Happy December! As I look out the window at the falling snow, it’s hard to believe that just a few months ago our SEMIS Coalition members were beginning the school year by adventuring outdoors to launch their place-based learning. One of the many wonderful things about being a SEMIS Coalition staff member is the opportunity we have to accompany teachers and students on their field explorations. Since my focus area on our staff is Great Lakes Literacy, I was thrilled to join SEMIS Coalition teacher, Ms. Calisa Tucker, and the seventh grade class from the Rudolf Steiner School of Ann Arbor (RSSAA) in September for their multi-week investigation of the Huron River watershed.
Photo description: RSSAA class walking the Woodland Trail in Indian Springs Metropark
First, let me back up and ask, “What does it mean to launch place-based learning?” At SEMIS, we frame PBE in a “Launch/Build/Act” sequence where teachers and students kick off, or “launch,” their place-based learning through community connections. The “Launch” phase can include a variety of experiences, both in and out of the classroom, that guide learners toward the identification of an issue they would like to address in partnership with their school and broader community. I enjoy spending time in the ponds, streams, rivers, and lakes of our Great Lakes watershed, so I like to imagine this phase of PBE as a fleet of voyageur canoes, ready to launch into unexplored waters and eager to discover what lies around the bend.
Photo description: Students on dock in Huron River at Oakwoods Metropark
Fortunately for me, Ms. Tucker shares this vision and decided to launch her seventh graders’ PBE with a 4-week block exploring how the Huron River connects their school to communities across southeast Michigan and, ultimately, to the Great Lakes. She even planned a trip in a voyageur canoe! (Sadly, the water level was too low and we’ll have to revisit that experience another time.) In partnership with the Huron-Clinton Metroparks, Ms. Tucker and her students journeyed from the Huron River’s headwaters at Indian Springs to the mouth of the Huron where it meets Lake Erie. Along the way, they investigated water quality, aquatic macroinvertebrates, forest and marsh ecosystems, raptors with Detroit River Hawk Watch, and the complexities of human interactions with the river, such as the aging Flat Rock Dam. After completing this PBE “Launch,” they will “Build” on these experiences and decide how they want to “Act” on issues facing their watershed.
As I reflect on what made this “Launch” experience a highlight of this year for me, I think what stands out most is seeing a community of learners– teachers, parents, students, SEMIS– develop an identity as an integral part of the Huron River watershed and ecosystem. The Great Lakes Literacy Principles remind us that “the Great Lakes support a broad diversity of life and ecosystems,” and “the Great Lakes and humans in their watersheds are inextricably interconnected.” I saw learners of all ages, myself included, witness those principles and grow our connections to place through shared experiences with water.
When Ms. Tucker and her students arrived at the mouth of the Huron River, gazing out into Lake Erie, she encouraged them to look at the water and remember all the places it has traveled. Places they have visited, places where they live and learn. Places that are deeply connected by this water. I was grateful to share that moment, and their watershed voyage, and I can’t wait to see where their PBE journey takes them next.
Photo description from left to right (scroll through pictures): Students taking measurements; Metropark staff pouring water sample; Calisa Tucker and student with a microscope; Flat Rock Dam; Detroit River Hawk Watch
Photo at top of page: Students at Lake Erie
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