As you can probably tell from some of my other posts, I teach a lot about climate change and environmental science. In an effort to practice what I teach, I’ve tried to make changes that can reduce the environmental impact of my classroom while still supporting student learning.
Worksheets: I can’t count the number of times I’ve made the effort to create thoughtful worksheets to help guide students, but only about half my class uses or completes the worksheet in a meaningful way. Some of my students work together using one sheet, others choose to record their results, observations, or questions using a computer or iPad, and others just don’t find writing things down the best way to remember information.
Now, I make just a few copies of a worksheet. If more students request one, then I run more off. (This is easy for me because of the structure of my programs. For educators in other settings, there my be times when you have to make a copy for every student because you require them to fill out the worksheet and keep it for future reference, or you may not be able to take the time to make more copies).
Portfolios: Gone are the paper folders! Digital portfolios might not be right for every classroom, but I find that students enjoy using the technology, and especially for older students, digital portfolios can become more useful when thinking about college, jobs, etc. Some resources to get you thinking:
http://reta.nmsu.edu/Lessons/digital/index.html
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/assess.html#portfolios
Unplug: It may sound obvious, but take a look around your classroom. How many things are plugged in that don’t really need to be? The more you unplug, the less distracting lights, beeping, and blinking, you’ll have.
Projects: Unfortunately, many times my students go to town creating exciting models out of clay, pipe cleaners, tissue paper, and string, but after the program ends, they don’t want their project anymore. They’ve openly admitted that while they find the process of creating the project really informative, they end up taking the final product and throwing it away. Now, I ask students who don’t want their creations to leave them with me. Some of them I save as future examples, and those I can’t use I dismantle. Some of the supplies can be reused, and others can be recycled. While this does take a bit of effort on my part, reclaiming the materials saves money! I also try to incorporate projects that can be completed without using lots of physical materials and/or will be useful past the end of a unit.
Worm bin: I don’t use this with every class because our worm bin is small, but the bin provides lots of teachable moments to get students thinking about food waste.
These are just a few things I can do to reduce the amount of waste my classroom generates. There is still so much more to be done! What are some of the ways you’re reducing your classroom’s environmental impact?
