Ecological Literacy & Math

Eco-Literacy & Math

When most people think about math they don't necessarily think about nature.  Physics or engineering or even chemistry seem to come to mind well before biology & ecology.  However, the fact is that math originated as a way for people to understand patterns they found in nature.  For instance, Eratosthenes estimated the diameter of the Earth with over 99 percent accuracy in 228 B.C. using only basic geometry. (Describing Nature with Math)  Meanwhile,  the Fibonacci sequence and fractal math were mathematical models for patterns found in the natural world. 

 

Some ideas for how teachers can incorporate E.L. into math lessons include:

• having students calculate their daily, weekly, monthly, and annual water usage and then brainstorm ways to reduce that
• having high school students track, model, and analyze water quality data for nearby lake
• haveing student graph weather data over the last decade + and make predictions based on that data
• writing word problems relating to real world science questions or actions
• using equations to motion and velocity to explore the motion of the planets around the sun
• conducting a patterns in nature scavenger hunt
• calculating how much energy is needed to power LEED buildings vs. a traditionally constructed building

 

There is no reason why math and E.L. can't be integrated together.  Really it's entirely up to the teacher and their own creativity. 

 

Here are some other interesting resources:

• The Brain or the Universe
• In Mysterious Pattern, Math and Nature Converge
• Understanding: Math and Nature
• Using Math in Nature: Activities for Kids
• Outdoors: the new place to learn
• National Environmental Education Week

Two different types of cedar fronds displaying fractal patterns

Photo Credit: Nicole Carbone

 

Ecological Literacy... in Science!

Eco-Literacy... in Science!

View from Eight Dollar Mountain near Selma, OR
Photo credit: One of my classmates

It makes sense to me to start with looking at teaching E.L. in science given that by it's very nature science is entirely focused on understanding the world around us.  No matter whether we're talking about biology, physics, or chemistry, ultimately what we are talking about are the phenomena and processes that enable life's existence.  In that regard, the study of science is the foundation of E.L. as students need to gain a strong understanding of core ecological principles  before they can apply them to disciplines outside of science.  

There are a number of means for incorporating E.L. into a standard science classroom.  For students at all grade levels these could include: 

• working and exploring in a classroom or community garden
• exploring individual student's or organization's ecological footprints and generate ideas to reduce them
• start and maintain a compost (or vermicompost) and use that to study decomposition, soil chemistry, bacteria, and more
• engineering or computer science students could design a tool based on biomimicry
• in chemistry or biology, explore how ocean acidification affects shellfish growth and development
• asking students to create a building based on sustainable and ecological design principles
• in physics or chemistry, explore how how to generate renewable energy or improve energy efficiency within existing electrical systems
• conduct or join citizen science surveys to help track specific at risk species
• do repeated water quality tests and look for macro invertebrates in a local waterway

However E.L. gets incorporated, it's important to keep lessons inquiry based and close to home.  When I say inquiry based, I mean that students not only have the ability to make choices about their own learning, but they are engaged in learning in order to solve a problem or answer a question.  There has been discussion about how curiosity or inquiry based learning helps to keep students focused on the topic and encourages them to make connections between previously learned and knew information.  

Keeping the focus 'close to home' is in part about utilizing place-based education.  The school playground can offer just as many opportunities for learning as the state park 30 minutes outside of town.  'Close to home' is also about helping kids to build personal connection to their local environment, and to develop a sense of place within it and responsibility for it.

Here are some additional resources worth checking out:

• Why Curiosity Enhances Learning
• How Curiosity Changes the Brain to Enhance Learning
• How Much a Video Ways
• Solar Inventors
• The Perennial Plate
• Out to Play