Ever since was a young kid, I've been interested in observing wildlife in the field. As an adult, I frequently plan activities that place me in close proximity to new species of birds, reptiles, and amphibians. I maintain lists of all of the species that I observe on these outings. It's always particularly exciting when a new species or "lifer" is seen for the first time. Admittedly, after decades of these observations around the U.S., lifers are few and far between these days. However, during this visit to India, virtually everything that slithers, crawls, or soars will be a lifer for me. Once I'm in India, I'll try to include a daily list of the species that I observe as regular feature of this blog. These guidebooks will be invaluable to learning to identify these new species. I am fortunate in that my interests in wildlife and ecology often intersect my instructional day. While conducting environmental surveys with seventh grade students, we seek out the wildlife and fish species that inhabit the wetlands around the Patuxent River. Even highly impacted areas such as the Appeal Landfill provide opportunities for our second grade students to see a variety of birds, including gulls, vultures, and even bald eagles that are attracted by the food being disposed of at the transfer station.
I'm hoping to have the opportunity to learn how Indian educators integrate the natural environment into their instructional program.
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This past week has been spent preparing for the trip to India. I have some lessons and presentations that I will be sharing to connect the Indian students and teachers with our CHESPAX program and life around the Chesapeake,
I will be giving out some gifts to share will the teachers and students that I meet. I am fortunate to reside in a very generous community that have contributed a variety of items to present to folks I meet along the way in this journey. I am thrilled to be able to participate in the Teacher's for Global Classrooms (TGC) program. A goal of the program is to build 21st century skills in our students, by engaging them with the wider world. Teachers in the program serve as global ambassadors, forging connections between the students and teachers that they meet abroad with students from their home communities.
For more about the TGC program visit their website: https://www.irex.org/project/teachers-global-classrooms-program-tgc For the past nine months, I've been involved in professional development, team building, and research with colleagues from across the U.S.. We participated in a very comprehensive symposium in Washington, D. C. in February. This conference gave us to connect in person and really begin our shared journey to India. The program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and organized by IREX. Below are some images from the February symposium. |
ThIs website is not an official U.S. Department of State website. The views and information presented are the grantee's own and do not represent Teacher's for Global Classrooms, IREX, or the U.S. Department of State.
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