Autumn Chapman - Natural Reserve System

Oceanside High School
(Oceanside Unified School District)
100 S Horne Street
Oceanside, CA 92054

Outdoor pedagogy and thoughts about host

I’d love to do this all year. The program rekindled my personal interest in field science and provided a great opportunity to talk to other teachers about philosophical questions in education. I had time to create cool curriculum that I can use, and I made great contacts with professionals working in field sciences. I’m excited about the future experiences I expect to have with my students and the reserve managers.

I wish every child (and adult for that matter) could have a prolonged experience in the environment. They need to spend time exploring it (safely) and be taught to recognize its beauty, value and their need for it to bring balance into their lives. The HOST program is the best because it has given me the opportunity to get my students out to experience the environment firsthand. The feedback I have received from them is phenomenal. There have been some life changes because of what we have been able to do. The only way to really teach biological and physiological concepts is to experience the events firsthand or at least go and see where the events are occurring. The majority of my students have never been to a place where there are not any street lights or where wild birds live. At first they are petrified, but by the end of the time there, they are enthralled and want to come again.

Biography

HOST Training Site:
NRS’s Scripps Coastal Reserve (administered by UCSD) in San Diego County and two other UCSD-administered reserves.

HOST Program Emphases:
Sandy beach monitoring, “killer algae,” stream assessment, coastal sage, oaks, and environmental ethics.

HOST Teaching Materials:

HOST Student Field Trips:
•A team of physiology students (juniors and seniors) visited Motte Rimrock Reserve to investigate the question: “Why don’t kangaroo rats need to drink water?” They investigated the physiological systems involved in water conservation such as the kidneys and respiratory systems and discovered the adaptations the K-rats have made (behaviorally and physiologically) to live in the environments that they do. Twelve students attended and studied topographical maps and how to read them; did basic star-gazing; compass reading including a GPS and applied taking field notes to the trip. View a webpage created by student Krystal Bell after this trip.

Years Teaching:
8

Subjects Taught:
• Biotechnology
• AP Chemistry
• Chemistry
• Physics
• Anatomy & Physiology
• Physical Science
• Earth Science
• Biology & Life Science

Favorite Saying:
To do all that is possible, you must attempt the impossible. To be all that you can be, you must dream of being more.

We are the keepers of our world. The earth will abide but we may not like it.

What you are is God’s gift to you; what you become is your gift to God.

Selection of Awards:
• UCSD Connect Athena Pinnacle Award
• Local Teacher of the Year
• San Diego Science Alliance Teacher of the Year
• Crystal Apple Award
• Biotechnology class was the only program showcased at both the High School to High Tech sponsored by QUALCOMM, Sony, North County Times and at the San Diego Business Roundtable’s Best Practices Showcase.
• UCSD Connect Athena Pinnacle Award
• Local Teacher of the Year
• San Diego Science Alliance Teacher of the Year
• Crystal Apple Award

Hobbies:
• Reading
• Hiking
• Aquariums
• Animals
• Diving
• My daughter