The Great Bug Hunt!

Artist’s Statement: Putting student inquiry at the forefront of the process

 

Background…

 

This project began with the heroic, albeit misinformed, efforts of one of my students who gallantly flicked a beetle out of the hands of a fellow student one day. He was attempting to rescue her from certain demise. The surprise on his face was evident when his efforts were not met with gratitude, but instead crocodile tears that flowed unfiltered from her big brown eyes. It turns out that she considered the beetle a friend. She had found the beetle on a nature walk we took as a class through the emerging school community garden. The class expressed a keen interest in planting some vegetables and fruits of our own in this shared space with the rest of the school. This unsuccessful rescue mission only heightened the excitement because it catapulted the class into a consultation about the value of “bugs.” It turns out that many of the Shining Stars this year possess a keen interest in bugs; those creepy, crawly insects, arachnids and other slimy invertebrates. In fact all but two mentioned it on their individual learning plan that I co-create with each family at the beginning of the year. So, although we already have the planter boxes and we could just get some dirt and start growing things, we have made a different choice. Since we found one colorful “friend” already living in the garden space, we wondered if perhaps there were any more “friends” living there, too. Many environmentally concerned Shining Stars expressed concern regarding the safety of these bugs when we would start digging and walking around in the garden space. After all, we didn’t want to hurt anybody. It’s part of our group agreement to take care of each other! This year’s group won’t even let me hurt the unwelcomed ants that often visit our lunch box area! So, from out of our class council regarding the value of bugs the following essential questions emerged.

 

What critters already live in our garden space and why are they there?

Will they be hurtful or helpful to our garden? Will our garden be hurtful or helpful to them?

How can we live with them peacefully?

 

I asked the following question in an attempt to take the learning a little deeper and demonstrate how we could share our passions with others. How can we share what we learn with others who want to grow an earth-friendly garden, too? My goal is for them to learn that they can make a difference, that they can work effectively in teams and groups, that their voice matters and that people are genuinely interested in what they know.  Let the Great Bug Hunt begin!

 

Products…

 

Garden sculpture: Through the course of this project, we will work together to observe, name, categorize, document and ultimately recreate artistic models of the essential critters with which we share this garden space. Students will work with a partner to create a garden sculpture super bug for the school garden. Also, along with each sculpture, each team will create an educational plaque, so that everyone visiting the garden can learn about the value of bugs and their importance in our ecosystem. We will donate these sculptures to the school in an effort to contribute to the beautification of the space and most importantly provide education to any one visiting or planning to add to the garden.  I am working with our art teacher and garden coordinator on campus to design the layout and size of the sculptures, which will ultimately serve the dual purpose of venue for exhibition and structure for the future expansion of the garden itself.

Class Book: We will work together to create an A-Z guide to the critters in our own school garden. We will share this book with the school digitally and will print out a hard back copy to keep in our classroom library. Through our Shutterfly account, the book will be available for purchase by individual families. Perhaps, there is a way to turn this into a fundraiser of some kind later.

 

Tools we will use…

 

Cameras: One of my ongoing goals this year is to guide these very resourceful and inquisitive young people to become more thoughtful and skillful through critique and revision of their work. I have chosen to use cameras as their means of documenting learning for two reasons. First, I believe it is a high interest skill and second, it provides an equitable opportunity for all learners of all skill levels to express their thoughts and observations. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words. It will be a product that we can use to practice giving kind, specific and helpful feedback to each other in order to improve our photographic technique. We can practice making revisions within the time constraints of the HLC program and can move towards taking pictures with a clear purpose in mind. The Shining Stars are working in groups of 3 to share the classroom digital cameras and each child will have his/her own SD card. As they explore the garden and document through pictures the insects, arachnids and invertebrates that they observe there, they will first work individually to research and document their learning about the critters that most intrigue them. Later, we will use the best photographs from each student to create the class book.

 

Engineering Parts: These sculptures will be made from recycled material.  In class, we have an engineering corner where students are invited to take-apart old appliances, computers and printers. These parts will be harvested and used for the creation of the bugs. The reason for this is two-fold. First, we talk often about ways to save the earth in class. Two, and most importantly, it will help provide a meaningful connection for the two students not directly interested in bugs. They both like the engineering element of the take-apart lab and will most likely appreciate the opportunity to utilize this interest in service of the class project.

Recycled Prototype:  In preparation for my meeting with the art teacher and the garden coordinator, I created a prototype sculpture using simple recycled materials from our class creation station. During the process I realized that it can be challenging to make a recycled object scientifically accurate. It occurred to me that my students might benefit from creating a prototype that is easy to revise. The process will be valuable in helping them focus on the parts of the whole and will afford opportunities to receive and give feedback. After they each create a recycled prototype, then in their teams they will decide who makes the wings, body, legs, etc. of the final product based upon critique from their own individual model.

 

Experts who will help us:

Resident School Garden Coordinator: Beth

Photography Expert: Miranda

School Art Teacher: Niki

HLC Middle School Buddies (providing feedback and help with our class book)

San Diego State CMIL/MESBA: Brian (Sally-the Scientist)

 

I met with CMIL representative at a recent High Tech Conference and learned about a wonderful program these graduate students have started for young learners. It is called Sally-the Scientist. Sally is related to Flat Stanley, a popular children’s story where the main character learns the benefits of living 2 dimensionally after accidentally becoming flattened. One of the benefits is getting to travel through the postal service to places near and far and getting his photograph taken with many people in every corner of the world. Sally serves as an expert in many scientific fields including “Bug Catcher Sally.” Brian will meet with our group to explore critter life underground with the Shining Stars on site and then introduce them to Sally. They will each be given a copy of Sally and challenged to take her on scientific field trips of their choice: to their own back yards, or a park or a museum. Students will use their SD cards to photograph the field trip and the related learning about the critters they encounter, comparing and contrasting them with the ones we find in our garden. All learners are invited to post themselves doing science with Sally on her website: http://mebsa.wordpress.com/sally-the-scientist. Many of the posts are included in the group’s newsletters.

 

Student Voice and Choice…

 

This project is in response to the intense curiosity and interest of the Shining Stars.

• They will each take “Flat Sally the Scientist (bug catcher Sally-there are several to choose from)” on a research field trip of their choice with their families and friends.

• They have already expressed their desire to create super bugs that will protect the real ones in the garden. They will work in teams of 3 to create one of their top 3 favorite “bugs.”

• They want to take care of the earth and all its creatures. We will work together to educate others in our school and who visit the SDSU website about the importance of coexisting with bugs in an environmentally friendly way. Each student will create an educational page for our class book.

• They want to get their hands in the dirt and grow things! We will plant a garden to coexist with our bug friends when we think we have learned enough about them.

• Together, they will decide when the bugs are “super” enough, when the book is educational enough and when the research is thorough enough to begin planting the garden.

• For the 4 students who are less passionate about bugs, the engineering aspect and the photography will give them a portal to connect with this project and the learning it entails.