Ecological Wisdom and Its Application in the Classroom

Learning Forward Saturday and the Wisdom Mandli with Project FUEL

To explore ecological wisdom and its application in the classroom.

Key Takeaways

• Wisdom is "passed around," not "passed down." Insights come from all ages and experiences, not just seniors or experts.

• Project FUEL collects ecological wisdom from everyday life (e.g., cooking, gardening) to create lesson plans that strengthen children's connection to nature.

• A breakout room activity failed due to technical issues and participant confusion, prompting a shift to a main-room discussion.

• Teachers are assigned homework: collect 2–3 ecological life lessons from their students and post their own lesson on a shared platform.

Topics

Project Fuel's Philosophy: Wisdom is "Passed Around"

• Project Fuel (PF) collects life lessons from people of all ages and backgrounds.

• Core Belief: Wisdom is "passed around," meaning valuable insights come from anyone, not just seniors or experts.

• Goal: Use these real-world lessons to create classroom materials that make the world a "classroom."

Initiative: Collecting Ecological Wisdom

• PF's current focus is collecting "Paryawranian Wisdom"—ecological insights from daily life.

• Rationale: To counter children's growing disconnection from nature, which is caused by urban living and convenient services like food delivery apps.

• Goal: Collect one million ecological lessons from women to build a resource that strengthens children's relationship with nature.

Activity: Ecological Wisdom Flashcards

• Objective: Share personal ecological experiences using prompt cards.

• Execution: A breakout room activity failed due to technical issues and participant confusion.

• Pivot: The session shifted to a main-room discussion of the prompts.

• Key Insights Shared:

  • Kitchen: A space for creativity, family connection, and stress relief.

  • Stars: A source of wonder and a reminder of childhood memories.

  • Flowers: A metaphor for the life cycle (growth, bloom, fade).

Application: Bringing Wisdom to the Classroom

• Challenge: How to teach ecological wisdom beyond textbooks.

• Ideas Generated:

  • Storytelling: Create narratives from nature's perspective (e.g., a flower's autobiography, a mountain's history).

  • Hands-on Experience: Involve children directly with nature to build empathy.

  • Rituals: Connect daily life to nature (e.g., enjoying the first rain after summer).

Next Steps

• Teachers:

  • Collect 2–3 ecological life lessons from students.

  • Post one personal ecological lesson on the shared platform (link to be sent via WhatsApp).

• Project Fuel:

  • Share the link and instructions for the ecological lesson platform on the WhatsApp group.

• All:

  • Reconvene on January 24th to review the lessons learned and brainstorm classroom activities.
    
    Notes: Courtesy FATHOM AI

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Michael Paolucci <mike@slooh.com>

Video-Powered Professional Learning

We are solid at planning our lessons to be delivered to classrooms; further scrutinized by principals! But the question is did the teacher execute the plan effectively? Were students self-directing their inquiry or merely following directions? How do I really know whether students were learning to apply their new knowledge?

Such questions inspired Adam Geller to create Edthena video coaching platform. Adam Geller is the author of the book “Evidence of Practice” Playbook for Video-Powered Professional Learning and Edthena is the award-winning classroom observation platform for using teaching videos as a part of professional development.

At The Fabindia School, Bali; teachers share videos with colleagues who leave time-stamped comments and they collaborate around their work for professional development (during PLP)

Video-based professional learning needs to be approached with a lot of caution. Putting your work for others to view and analyse can be anxiety producing. Video-based learning can be either easy or exacerbating. Hence needs to be taken up with a lot of care and compassion.

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Like any professional development initiative, its success depends on planning logistics, establishing a supportive culture, developing a smart strategy and then implementing it well, day-in and day-out. That’s how organizations flourish that use video pieces of evidence to fuel teacher growth and development.

The Professional Learning Program (PLP) leads to Happy Teachers and this is the key for Happy Children at My Good School.

~ Ms Rajeshree Shihag is the Principal of The Fabindia School. Her email address is principal@fabindiaschools.in

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Learning Forward India Professional Development Programme (PDP) is an extended and profound learning experience that immerses members in a model of inquiry and problem-based learning. Staff members work collaboratively to gain knowledge to solve significant student learning problems in their schools. We seek to understand individual members' needs and then assist them in meeting objectives through a collaborative learning environment and with the support of experienced coaches. The training programme comprises of Workshops, Webinars, Staff Exchange with partner schools, eLearning and finding solutions to not only teach but learn and help the school deliver better. The PDP is based on the philosophy of 'Schools Can Change', developed by Lick, Clauset and Murphy. The Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) take charge of their own learning by establishing Whole Faculty Study Groups (WFSGs) and Action Teams.

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