SBI3C

STEM education, at its core, takes a holistic approach to teaching and learning. Approaching instruction with a STEM framework easily facilitates an emphasis on Science, Technology, Society and the Environment (STSE). Lessons in Science can easily be extended to included a societal impact, especially given my personal inclination towards a STEAM approach, which recognizes the interconnected role of arts and humanities in the lessons we teach. These kinds of lessons demand that we engage students in creative ways. Given the plant strand curriculum's explicit emphasis on the environment, the lessons included on this site relate in a big way to the world around us:

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Lesson 1: Introduction

From the outset, students are introduced to concepts in a way that makes them relevant to the environment. Our first activity challenges students to think of the roles plants play in our daily lives, and the ways that we as humans impact the plants around us. The choice to emphasize the environmental aspect of this strand starting on the very first day was intentional.

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Go to Lesson 1: Introduction

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Lesson 2: A Wild Decision Case Study

​Case studies, which present students with real-life scenarios and focus on solutions, are a key teaching strategy in STSE instruction. While they facilitate the learning of content, they most importantly immerse students in an issue or issues relevant in today's society. In this case study, students step into the role of condo owner, tasked with a decision to advocate for or against a proposed green initiative in their complex. In putting students into a role where they must confront the issue, it forces the students to step away from the kind of "not in my backyard" type thinking which is so detrimental in our world. We importantly give students a voice and help them recognize the ways in which they are agents of change. 

 

Go to Lesson 2: A Wild Decision Case Study

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Lesson 3: A Walk in the Woods

To confine our teaching to the classroom would be a grave mistake. In this lesson, students go out into the woods and seek to interact with the environment around them. We use Leafsnap, a mobile app, to identify Ontario plants. For many students, plants are simply taken-for-granted. Most will not have walked around and consciously considered the plants around us. Inviting curiosity and empowering students to become aware of the world around them is a step towards creating an environmental consciousness. As the teacher guides them through an initial walk, there are ample opportunities to discuss not only plant adaptations, but also our effects as humans on the plants--and the world--around us. Exposing students to issues like deforestation to invasive species in an organic setting arguably goes further than asking them to memorize answers for a multiple choice test. 

 

Go to Lesson 3: A Walk in the Woods

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Lesson 4: Plant Designer

In this lesson, students become designers of plants, choosing adaptations that allow them to thrive in a given environment. While this lesson is filled with both content and application, it ties back into biodiversity and an appreciation for the diversity of life that sustains the natural world. Underscoring this, and highlighting the ways in which each of these environments--and the plants in them--have been affected by human activities (i.e. the soil quality in a field) brings a societal element into even a lesson more focused on knowledge and its use. STSE education can and should be seamlessly integrated with instruction in this manner.
 

Go to Lesson 4: Plant Designer

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Through the plants lessons on this website, students will learn the reactants and products of photosynthesis, yes, but my hope is that they leave with an appreciation for the important role plants have in our society, and the pivotal role humans play in affecting plants. The STSE aspects of the curriculum lend themselves to diverse and innovative teaching approaches, and should be seen as opportunities for genuine, memorable learning experiences.