Tag Archives: field science

The Power of Immersion: Why the Environmental Science Semester Works

People have heard of experiential education.  This is the educational practice in which learning is enhanced and made meaningful by engaging with and working with the subject matter, as opposed to just reading or hearing about a topic.  The Environmental Science Semester takes experiential education to a new level and requires a different name. We’re calling it immersion education–students are immersed off campus and in the field only in the study of environmental and marine science topics for ten weeks.  

Students will live and breathe glacial geology, climate science, marine ecology, and oceanography day in and day out.  It will seep into their pores.

The immersion educational experience has led previous ESS participants to report that they not only remember and understand so much more of what they’ve learned on the ESS compared to normal classes, but they can also remember when and where they learned most of it.  

When I return in October, I won’t return with the same students I left with.  They won’t be the same people – they will be transformed into confident students and practicing scientists who have shared an experience that bonds them to each other and to our team of faculty for a lifetime.  

We’re off on another ESS!  And I couldn’t be happier!

         Dr. Johan Erikson

 

The Clown Car

On Saturday morning we arrived at the Maine State Pier to finally begin the trip that we have been planning for the past several months (well probably last minute, like this week).  As more students arrived, as did the amount of bags. With our two Thule boxes, one cargo rack, and a very minute amount of extra van space, we began to speculate if we would EVER fit in at all! After Mother Bobby cooked up some breakfast sandwiches on our camping stove on the pavement, so began the stuffing bonanza.

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We watched as our parents and professors struggled to fit more than three bags into each Thule. It was clear that we were all bringing just about a year’s worth of supplies. Parents began to place “bets” of how far we would make it before losing a wheel. Even some saying, “well, if you guys flip the van, at least we know you’re not moving too far,” poking fun at the tightly packed van.

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Regardless of comfort, all faculty and students have made it to The Schoodic Education & Research Center safe and sound. Now we are all much closer figuratively and literally. Now let’s start off this amazing adventure!

– Erin Wright-Little