TRAVIS LONGCORE, UCLA INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY
The focus from the start is for a student-centered curriculum and that the students undertake investigations, because it’s one thing to be told something and memorize it, it’s another to understand in a visceral, personal way how that information was learned and is gathered, and also how science is as a way of understanding the world.
BRIAN LEARN, LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
Typically, in a unit, I want to know where the unit is going to end up. I’m thinking, oh, in three weeks, here’s exactly what students are going to accomplish, but with this unit, I had to give more agency to the students, and there were times when the students had an idea and I realized that my job as a teacher is to support that idea and to do what I can to make it happen, even though it’s not an idea I initially thought of. And so I had to let go of my sense of control as a teacher and really let their learning blossom.
KAREN DE LEON, LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
We were fortunate enough to join ECUITY in this unit, and so the kids were able to go from just reading a textbook, being on the computer to getting outside and learning real science. So that was a really nice transition for them. It felt a little weird in the beginning, but I think that they adjusted well to the idea of, “Hey, science is outside. It’s actually not just in a textbook and it’s every day around us.”
CANDY, 8TH GRADE STUDENT
I felt personally that my mental health increased and along with my other peers, because we had a lot of fun talking to each other and figuring out what we should do for the project, and we all worked together to come up with our own solution.
RODRIGO, 8TH GRADE STUDENT
When something was wrong, we just have to figure something out until it was right or something that when we saw change, that meant that we were doing something good.
VINCENT, 8TH GRADE STUDENT
It changed my mind. So now I’m more mindful to little bugs and stuff like that.
OGECHI, 8TH GRADE STUDENT
My hopes are that they improve the city so that it can use methods to pull down the area and not make it warmer like it already is.
KAREN DE LEON, LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
It went from sitting in their car and maybe texting or listening to music, but not really talking to their parents, to now observing what’s going on the outside, on their drive to school or walking around. How many critters do we have on campus? Just a lot more awareness of the natural life that’s around us.
STACEY VAGALLON, NATURE NEXUS INSTITUTE
Some of the best science conversations I’ve ever had have been with LA Unified School District students on their schools and in the field.
AARON, 8TH GRADE STUDENT
I hope it can spread to other places, maybe not even schools, because it’s really nice to learn about all this science surrounding us with biodiversity. When in Lockwood CLA, they don’t think about a lot of plants and greenery. They think about big skyscrapers. So it’s important in that way.
FELIX, 6TH GRADE STUDENT
They can encourage other people and pass it down from generation to generation to help people plant and plant and plant and plant more and more and more, which will help people… And make a greener earth.
LEAHNNA, 8TH GRADE STUDENT
Now that I’ve learned more about that biodiversity, I do go outside more and just check out the trees and just see what happens outside.
BRIAN LEARN, LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT I thought, “Wow, how in one unit can I have students actually improve the biodiversity at our school?” Yet by the end of the unit, I was surprised that students made a small yet measurable impact on our community, not just in terms of increasing biodiversity, but increasing student engagement with others on campus and improving our mental health.
MAS DOJIRI, LOS ANGELES SANITATION & ENVIRONMENT
If we teach our youths about biodiversity, healthy soils, environmental science, maybe they’ll grow up to be stewards of the environment. That’s hugely important. It’s not just an assignment that they have to do and turn in. These kids are pumped. That’s saying something, I think.