DNS Nature Unleashed Hybrid - Virtual Portion
Nature Unleashed is the grade 3-5 level ecology unit in the Discover Nature Schools (DNS) series from the Missouri Department of Conservation. Emphasis of this unit is on student-centered and collaborative investigations of ecosystem components, cycles of matter and energy transfer, interdependent relationships, and human impacts.
This “hybrid” professional development workshop is divided into two parts. This “virtual portion” introduces important facets of the teacher guide and student materials including: Unit overview, connection to the MLS and NGSS, organization of lessons and activities, assessments, and appendices. Outdoor field experiences, use of science notebooks, obtaining teacher and student materials at no cost, and participation in the Nature Unleashed grant program will also be covered. It is recommended that you order a teacher guide and student book for this unit from the DNS Order Form found on the Education Resources section of the Teacher Portal since we will be referring to these during the workshop. Completion of this virtual portion is recommended prior to arranging the field portion. A link to this on-line workshop will be sent by email a few days before the workshop date.
The second “field portion” of the hybrid workshop is to be conducted in-person, outdoors, at a field study location and date arranged with your local Conservation Educator. Covid-19 safety protocols will be followed as needed. This section of the training will include an assessment of outdoor spaces for field experiences, utilization of science notebooks for data collection, practice with science tools and resources, and strategies for facilitating outdoor student hands-on investigations in school yards and field trip destination sites.
Participants who teach life science to more than 20 students and complete both portions of this hybrid workshop will become eligible to participate in the non-competitive grant program for equipment and field trips that support the unit.