It’s Time for Science Podcast Episode 14: Back to School Readiness

This month on It's Time for Science, it's time to talk about going back to school! Host Tom Racine talks with Dr. Anne Farley Schoeffler, the president of the National Middle Level Science Teachers Association, and award-winning outside educator Rachel Arbor. Dr. Anne Farley Schoeffler is the currently the president of the National Middle Level Science Teachers Association (NMLSTA), as well as the NMLSTA Awards Committee chair. She is also a member of the Polar Educators International (PEI) council, 2024-25. Dr. Schoeffler is a middle school science teacher near Cleveland, Ohio. She believes that students learn best when they can make connections between what they are learning in school and what they experience around them. She endeavors to show students that science is not just a set of facts but a way of seeking answers to questions and trying to solve problems. She also regards environmental stewardship as one of the great challenges of our times and, therefore, encourages her students to explore and experience the great outdoors and make connections between basic science and the phenomena of the world. She and her husband and three adult children all hike, camp, and share the wonders that the natural world has to offer. https://nmlsta.wildapricot.org/ https://polareducator.org/our-community/council-2023/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/247660677828 Tom and Dr. Schoeffler discuss tips on starting back to school, formulating a plan and organizing all the various pieces you have to deal with when starting back, setting up a science classroom in advance, enhancing communication and visibility in the classroom, keeping the room fresh, starting the school year getting kids excited about science, bringing environmental science into the classroom right away, getting kids outside, and resources for teacher burn out, Rachel Arbor is the award-winning CEO of Gaia Scholastic, the New York State Lead for SubjecttoClimate, and the PK-8 Director of Environmental Education for the Garrison School District. For all of these roles, her mission is to cultivate a generation of environmentally-literate global citizens by integrating nature and environmental concepts into the learning experiences of students of all ages and abilities. She supports educational organizations in weaving interdisciplinary Environmental Education into their work through curated curriculum, Professional Development, and with community events like the PK-12 Youth Climate Summit. Her work challenges students to make connections--with themselves, with each other, and with nature, across content areas. A former outdoor educator, she trains teachers across the country on how to re-shape their curriculum through an environmental lens. Her educational and professional pursuits focus on bridging the gap between Mainstream and Environmental Education. Ms. Arbor's many awards and accolades include: Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators (2024); U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Award (2024); NMLSTA Paul DeHart Hurd Award (2024); STANYS Excellence in Science Education Award (2023), and many more! Social:

• Gaia Scholastic website
• LinkedIn

Tom talks with Ms. Arbor about setting up for a new year, being at least a day ahead of the students, being planned out but flexible; setting up the classroom for YOU as well as the kids, connecting to student’s individual SEL needs, lessons and activities to do right off the bat, connecting to what the kids see in the real world (including pop culture, fashion, etc), tailoring lessons for your local area, interdisciplinary programming, addressing teacher burnout, including Ms. Arbor's own struggle with work/life balance, and the environmental education work Ms. Arbor does with her own company Gaia Scholastic as well as SubjectToClimate, a nonprofit with a mission to make climate change teaching and learning accessible to all. It’s Time for Science! To get in touch with us, whether to offer some feedback, ideas for future episodes or reviews, or just to say hi, send us a message at itstimeforscience@schoolspecialty.com. We’d love to hear from you! Look for School Specialty and FOSS on X and Facebook. It’s Time for Science is produced by School Specialty and the Full Option Science System (FOSS) at the Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California, Berkeley.