TCU's Andrews Institute hosts acclaimed author, naturalist to speak on journaling outdoors

Fort Worth, TX

1/29/2009

TCU’s Andrews Institute of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education is partnering with REAL School Gardens to host renowned author, artist and naturalist Clare Walker Leslie for an educational lecture on Wednesday, Feb. 11 from 5–7 p.m. in Palko Hall, on TCU’s campus. The author will also be at a book signing at the TCU Barnes & Noble Bookstore from 1-3 p.m. on the same day.

For more than three decades, students and teachers have benefited from Ms. Leslie’s innovative workshops and presentations around the country. Her books, Nature Drawing: A Tool for Learning and Keeping a Nature Journal, are key components of numerous outdoor education programs.

Leslie advocates getting children to record in their journals the different kinds of animals they encounter throughout the day, the number of trees in their schoolyard, the plant life they observe. These activities allow for the intersection of varying academic subjects with outdoor education, such as English, math, reading and geography.

“We are very fortunate to be able to partner with REAL School Gardens to bring Clare Leslie to TCU. Our elementary education students are especially excited because they have been using her book, Keeping a Nature Journal, as a guide for keeping their own nature journal in the science methods course. Being able to meet and interact with this dynamic woman is exactly the type of additional educational experience the Andrews Institute wants to help provide for science teachers.” said Dr. Molly Weinburgh, William L. & Betty F. Adams Chair of Education and director of the Andrews Institute of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education.

At the Feb. 11 event, Leslie plans to give TCU students, faculty and alumni a variety of strategies and tips to help children get the most from journaling. “I just want them (students) to get to know where they live. I want them to think about, list and describe the animals and plants in their town, to consider how they are all part of the web of life – from the two-legged to the four legged to the six-legged – to understand that they live in their town too.”

Originally invited as a guest of REAL School Gardens, the Andrews Institute invited Ms. Leslie for an extended visit to TCU. REAL School Gardens is a non-profit organization devoted to establishing gardens in elementary schools across the nation, with the goal of connecting young children with nature. The organization currently works with more than 28,000 students in 54 elementary schools in North Texas.

The Andrews Institute of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education was established as a collaborative venture between the College of Education and the College of Science & Engineering to address, among other things, the issues of training and qualifications for both pre-service and in-service teachers in mathematics and the sciences. The mission of the Andrews Institute is to provide an environment for innovation and change in mathematics, science, and technology education through creative research and teaching by faculty and students at TCU.