and at times prey. They can destroy a group of willow trees but will feed the earth when they die.
These ideas are heady and take some careful thought but the book is wonderful. However, what do complex systems have to do with teaching and education? Well, many of these elements can be used to explain why human behavior is not sustainable and is not creating a healthy complex system. Many of our actions are linear transactions. When we are buy a new ipod we throw the old one away, when we get new sneakers, the old pair goes into the garbage. We have not created a self-organizing system. Additionally, this theory explains why climate change is such a large problem.
In a complex system, energy is being given off and then reused in different forms. For example, a tree that is in an entropic state is losing more energy than it is gaining. Eventually this tree will decompose and its nutrients will return to the ground to provide energy for another organism. In our system, we are releasing carbon dioxide in large quantities and that energy is not being reused. In fact, it remains in our atmosphere where it is causing emergent (unpredictable) effects on a large scale.
I am still wrapping my mind around these issues and theories however it is important for students to understand the complexity of natural ecosystems and the way in which humans affect the natural rhythms of these natural spaces. Our final assignment for this class is to come up with a two-day lesson plan that will allow students who come to Teton Science School to access this material. I am basing my lessons around the concept of sustainability and the lessons humans can learn from the natural systems around them. I will be using these lessons to teach the 8th graders from Tongue River, WY who will be coming in two weeks. I look forward to seeing how students process this information.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Ski culture - a new language
This weekend I spent three days skiing at Grand Targhee, a ski resort in Alta, WY. I spent most of my time in the Shoshone area - a special area of green slopes for those new to skiing and/or the steep slopes of the west. As I rode up and down the chairlift I began to realize the extent to which my vocabulary has grown the past few months. It did not grow in the traditional sense, more in the Jackson sense. For example, if I had heard the following sentence spoken in August, I would have had no idea that the conversation was about skiing:
"I took my probe and transmitter and went to the pass this weekend. Out-of-bounds was great, it was a total powder day."
Obviously this is slightly exaggerated but words such as steeze, gaper, the willage, skins, in-bounds, and tracing have become part of my Wyoming vocabulary. Avalanches are not some foreign natural disaster but a reality that is watched and talked about daily as skiiers go out-of-bounds to find the perfect powder run.
I am also being exposed to the many different types of winter sports that involve skis. Of course I always new about alpine (downhill) skiing, cross-country skiing, and snowboards but now I am recognizing AT gear, skate skis, and the many different types of bindings that can be purchased.
Finally, I am now a self-identified telemark skiier. I am just starting out but I now understand the difficulty of linking turns, the ache in your quads after a day of tele skiing, and the wonderful feeling of accomplishment after completing a successful tele run.
I am learning new terms everyday; today I found out the "chiver" (pronounced "shiver") is the name of an out-of-bounds run, not the feeling you get when you are chilled. It is exciting to understand this new language and to feel included in this cultural phenomenon.
"I took my probe and transmitter and went to the pass this weekend. Out-of-bounds was great, it was a total powder day."
Obviously this is slightly exaggerated but words such as steeze, gaper, the willage, skins, in-bounds, and tracing have become part of my Wyoming vocabulary. Avalanches are not some foreign natural disaster but a reality that is watched and talked about daily as skiiers go out-of-bounds to find the perfect powder run.
I am also being exposed to the many different types of winter sports that involve skis. Of course I always new about alpine (downhill) skiing, cross-country skiing, and snowboards but now I am recognizing AT gear, skate skis, and the many different types of bindings that can be purchased.
Finally, I am now a self-identified telemark skiier. I am just starting out but I now understand the difficulty of linking turns, the ache in your quads after a day of tele skiing, and the wonderful feeling of accomplishment after completing a successful tele run.
I am learning new terms everyday; today I found out the "chiver" (pronounced "shiver") is the name of an out-of-bounds run, not the feeling you get when you are chilled. It is exciting to understand this new language and to feel included in this cultural phenomenon.
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