Month: October 2025 (Page 2 of 2)

Q1: How can water conservation education in kids change the way they view and act in ecological concerns in their everyday life?

Q2: How can the way of teaching children in school on environmental education make a deeper engagement in many kids from different backgrounds and ages?

Q3: How can having a different approach to education in environmental studies benefit children?

Q4:Is there a way to use vertical farming projects in schools to enhance environmental knowledge in food and water?

Q5: What impacts do school programs like greenhouses have in helping kids understand food systems and environmental sustainability?

Q6: How can schools develop water conservation programs that lead to improvement and raise public awareness of environmental impacts?

Q7: What are the benefits of teaching environmental education from a young age, and how does that improve sustainable practices in the kids’ homes?

Q8: Can incorporating environmental knowledge in urban schools open doors for other schools to adopt sustainability practices?

Q9: How does the exposure of kids spending time learning outside of the classroom help them have better retention of environmental habits?

Q10: What is the positive impact of integrating environmental studies into the school curriculum to enhance their ecological literacy?

Week 2 Reflection: Planting Sweetgrass                       Name__Alexandra Guerrero  

1. What is your favorite quote from this section and why is this so memorable to you (100 word minimum).

My favorite quote from the book is, “We say that humans have the least experience with how to live and thus the most to learn – we must look to our teachers among the other species for guidance.” I feel a connection with this quote because, throughout life in the world, people have said that we need to learn from animals and understand them, and if we just did that, we would learn so much as people.

2. What does reciprocity look like in your culture? Provide specific examples (150 word minimum)

I come from a Latin background. I see reciprocity in many ways in my culture, exchanging food for help, and I thank them. Food in my culture is essential, and we value the time it takes to cook the food. I have personally helped my community as a translator for parents and teachers, and I never ask for anything in return, but they value the help I offer. They often give me food, which shows that they are truly thankful. I also view it as a love language in my culture because people want to express gratitude for something you’ve done, but they may not have the means or time, so they prepare a homemade meal to feed the heart.

3. This section begins with the following quote, ““Sweetgrass is best planted not by seed, but by putting roots directly in the ground. Thus the plant is passed from hand to earth to hand across years and generations. Its favored habitat is sunny, well-watered meadows. It thrives on disturbed edges.” What does this mean to you? (150 word minimum).

I think that, in a way, it describes humans; we live all over the world with different climates, but no matter where we are, we always manage to survive. Throughout history, and in various parts of the world, we have found ways to improve our way of living in different places.  And you can see it through our generation and our technological innovation. Still, for specificity, I think it’s the seed of life in what we teach our future generations, whether that be to open our eyes, be thankful, or to respect one another. That also includes the culture and history of our institutions, as well as how we arrived at our current state. What has changed, and what are we going to do? Is it in the best interest of all? That’s my question.

4. Specifically, in “The Offering”, Kimmerer discusses how we focus our attention. What are ways in which you choose to focus your attention and are you happy with these choices? (100 word minimum)

Recently, I have focused on listening to my body to determine if I need to eat more or exercise. I’ve also prioritized not spending so much time on my phone for my mental health. I choose to focus my attention on not overthinking life, telling myself to take it one step at a time. Recently, I had a family member pass away, so through my grieving time, I have learned to take a moment and be grateful for what I have: a home, parents, brothers, food, and friends.

Week 1 Reflection                            Name: _Alexandra Guerrero___ _________________

Part I:

Reflect and write 100 or more words about the following prompt:

Based on what you know now, describe the types of people that do science. If possible, refer to specific scientists and what they tell you about the types of people that do science.

As a child, I grew up watching Bill Nye the Science Guy. He’s a mechanical engineer who teaches students through video about everyday science in life and critical thinking, explaining why things react in specific ways. He has sparked my curiosity over the years, but I don’t have extensive knowledge specific to scientists. I do know that one of the most famous scientists is Issac Newton, who gained an understanding and explanation of the laws of motion and gravity, forever changing the way we see science.

Part II:

Choose and write the number that reflects your level of agreement.

 “I know of one or more scientists to whom I can personally relate.”

Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Agree	Strongly Agree
1	2	3	4

Reflect and write 100 or more words about your reflections on this statement and your level of agreement:

As I have learned so much from my first time in your class, I have realized that I don’t know science as well as I thought, and sadly, I know very little. Therefore, I can’t personally relate to it, but I will look for one that I can somehow relate to in some way. For the Science that I am passionate about, I would like to mention some personal connections with Marie Curie, the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, and her groundbreaking research on cancer treatment.

Part III:

Choose and write the number that reflects your level of agreement on the following phrases:

“I am interested in learning more about science.”

Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Agree	Strongly Agree
1	2	3	4

“Topics in science excite my curiosity.”

Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Agree	Strongly Agree
1	2	3	4

“I enjoy learning about science.”

Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Agree	Strongly Agree
1	2	3	4

Name_Abril Guerrero____     Scientist Spotlight: Dr. Nina Jablonski

Please read this document carefully before you start! Your homework submission should be at least 250 words total, addressing the questions at the bottom of the page. 

Scientist Spotlight: Dr. Nina Jablonski

Dr. Nina Jablonski is an anthropologist and paleo-biologist that studies human evolution at Penn State University. She was born and raised on a farm in upstate New York, where she developed a passion for digging up fossils in a nearby creek. As a child she spent a lot of time watching National Geographic, which cultivated an interest in human evolution and led her to pursue a biology degree at Bryn Mawr College. Despite earning a degree in molecular biology and having pressure to attend medical school from her parents, Dr. Jablonski developed a passion for evolution and anthropology and chose to pursue a PhD in biological anthropology at the University of Washington. 

Dr. Jalonski research focuses on the evolution of primates and humans. One of her major research areas includes the evolution of human skin, pigmentation, and hair. Her research describes how skin color and hair can play a role in human self-identities, and the major role that these evolutionary processes play in history and society. 

1. To learn more about the evolution of skin color, watch the following talk: Nina Jablonski: Skin color is an illusion | TED Talk 
2. Browse through this journal article to appreciate the science of studying human skin color and race: Skin color and race – Jablonski – – American Journal of Physical Anthropology – Wiley Online Library 

Instructions for Written Assignment: 

After reviewing these resources, write a 250 word or more reflection with your responses TO BE SUBMITTED TO Blackboard, which addresses ideas related to the following questions:

1. What was most interesting to you in reviewing these resources?  

What I found very interesting was that our skin color can be traced back to our ancestors having darkly pigmented skin. Another thing that I was amazed by was that many of us live in places where we don’t receive UV; some of us get too much, others don’t get any, and that’s why some of us have deficiencies in vitamin D.

2. What did you learn from these resources about the evolution of skin color?

It’s the people who live close to the equator that have or develop darker skin color to protect themselves from folate degradation. On the other hand, people who live farther from the equator

Have lighter skin from lower UV.  Nina also discussed how our skin is the most noticeable way to show human evolution, resulting from our exposure to UV.

3. What do these resources tell you about the types of people that do science?

From the resources, it is shown that when it comes to the study of humans, like their skin, there aren’t a lot of people from different races or skin colors in that area, so there’s a need for diverse perspectives in the science department. If the studies include people from all colors and backgrounds, it can help make the study more representative and accurate.

4. What new questions do you have after learning about Dr. Jablonski’s research and how human skin color evolved?

• My question is, if it were more known to the public about how their location of living and exposure to UV have a greater impact on their lives, would it change people’s ideas of where they want to live?

As of now, I have started my personal research on the lesson plans I hope to use in our future water fair. From our past team meetings with our partners from JJKFAN, I had taken note that Zack was interested in us building lessons on community pride from where the kids come from. So far, I have been doing research and readings on different lessons. Some of the words I have been using when looking for articles are community, environment, water conservation, and community engagement. So far,  I would say I found excellent lesson plans explaining in detail that their purpose is and long term positive effects of them doing these activities and programs to help build better relationships and increase knowledge between communities. Kids and water conservation and the environment. I feel pretty okay that most of the lessons i have found have the same view or objective that we as a group are focused in our research to build and research for fun interactive ways to teach kids about water conservation with hope that we make a bigger impact in their lives and future life that they become grown adults who care for the clean water and safety of the environment. As of now my one thing that makes me a little nervous is the time I have to teach kids in the water fair cause I have so many ideas and activities I would love the kid to do at the water fair but time is so short. I’m now at the point where I’m working to build on what I got from all the lessons I research and build a lesson that can be taught in less than 15 minutes that the kids are actually going to understand and make it fun for them. I think once the water fair is over and I see how the kids react and do the activity, I can better edit or modify the future lessons to build a folder that they can use for the after school program. I would like to have more opportunities to communicate or visit our partners before we do the water fair so I can get time to edit and ask questions to some of their teachers. Maybe get to ask them if they could look over my lesson plan and give me some feedback, because there’s always room for improvement in the lessons.