Igniting Critical Thinking

Teacher Betsy Farrell-Messenger holding chickens for a student's hands-on learning.

There is one very creative teacher at BROWN SCHOOL in Schenectady, NY. Her name is Betsy Farrell-Messenger and she teaches Sixth Grade Science, or as she likes to call it, Engineering By Design.

She might start out with a selection of items, like a plastic bag, a seashell, some sea water, and a container of oil. Then she starts her students brainstorming about how all of these items are connected. There is testing of these items involved, then students learn about how what humans do affect the environment around them. Proposed solutions follow. Betsy might be on her way to developing the next generation of scientists to solve some of the major environmental problems that this world faces.



And that just one piece of the curriculum. Some of the classroom interactive learning has led to students devising a way to remove styrofoam disposables from the school cafeteria. And Betsy and her students filmed the process, so they could teach others how to use activism to make changes.

Since Brown School also has an afterschool enrichment program, Betsy oversees the gardening program. But it's not just planting/harvesting. The project turned into designing a Mindful Garden to transform an old concrete playground. That set off a flow of student creativity and the space became a peaceful place for outdoor learning, designed for both teachers and students.

Why does Betsy Farrell-Messenger use this approach to stimulate student thinking? As she says, "School should be a place where self-discovery happens through meaningful and relevant topics that encourage critical thinking and problem solving. There should be a feeling of life, work, play, and pride." It's also the scientific process in action in the classroom. It isn't memorization; it's using the scientific process to learn.

This year Betsy's students have become engaged in running imaginary nonprofits; it's the framework upon which this year's curriculum rests. Although it is, at this time, a simulation, students are utilizing the framework to address social issues that are impacted by the scientific process. Imagine the skills that this group of students are learning and using! There are also plans for the future to convert this simulation framework into a real problem-solving mechanism.

It's almost a boardroom atmosphere when students get together for the simulated nonprofits.

Thanks to this article from Pollination Project: https://thepollinationproject.org/grants-awarded/betsy-farrell-messenger-brown-school-schenectady-ny/; this article from Institute For Humane Education: http://humaneeducation.org/blog/2014/12/11/humane-education-activity-making-connections-creating-solutions/; and this article from Times Union blog: http://blog.timesunion.com/giving/igniting-imagination-in-youth/2394/#29816101=0.

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