An educator’s reflections: How Seeds to Solutions bridges disciplines and grows capable community members

I recently joined the Ten Strands team as the new Director of Professional Learning and Community Building, focusing on Seeds to Solutions: high-quality, free K–12 units on California environmental topics. I followed the development of the resources — and became a fan! — in my previous role as the Senior Administrator for K-12 STEM & Environmental Literacy at the Orange County Department of Education. 

As an educator with classroom and administrative experience, I’d like to share my reflections as I’ve spent more time with the units and accompanying professional learning resources. 

While the units were designed for supplemental instruction, they are ambitious in their efforts to reflect the teaching and learning we expect to see in core instructional materials. They reflect a deep commitment to equity and quality from the diverse team that developed this first-of-its-kind curriculum. They also represent a critical contribution to statewide environmental literacy efforts and climate action in schools. I’ll frame my thoughts using the 4Cs Framework (adapted from Sustainable Schools Project & Plymouth University, Andra Yeghoian, 2013):

Curriculum: Encouraging student inquiry in science and beyond

California’s adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in 2013 ushered in a much-needed resurgence of inquiry-based teaching and learning. Seeds to Solutions continues this work, and the use of the storyline instructional model (a derivative of anchored inquiry from BSCS, which also originated the popular 5E model) is clear and faithful across all thirteen units. The inquiry-centered structure makes it equally accessible to veteran educators and to educators newer to the profession. And, ultimately, this effort supports the continued implementation of the NGSS statewide.

Additionally, a persistent challenge across the California curriculum more generally is the amount our students are expected to learn over the course of an academic year in all subjects. Environmental literacy, more than almost any other educational domain, has the unique power to serve as a coherent bridge across so many different disciplines. This promise is evident in the Seeds to Solutions units, which demonstrate how to purposefully integrate rigorous learning opportunities in science, history-social science, and mathematics.

Campus: The real world as a lab for learning

Each unit is anchored in relevant, California-specific phenomena, with the earliest grades focusing on learning contexts closest to the school campus and moving outward as students grow developmentally. 

Even those units that center initially on specific regions of the state (e.g., San Bernardino and Riverside counties as a case study on air quality in grade 8) still intentionally provide opportunities for students to compare and contrast with their own community, including their own school campus. This approach helps students reimagine their school as a “lab for learning” and their communities as places of action. Learning has relevance — on their campus and into the community.

Community & Culture: Capable, empowered community members

I saved what I think is the best for last. The heart of Seeds to Solutions is the way in which each unit builds coherently to the culminating engagements, where students apply their learning in meaningful ways. 

This approach clearly supports positive science identity development, in which learners can see themselves as people who know about, use, and sometimes contribute to science, which is the home discipline of the units. This contributes to a positive class community and a schoolwide culture that positions young people as capable citizens and community members who can and will contribute to making relevant change. Given the focus on student and community engagement in schools and districts across the state, this is especially critical.

More resources and professional learning opportunities to come

We are eager to continue using feedback from participating teachers to refine these units and ensure equitable access to the materials across the state. Revisions for clarity, coherence, and usability are essential to the team. Your insights are a gift to the collective, so please stay tuned for opportunities to share your reflections and stories connected to Seeds to Solutions.

In the coming months, as we begin to shift our efforts toward broader statewide implementation, I hope to cross paths with you: the educators and partners bringing these lessons to life in classrooms. We’ll be sharing initial thoughts on the structure of the statewide professional learning efforts for Seeds to Solutions in the new year. In the meantime, if you have specific opportunities for support, please do not hesitate to reach out via email at hsteele@tenstrands.org.