ED5911 FOREST REMNANT FIELD TRIP Connecting children with nature: The influential work of Joseph Cornell

Written by Hilary Whitehouse, July 2012

The care of rivers is not a question of rivers but of the human heart. Tanaka Shozo The movement to reconnect children to the natural world has arisen quickly, spontaneously, and across the usual social, political, and economic dividing lines.
ORION magazine, March/April 2007

Introduction
Our field trip module explores the work that you can do with adults, teenagers, young and very young children to focus their attention on the non-human world and develop an appreciation and empathy for the many living things that share our planet, and whose existence now depends on human care. We will base the activities around the work of Joseph Cornell and his Sharing Nature Program, which is full of ideas to make learning fun, experiential and memorable. There is a newly developed body that you can join, the Children and Nature Network (CNN) and there is a body of social research, which underpins this international educational movement. Joseph Cornells work precedes the CNN by at least 20 years, and his ideas have permeated much environmental education practice over that time. You may have encountered some of his ideas when you were a student at school. Joseph Cornells global program is called Sharing Nature Worldwide. See the website: http://www.sharingnature.com Joseph Cornell has published a series of Sharing Nature books for teachers that have been very popular. There are published by Dawn Publications, which has additional publications for young children and free teacher resources. If you decide use the Sharing Nature materials for the major assignment, then please make full use of the resources suggested for further learning which are posted online. The two hands-on activities for our field trip are the classic, direct contact activity of getting to know a tree, and the Camera Game.

1. Developing empathy for others.

In January 2012 I attended the NZAEE conference in Hamilton New Zealand and had the pleasure of hearing Joseph Cornell speak. I also attended his workshop in the Hamilton Gardens. This module is based on my conference notes, further reading and synthesis of my experience learning directly from Joseph Cornell, one of the most highly regarded nature educators in the world today. Practical and pedagogically brilliant, Josephs techniques and tools for inspiring young children, primary aged children, adolescents and adults really work. We are concentrating on young childrens learning needs. The pedagogic aim is to develop in children the concept of stewardship for the beautiful earth that gives us life. Joseph Cornell argues that ecology is not just a science it is an experience. Children not encouraged outside for teaching and recreation at school, for many reasons, often administrative and legal, but also founded in the view school is for rational intellectual training. But experiential education is what counts in developing a feeling for the earth and for developing a sense of responsible stewardship. Fortunately, young children are very open to experiences. Experiences are what count, such as butterfly watching, listening to birds calling, listening and seeing. We are not very good generally at really looking for long periods of time. A famous study conducted in America asked how long do people really look at things? One object of study was the Grand Canyon in Arizona, which is a phenomenal landscape with lots to look at. Researchers observed people at a key visitor site and found less than five percent of people looked at the canyon for more than 30 seconds before fiddling for their camera. Ninety five percent of people looked at the vastness and oldness of the Grand Canyon for less than half a minute. We know that information is not enough to develop an ethic of care and develop full feelings of empathy. Caring is a feeling. Cornell agues Western society is doing a good job of working the science and science is a wonderful means for deepening our understanding in so many ways. Science enables us to observe and describe accurately what and how things are. But we also need feeling. We are feeling individuals and young children feel very intensely. For humans, it is as important to feel, as it is to know. Feeling is how we embrace life. There are many sustainability issues that we need to solve in this century but we need enthusiasm for people in order to solve these issues. Cornells work is to encourage a very deep connection with the non-human world and develop goodwill and caring feelings for others. Cornells program aims to focus childrens attention, provide structured activities and is designed for groups of 20 to 30 children. As it is based wholly on pedagogically sound, experiential methods, it is very engaging and, consequently, very few behavioural problems emerge when doing this kind of work with children. The aim is to increase attentiveness, encourage greater receptivity, provide more absorbing learning experiences and encourage deeper reflection working with the energy level of the group to gain teaching and learning momentum.

The activities develop thinking not just in a selfish way, but help children to learn to think of others and to expand their self-identity to include care of others and the places they (we) live in. Maturity is the ability to relate to anothers realities. Cornell argues that the 19th century idea that the highest aim of education is developing a sense of sympathy for life can be reclaimed in 21st century. We dont want to make environmental education so overwhelming for children that they turn away. In the early years, environmental education for sustainability is NOT about burdening the child with all the inherited problems of pollution, extinction, climate change etc. In the early years the MOST important thing to so is to spend time developing a childs feeling of the power of life, the positive approach is absolutely necessary - a sense of joy, wonder and enthusiasm should always permeate the experience. The established economic relationship is that we protect nature to protect ourselves. Cornell argues that we, as educators, need to go well beyond instrumental values and encourage feelings of connectedness and is-ness. Cornell says the feeling of beyond-ness is highly necessary to human psychological wellbeing. In undertaking this type of program, you are building the foundation for care and empathy. Your job as the educator is to develop childrens and youth and interested adults understanding of the ecological concept of interrelatedness between all living things. You are building the foundation for a well-lived life, a life of care and empathy, awareness and understanding. There are very strong links to social and emotional wellbeing, to honouring childrens innate passion for animals and plants, and to turning out better human beings in the long run. While I talk mainly about children here, this activity will work just as well with adults as you will see.

2. Flow LearningTM explained

Joseph Cornells outdoor teaching strategy is called Flow Learning TM. There are four stages of learning: (1) awaken enthusiasm, (2) focus attention, (3) experience directly and (4) share inspiration. As you know, the concept of flow is the state of being/feeling when we are fully inside and engaged with learning and doing, when we are concentrating in a fully mindful way. You dont have to achieve flow to be able to undertake the pedagogy successfully, but the pedagogy is designed to make flow happen in the right circumstances its an inspirational name to give a pedagogical program. As Cornell reminds us, the word education comes from Greek meaning to draw out or to bring forth. The Flow Learning stages are tools for enabling a person to come to a direct experience of others (nature) as quickly and efficiently as possible. The four stages are an intent-full way of teaching and learning for awareness. For a short overview of Flow Learning go to: http://www.sharingnature.com/flow-learning/stages.php 3

For a summary of each Flow Learning stage, go to: http://www.sharingnature.com/flow-learning/flow-learning-chart.php

2.1. Stage One: Awaken Enthusiasm Stage One is lively, dynamic and concrete. The purpose is to foster enthusiasm and allow children to be carried by their own and their classmates enthusiasms. As people decide in the first few moments whether they like something or not, game-based learning for young children can immediately create a rapport between them and the chosen subject for learning. Lots of information is learned in a relaxed way when children are sharing with each other and with you. This stage is playful, where you undertake fun filled activities to create a lively flow of energy. Stage One Builds on children's love of play Creates an atmosphere of enthusiasm Creates a dynamic beginning that gets everyone saying, "Yes!" Develops full alertness, overcomes passivity Creates involvement Gets attention (minimizes discipline problems) Develops rapport with the leader Creates good group dynamics Provides direction and structure and prepares for later, more sensitive activities

Games include the Animal Clue Game, Animal Clue Relay, What Animal am I? Animal-Animal, Animal Scramble, the Getting Acquainted Questionnaire, the Noses Game, Nature Bingo and Build a Tree. The Build a Tree activity is on You Tube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yK80_d8tObE Animal-Animal is demonstrated on You Tube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqwszagVjfo Dont get put off by the American setting of these videos (or the reminder of Josephs status as an educator). These activities work and do so in profound ways. Adopt these ideas for your own circumstances and contexts. There are many useful websites that document animals endemic to your locale. 2.2 Stage Two: Focus Attention The next stage of Flow Learning is to Focus Attention, which develops childrens ability to be receptive. Activities encourage children to become better observers, to be more attentive to what is; for example, the activity (game) Sound Mapping helps children tune in and listen closely to what is happening around them. In the Sound Mapping activity, children to be very quiet, close their eyes, and listen to all the sounds they hear in a 5 to 10 4

minute period. You then ask children to say what they have heard. Ask them questions such as: How many different sounds did you hear? Which sounds did you like best? Which sounds did you like least? What sounds have you never heard before? Do you know what or who made the different sounds? This is an excellent activity for building vocabulary and use of descriptive words. You can ask children to name the sound (noun naming word) and then ask them to describe the sound (adjective describing word). A similar attention focussing activity is the game I Can See where children are asked to observe and say what they see around them. This can be done inside or outside (or both ). Similar strategies such as giving each child a hand held magnifying glass and asking them to look at bugs in jars, the shape and movement of worms, the texture of different leaves, work directing childrens attention and help them enjoy being receptive and attentive. All activities you use in this stage of Flow Learning are deliberate strategies to focus childrens attention and help them develop longer attention spans. Stage Two Increases attention span Deepens awareness by focusing attention Positively channels enthusiasm generated in Stage 1 Develops observational skills Calms the mind Develops receptivity for more sensitive nature experiences.

2.3 Stage Three: Direct Experience The third stage is where children directly experience, where the aim is to help children to have an absorbing experience where they feel more united with others. Once young children have had their interest and energy awakened and focused, the next stage is to more deeply experience real plants, animals, fungi, skies, light, earth, water and soil. These absorbing, experiential activities can have a dramatic long-term impact. The types of games help children explore and experience an inner sense of belonging and understanding. Cornel puts it this way: If people are to develop a love and concern for the earth, they need these direct experiences; otherwise, their knowing remains remote and theoretical and never touches them deeply. Now, direct experience usually means going outside the classroom and into play areas and school gardens and experiencing what is there. If you are feeling bold and feel prepared to tackle the paperwork, you can take children to a local park, environmental reserve or animal experience place (such as a petting zoo or butterfly house). But you dont have to. These direct experiences can be conducted within school grounds, and you can encourage children to say hello to a tree, and a bird in a tree every day in the places where you teach. We are going to do the Camera Game and a modified version of Get to Know a Tree, which are both stage three experiences. (See the next section of this

document.) Stage Three activities also focus attention, but are more personal, concentrated visual, auditory and tactile experiences.

Stage Three Recognises that children learn best by personal discovery Gives children direct, experiential, intuitive understanding Fosters wonder, empathy and love Fosters personal commitment to ecological ideals.

2.4. Stage Four: Share Inspiration The fourth stage is very important because it encourages children to share their experiences through story telling. The introduction to the activity is as important as the activity itself because stories are so important in human life. Invite children in to consider the value of their experiences and to share their experiences. Research has shown it is not enough just to have an experience. To make value from experiential work, we have to do active (and formally staged) reflection together (children and adults alike). Cornell says that, In our fast-paced world, students and teachers alike often rush from one activity to another. Yet taking the time to reflect upon an experience can strengthen and deepen that experience. It need not take long. It can be as simple as responding to a few questions, writing a journal entry, or drawing a picture. Noting that Goethe said, "a joy shared is a joy doubled, do not miss out on this stage! This is where you are encouraging children to create long terms memories from this learning sequence. Activities help children to be more attentive, calmer, less lethargic, whatever, hopeful anticipation that you can keep learning dynamic and calm. The Flow Learning stages are NOT a rigid system, you dont have to go through the stages in a direct linear way, you can cycle and recycle through activities, especially for young children in groups, as you cater for the children you have and their age and abilities. The important thing is to cover the four stages, which are all creative and inspiring activities to make ecological concepts come to life through structured activities. Stage Four Clarifies and strengthens personal experiences Builds on uplifted mood (sharing learning is pleasant and happy) Creates group bonding Increases learning for everyone Provides feedback for the teacher, who shares their inspirations too.

2.5 Assessment of ecological and empathy learning

The formal ways in which we are now asked to assess and report on childrens learning do not include evaluating an increase in empathy, increased attentiveness to what is around us or increased feelings of care for others. Yet affective domain learning is so very important for how we live our lives and how we are able to engage with the project of social-ecological sustainability. You, as a teacher, may find that you observe an increased attentiveness in children, an increased ability to notice and describe, an increased ability to recognise the existence of others and what they do (e.g. lizard blinking at 4 metres, two birds squabbling in a high tree). But no standardised test is going to pick this up directly. However, there is a growing body of research that shows that learning activities that engage children and enable them to know more of their world, also have the result of enabling children to gain higher scores on standardised, non-affective domain assessments. This is true of all inquirybased learning sequences. So never feel that you dont have time for such inquiry, attention-focussing activities because you are under pressure to teach to a test. Children will do better on standardised tests when they have been taught to inquire, to observe, to increase their knowledge of the world, to care, to empathise and as a result, to have a much wider vocabulary and higher literacy skills. For normal assessment of learning and feedback to parents and caregivers, I suggest you keep records of childrens reflections, use digital photography of experiential learning activities, employ digital audio to record stories where you have permission to do so and always remember your job is to report in a succinct and common sense way. It is a good idea to invite parents on this journey as well. For excellent advice and strategies on how to engage parents, please see Children and Nature 2009: A Report on the Movement to Reconnect Children to the Natural World at
http://www.childrenandnature.org/downloads/CNNMovement2009.pdf

You will be quite heartened at the positive response you get from parents. (The report explains that there will be some who will never be convinced, but that the majority of parents will be with you and supportive all the way.) In most communities, there will be parents, carer, relatives, community members who will be very happy to take children on learning walks (along a beach, along a path) and share their knowledge of the natural and cultural world. Look for these opportunities to make connections with people this is what makes teaching such a rich experience.

3. Hands-on activities The Camera Game

The Camera Game is demonstrated on You Tube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3szMnj7P78Q&feature=mfu_in_order&list= UL A pdf is also available in this section. The reference is Cornell, J. (1989) Sharing nature with children 2, Nevada City, CA: Dawn Publications. pp. 105-107. Instructions: With a partner conduct the Camera Game, taking turns to be the camera and the photographer. When you are the camera, pay close attention to the images you have taken with your eyes at the direction of your photographer partner. Try and replicate those images using a digital camera. Save the best replications and post these images to the Discussion Board with a short commentary on what you learned from this direct experience. Please remember to keep the digital image file size small for loading onto LearnJCU Discussion Board

Get to Know a Tree

There is a tree that has been wanting to meet you even before the day you were born. Joseph Cornell Body memory = using our senses to remember our (any) tree. Sixth sense = sense of intuition = sense of the heart. Immersed people lose self-talk thoughts to a large degree, cuts the mental noise. Instructions There is a tree waiting just around the corner to make your full acquaintance. Locate this tree. Put your arms around it. Smell its bark. Sit beneath it (if the ants allow). Have a conversation. Look at its leaves and observe their shape and form. Observe who lives in this tree. Look at the roots. Run your hands around its base. Create a word tree from a sequence of words that express what you learned about your tree from this close encounter. Use a dictionary and thesaurus to search out just the right words to express your experience of this tree. (There may be some feelings youll find difficult to express, but this is normal.) You can use any media you wish (pen, paper, crayon, paint, cardboard, digital drawing, electronic app, leaf diagram etc.). 8

If you feel inspired, compose a tree poem. (The poem is optional but if inspiration strikes, terrific!) Take a digital portrait photograph of your new friend, the real tree (making sure the file size is small). Post this tree portrait along with an image of your word tree (and optional poem) on to the Discussion Board. Now look at what everyone else has posted. Isnt the world a wonderfully diverse place? Arent there a lot of wonderful trees with whom we have become acquainted?

The decline in childrens experience of nature will not change until a fundamental shift occurs in the attitudes and practices of developers, designers, educators, political leaders, and ordinary citizens. The enormous challenge facing us is how to minimize and mitigate the adverse environmental impacts of the modern built environment and how to provide more positive opportunities for contact with nature among children and adults as an integral part of everyday life.
Stephen R. Kellert, Building for Life (2005)

Additional Readings
1. Joseph Cornell Sharing Nature website http://www.sharingnature.com 2. YOU TUBE videos of Joseph Cornell leading activities are at http://www.youtube.com/user/SharingNatureVideo?feature=BF 3. Sue Elliott and Julie Davies (2004) Mud pies and daisy chains: Connecting young children and nature. Freely available article on Early Childhood Australia website.
http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/every_child_magazine/every_child_index/ mud_pies_and_daisy_chains_connecting_young_children_and_nature.html

4. Dawn Publications: Connecting Children and Nature Website http://www.dawnpub.com Dawn Publications is dedicated to inspiring in children a deeper understanding and appreciation of all life on Earth by providing texts, commentaries and ideas for educators. Teaching activities are produced for published books and yes there is lots of early childhood content and Australian content, scroll down the page at: http://www.dawnpub.com/downloadable-activities/ Also look at: http://www.dawnpub.com/teaching-tools/teaching-tip-archives

6. Children and Nature Network (CNN) http://www.childrenandnature.org/

The Children & Nature Network Community Action Guide: Building the Children & Nature Movement from the Ground Up The Guide describes an action-oriented process to design and implement initiatives, and is based on models that work and lessons learned in other civic initiatives in the United States and Canada. Children & Nature Network Annotated Bibliographies of Research and Studies Volume 1, February 2007, by Cheryl Charles Volume 2, June 2007, by Alicia Senauer Volume 3, September 2008, by Alicia Senauer Volume 4, September 2009, by Alicia Senauer Loge Four sets of abstracts of premier research studies, with links to original research, focused on the growing gap between children and nature, and the increasing scientific knowledge about the importance of nature experiences to healthy child development. Available for download at www.childrenandnature.org/research/ Children & Nature Network Leadership Series

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Written by renowned scholars and leaders, each of these brief articles is grounded in science while being written in a reader-friendly style. www.childrenandnature.org/downloads/CNN_L WS_V ol1_01.pdf www.childrenandnature.org/downloads/CNN_L WS_V ol1_02.pdf Children & Nature Network Web Portal www.childrenandnature.org/ The Children & Nature Network Web site provides the most recent news and information about the children and nature movement, as well as up-to-date reporting on research, legislation, best practices, and a bibliography of related books and publications. Sign up to be a member of the Network to receive monthly newsletters and news of other resources. C&NN Connect Sign up at www.childrenandnature.ning.com to participate! Become a Fan on Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Children-Nature-Network/109655118143 Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ChildrenNature Read the C&NN BLOG: www.childrenandnature.org/blog/ Join Nature Rocks and start a Nature Rocks Flock: www.naturerocks.org
For a full variety of recommended resources and tools to help support and inform the movement to reconnect children and nature, visit the C&NN Web site at www.childrenandnature.org.

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