Category: Reflections

Environmental education can become more diverse, first and foremost, by amplifying diverse voices. Diversity and inclusion go hand-in-hand, and I think that one of the most important ways we can promote diversity as educators is by sharing a variety of different voices. As an educator, I am in a unique position to share resources by folks who have different identities, backgrounds, and viewpoints on the topics we are discussing. In addition, science education must move past only teaching traditional Western science viewpoints.  Learning through “multiple ways of knowing” (like traditional ecological knowledge, social science lenses, etc) expands the kinds of questions that we can answer as scientists.

Addressing equity also means understanding how one’s own identity affects their viewpoint. My race, socioeconomic status, and where I grew up have influenced how I view the environment and nature. I have been relatively sheltered from many prominent environmental issues. I have not been exposed to air pollution, water contamination, severe storm damage, or other issues generally associated with the discussion of environmental justice. My experience with nature and the environment has been overwhelmingly positive. Because of this, I tend to focus on outdoor and natural resources education as an opportunity to showcase the wonders of nature rather than address issues. Even more central to my identity, though, is the fact that grew up in a family where curiosity was a central value. I learned to ask the “why” behind the things I saw in nature, the things I learned in class, and anything I noticed as I went through life. This focus on curiosity drives my passion as an educator and my teaching style.

New tools like Teams present both new challenges and new opportunities for the ways in which we teach. In order to feel confident teaching in an online platform, I have worked to familiarize myself with these online tools and modalities and adapt lesson plans and, more generally, my teaching style to online teaching. 

In terms of resources, I have definitely been fortunate to facilitate labs at UVM. Not only does the school have many resources available, but it is also located in an area that lends itself to teaching about natural resources and ecology. In comparison, it would require much more creativity and flexibility to teach about ecology in an urban area. In order to adapt, I would shift the scale of labs to focus on smaller “pieces” of nature found within urban areas (i.e. public parks) and focus more on the ways in which nature and culture interact. The book Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon describes how limitations inspire creativity, and it is interesting to think about what new insights might come out of “paring down” lessons to accommodate limited resources.  

Checking in with students is particularly important during COVID times. Online teaching requires more flexibility on the part of educators because students are being forced to adapt to new ways of learning and new ways of living. It can be a tricky balance to acknowledge the strange circumstances we are living in while still maintaining some sense of normalcy. I think that being patient with each other goes a long way. Not only does this provide a safe space for students to learn and adapt, but it exemplifies how students should be interacting with others. Educator Linda Cliatt-Wayman’s has a mantra: “So what? Now what?”. I can’t change the circumstances for myself or for students, but I can figure out how to make the most of them. 

According to the NOLS leadership classification system, I fall under “Architects and Analysts”. I think that the biggest strength of this style of leadership is my analysis skills; I tend to make extremely deliberate decisions. My ability to observe and take in information makes me a valuable contributor to group settings because I often notice and process details that others miss. However, the flip side of analysis is that I can falter when asked to make quick decisions or when I don’t know all the facts of a situation. I would like to improve my ability to make certain decisions more quickly. 

The “Architects and Analysts” leadership style fits into how I would describe myself as an educator. I think that an educator should be a facilitator of learning rather than a director, and lessons should be tailored to the prior knowledge and academic interests of the particular group of students. The “Architects and Analysts” style ties into this philosophy because I am good at making observations about my students, and I can analyze those patterns in order to better fit my lessons to them. I think that effective communication in teaching is an extension of analyzing patterns; communicating with students is often about figuring out the most effective way to explain a particular concept based on someone’s prior knowledge and style of learning. Because of the deliberate nature of the “Analysts and Architects” type, I tend to be thorough in addressing topics through various styles of learning (i.e. auditory, reading and writing, kinesthetic, and visual).

Having said all this, I think that a good leader is one who can adapt their style to the situation at hand, and that is the type of leader I aspire to be.

When creating community, I think that getting to know students on a somewhat personal level is important; ice breakers are a useful tool for this. I also think that student reflections can be used to get a sense for how students think about topics we discuss in labs, which can inform how I try to shape the classroom space. As an educator, I think it is important to lead with questions and keep my opinions somewhat in the background. I can work to foster meaningful conversations that embrace a diversity of perspectives by asking open questions rather than closed or leading questions. By being intentional about the questions I ask and how I ask them, I can invite students to share their perspectives. By being intentional about the way I respond to students’ answers, I can make students feel more comfortable sharing their thoughts and opinions even when they aren’t sure if those thoughts are “right.” I can also foster meaningful conversations by leaving space for conversations in small-group and whole-group form throughout the lab experience rather than having one culminating discussion at the end. By providing many different spaces for conversation, I can encourage students to share their thoughts even as they evolve and change. This creates more meaningful conversations because students are aware of how their perspectives might be changing as they learn more about the topic being discussed. I think it’s important to notice and talk about how our perspectives can change because this leads to better experiences working with other people. A quote that sticks with me is, “Spiritual humility is not about getting small. It is about encouraging others to be big.”