It has been almost a year since I first attended the San Mateo Environmental Learning Collaborative (SM ELC). Focused on the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), SM ELC is a unique opportunity hosted by Ten Strands, SEER, and the San Mateo County Office of Education—STEM Center offered to K–8 teachers. As part of SM ELC, […]
We’re excited to share updates on our work as we move toward environmental literacy for all California students!
California just did something big. It didn’t get a lot of headlines, clicks, or television news coverage, but it will fundamentally transform the way we teach our 6.2 million students. The California Board of Education voted to include five key Environmental Principles and Concepts as part of the state’s new framework for how to teach […]
At the beginning of the San Mateo Environmental Education Learning Collaborative (SM ELC) workshop, Dr. Gerald Lieberman asked us who didn’t feel comfortable or knowledgeable applying the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The majority of teachers in the room raised their hands. Before we joined the SM ELC, I would have raised my hand as […]
A Non-Science Person’s Perspective I’ve never been a “science person.” By this I mean I didn’t care for science classes when I was a student. I remember taking physical science, biology, and chemistry in high school because they were required to attend university, but I don’t remember enjoying them. I’ve always chocked this up to […]
Last week Ten Strands and the San Mateo County Office of Education—STEM Center hosted the second iteration of the San Mateo Environmental Learning Collaborative (SM ELC), a professional learning workshop for San Mateo county teachers. The SM ELC brought together area nonformal environmental education partners, curriculum experts from the State Education and Environment Roundtable (SEER), teacher trainers from CalRecycle’s Office of Education […]
Thanks to grants from the Pisces Foundation, the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, and the William K. Bowes, Jr. Foundation, Ten Strands is providing project leadership and management to the Environmental Literacy Steering Committee.
Mention frog mucus to a group of tenth-graders and you might expect to hear a collective “yuck.” To a class of sophomores from Kearny High’s School of Engineering, Innovation and Design in San Diego, the slimy substance on frogs’ skin could be the clue to solving a big agricultural dilemma, using an emerging design practice […]