Product Focus- Using a Learning Garden

 Student driven learnig garden.

"A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness; it teaches industry and thrift; above all it teaches entire trust."

-Gertrude Jekyll

“Tasks students are assigned and the activities students are encouraged to undertake are clearly linked in the minds of the teacher and the students to problems, issues, products, performances, and exhibitions about which the students care and upon which students place value.”

-Phil Schlechty

"If schoolwork is to have coherence and meaning for students, the activities students undertake must focus on a product, performance, or exhibition that transforms meaningless activity into engaging work. Creating engaging work for students is the first step in Working on the Work. Indeed, this creative act makes it possible to design work for students rather than to simply plan activities for them to do."

-Phil Schlechty

GISD LEARNING GARDENS

A learning garden is a Product Focused way of teaching not only STEM Concepts but, real world lifetime learning. Producing a sustainable learning garden for the school and the community can result in many positive results.

• School Learning Gardens = More Successful Students

  
  

  • 15% test score increases

  • Schools have seen standardized test score pass rates increase between 12% - 15%. Science scores saw the largest increases, placing students on a path for success in a professional job market that increasingly requires STEM skills.

   

  • 84% of students engaged

  • 84% of students had high levels of engagement in math and science while using a learning garden. 
  
  

  School Learning Gardens = More Effective Teachers

  
  

  • 91% better prepared

  • 91% of teachers report that a learning garden program made them better prepared.

   

  • 100% job satisfaction increase

  • Teachers in the learning garden programs report they were satisfied with their position increased more than 100%.

   

  • 5 times more time teaching outside

  • Educators with a learning garden were 5 times more likely to spend substantial time using the outdoors for academic instruction.
  
  

  School Learning Gardens = Healthier Happier Children

  
  Additional studies show:

• Hands-on lessons get students learning more and working better in groups.
• After gardening, students know more about nutrition, and choose healthier snacks.
• Gardening reduces symptoms of ADD and ADHD.
• School gardens reduce student stress levels, and increase self-esteem, problem solving, motivation to learn, and interest in improving the environment.