Ideas I epistemology
Ideas II ontology
Ideas III teleology
Ideas IV axiology
Ideas V connections to authors
Ideas VI connections to design
Ideas VII tradeoffs/limitations
Organization /Structure
Voice /Originality/Style
Word Choice / Sentence Fluency
Conventions/ Grammar
3
3
4
4
2.5
3
3
2
4
3
4
Overall Grade
B+
The Rain Forest: Ecology and Sustainability
Analysis, Appreciation, and Hypothetical Problem Solving
A Problem Based Inquiry
Embedded Assumptions:
Our curriculum program is designed around our core ontological, epistemological,
teleological, and axiological assertions.
Ontology- This is more like teleology : We are making the assumption that sustainability
is a necessary action in order to save and continue a symbiotic relationship with our
planet. But what is your ontology of what exists? And what there is to “know” ?
Epistemology- We know the need for sustainability exists through validated outside
ecological sources including film, statistics, individual research, and real life experience.
Teleology- The educational unit is intended to provide the students with the knowledge
and ability to make a necessary change towards a sustainable way of living. The unit is
intended to not follow typical disciplines and is aimed towards learning about something
that really matters to each and every individual.
Axiology- We should encourage self-actualization through active engagement in
discussion, activities, and reflections with their peers and facilitator. We value rationale
justification for the student’s thought processes. The students ought to be aware of the
conditions of our current day planet, and how they effect it and how it effects them.
Curriculum goals:
Personal Awareness Goal: Reframe our individual position relative to the world’s
sustainability and ecological awareness.
?’s Does/can one person effect sustainability globally? How?
?’sCan we change ourselves once we know what is going on? Are we willing to do so?
What does this entitle?
?’sWho/what is at fault? Is there any one aspect to blame?
1
?’s Why do people choose to ignore/be ignorant of what is going on around them in the
world?
?’sIs it possible to justify what’s being done?
Process Goal: Analysis, appreciation, and hypothetic problem solving in terms of a
greater application; being the connection between our forests in Santa Cruz to all other
forests around the world. (Through hypothetical problem solving)
?’s If they cut down the forest in Santa Cruz at the same rate as forests are cut in
Brazil, how long would it take for our forests to be completely depleted? What effects
would this have? Why does it matter personally and globally? What are some
alternatives? How do we fix what has already been destroyed?
?’sCan we change ourselves? Does one person matter? What can we do on a grassroots
level, on a larger scale?
Community Outreach Goal: Important to be aware and teach others awareness of our
world’s critical condition, and why awareness is necessary.
?’s How can we get more people involved with sustainable living?
?’sHow can we show other how to be sustainable?
?’sThe question of humanity…is this beneficial? And for who?
?’sThe question of morality…who is benefiting? And for what reasons? Who is not?
Ecology Lesson Goal: Animals, plants, people, and products
?’s Why are rainforests necessary? Why are any forests necessary?
?’sWhat is the connection between the rainforest, our forests in Santa Cruz, and forests
around the world?
?’sHow do the animals and plants work in a symbiotic relationship? And how is this
affected by deforestation?
?’sWhat everyday commodities come from the rainforest?
?’sHow are people affected by deforestation?
Sustainability Lesson Goal: Expansion of contribution, future impact, how to fix what
has already been done, and consciousness for what we are doing.
?’sWhat is the point of sustainability and the concept of living sustainably?
?’sWhat do we gain from deforestation? Is it worth the damage? Why do we get the
privileged to decide whether or not it is worth it? What gives us the right to make
decisions about places we’ve never even seen?
Learning Preparation Assumptions:
Although there are not many assumptions for how well prepared our students are, there
still are a few significant aspects that have to be present in each child in order to
successfully facilitate our unit. We assume that the students have experience with and are
comfortable with class discussion and active engagement. In other words, they are willing
to speak up in class to further their own general knowledge of the topic. We assume that
the students know how to express their thoughts through critical writing and analysis. We
assume that they possess the skills necessary to obtain information from outside sources
and relate it to the topic and writing. Lastly we assume that the students come prepared to
2
learn, leaving all else behind, healthy and ready for the day’s task. If these are
successfully assumed the students will be able to think critically in a comfortable
environment.
Evidence of Learning:
Since we do not value typical testing as an assessment, we decided that our unit would
follow an alternative way to reveal evidence of learning. For assessment we are looking
at the students reflections of what they learned through writing and participation. This
includes the research assignment, letter, tree activity, miscellaneous handouts, and most
importantly participation in class discussion. The students will be evaluated on content
and visible individual impact.
Learning Activities:
Our curriculum is based on group discussion and careful facilitation. For some of our
instruction we will have the learning goals be explicit to the students whereas for others
through the process of inquiry they will discover the overall reason for the lesson. We
have an overall arc in our unit. We inquire, learn, discover, and reflect.
Curriculum Schedule:
Day 1: Introduction to Ecology and Sustainability of the Rain Forrest
8:30As a group brainstorm “What are the biggest problems facing our world today?”
Web activity and slowly narrow down topic of sustainability. Define sustainability,
discuss that the rainforest is one of the most effected places and its importance for our
existence. Define Deforestation.
9:30am Watch Planet Earth- The Rainforests
10:30am Snack break
10:45amBreak off into groups for discussion. Talk about immediate reactions? What
did you find interesting and/or shocking? What would you like to learn more about?
11:30am Lunch
12:30pmBegin mini research project on the plant/animal/natural resource from the
rainforest film. First get into small groups of 3 or 4 and democratically pick a topic.
Begin inquiry on why this particular topic is so vital to the eco-system. Discuss the
research requirements
1:15pm Go to UCSC library
3:00pm Send students home with “In-house Product List” Have the students and their
family members go through the house and check off what products they have that were
extracted/originated/removed from Rain Forest.
3:30 School is out.
Day 2: Field Trip to the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco
8:30amBus Ride- What are the consequences of deforestation environmental and social
impacts? Have students fill out individual handout and bring it back together to talk about
the consequences.
10:30am Arrive at California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, immediately
break for bathroom and snack
3
10:45am Begin guided tours, encourage questions to tour guides and keep eyes open
for compatible aspect in the exhibit to their research topic
12:30pm Lunch outside in a park
1:30pm Begin Sustainability Workshop put on by the California Academy of Sciences
in San Francisco. Look into some of the most critical topics of our time and learn
innovative ways to educate students on these topics.
3:30 Bus ride home, recap on what was everybody’s favorite part.
Day 3: Broader Application
8:30Have students bring out their product list from home and fill out a large chart on
the board of the most commonly used products coming from the rainforests in each
respective household.
9:30Discussion Why does this matter? What the student can do? What kind of products
should be decreased? What should be changed in their household? How will this effect
deforestation?
10:30 Snack Break
10:45Alternatives and how to implement in daily life at a cost effective rate.
11:30Lunch
12:30 Watch Inconvenient Truth
1:30 Write a letter to a company that participates in some sort of deforestation and tell
why the rainforest effects you personally.
2:30 Tree Art Activity- Have students create some sort of art piece using multimedia
and create a living organism to go on a class tree. (Examples include but are not limited
to an insect, animal, leaves, flowers, etc) Have the students write down one burning
question and one pledge to help save the rainforest and maintain sustainability. Wrap Up.
3:30 School is out.
Teacher Roles & Limitations:
As teachers we are going to be engaged in a social intercourse with our students. We will
only facilitate the classroom to make sure we stay within the boundaries of our topic. It
is very important for us to step off the teacher pedestal and become a learner just like
each and every one of the students. The space for student choice relies in their ability to
lead class discussion and choose their writing assignments focuses. This way the students
are involved in the choices they learn. We want our students to learn appreciation for
their given surroundings and if we let them lead a good portion of the curriculum unit,
then the students will develop this appreciation naturally. This will also ensure
authenticity. The only limitation to our teaching strategy for this unit is the potential issue
of the students taking advantage of the non-traditional teaching method. If this were to
occur our entire unit would need rearranging and correcting.
Limitations of our Curriculum:
Although our curriculum unit is full of insightful activities that will teach children about
ecology and sustainability with an emphasis on the rain forests, it is only touching the
surface of the water. There are many limitations in such a small timeframe. These include
and are not limited to:
4



The lack of detail within such important topic
There is not enough time to write a research paper using outside resources.
Focusing on not facilitating and providing all the necessary means to find the
answer and have the students seek out the answers in the greater community on
their own.
 Connecting more with the community to broaden applications for the unit.
 There is a lack of realistic life application for children of Pescadero. They have
never seen a rainforest and are often times unable to travel to these parts of the
world.
 The students could have presented their findings.
 We are not teaching a science, so the unit could be seen as not teaching a
discipline that is widely used in our society. There is a possibility of confrontation
regarding instructional time, and granted there will be parents who don’t believe
this unit is constructive.
This design would work better for a school that has the funds to provide such elaborate
trips, where the parents are actively engaged in their child’s learning, and the community
is more willing to take such an alternative discourse into consideration. An example of a
more accepting school would be in Northern California because these locations put more
emphasis on sustainability.
Scaffolds/Mechanics:
We intend to implement our stated goals, which are discussed above, by a variety
of different scaffold methods including but not limited to such aspects as discussion.
Discussion is key aspect of our curriculum unit in the sense that is allows for students to
voice there own opinions, and hear/grow from the opinions of there peers and through the
facilitation of the teacher on a group level and on a larger class scale. Another scaffold
method we plan to implement throughout the entirety of our unit is our constant
questioning and outreach to further our knowledge. We are trying to make this unit as
personal as possible to each kind of student. We recognize that every student is different
and that every child learns at a different pace or in a different way and we want to take
advantage of this aspect. We are attempting to provide, throughout our unit, as much of
our own opinions, as well as a chance for the students to implement there own, in hopes
of further knowledge and understanding of as much information as possible. We hope to
have as many resources, including but not limited to books, internet, hands on, acclaimed
sources/persons as possible to make it necessary to develop understanding towards our
greater telos of the knowledge and ability to make a necessary change towards a
sustainable way of living. The unit is intended to not follow typical disciplines and is
aimed towards learning about something that really matters to each and every individual.
We hope that our scaffolds foster the students are ability to take advantage and use all
that we provide them with to form opinions of their own.
Final Paper/Rational
By: Sarah Sloane
5
Our curriculum program is designed around our core ontological, epistemological,
teleological, and axiological assertions. Axiology based on ontology: We are making the
assumption that sustainability is a necessary action in order to save and continue a
symbiotic relationship with our planet. We know the need for sustainability exists
through validated outside ecological sources including film, statistics, individual
research, and real life experience. Telos: The educational unit is intended to provide the
students with the knowledge and ability to make a necessary change towards a
sustainable way of living. The unit is intended to not follow typical disciplines and is
aimed towards learning about something that really matters to each and every individual.
We should encourage self-actualization what is this? through active engagement in
discussion, activities, and reflections with their peers and facilitator. [We value rationale
justification for the student’s thought processes. This needs more explanation]The
students ought to be aware of the conditions of our current day planet, and how they
affect it and how it affects them.
Telos Our main goal for this unit was to reframe our individual position relative to
the world’s sustainability and ecological awareness as well as the students. We hope to
make the student really aware of how close this idea is to them and how it affects them in
their everyday life. One of our activities was a take how list which allowed for students to
search within their own home for products that contained ingredients that came from their
own homes. The point of this activity was to make students have something they could
feel as their own. By having the children do this at home and bring it to school, it allowed
for a sense of ownership as well as something to bring back to the classroom and discuss.
6
This transition is rather abrupt: We asked the students such questions as: Does/can
one person effect sustainability globally? How? Can we change ourselves once we know
what is going on? Are we willing to do so? What does this entitle? Who/what is at fault?
Is there any one aspect to blame? Why do people choose to ignore/be ignorant of what is
going on around them in the world? Is it possible to justify what’s being done? The point
of these questions was to find a sense of morality within the bigger picture. Before our
project began, we included much discussion, directed through teacher facilitation. The
means of this was to get every student to begin to form opinions and thoughts for
themselves.
Again, our overall goal was analysis, appreciation, and hypothetic problem
solving in terms of a greater application; being the connection between our forests in
Santa Cruz to all other forests around the world. (Through hypothetical problem solving)
We asked our students such question like: If they cut down the forest in Santa Cruz at the
same rate as forests are cut in Brazil, how long would it take for our forests to be
completely depleted? What effects would this have? Why does it matter personally and
globally? What are some alternatives? How do we fix what has already been destroyed?
Can we change ourselves? Does one person matter? What can we do on a grassroots
level, on a larger scale? Again, the point of all of this is to get their brains thinking. We
realize that the rain forest is so far away and that for a lot of the students, it would be hard
to grasp onto such an idea when they have no proof it ever even existing. By creating
hypothetic examples, the students realize that even though it many not affect them the
second they drink the coffee or use the shampoo, the trees that are disappearing do
matter. We compare the situation hypothetically to Santa Cruz in hopes that they realize
7
the trees are what make Santa Cruz, and anywhere for that matter, the way it is. We feel
that this really would create a sense of belonging as well as awareness and a conscience
towards what is going on.
We also realize that it is very important to be aware and teach others awareness
of our world’s critical condition. We also realize that it is even more important to realize
why awareness is necessary. We asked our students questions like: How can we get more
people involved with sustainable living? How can we show? The question of
morality…who is benefiting? And for what reasons? Who is not? We wanted our
students to become aware of the animals, plants, people, and products that they affect and
that equally affect them. We asked our students such questions like: Why are rainforests
necessary? Why are any forests necessary? What is the connection between the
rainforest, our forests in Santa Cruz, and forests around the world? How do the animals
and plants work in a symbiotic relationship? And how is this affected by deforestation?
What everyday commodities come from the rainforest? How are people affected by
deforestation? Hopefully, we realize, the answers will provide a sense of ownership and
responsibility over what is happening.
Furthermore, the expansion of contribution, future impact, how to fix what has
already been done, and consciousness for what we are doing is yet another topic of
discussion. We hoped to get our students defending their beliefs by asking such questions
as: What is the point of sustainability and the concept of living sustainably? What do we
gain from deforestation? Is it worth the damage? Why do we get the privileged to decide
whether or not it is worth it? What gives us the right to make decisions about places
we’ve never even seen? We wanted our students to be aware that, yes, they have never
8
been there, but that this is something they believe in and therefore something they are
willing to stand up for.
Although there are not many assumptions for how well prepared our students are,
there still are a few significant aspects that have to be present in each child in order to
successfully facilitate our unit. We assume that the students have experience with and are
comfortable with class discussion and active engagement. In other words, they are willing
to speak up in class to further their own general knowledge of the topic. We assume that
the students know how to express their thoughts through critical writing and analysis. We
assume that they possess the skills necessary to obtain information from outside sources
and relate it to the topic and writing. Lastly we assume that the students come prepared to
learn, leaving all else behind, healthy and ready for the day’s task. What would you do if
your assumptions are not met? If these are successfully assumed the students will be able
to think critically in a comfortable environment. Like author Joseph Steiner, we are
attempting, as teachers, to discover how to teach uniqueness, recognizing competencies
and needs for all different students and teachers alike. We are asking that the teachers are
more stand off which allows for the students to be more hands on. We study what is real
to each student and allow for knowledge to come out rather than the student simply to be
talked at.
Since we do not value typical testing as an assessment, we decided that our unit
would follow an alternative way to reveal evidence of learning. For assessment we are
looking at the students reflections of what they learned through writing and participation.
This includes the research assignment, letter, tree activity, miscellaneous handouts, and
most importantly participation in class discussion. The students will be evaluated on
9
content and visible individual impact. Like Kant, we want our students to become
“enlightened” critical thinkers. Rather, we want them to be willing to use courage and the
use of reasoning when decision-making. He believes, as well as we believe, that the
environment is able to promote enlightenment and that we need to allow for this state of
critical thinking taking place. In other words, for the future we must promote this.
Through active participation as a student and as the teacher, we hope that facilitation and
constant questioning is enough of an environment to support a means for critical thinking.
In sum, our curriculum is based on group discussion and careful facilitation. For some of
our instruction we will have the learning goals be explicit to the students whereas for
others through the process of inquiry they will discover the overall reason for the lesson.
We have an overall arc in our unit. We inquire, learn, discover, and reflect. Like
Montessori, we have chosen to believe understanding as a developmental process. This
means you have thought about how you activities are appropriate for a specfic age- group
or developmental stage… Rather, experiences in which you act on your given
environment and from your own experience onto the world, you are able to understand
and further comprehend knowledge through this developmental process. As seen in our
unit, we foster to this path in the sense that much of our discussions are based on building
off the ones previous. We first make our student learn, question, understand, and prove;
all very vaid steps within the developmental process.
We choose this method as oppose to any other because we felt it best suited our unit and
the way we wanted our students to learn. We feel that it is very important to begin with
basic knowledge and move onto further, yet constant, questioning. With any other
10
method, I feel that this would have not been made as apparent and therefore would not
have been as effective.
As teachers we are going to be engaged in a social intercourse with our students.
We will only facilitate the classroom to make sure we stay within the boundaries of our
topic. It is very important for us to step off the teacher pedestal and become a learner just
like each and every one of the students. The space for student choice relies in their ability
to lead class discussion and choose their writing assignments focuses. This way the
students are involved in the choices they learn. We want our students to learn
appreciation for their given surroundings and if we let them lead a good portion of the
curriculum unit, then the students will develop this appreciation naturally. This will also
ensure authenticity what do you mean?. The only limitation to our teaching strategy for
this unit is the potential issue of the students taking advantage of the non-traditional
teaching method. If this were to occur our entire unit would need rearranging and
correcting. Similar to Plato, our goal for humanity, or for our classroom anyways, is to
greater understand the material presented. We want to stress this idea of a real reality and
allow for our students to ask and answer the questions, and the learn how to successfully
ask the right questions in order to get the best answers. This METHOD is like what
Dewey promoted more than what Plato promoted – ( plato said listen to the wisdom of
your teachers ) All of this, we stress, is by doing, through education and further
understanding. We are teaching our students to actively pursue in order to prove to
themselves to truth over rides the many false realities and misconceptions we are taught
everyday. We are, in a sense, teaching out students that questioning a learning a two very
necessary skills for life. Our unit is a reference for life.
11
But this is not easy. Although our curriculum unit is full of insightful activities
that will teach children about ecology and sustainability with an emphasis on the rain
forests, it is only touching the surface of the water. There are many limitations in such a
small timeframe. These include and are not limited to: the lack of detail within such
important topic, the fact that there is not enough time to write a research paper using
outside resources, focusing on not facilitating and providing all the necessary means to
find the answer and have the students seek out the answers in the greater community on
their own, connecting more with the community to broaden applications for the unit,
there is a lack of realistic life application for children of Pescadero. They have never seen
a rainforest and are often times unable to travel to these parts of the world, the students
could have presented their findings, we are not teaching a science, so the unit could be
seen as not teaching a discipline that is widely used in our society. There is a possibility
of confrontation regarding instructional time, and granted there will be parents who don’t
believe this unit is constructive. This design would work better for a school that has the
funds to provide such elaborate trips, where the parents are actively engaged in their
child’s learning, and the community is more willing to take such an alternative discourse
into consideration. An example of a more accepting school would be in Northern
California because these locations put more emphasis on sustainability.
We intend to implement our stated goals, which are discussed above, by a variety
of different scaffold methods including but not limited to such aspects as discussion.
Discussion is key aspect of our curriculum unit in the sense that is allows for students to
voice there own opinions, and hear/grow from the opinions of there peers and through the
facilitation of the teacher on a group level and on a larger class scale. How will you deal
12
with instances when the discussion includes “misconceptions” or misunderstandings?
Another scaffold method we plan to implement throughout the entirety of our unit is our
constant questioning and outreach to further our knowledge. We are trying to make this
unit as personal as possible to each kind of student. We recognize that every student is
different and that every child learns at a different pace or in a different way and we want
to take advantage of this aspect. We are attempting to provide, throughout our unit, as
much of our own opinions, as well as a chance for the students to implement there own,
in hopes of further knowledge and understanding of as much information as possible. We
hope to have as many resources, including but not limited to books, internet, hands on,
acclaimed sources/persons as possible to make it necessary to develop understanding
towards our greater telos of the knowledge and ability to make a necessary change
towards a sustainable way of living. The unit is intended to not follow typical disciplines
and is aimed towards learning about something that really matters to each and every
individual. We hope that our scaffolds foster the students are ability to take advantage
and use all that we provide them with to form opinions of their own. Similar to the hopes
of Piaget, we are extremely concerned with what are forming these children into, and
who they will be. Rather, we want to stress that they are individuals, as said above, and
that the actual process of learning is a creative act. Piaget believes that this will all kind
of just happen which is something that is to be expected and that again, similar to some of
the other authors and philosophers I have discussed, Piaget believes that the environment
does have an impact. We are attempting in this unit to create an environment in which
successful learning is able to take place.
13
Overall you provide solid justification and warrants for your decisions – however the
reference to different theories of learning and educational philosophies feels somewhat
disjointed – and do not always add clarity to your arguments.
14