Interdisciplinary and experiential education best supports educators and students in exploring our many connections to forest ecosystems. Composed of many interdependent systems forests provide an ideal foundation to learn about topics in ecology, wildlife, water, air, fire, energy, waste, climate change, invasive species, community planning, engineering, careers and much more.
Several curriculum guides and education programs are available to help you learn and teach about forest ecosystems. These resources span a variety of natural resource topics tailored to a range of grade-levels. Inquiry-based, hands-on activities make learning meaningful, while also building skills and actively engaging students in learning about their environment and communities. These resources afford students the opportunity to learn through real experiences, rather than just reading or hearing about them. By educating students about economic, ecological, and social aspects of forestry issues, students gain crucial skills to learn how to think, not what to think.
High quality curriculum are designed to engage students of all ages – in formal and non-formal education settings – and are suited for use in both rural and urban environments. Many project-based learning curriculum are developed in collaboration by researchers, community groups, and educators based on educational standards, developed by scientists, and reviewed and field-tested by educators.
Project based learning allows students to construct their own knowledge, making it easier for them to transfer and retain information. Encourages students’ active involvement in deciding what they want to study, and in completing a project. It “involves students in problem-solving and other meaningful tasks, allows students to work autonomously to construct their own learning, and culminates in realistic, student-generated projects.” This is because content is presented in a realistic, holistic way, rather than in fragments. Projects allow students to deal with content in a way that is personally relevant. Project based learning also accommodates diverse approaches to learning because it offers multiple ways for students to participate and to demonstrate their knowledge.
Insert image: Forestry Field Foundations abstract and download link
Additional Forestry Curriculum