During February 2021, 26 middle school and high school educators from across the ESD 113 region attended a three-day online workshop, Solutions Oriented Learning Storylines: Fire for Secondary Educators, with Pacific Education Institute’s FieldSTEM Coordinators Hattie Osborne and Karen Lippy.
To begin the workshop series, participants learned about the ClimeTime proviso and PEI’s storyline project. Participants centered on the Indigenous perspective by learning from Cinnamon Bear about Indigenous peoples’ use of fire and by reading, Fire is Medicine. Participants followed up the Zoom session with an asynchronous assignment to research their local Indigenous communities.
The second session introduced participants to Emily Richardson from the Washington Department of Natural Resources; she shared information about the role of fire as a forest management tool, prescribed burns, and the impact of historic fire suppression. Hattie and Karen followed up the presentation from Emily by sharing about the carbon cycle, wildfire in Washington state and prescribed fire as a solution to mega fires. Participants also had time to share what they learned about their local Indigenous communities with peers from across the region.
Emily Richardson from Washington Department of Natural Resources discussed conditions, benefits and concerns about prescribed burns.
In the last session, educators learned about three-dimensional science assessment and culturally responsive teaching practices. Participants were introduced to PEI’s Solutions Oriented Learning Storylines: Fire to teach climate science in developmentally appropriate, locally relevant ways. After the workshop, a participant shared this sentiment, ” I am going to use the storyline and several of the speaker’s shared slideshows and resources. I am not usually impressed with PD but this class has plenty of resources for me to use. Thank you for your support.” Thank you to ESD 113 for partnering with us on this workshop series.
Katie Standlea from North Thurston Public Schools shared about her experience teaching the middle school fire storyline virtually during Fall 2020.
PEI will be facilitating another Solutions Oriented Learning Storylines: Fire for Secondary Educators workshop in May 2021.
