Carmel Valley Middle School
(San Dieguito Unified School District)
3800 Mykonos Lane
San Diego, CA 92130
Outdoor pedagogy and thoughts about host
I believe that students learn better through first hand experiences. Teaching students to appreciate and respect the world around them is much more effective and enjoyable when they get to be out there, seeing and doing science for themselves.
HOST was wonderful. There are not a lot of training opportunities for teachers, especially ones that are so personalized and hands-on. Usually, professional development means going over the standards, but we developed new hands-on skills like insect collecting, stuffing study skins, plant pressing, stream sampling, GPS, bat netting, bird banding. We also had exposure to other techniques and enthusiastic HOST teachers. The NRS reserves are resources; they are for teachers, too, not just for researchers.
Biography
HOST Program Emphases:
GPS field techniques and software, native plant mapping and restoring, sandy intertidal monitoring, creating herbarium specimens, red-tide water sampling and bioluminescence observing, and bird watching.
HOST Teaching Materials:
• Harlequin Bug Observation
• Native Plant Restoration Project
• Tidepool Island Biogeography
Years Teaching: 3
Subjects Taught:
• Biology
• Spanish
• Physical Sciences
• Life Sciences
Personal Motto:
“You learn by doing.”
Hobbies:
• Hiking
• Dancing
• Reading
• Cooking
• Hanging out with friends