Congratulations to Peggy and DeAnn on a Successful Summit!
by Michael P. Montgomery
On October 1, the Center’s CCS Innovator Fellow, Peggy Harte, traveled
with DeAnn Tenhunfeld to Sacramento to present at a California
Expanded Learning Summit for after-school educators and
administrators. Their talk, “Engaging Students in STEM through
Citizen Science,” discussed citizen science’s growing role in
elementary classrooms, and was attended by nearly 50
participants.
As an education specialist and a
programs coordinator with the Dixon and Woodland Joint Unified
School Districts, respectively, Peggy and DeAnn drew on their
experiences with local students to craft a presentation that was
both educational and fun. Participants spent a good portion of
the afternoon session nature sketching and conducting a mini
bioblitz.
Peggy and DeAnn developed their talk from the Center’s research and collective experience from the ongoing collaboration with the Yolo County Office of Education, focused on elementary school gardens in Woodland. Among other points, they stressed that citizen science, both in and out of the classroom, highlights student engagement in the three learning dimensions of the Next Generation Science Standards. They also emphasized its potential as a barrier-breaking way for students from all backgrounds to view themselves as scientists.
The summit, one of three put on this year by the California AfterSchool Network, brought together stakeholders from all levels of education for a day of collaboration and discussion, focused on presenters and issues pertinent to the wider Sacramento region. With students in Dixon and Woodland already benefiting from the citizen science being integrated into their schools, the Expanded Learning Summit couldn’t have been a more ideal place for Peggy and DeAnn to share their work.
