Pedagogical Arts

Flora & Fauna on the OCC Campuses

8/21/2014

flora:
flowers: daisies, black-eyed susans, Queen Anne's lace, cardinal flower, goldenrod,
milkweed
grasses, forbes, ferns
trees: sugar maple, silver maple, buckthorn,
giant puffballs, bearded mushrooms,

cabbage whites

fauna:
birds: blue jays, turkey vultures, redtail hawks, cardinals, swallowtails, ruby-throated hummingbirds
mammals: whitetail deer, coyotes, raccoons, opossums
reptiles & amphibians: chorus frogs, bullfrogs, leopard frogs, American toads
insects: crickets, cicadas, mosquitoes, monarch butterflies

other aspects of ecosystems on this vicinity: pollinators, flood plains, prairies, old growth forests, invasive species, migratory paths

0 Comments

Soundwalks

8/21/2014

0 Comments

Have you ever been on a soundwalk? Here is a definition by Hildegard Westercamp: "A soundwalk is any excursion whose main purpose is listening to the environment. It is exposing our ears to every sound around us no matter where we are. We may be at home, we may be walking across a downtown street, through a park, along the beach; we may be sitting in a doctor's office, in a hotel lobby, in a bank; we may be shopping in a supermarket, a department store, or a Chinese grocery store; we may be standing at the airport, the train station, the bus-stop. Wherever we go we will give our ears priority. They have been neglected by us for a long time and, as a result, we have done little to develop an acoustic environment of good quality."

During our session today we will talk about how you might integrate a soundwalk into a class you teach.

Links:

Chicago Phonography

Midwest Society for Acoustic Ecology

"Soundwalking" by Hildegard Westercamp (Simon Fraser University)

Vancouver Soundwalk Collective

World Listening Project

0 Comments

Resources at OCC

8/21/2014

0 Comments

Here are some resources at Oakton that pertain to this workshop, for you and your students:

Ecology Club at Oakton Community College

Ken Schaeffer, Groundskeeper at OCC
"Oakton Community College aims to root out European buckthorn" by Phyllis Benson (Chicago Tribune, 3/14/2008)
"Volunteers Help Restore Preserves: Local People Receive Nature Conservancy Awards" by Carri Karuhn (Chicago Tribune, 10/15/1996)

0 Comments

Creatively Interacting with Nature at Oakton Community College

8/21/2014

0 Comments

Fall 2014 Orientation Week Session
Thursday, August 21 (12:30-2:00 p.m.)

This workshop session responds to the question, “Remembering that Oakton's campus is home to many non-human species, how do we sustain these relationships?” I will share several examples of how I have integrated aspects of the natural environment into class curriculum I have used. Participants will share examples of nature-related curriculum that they have used in classes they have taught, and we will brainstorm other examples. Here are several examples I will share with the participants: 1) soundwalks as engaging awareness-building and writing activities; 2) environmental-themed projects as part of a service learning-integrated class; 3) Poetry reading and writing activities that resonate with the natural environment at Oakton’s Des Plaines and Skokie campuses.

A few questions to get us started:

Do you integrate aspects of the environment and/or Oakton Community College's natural surroundings into any courses you teach? If so, how?
What are some aspects of OCC's natural environment that you can identify? (e.g. buckthorn, frog choruses, etc.)
What are some good books, movies, websites, and other resources that can be used -- to integrate aspects of OCC's campus and natural environment into a class you teach?

0 Comments

Flora & Fauna on the OCC Campuses

Soundwalks

Resources at OCC

Creatively Interacting with Nature at Oakton Community College

Archives

Categories