The Outdoor Classroom will create a field station classroom where teachers can provide students formal and informal education on the shore of a private lake, in the heart of a forest ecosystem. The Outdoor Classroom will provide a diverse and rich environment where

K-12 students and community members can explore lessons based on state and national standards as well as team building, leadership development and service learning.    Also, the new construction will foster the collaboration among public schools, non-profit agencies, corporations, and the community that promotes diverse learning experiences for K-12 students.  The Outdoor Classroom will be a

4-season building containing a 40 student classroom as the center of a 170 acre outdoor educational facility.  

 

Project Objectives

  • Create learning opportunities in which students work in small groups in outdoor settings to explore authentic problems using a project-based learning approach.

  • Achieve NY State and national learning standards for science, ELA, physical education and green tech education.

  • Promote service to the community as part of the curriculum.

  • Provide team building and leadership development opportunities for students.

  • Include students in the design, construction and maintenance of the building.

  • Get kids outside in line with H.R.2054 – No Child Left Inside Act of 2009.

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Real Science begins...where the classroom ends"


Mr. Peneston & Mr. Calderwood - Earth Science teachers at the Liverpool High School 9th Grade Annex

Overview-- Watching, listening and reading are all good ways to learn but when students leave the classroom and engage in the real problem solving activities of adult professionals the rate of learning increases dramatically. Mr. Calderwood and Mr. Peneston have developed the Expedition Earth Science program to provide all of their students with the opportunity to explore Earth Science processes by conducting the work of scientists at field locations around the State. Each student will select and then participate in 1 of the first 5 expeditions offered this year. Each expedition begins at an after school meeting about 2 weeks before the trip where the students will form teams and receive detailed assignments describing the problems that they must solve by collecting scientific data in the field on the day of the expedition. They will also receive information about the products (reports, etc.) that they are expected to produce and how they will be graded.  Expeditions typically consist of 15-24  students, 2 teachers and 3-10 parent volunteers who spend all day on a Saturday or Sunday traveling to and collecting data at a location or series of locations. Parents are needed to act as drivers and to assist in supporting the student teams.
 

Liverpool Students at Talooli --   Liverpool students taking part in Expedition Earth Science have been visiting Camp Talooli for over 10 years at least twice a year (once in the Winter and once in the Fall).  Students come out to Camp Talooli to use its natural resources to conduct research/experiments and to get the experiential learning that comes from getting out of the classroom and into the out of doors.  Whether it be sampling the frozen lake ice, taking samples of the local trees, or building a drain pipe to guard the lake against its Beaver Family, EES students are getting an education far beyond any they might get inside the school room.

 

Utilizing the camp’s 170 acres of forest and private lakes, a series of authentic scientific questions are investigated by the students. Covering a range of topics including ecology, water chemistry and geology, each of the questions require students to form teams and to utilize concepts and skills that are part of the Regents Earth Science syllabus. Students select research topics and form teams 2 weeks prior to the field camp weekend. Through library research and team meetings each research team determines what background understandings, skills and equipment will be needed to plan and carry out experiments and data gathering during the field camp weekend. The students arrive at camp and receive an orientation on Friday night.  All day Saturday is used for data gathering and analysis. Teams then use the school’s laptop computers to create Powerpoint summary presentations Saturday evening and present their reports to the entire group on Sunday morning.

 

Visit the Liverpool School District Expedition Earth Science website here

 

       

 

 

             

 

              

 

              

 

For more information about how your school can participate in a collaboration with Camp Talooli call the Camp Fire Office at

315-934-4051

 

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Camp Fire USA CNY  ● Mailing Address: P.O. Box 6 Phoenix, NY 13135

Office Address: 69A State Street Phoenix, NY 13135  ●  315-934-4051

Camp Talooli ● 520 County Route 54 Pennellville, NY 13132 ● 315-695-5932