Welcome
Expedition Schnekser
Empowering students and educators through exploration and field science
About Me
Education World
I first joined the teaching world in 2006 as a fifth grade inclusion classroom teacher. I have always believed that authentic experiences yield the best and most effective learning opportunities. After all, we learned how to walk and talk by just...trying. We failed often but eventually, we learned these valuable skills and haven't forgotten them along the way. We had natural relevance, we were surrounded by people who believed in us, didn't allow us to give up, and celebrating each success along the way no matter how small! What if this mindset was the foundation for how we approach learning everyday?
I am passionate about experiential learning, especially in the style of expeditions, hence why I teach the way I teach, wrote the book I wrote, and complete field expeditions annually.
Expeditions
I come alive in the field whether it's globetrotting on expedition, outdoors on my school's campus, or in my own backyard with my family. Expeditions, journeys of exploration, are at the core of my identity. What started in 2017 as an outrageous grant pitch to the Virginia Association of Science Teachers to send me to the Peruvian Amazon as a professional development opportunity quickly became how I identify myself as a human being.
In fact, the hashtag #ExpeditionSchnekser was a direct result of collaborating with Sean Gaillard, author of The Pepper Effect, as I prepared for my first expedition to Peru back in 2018. While exploring the culture and history of Peru, I became an explorer and have not turned back since.
Book
In my experience within the education world, particularly at the elementary level, science is a subject that is often skipped in favor of reading, writing, and math. In my first year of teaching, I committed myself to changing this narrative and practice. My book, Expedition Science: Empowering Learners Through Exploration, shares my own journey, stories, and strategies to make science authentic, accessible, and elevate it to its proper place within classrooms.
It's not a book just for science, science educators, or solely educators at all. This book is about changing, reimagining, and disrupting educational practices to engage learning in authentic experiences, specifically harnessing the power of exploration to make learning authentic, fun, and filled with joy for learners of all ages. Are you a parent, administrator, educator, stakeholder in education? Then this is the book for you!
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