Science and Teaching for Field Instructors
Read the blog posts below to find out what’s new with BEETLES. We regularly feature new resources, promote upcoming events and news, and share “Tales from the Field”–stories of folks like you using BEETLES materials in interesting ways. If you’d like to contribute, just be in touch!
June 9, 2017: Uncategorized
As many of you know, over the winter we wrapped up the application process for two of our upcoming Leadership Institutes, in August and December 2017. (Applications will open this fall for the next Institute in August 2018!) First, a huge thank you from the entire BEETLES team to each of the many, many program leaders who […]
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May 19, 2017: Featured Resource
Field guides and keys are a useful, student-centered strategy for introducing content to students. Below is a list of field guides we’ve used, we’ve created, or that come highly recommended from partners. Free OnlineFor PurchaseFree Online MacroInvertebrates UW’s Key to Macroinvertebrate Life in the River UW’s Key to Macroinvertebrate Life in the Pond UW’s Wonderful, [...] Read More »April 21, 2017: Tales from the Field
By Claire Maguire (Note from BEETLES: We’re incredibly grateful for the feedback provided to us by SCCOSS Naturalists and others as we were developing this activity. The story below illustrates some of the potential pitfalls of engaging students in investigations, but also the magic when one can “let the messy in”. It also illustrates the […]
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April 21, 2017: Events
For this year’s AEOE, BEETLES Director, Kevin Beals, was invited to share some remarks to kick off the conference. Below is a very slightly edited transcript of his words. Read on to find out how Kevin grew up hating science and how he’s come to believe that science can change the next generation, for good. […]
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April 21, 2017: Featured Resource
What you can do with students outdoors depends a lot on what you carry in your pack. We like students to engage directly with nature as often as possible during outdoor science, so we carry stuff that helps them do that. With this approach, the main equipment is nature itself, so you can travel fairly [...] Read More »January 31, 2017: News
Many of our readers know that science education can play an important role in helping people understand and connect with nature. We, the BEETLES team, also firmly believe that science education is implicitly linked to civic engagement and citizenship. BEETLES activities are designed to support students in developing skills needed to participate in civil discourse, […]
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November 14, 2016: Events
December 10-15, 2017 Petaluma, California BEETLES helps outdoor science programs take full advantage of the rich opportunities for science learning in the outdoors. Learning science outdoors can be a unique, often transformational experience. Outdoor instructors need different tools and approaches than those designed for classrooms or other contexts. All our resources support the ambitious goals of [...] Read More »
September 20, 2016: News
BEETLES is excited to announce that we’ve received funding from the National Science Foundation’s Advancing Informal Science Learning program! Can we get a woo-hoo?! What this means: We’ll be conducting FIVE free Leadership Institutes over the next three years for 100 outdoor science programs. The first will be held in August 2017. More details and information about […]
Read More »August 30, 2016: Events
On October 24th, 2016, BEETLES will be participating in the 4th Annual San Diego County Watershed Summit. This annual convening of regional leaders will focus on key environmental issues while providing unique networking opportunities to advance innovative solutions that shape the future of our watersheds. Moving into its fourth year, the Summit brings together a cross-section of more […]
Read More »August 25, 2016: Tales from the Field
The following is an exchange between two program leaders currently using BEETLES Professional Learning Sessions and the BEETLES team. The most effective use of games is a topic that regularly comes up at BEETLES institutes and workshops, and that we hear in many other science education settings. Read on to hear some of our thoughts […]
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