This curriculum project was a challenging task, but it was time well spent.

After teaching
this eco-studies unit for 15 years, I finally wrote actual lesson plans to accompany the lessons I
teach. As a unit of study that is deemed by my school district as teacher-directed, I have always
had the freedom to teach what and how I wanted. As a grade-level team, we focused mostly on
standards and embellished with other components that we deemed important in the curriculum
we created. Every year we reevaluated our lessons and would change and modify as needed. I
have taught many components in the eco-curriculum, but have mostly centered on the topics
included in my Colorado life zones curriculum. I thought writing curricular materials for
something that I was an expert in wouldnt be too difficult; I was somewhat wrong. By
focusing on the content in the Connelly and Clandinin (1988) text and using research articles to
form my lessons, I thought about what and how I teach in a whole new way.
My personal practical knowledge and personal narrative both have taken a front seat for
the last ten to twelve years that I have taught this curriculum. When I taught my first lessons in
this unit fifteen years ago and took my first eco-trip with my students, I was quite the novice.
Over time, my life and teacher experiences have shaped my lessons. My narrative began to form
in my first year, and has shaped every year since. Connelly and Clandinin (1988) stated it
perfectly when they wrote, narrative unities emerge from our past, bring about certain practices
in the present, and guide us toward certain practices in our future. As I reflect on the curriculum
I created, I recognize that so much of what I created has been shaped and modified over time.
Every year something changes, is added, or adjusted. I ask myself questions constantly even as I
am teaching a lesson in this unit. I wonder if it is working, if it isnt, did previous years students
seem more or less engaged, what I am doing differently now, what can I do better next time, etc.
The experiences I have each year during the eco-studies unit especially when it culminates with

the trip to Rocky Mountain National Park, aid greatly in not just what I teach, but how I teach as
well.
I have also found that my personal philosophy as a teacher has shaped this curriculum
extensively. I have very strong feelings about my students and their opportunities for learning
and success. My students know that I care for each one of them and that I wont give up on them
either. I hold them to high standards and expect them to always do their best. I want them to
respect each other and the world around them. We think critically about the choices we make
and ponder on the consequences of our actions. I am also quite passionate about the topics of
study I teach. I could talk and explore endlessly when it comes to eco-studies. The excitement I
have for studying our environment and how to respect, care, and interact with it is evident during
my lessons. I want my students to be fully engaged in all that we do and walk away with the
same excitement I have for the world around us. I have found that when my students know they
are cared for, they more easily want to show care for others and their environment. They end this
unit knowing that their choices are important and what they do matters.