CulmOpp

The description of this course closes with the following passage:
"This learner-centered experience utilizes active learning methodology to assist participants in making connections between societal attributes, informal education and the natural world. The approach is conceptually-based and subsequently process driven, engaging learners to observe, communicate, classify, infer and predict. A learning environment will facilitate learners to build on their prior knowledge and value of education expanding into models of learning, critical thinking and methods of teaching. Ultimately, learners will research, propose, design, test and troubleshoot their own environmental stewardship models."

Hence, you as the leaner will develop an environmental stewardship model based on the culmination of information, activities and experiences you have gathered during this course.

A culminating/connecting opportunity should both encompass many of the experiences taken place in a course and most importantly make connections between the critical concepts. In particular the concepts which are both foundational and generalizable into other areas. The goal of learning is not only content, but ideally we should be able to use, apply, integrate and actively use concepts from one discipline to extend understanding and meaning in other areas.

Our brains function best when they have multiple stimuli of differing degrees and types. It is similar to if you only had one target to aim at, your chances of hitting it are less than if you had a dozen targets. Hence, the reason for offering so many diverse forms of texts, books, audio, video and resources for this course on the environment. To best understand, appreciate and critically examine our natural world, we need to engage in as many venues as possible.

So, for the culminating/connecting opportunity, your task will be to duplicate the philosophy of this course and create a unique, functional learning object which encompasses the discipline as well as the multiple modalities of truly understanding, taking ownership and incorporating environmental concepts into one's schema and ultimately their life.

Yes, this opportunity may be somewhat different and thereby may be difficult to understand, however, we will discuss and clarify further in class. I will also be available to discuss one-on-one and I have created a rubric of expectations at CulmOppRub.