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Workshops and Resources to Support Virtual Instruction
During the COVID19 school closures, the Harvard Forest Schoolyard Ecology Program began actively working to support teachers by hosting a series of spring workshops online and curating teacher-created lesson plans well-suited to online learning. These resources remain available for instructional use by educators.
Fall 2020 Teacher Workshop Series
Fall Phenology Discussion (Oct. 8) with Project Ecologist John O'Keefe and Schoolyard Teachers
- Full recording with integrated audio transcript
- O'Keefe slides: PDF and PPT
- Fall Phenology backyard student field sheet: PDF and DOC
PhenoCam Introduction Workshop (Oct. 15) with Ecologists Andrew Richardson and Christina Schaedel and Schoolyard Teacher Kate Bennett
Full recording with integrated audio transcript
Richardson slides
Schaedel slides
Bennett slides
PhenoCam Exploration Worksheet by Kate Bennett
Education resources on PhenoCam website
Spring 2020 Teacher Workshop Series
Session 1 (April 9): Schoolyard Teacher Lightning Round, Long-Term Teacher Awards, and Remote Teaching Resources
- Full recording of the session
- Lightning Round Slides
- Online resources suggested by teachers during the lightning round
Session 2 (April 16): Spring Phenology Science by Buds, Leaves and Global Warming Project Ecologist, John O’Keefe
- Full recording of the session
- O'Keefe Slides
- Backyard Data Collection Worksheet: Word doc or PDF
- Resources for remote teaching about phenology, created by teacher Jane Lucia
- Remote Buds Observations by Photos by teacher Elisa Margarita
Session 3 (April 22): Current Research Related to Hemlock and Changing Forests by Woolly Bully Project Ecologist, David Orwig, and Our Changing Forests Project Ecologist, Audrey Barker-Plotkin; with supporting content by Schoolyard Teacher Kate Bennett
Session 4 (May 6): Remote Ecology Education Activities, featuring Schoolyard Educators Mary Reed, Marjorie Porter, and Michael McCarthy
Session 5 (May 14): Try Out the Tree Ring Data Nugget, featuring Schoolyard Educator Elicia Andrews and HF Senior Ecologist Neil Pederson
Note: This data nugget is a middle and high-school level climate lesson plan based on real data from the Harvard Forest.
- Full recording of the session
- Andrews & Pederson Slides
- Data Nugget: A Window Into a Tree's World
- Supporting resource library for the data nugget, by Elicia Andrews
- Additional Resources suggested by teachers during the session
Session 6 (May 20): What Does Research on Citizen Science in Schools Say? and Lesson Plan Demo: "Climate Change Big Question - How Do We Know the Temperature of the Earth is Rising?", by Schoolyard Educator Maria Blewitt
- Full recording of the session
- Blewitt Slides
- Climate Change Big Question Lesson Plan & Supporting Materials (coming soon)
Teacher-Created Lesson Plans
A middle and high-school level climate lesson plan based on real data from the Harvard Forest. Created by teacher Elicia Andrews and ecologist Neil Pederson.
- PhenoCam Lesson Plans
The PhenoCam Network tracks seasonal change (phenology) in biomes across North America using hundreds of web-cameras, with a gallery that can be explored and analyzed online.
- PhenoCam Educational Resources
- Lesson Plans by teacher Kate Bennett (5th grade) combining Phenocam images with the Harvard Forest Schoolyard Ecology Buds, Leaves, and Global Warming study
- Carbon & Conservation Lessons using the New England Landscape Futures Explorer web-tool:
High School level
By Tara Alcorn (2019): Tyngsboro Town Meeting: A Lesson in Land Planning
By Joe Scanio (2019): Effects of land use policy on future habitat type area and fragmentation in Wallingford and the Quinnipiac watershed
Middle School level
By Jeff Sautter (2019). Future Scenarios of Land Change Lesson Plan
4. Activity: A Local Look at an Invasive Pest (by Kate Bennett, 5th grade teacher)
Within this presentation geared toward Woolly Bully study project teachers, slides 25-28 outline an assignment guiding students to look for evidence of the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid in their neighborhoods, using Google Earth and outdoor observations.
5. Activity: Make Your Own Nature Journal (by Laura Schofield, middle school teacher)
6. Fall Phenology Remote Observation slideshow (by Elisa Margarita, high school teacher)
