When I entered the Tree Rooms for the first day of the San Mateo County Office of Education’s (SMCOE) San Mateo Environmental Learning Collaborative (SMELC) institute in summer 2017, I knew some of what to expect. I knew I would...
In a letter to Ten Strands’ community, CEO Karen Cowe reflects on the challenges and accomplishments of 2020 and expresses appreciation for all partners and supporters who have been part of this journey towards statewide K–12 environmental literacy.
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“Research shows that weaving together science and language development can increase students’ academic performance in reading, writing, and science simultaneously.” ~ Sarah Feldman and Verónica Flores Malagon, “Unlocking Learning: Science as a Lever for English Learner Equity” The path that...
This interview between California Association of Science Educators (CASE) and Karen Cowe, Ten Strands CEO and California Environmental Literacy Initiative project director, originally appeared on the CASE website and was republished with permission. Tell us about Ten Strands and the...
Environmental issues lend themselves to cross-disciplinary integrative learning and science teachers are central to the effort to bring environmental literacy to every California child. . . . At the heart of this broader integrative effort is three-dimensional science learning (NGSS)...
For the last 15 years, we have collaborated to create standards-aligned integrated learning models for environmental literacy and the arts in order to support issues of justice. Using these models in the classroom has ignited our students’ imaginations. In early...
Environmental justice IS community building. They go hand in hand. And when we include all people and perspectives, we bring creativity and learning to our practice and world. ~Our Changing Planet teacher At 22, our first US Youth Poet Laureate,...
On October 17, 2019, over 100 educators from across California gathered to kick off the annual California Association of Science Educators (CASE) California Science Education Conference in San Jose with the Climate Summit Pre-Conference Day. This event was brought back...
Looking at the seventh-grade standards for history–social science (HSS), it is easy to have a panic attack. How is it possible to teach almost 1,500 years of history over five continents in ten months? This has been an ongoing struggle...
I have been working in the field of environmental and outdoor education and place-based learning in Plumas County, California, for the past 25 years. Plumas County is a rural mountainous region in the northeastern corner of the state. For the...
