Peggy Billing and Laure McCloskey

Billing’s and McCloskey’s innovative teaching idea, “STEAM Field Day,” is a day that provides students the opportunity to interact through outdoor-designed cross-curricular activities. The field day is designed for high school and elementary school students from diverse cultural and economic backgrounds to develop a sense of community, belonging and cultural understanding through academics. The school forest will serve as the classroom that provides a venue for students to incorporate fresh air and movement while applying standards-based learning objectives. It also emphasizes the understanding and appreciation of nature while implementing STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) -based lessons and activities that the team believes will benefit students academically, socially and emotionally.