Activities in Action!
A room full of people holding their stomachs and covering their mouths, passing each other colds and viruses may sound like a strange activity, but we've discovered that it is an effective way of familiarizing participants with water. In "No Bellyachers," a Project Water Education for Teachers (Project WET) activity, participants are reminded of how viruses can spread through sneezing. They join in a game of "No Bellyachers Tag" to simulate how diseases spread throughout a population. . In "Poison Pump," another Project WET activity, students travel through time as detectives and learn about water-borne diseases.
"These activities show how illness-causing bacteria and viruses are spread by water or water droplets," explains Adinda Villianueva, Program Director at the Center for Environmental Awareness and Education (CEAE). "People forget that although water can give us life and health, it can also produce negative effects for people. Through ‘No Bellyachers’ and ‘Poison Pump,’ students learn all about the characteristics of water in a fun way, and can immediately associate the game with what is happening in reality."
Project Water Education for Teachers Curriculum and Activity Guide offers many more award-winning interdisciplinary environmentally educational activities designed for educators of Kindergarten to High School students. The goal of Project WET is to facilitate and promote awareness, appreciation, knowledge and stewardship of water resources through water-related activities that are hands-on, easy to use and FUN!
"People's relationships to water are seen in all the activities in Project WET," says Boyd Pickup, CEAE's Director for Networking and Marine Chemist. "The programs help us understand everything about water, addressing even its chemical and physical properties, quantity and quality issues, aquatic wildlife, ecosystems and management strategies."
Hand in hand with Project Learning Tree (PLT), Project WET has been one the most widely used environmental education programs in the United States, and its use has immediately caught on in a number of countries around the world.
In the Philippines, Project Water Education for Teachers is distributed by the Center for Environmental Awareness and Education (CEAE). CEAE is a non-stock, non-profit organization that aims to bring environmental education to both formal and non-formal educators in the country.
"We want to go straight to teachers in advocating for a better environment for our future. Environmental awareness and education is a major concern in nation building, and our children, through their teachers, are those who make a conscious effort in achieving a sustainable future," shares Jukka. "When better to start caring for the environment than while still young and in school. Through Project WET we are building a whole new generation - a generation that knows ‘how’ to think, and not ‘what’ to think. Now that's critical thinking!"
WET evolves around the newest educational reform tools, focusing on the teacher as a facilitator for learning. This modern approach steers away from the traditional method of teachers passing down knowledge to their students. With Project WET, the teacher's role is to stir and bring forward the students' innate creative ability to learn. Although the activities are scientifically based, they do not necessarily have to be taught in a science class. They can be used for literature, the arts, social studies, math, history, geography and even physical education.
"The Incredible Journey" is just another fun activity that teaches us about the water cycle. In the activity, students pretend to be water molecules and with the toss of a dice, learn how water travels within and around the earth. This is a scientific concept. However, an English teacher may want to use this activity for a writing class students can write a literary essay about their incredible journey as a water molecule. At the same time, students learn about the movement of the water cycle and the states of water as it moves through the cycle.
Another scientific concept that students may find difficult to apply is cohesion and surface tension. Through "H2O Olympics", another popular Project WET activity, students compete to be the first to make water overflow from the cups. This activity usually keeps participants at the edge of their seats. A hands-on activity where students' participation is engaged will guarantee learning.
Project WET is currently enjoying a huge internationally following. Over half a million formal and non-formal educators all over the world have been trained to use Project WET. In the Philippines, CEAE has had over 350 participants from academic and non-academic institutions in less than 6 months since training started.
Water and its resources are important to our region's future and the future of our children. Water related issues continue to evolve and will grow more critical as we move further into the 21st century. The answers to our water related problems lie in our sensitivity to and knowledge of water and water resources. The Project WET program will teach the next generation to care for this life giving resource, and prepare them for environmental sustainability in the next century, keeping in mind that learning and learning to care can be fun too!