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2015 Autumn | Education & Outreach

Developing an Environmental Ethic: An Exploration of Effective Teaching Strategies and Student Engagement in Informal Outdoor Education

Student(s):

Kelli Katzer

Program or Department(s):

  • Program on the Environment
  • University of Washington

Site supervisor(s):

Gwendolyn Hannam

Partner(s):

  • West Seattle YMCA

Faculty advisor(s):

Eli Wheat, Program on the Environment, University of Washington

I interned with the West Seattle YMCA’s Outdoor Day Camp. I was tasked with developing curriculum that was age appropriate, allowed equal participation opportunities for students, and included content on Seattle ethnobotany (i.e. human uses for plants). Once a week, I taught a one-hour lesson to both 1st/2nd and 3rd/4th grade campers. With the help of an intensive literature review process, I incorporated different types of teaching strategies into my curriculum and tested their effectiveness. I found that 1st-4th grade students had high engagement responses to kinesthetic learning and food samples, while the older age group also benefited from audio learning.