"It was really a way to bring the science in but also show the kids the leadership side of things and that they can make a difference even at their age. In the process, Darla says it's raising awareness of students' impact on the natural world around them while also encouraging them to take ownership. The worm composting program is not only teaching the kids about recycling and sustainability, they're also able to experience these principles firsthand by emptying their lunch scraps into the composting bins. Because they're also fast reproducers (able to reproduce once every 30 days), Darla estimates the school's colony is already up to about 30,000 worms. With her classroom's $3,000 grant, Darla was able to seed the project by purchasing three composting bins, starter materials and 6,000 "red wigglers" - worms that are ideal for composting due to their ability to consume half their body weight in food scraps every day. Now, her project is actively teaching the school's students principles in both science and entrepreneurship. So, when Darla wanted to introduce the concept of vermiculture composting to her students, she did her own digging and applied for a Koch Classroom Grant, a program created in partnership with Wichita Public Schools to fund STEM and entrepreneurial projects in the Wichita school district. In her eight years of teaching, Darla has witnessed the power of hands-on, experiential learning and says, quoting acclaimed educator Maria Montessori, "What the hands do, the mind remembers." In Darla's own experience, she has seen students - especially the younger ones - retain information better when scientific principles are made tangible beyond just lessons and photos in a textbook. "And a big part of that was because he was a little boy who didn't want to come in and sit down at a desk."
"I had a son who was not very big on school at all, and it was a real struggle to get him through school," she says. Hands-on STEM education hits close to home for Darla - it's what led her to a career in education, inspired by some of the teachers who made a difference in her sons' lives as they experienced their struggles adjusting to traditional classroom instruction. But at Wichita's Riverside Leadership Magnet Elementary, it's getting students excited about science through an experiment made possible by fourth-grade teacher Darla Brown and an educational grant from Koch. NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / J/ There's nothing quite like the sticking power of hands-on education - even when "hands-on" means sifting through fistfuls of red worms and composting material.įor some people, that's enough to make the skin crawl.
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