Jim Bentley

Change Agent, Educator/Teacher, Environmentalist, Explorer, Filmmaker, Idea generator, Parent, Producer, Writer/Editor

Jim Bentley is an educator, member of the PBLWorks National Faculty, a National Geographic Explorer, and a National Geographic Education Fellow. Bentley works with 5th-grade students, using project-based learning and the National Geographic Geo-Inquiry Process to integrate core curricula with environmental literacy, civic education, and storytelling projects. Students use photography, audio storytelling, filmmaking, and G.I.S. tools to share stories that matter. Bentley's students have explored a variety of topics: mapping inland plastic waste to reduce marine debris, landscape blight, light pollution, household hazardous waste disposal, and space debris. Bentley has spent the past two decades exploring big ideas with young people—sometimes leading, sometimes following, yet always recognizing there’s more to learn.

Integrating project-based learning across the curricula to build authentic learning experiences is important to me. Learning by doing is the motto of my alma mater Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. In our classroom I try to find interconnections between core academic subjects with real-world issues.

We photograph a lot of bugs in class. Oh, and other things, too, like seeds and flowers, portraits of ourselves, or trash we collect as we map how marine debris can flow from a suburb like Elk Grove to the Pacific Ocean, a little over 100 miles away. Photography is just one tool I use in my 5th-grade classroom to connect science, math, and art with reading, writing, and the social sciences. I dislike the labels "teacher" or "educator." I prefer "lead learner" or "Explorer." Education has a long history of swinging on a short pendulum between different initiatives. In my classroom, I focus on employing research-based pedagogy and thinking routines that, over the long term, can empower and transform students to become independent, lifelong learners. When we "do" math, we do more than learn "how" to add decimals or fractions. We apply mathematical understandings to design and build plant presses or create maps that measure counts and concentrations of marine debris that we interpret to take informed action. When we "do" writing, we do more than learn "how" to write a paragraph or story. We craft personal narratives that we transform into recorded and edited audio stories. We transform scientific learning into "sciku" and two-voice poems, or craft expository text to accompany ArcGIS StoryMaps. My classroom looks different from many others. My philosophy of education is shaped by my parents, who were my first teachers, and my undergrad experiences at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. As a child, I often tagged along on educational outings with my parents' elementary school classes. When my dad taught ecology, geology, and hydrology, he would take his entire class to Yosemite National Park for a week of immersive learning experiences he designed. When my mom taught marine science, she would take her entire class to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for a packed day of hands-on exploration. Learning by doing became a part of my educational DNA early in life. That continued at university. I was first a business major studying economics, then transferred to the School of Agriculture, where I studied natural resources management. I completed my education in the School of Liberal Arts as a social sciences major studying geography, anthropology, sociology, and political science. My interests, knowledge, and skills are diverse. And I feel this has best prepared me to help others explore the world so that they might understand it and help to make it a better place.

Civic Education, critical thinking, filmmaking, Geo-Inquiry Process, GIS, literacy, macro photography, media literacy, professional development, project based learning, Teaching, Writing

Grilling pizzas on a BBQ