Right Place, Right Time
“NO WAY! I love Shape of Life!” It makes us very happy every time we hear this.
Especially when it’s totally out of context. Like, while waiting to purchase a car. I didn’t know Sabrina was a science teacher or that she was familiar with Shape of Life. Heck, I didn’t know Sabrina at all. Until now.
Sabrina teaches at a unique public charter school on the campus of Cabrillo Community College in Aptos, CA. Delta high school’s’ mission provides ‘an environment where teens work with adults in an atmosphere of trust and responsibility to develop personal accountability and life skills.’ Delta’s proximity to Cabrillo is a huge advantage with access to excellent resources.
“Our students have a wide range of reasons for being at Delta. Some due to social issues, some medical issues, some want to go to Cabrillo College. Some students just want a small setting with smaller class sizes,” said Sabrina. “I have been so grateful to work at Delta Charter where I am able to teach cool classes like Marine Invertebrates.”
While teaching the Marine Invertebrates class, Sabrina introduces each of the phyla in order of their evolution. “Shape of Life has the greatest introductory videos and lesson plans for each phylum,” said Sabrina.
3D in Sabrina’s Classroom
One of Sabrina’s favorite Shape of Life lesson plans is Shell Shocked. “Our students learn the different defense mechanisms shells have and then they classify shells based on these traits. After this lesson, I teach students about hermit crabs. (We have hermit crabs in our classroom).”
Sabrina’s students create their own 3D model of a shell in a Tinkercad program. Students then print the shells for the hermit crabs in their classroom. “The last time we did it, we planned on putting the shells in the tank where the crabs are. We wanted to see if they would wear them. Unfortunately, we had a hard time extracting the printed support structure in the internal shell. Since then, I have received great advice on how to use a Dremel 3D slicer to further refine the internal shell structure. We’ll give this a go in our next attempt.”
Deep Dive into Science
Sabrina hopes that science education can move more into Individualized Education Plans (IEP). “I like it when students can focus on hitting their self-directed milestones. They appreciate being able to direct their focus on subjects that really interest them. It always results in a more gratifying experience for them,” says Sabrina.
Sabrina sees how students respond to their local environment every time she gets them out into the field. “I take students out into tidepools and on incredible excursions every chance I can. We have collected data for the Limpets Program and have gone on field trips to the Long Marine Lab of UCSanta Cruz, Monterey Bay Aquarium, and Elkhorn Slough,” says Sabrina.
Seeing is Protecting
Sabrina accepted her position at Delta under the prerequisite that she would be able to teach conservation in every class.
“I feel successful when kids become curious about marine animals to the point where they want to protect them,” said Sabrina. Sabrina teaches the impact of climate change in all lessons.
“We’re so fortunate to live here. Our students have a heightened awareness of the advantages of where they live. The Monterey Bay coast is exceptional. We all see, firsthand, how everything we do has an impact on the ocean.”
Like us, Sabrina’s students are in the right place at the right time.
