Episode 20: Learning in, about, from, and for nature

What are some common barriers to learning in nature? How can we shift the paradigm whereby learning about nature is prioritized? What are some key lessons we can learn from nature? How does learning for nature also benefit learners? Here's what else we dove into in this Earthy Chat:

• the purpose of environmental education and education as a whole
• transitioning from “sage on the stage” to “guide on the side”
• escaping the cycle of mediocrity
• getting beyond the “I-don’t-know-enough-about-nature-to-teach-it” mindset
• how we can learn from nature more effectively
• antidotes to perpetual student boredom
• lessons from Anne of Green Gables
• embracing reciprocity as a guiding principle
• how to be a “solutionary”

Guest:

David DenHartog is the Lead Strategy Consultant for the Green Schools National Network. He has been a classroom teacher, principal, school coach, and educational entrepreneur. Fostering deep learning has been at the core of David's work, both with his own students and in the role of educational coach. Recognizing that collective self-efficacy is the most powerful driver of student success, David strives to help build mindsets that embrace excellence while strengthening relationships. Through his national exposure to the education landscape and his work around the world, David recognizes that deeper learning practices and global competencies such as collaboration, character, citizenship, communication, critical thinking, and creativity form the essence of an excellent, forward-thinking educational environment.

To learn more about Green Schools National Network (GSNN), visit https://greenschoolsnationalnetwork.org/.