Biosite Blog Post Gabriella Lasserre

Going into biosite, I was unsure of what to expect. I had never done training to teach other students like it before. When I came to the first meeting, we had a fun activity where we analyzed different parts of trees and nature specimen. It was really interesting to learn that a lot of the things we were observing, even the little things, all contributed to our environment in the main picture of things. This was  really eye-opening to know some of the harmful things that are endangering our environment and wildlife. Human activity plays a big role in that, and our environment would be so much cleaner if we took the steps to actually nurture out plants and animals. Little things like recycling, picking up after eating, and not leaving the faucet on all help so much in keeping the environment healthy and tidy. I got to understand this by working with my group on teaching the students about watersheds. My group was Vivian and Jessica, and I absolutely enjoyed being able to have this teaching experience with them. They were really collaborative and great with keeping the students intrigued and related to them and what they were learning often in the lessons. The groups of kids we taught were all very respectful and cooperative, which my group and I really appreciated as teachers. They asked questions and let us know if they weren't quite grasping a certain concept in the lesson. It was important that they communicated things like this to us so we could give them a more informative and memorable instruction. My favorite part of the watershed lesson was when we sprayed the model watersheds we drew and watched the runoff water mix with the marker on the paper. The kids got really excited and were laughing and having fun with us. If I had the opportunity to teach more kids in biosite again, I would love to take up the offer. Not only did I learn valuable teaching skills, but I also learned how to communicate in ways that different types of learners would understand. In addition, I acquired knowledge in how we can keep the environment we are in safe and in exceptional shape. Overall, biosite taught me valuable things about nature and the science of it around me and how to communicate about it to others, no matter the age of the audience.