With Ernesto Rodriguez of Nature in the Classroom
What is Attention Restoration Theory? Why do fractals in nature calm us and improve our focus? How can educators incorporate images of nature into lessons? Nature in the Classroom (NitC) installs crystal-clear images of trees (often with the sun peeking through the branches) on classroom ceilings, much to the benefit of educators and learners. NitC’s Founder and Executive Director Ernesto Rodriguez joined us to unpack the reams of research in medicine that support the use of natural images for improving mental health, while explaining the exciting research NitC is about to undertake with Dr. Richard Taylor from the University of Oregon. Ernesto also shared multiple anecdotes about the effectiveness of showing nature images to learners and those recovering from illnesses.
Guest (from www.natureintheclassroom.org):
Retired educator and school psychologist, Ernesto Rodriguez provided psychological services for US State Department Schools in Colombia and Saudi Arabia. He founded Ernesto Rodriguez Photography in 1988, commercial and fine art photography. His work is in the Curator’s Collection at MoMA, New York and on exhibit in the Smithsonian. In 2002 Ernesto founded Sereneview®, to bring the science of viewing calming nature landscapes to the hospital patient bedside. Sereneview® curtains are installed in over 3,000 hospitals in the US, Europe, and Australia. He is the Founder and Executive Director of Nature In The Classroom®, a non-profit that applies nature art and science to create classroom environments that support teachers and students academically and emotionally.
*Episode edited by M. Angel Goñi Avila
Episode 42: Food forest gardening
Episode 41: Farm to school
Episode 40: Placed-based education and life cycles
Episode 39: Managing eco-anxiety and ecological grief
Episode 38: Gamification for EE
Episode 37: Student-powered learning and mentorship
Episode 36: Nature-based healing
Episode 35: Watershed education
Episode 34: Inside New Jersey’s climate change ed. breakthrough
Episode 33: Unpacking environmental racism with Green Ummah
Episode 32: Teaching music and drama outside in all seasons (in Winnipeg)
Episode 31: Equity in environmental education
Episode 30: Gen Zs talk climate change, sustainability, and reciprocity in education
Episode 29: Biomimicry: Taking design lessons from nature
Episode 28: Bringing rocks and geology to life in land-based learning
Episode 27: Bananas in the classroom (and other fair-trade matters)
Episode 26: Bringing science to special ed. classrooms with PBELL
Episode 25: The future of energy, transportation, food, materials, and information
Episode 24: Green jobs for youths roundtable, Part 2
Episode 23: Green jobs for youths roundtable, Part 1
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