One of my most creative of educational experiences was when I built and taught after school Japanese and Spanish language, culture and science programs for youth in New Mexico and Colorado (2002-2013). I taught mostly through experiential learning and total physical response methods. I often used food as a vehicle to learn. Students are deeply invested in food and learning as the two are inextricably linked. I never get tired of watching what this means for a student.
My other teaching highlight is in an online, course called, Biomimicry and Whole Systems Thinking. Watching college students epistimology and ontology change from mechanistic to relational in 15 weeks is transformative. |
Garden and Kitchen Based LearningDesign gardens and K-12 and Highere
Another area I would enjoy to contuunie, at least as a hobby is communty gardening. I co-founded a community garden and enjoy building school garden curricuulum (2010-present). There are two reasons I find food-based education rewarding. For one, I love watching plants grow. I get a little crazy designign garden spaces and maxamizing food production organiically. The pests are the most challenging to control in intensive gardening and I am of the belief that when you pay attention, and I mean realy pay attention, you can figure out how to balanve the garden ecosystem in a way to benefot all living organisms. ALong with garden comes kitchen. Kitchen-based learning has been my omst recent reserach focus. I expand on this in the "projects" section of this website. |
Environmental Sustainabilty Programs & Curriculum for H.E. & Adult LearnersSed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusant.
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K-12.As a hobby of mine, I do want to continuing short-term programing or as a volunteer guest presentation in the elementary or middle schools setting. I have completed all but the practicum hours towards a teacher education liscence. I do not aim to be a full time K-12 educator, but I do enjoy learning about learning and how to provide alternative and engaging opprotunieis for our youth to learn as well as teach educators about sustainability learning through the common core standards. The way I see it is I can continue in K-12 in a alternative capacity, and continue to spend the majority of my time on my college-level teaching in the environmental sciences and sustainabiltiy.
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Watershed Health and Civic EngagementWaterfall Community Garden Project
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Transformative Sustainability LearningMy doctoral studies in sustainability education was at the confluence of performative food, ecology and the learning sciences. I try to understand how and in what ways students learn for transformative change. I have a keen interest in not only what students learn, but in how they learn
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