As part of NSTA’s National Conference on Science Education in St. Louis, nine professional development institutes were held. These in-depth, preconference learning events took place on March 28.

The Missouri Botanical Gardens provided the perfect setting for NSTA's Professional Development Institute titled A Field Guide to Science and Literacy.

This article discusses the professional development institute titled A Field Guide to Science and Literacy and provides an overview of the institute’s pathway sessions that were held on March 30. First Hand Learning, Inc., a nonprofit organization founded in 1998 to promote inquiry-based teaching, learning from direct experience, and closer links between cultural institutions and schools, offered the institute for attendees.

An Outdoor Classroom

Held at the world-famous Missouri Botanical Gardens in St. Louis, this professional development institute provided attendees with specific strategies for using the outdoors and nonfiction science texts to spark student curiosity, increase content knowledge, develop and hone inquiry skills, and practice communicating ideas and facts both verbally and graphically.

Participating attendees were able to experience firsthand the process of creating a field guide to the garden’s collections. Attendees also examined and critiqued a wide variety of field guides and learned how to effectively use them with their students to help them improve their abilities in observation, classification, reading for information, deductive reasoning, and communicating using specific genres of science writing. Field guides are an essential tool for the natural scientist and a rich resource for exploring the connections between science and literacy.

Attendees also spent time reviewing examples of authentic student work and identified practical methods for assessing student achievement. They also reflected upon their own experiences with integrating science and literacy in the classroom and analyzed the numerous possibilities that creating a field guide provides for strengthening students’ skills in these areas. After discussing how they could transfer the strategies they experienced at the institute to their own teaching situations, participants developed their own plans for integrating science and literacy seamlessly.

Pathway Sessions

Attendees who participated in this institute were able to experience four pathway sessions on March 30. These sessions included Teacher Naturalists—Reading the World, Enhancing Students’ Science Observation and Recording Skills, Reading in Science with Children’s Magazines, and Reading Resources for Science Investigations.

Shelly Larochelle of Manchester, New Hampshire, and Jeneca Kenny of Weare, New Hampshire, read the book Stars Beneath Your Bed, The Surprising Story of Dust.

In one activity, Addelson explained to attendees how they could help their students observe leaves. She commented that observations such as textural differences, the shape and thickness of the leaves’ stems, and evidence of damage could all be noted. The students can then take all their observations and create a Dichotomous Branching Key, Addelson said.

“It’s a great activity for sorting and classifying,” she added.

Another activity consisted of Addelson engaging attendees in looking at coins and having them write their observations on paper. She instructed attendees to note the similarities and differences of the coins. Other objects that students can observe, and compare and contrast, include buttons, shells, shoes, and stamps, Addelson said.

“If students have better practice with this, they are able to hone in and observe natural phenomenon,” Addelson explained.

Attendees participating in the pathway session titled Reading in Science with Children’s Magazines explored how children’s magazines, such as Ranger Rick could bring science concepts to life while fostering valuable nonfiction reading skills.

“A simple tool [like magazines] can make all the difference,” presenter Kate Hofmann of the National Wildlife Federation in Reston, Virginia, told attendees at the workshop.

Hofmann engaged attendees in an activity that consisted of teachers walking around a room to browse through copies of Ranger Rick magazine. Attendees were also able to view activities that matched the articles in the publication. “Think about how it could be useful in your teaching,” Hofmann told attendees before they began the activity. Attendees then shared their thoughts as a group.

“I think it is a great way to connect reading with nature,” said Cheryl Apel, a fifth grade teacher from St. Louis, Missouri.

Tulips bloom at the Missouri Botanical Gardens.

“Bringing books into the science classroom may seem like a daunting task,” observed Jones. However, Jones said that books can excite and engage students in learning science.

Attendees were able to experience that excitement first hand when they were instructed to select a book at their table and use colored post-it notes to find three important places and three interesting places by working with a partner.

Attendees Linda Cline of Franklin, Illinois and Eddie Jones of St. Louis, Missouri worked together to find the places in the book titled What is the World Made Of? All About Solids, Liquids, and Gases.

“This is a great activity,” Cline said, adding that “kids love post-it notes!”