25-12-Annual Report 2025_FINAL no bleed pages-1 - Flipbook - Page 24
CLEMSON UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
Clemson doctoral
student brings
education outside
for science classes
As a science teacher at Walhalla High School and doctoral
student in the College of Education’s teaching and
learning program, Amanda Gladys takes any opportunity
to bring her classroom outside. Much of that experience
has been in partnership with Green Steps, a program
designed to help South Carolina schools earn awards for
establishing sustainability projects where students learn,
actively engage in projects and teach others. Gladys’
doctoral studies have aided her efforts to participate in
Green Steps and vice versa.
“Taking the classroom outside requires more planning
and work, but this is a source of joy for me,” Gladys said.
“It has been really fulfilling to see avenues open up for
this method of teaching; I think students, their parents
and those who fund this kind of work find it appealing
because we’re all working toward something together: an
education that goes beyond the classroom, connecting
students to nature and real-world learning.”
Gladys designed an entire district-approved course
around Green Steps criteria and activities, so students
can enroll in the course to engage in activities such as
the water quality testing at Station Cove Falls. The water
quality test that Gladys led in April at Station Cove Falls fit
under Green Steps’ “protect” category.
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Thanks to training from Gladys, all students in the class
became Adopt-a-Stream Certified Volunteers, meaning
they can enter sampling data obtained in the field into
a citizen science online database that measures water
quality. Students look for factors such as dissolved
oxygen, pH levels and water transparency to determine
quality. Students don’t simply input the data they measure
and interpret into a website; they must also report it to
classmates and other students at Walhalla High School.
“The teach component really requires students to take
responsibility for their own learning,” Gladys said. “Any
time students have to teach what they’ve learned to
another student or a parent or an administrator, that truly
transforms their understanding.”
Gladys said the teaching and learning Ph.D. program has
exposed her to more peer-reviewed research in outdoor
learning and faculty who specialize in this area of teaching
and research. She has become more aware of the
benefits of her preferred way of teaching, which should
help her win over other educators and administrators in
the future.
