Joey Cobb, Sandy Muzquiz and Jacob Bartok

The team’s innovative teaching idea, “Outdoor Garden Classroom,” is focused on providing a total of three outdoor classrooms for the Meadows Elementary School garden. Students involved in the program will have an opportunity to learn through a hands-on teaching approach. The team’s goal is for this approach to help keep students engaged in the learning process, ultimately leading to a greater understanding and retention of the lessons. Students will also have access to a covered outdoor area in the garden and teachers will be able to utilize the garden to help teach classes related to healthy eating, gardening, composting, math, science, language arts, reading, and more. The hot climate in Texas currently prevents classes from using the garden during all seasons and especially during hot afternoons. By providing a shaded area for lessons, the garden will now be accessible year-round and all day.