From canopy to classroom: Connecting forest wildlife research to classroom exercises for middle school students

Abstract

There is a widening gap between student’s attitudes towards the utility of science and their achievement and career choices within science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Every year, students at Tenino Middle School in rural Tenino, Washington take a multi-day school trip to Cispus Learning Center where they participate in various outdoor activities. We collaborated with Tenino Middle School teachers to contribute to the student's experiences at Cispus Learning Center and achieve four objectives. First, we aimed to demystify what a scientist is, what it takes to become a scientist, and some of the pathways to get there. Second, we wanted students to become familiar with some of the phases of the research cycle, particularly aspects of data collection, processing, and analysis. Third, we wanted students to be able to relate to the data in a meaningful way and to be able to use these data for classroom exercises throughout the school year. Fourth, we wanted them to have fun! Our hope is that for some students our efforts either serve as a catalyst to form a connection or help nurture an existing connection with natural resources surrounding their community and beyond.

Citation

Finch, Savannah R.; Duarte, Adam; Brown, Donald J.; Duarte, Jennifer J. 2026. From canopy to classroom: Connecting forest wildlife research to classroom exercises for middle school students. The Wildlife Society. The Wildlife Professional, Fall 2026. 20(4): 32-37.