Sequencing For Learners

Connecting youth to place; a crucial step in growing young minds

On a recent hike in the Sangre De Cristo mountains, I stopped my group of curious 4th graders by a trickling stream for a snack. After a short silence- a prompt for them to catch their breath and observe their surroundings- I asked if anyone could guess what kinds of animals lived here. “Axolotl!” was extorted loudly by more than one individual. I was impressed at their pronunciation, despite those not being native to New Mexico, and fielded more suggestions such as: squirrel, mountain lion, rabbit, fox. I was impressed at the knowledge this group had about animal behaviors, but I wasn’t surprised. Elementary aged children have a tendency to find an animal that amuses and learn everything they can about that animal. In fact, it’s in their nature to do so.

way to the site (beside the highway, where the elk was struck), a four-foot bull snake slithered right in front of us, allowing the kids to lift it, hold it and pet it. My elk skeleton mission was abandoned and swiftly replaced by an observation of the snake’s slow-beating heart, reflections on why it was warming itself in the rocks, and suggestions about what it might eat and how this animal fits in the local food chain. The Gulch is remarkably non-curriculum focused, yet so very good at instilling curiositybased knowledge to youth. Only now am I understanding how that success comes from meeting children where they are at, developmentally– a concept which David Sobel explores thoughtfully in his book Beyond Ecophobia.

If you’ve ever played peek-a-boo with a baby, or tried to get an 8th grader to focus on their upcoming test rather than their school dance, you’ve interacted with a child’s development. As Sobel explains, Early Childhood is centered around exploration, allowing for discovery of sense, place and people. Young children are able to expand their understanding to the school they go to, the neighborhood they walk in, and the people they regularly interact with. Once a child gets to Outfit-age (10-12 years-old), they may know facts about specific animals, or be able to list the characteristics of different ecosystems, but they aren’t yet able to grasp the long-term effects of climate change. Adults and school standards often push for memorization, and big concepts, but study after study shows that deeper knowledge comes from connecting self to place. One study in Sobel’s book found that “many environmentalists attributed their commitment to a combination of two sources: “many hours spent outdoors in

My outdoor education experience started in college, where I studied environmental studies with a science teaching focus. It was through those courses that I came across author and educator David Sobel, although I wasn’t yet aware of his philosophy of place-based education. My first Environmental Ed jobs were curriculum-focused, with vocabulary words and a set of objectives the students should learn at the end of each class- whether it was kayaking, living off the land, pioneer history, or water studies. After three years of thriving through these programs, developing fun ways for the students to repeat vocabulary words so they stick, I found Cottonwood Gulch. Over my first few summers at the Gulch, I reluctantly left behind the lesson plans and started to let trekker’s curiosity drive their learning. A specific shift came in my fourth summer as Naturalist, when I was eagerly marching a group to inspect an elk skeleton and observe its various states of decay. On the