233 - Rebecca Parks on Learning and Exploring Through Nature and Science

In today's episode, Tom Vander Ark is joined by Rebecca Parks and Dr. William Nicely. Dr. Nicely is the Superintendent of Kearney School District and Rebecca is the leader of two schools within the district — S outhview Elementary and LENS. Southview is a great K-5 school, serving 550 learners, and LENS (Learning and Exploring through Nature and Science), located just right next door, is a new place-based program for about 50 3rd and 4th graders. What is so fascinating about LENS is that it was inspired by a local Paleo Artist by the name of Gary Staab. In his work, Gary finds and recreates fossil records like King Tut, the iceman frozen in Europe 5,000 years ago, and the 54' megalodon shark in the Smithsonian. As you can imagine, this type of work can really help bring history to life for learners! Place-based learning means taking advantage of local opportunities to bring learning to life. Recognizing this, Dr. Nicely jumped at the opportunity to create an innovative pilot program around this local resource. LENS serves as a fantastic example of leveraging a local asset to engage students in inquiry-based learning as well as place-based learning! Join in for today's conversation...