These learning engagements walk you through the Learning in Places Seasonal Field-Based Science Storyline, and are designed for use in learning environments such as classrooms, teacher professional development experiences, community based settings or outdoor educational settings.

Learning engagements are meant to be used in sequence in order to maximally engage learners in progressions of field-based science investigations through a phenology lens that supports their learning about complex socio-ecological systems. Each learning engagement contains various tools designed for educators, families, and learners, and learning is intentionally meant to cross boundaries between home, communities, and your learning environments.

Rhizome diagram
Our project Rhizome

Activity systems operationalize the principles in the rhizome and give our design structure. Our storyline is the overarching activity system. Within this we have micro-activity systems we call “Learning Engagements”(LEs) that make up the storyline.


Learning Engagements

Download the materials (All in PDF format). Each bundle includes:

  • Bundle Overviews and Introduction
  • Lesson Plans and Planning Guides
  • Learning Tools for Learners
  • LE 1A bundle: Learning outdoors as place-based and historicizedDownload
  • LE 1B bundle: Our connections to the seasonsDownload
  • LE 2 bundle: What do we notice from our wondering walks?Download
  • LE 3 bundle: Focusing and orgnaizing phenomena that emerge from student and family wonderingsDownload
  • LE 4 bundle: Exploring Decision-Making Asking Should We Questions Choosing Focal Phenomena and Modeling ThemeDownload
  • LE 5 bundle: Take focused wondering walks to make new observations and generate new wonderings related to your “Should We” questionDownload
  • LE 6 bundle: Revising “Should We” models and posing investigation questionsDownload
  • LE 7 bundle: Designing an investigation and collecting data to answer “Should We” questionsDownload
  • These data collection protocols are designed to support your field-based science investigations. As you plan your field-based science investigation, review these tools to see which one(s) support research your focal phenomena and “Should We” question. Throughout the year, you may choose to do multiple protocols to collect more data to answer the “Should We” question.

  • LE 8 bundle: Synthesizing and analyzing data to make decisions around our “Should We” questionDownload
  • LE 9 bundle: Sharing insights and explanationsDownload
  • LE 10 bundle:Taking action on our “Should We” question with family and communityDownload
  • Lesson Plans only

    Need them all? Download a PDF of all the lesson plans combined.

    Student Tools only

    Download all the student tools (compressed zip file)

    Editable Tools

    Family and Student Tools Word docs