Students as ScientistsI aim for all my students to see themselves as scientists and acknowledge the ways in which they already participate in scientific practices in their daily lives. My intention is to make science both more accessible and more engaging.
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Student Lead Investigations
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During the School Overnight Program, I aim to put learners in the drivers seat by crafting student driven or student lead investigations. I do this by first determining what topics or phenomena genuinely interest my students. I then work with my students to generate questions, while helping them to determine what types of questions are "investigable" with the time and resources we have available.
Depending on students prior experience, I scaffold the planning of the investigation or let students take the lead. After designing the investigation, students work together to collect and analyze. Finally the group discusses the implications of our investigation and what we might have done differently. 
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Next Generation Science StandardsMany schools that visit IslandWood use the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) to assess student learning. It is important that during students' outdoor education experience, they are still learning the skills and concepts that will be necessary throughout their education. Through investigations I target NGSS 4th Grade areas such as engaging in arguments from evidence, understanding cause and effect, asking questions, and constructing explanations. And, of course, our investigations allow students to work on the NGSS standards of planning and carrying out investigations.
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Several examples of student lead and student driven investigation results, recording in student journal charts
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