An introduction to hybrid or blended learning, Bay Area ecology, citizen science and crowdsourcing

This BlendEd course will be offered as a “little b” blend at Marin Academy for the Spring 2019 term. The vision for “little b” blends is that they will be similar to “big B” BlendEd courses except they will be offered at one school for students from that school. This model will allow for more regular face-to-face meetings and outings since the teacher and students are all on the same campus as well as on the same schedule.

This course will run as a hybrid/blended semester-long science course. Students will meet face-to-face (F2F) in the classroom at least once a rotation and complete one class each week online. Students will also spend time every rotation together outside in the field. This course will introduce students to online learning, citizen science, Bay Area natural history, and scientific crowdsourcing. During the semester students will have the opportunity to research in depth their own backyard environment and questions they have about the local ecology; to do so, students will be supplied with a kit which contains tools to use throughout the semester. The course will also focus on journaling and documentation to demonstrate growth in the field. Students who like the outdoors, want to know more about the biodiversity of the San Francisco Bay area, and/or who want to participate in science-based service projects should strongly consider this course.

Course features:

• PE (including a .25 PE credit) – weekly hike/nature excursions
• Service – citizen science projects & service projects related to local ecosystems
• UC Approved – D lab credit

Example Schedule:

On average students can expect to meet once a rotation in F2F classroom. Once a rotation students will work independently online (or in the field) on assignments. Finally, students will spend a significant amount of time off campus together hiking, exploring, and participating in citizen science projects.

Liz Gottlieb – Marin Academy
Liz currently teaches Biology and AP Environmental Science and coaches the Cross Country team at Marin Academy. She also leads a number of running, hiking, and restoration outings, including a cross-country summer running outing in Tahoe. She received a BA from Colby College and also studied Education at Loyola Marymount and Social Justice at San Francisco University. Liz began her teaching career by participating in Teach for America, where she taught seventh- and eighth-grade science at Roosevelt Middle School in Compton, California.