The value of EE as part of preservice teacher training

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The value of EE as part of pre-service teacher
training

• Pam Keiper
• John Carroll University

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How much do you know???

• Glass
• Ohioians recycle 60,000 tons of glass annually
• Job in this industry in Ohio produce 18 million
  in wages
• Recycling of glass in Ohio saves 54,000 barrels
  of oil or said another way it saves 162 billion
  BTU of energy use and reduces greenhouse gas
  emissions by 6 million tons

• Al cans
• The energy saved by recycling one aluminum can is
  enough to run a television for three hours.
• In three months, Americans throw away enough
  aluminum to rebuild the commercial air fleet.
• Americans threw away half a million tons of
  aluminum last year, worth nearly 800 million.
• The energy needed to replace the aluminum cans
  discarded in the United States each year could
  power a city the size of Atlanta for a year.

From www.dnr.state.oh.us
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My Story
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So. Why should you teach EE to your pre-service
teachers??

• Cheeky answer Its in the standards! Its on the
  test.

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What's the overarching goal of education?
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My Answer

• To produce life-long learners who can critically
  examine the world around them and make choices in
  their personal and professional lives that are
  responsible to other living organisms, to other
  people and societies, to themselves, AND to
  future generations of living organisms (human and
  otherwise).

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What the world has to say .

• institutions of teacher education fulfill vital
  roles in the global education community they
  have the potential to bring changes within
  educational systems that will shape the knowledge
  and skills of future generations. Often education
  is described as the great hope for creating a
  more sustainable future teacher education
  institutions serve as key change agents in
  transforming education and society so that such a
  future is possible. (UNESCO, 2005 Guidelines and
  recommendations for reorienting teacher education
  to address sustainability. p. 11)

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So

• Are we preparing our teachers to take on this
  task of educating for the future?
• OR
• Are we preparing them to teach to the test?

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Stats about Ohio (based on Meredith, et.al. 2002)

• University faculty recognize their shortcoming
  in the area of EE as ½ rated themselves a poor or
  not at all effective
• Barriers to including EE
• No state requirement or licensure category
• Lack of time to incorporate EE into an already
  tight program

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Ohio University Faculty (based on Meredith,
et.al. 2002)

• Expertise in EE is lacking
• 45 have never heard of NAAEEs Guidelines for
  Initial Preparation of Environmental Educators
• Only 2 of full time faculty specialize in EE

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EE in the pre-service curriculum in Ohio (based
on Meredith, et.al. 2002)

• Only 4 institutions have a major or minor
• Most of the institutions rely on science
  disciplines to teach EE (such as biology)

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Is science education the same as environmental
education?

• NO!!!
• Science education is a part of EE.

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What is EE?

• is a process involving life-long learning as we
  come to understand the complexity of our natural
  world and environmental issues, using various
  approaches for individual and societal
  decision-making based on knowledge integrated
  from various disciplines, and resulting in our
  own attitudes and action strategies to make a
  difference in the world.
• EECO, et al., 1999

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What does it look like in the classroom?

• Knowledge understanding of subject matter
• Skills high level thinking processes
  communication skills inquiry included

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What does it look like in the classroom?

• Attitude values analysis clarification of
  individual group attitudes values
• Behavior taking action, individually and
  collectively, based on previous three. Linking
  todays action with future consequences

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Characteristics of EE

• Interdisciplinary and holistic
• Values-driven
• Critical thinking and problem solving
• Multi-method
• Participatory decision-making
• Locally relevant
• Action oriented
• A Life-long learning process
• Interdisciplinary
• Based on accurate and factual information
• Presented in balances unbiased manner

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EE goes beyond the standards.
Society an understanding of social institutions
and their role in change and development, as well
as the democratic and participatory systems which
give opportunity for the expression of opinion,
the selection of governments, the forging of
consensus and the resolution of differences.
Environment an awareness of the resources
and fragility of the physical environment and the
affects on it of human activity and decisions,
with a commitment to factoring environmental
concerns into social and economic policy
development. Economy a sensitivity to the
limits and potential of economic growth and their
impact on society and on the environment, with a
commitment to assess personal and societal levels
of consumption out of concern for the environment
and for social justice. UNSECO,2005
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Parting thought

• Planet earth is a tough old bird. Shes survived
  many changes in climate, natural disasters, mass
  extinction, and more. The big question is will
  the human species survive????
• EE is all about being good stewards of the earth
  so that WE as a species can survive.

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Contact me

• Pam Keiper
• Associate Director
• Center for Mathematics Science Education,
  Teaching Technology
• John Carroll University
• 20700 North Park Blvd.
• University Heights, OH 44118
• 216-397-4598
• pkeiper_at_jcu.edu

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References

• Guidelines and Recommendations for Reorienting
  Teacher Education to Address Sustainability from
  the United Nations Education, Scientific and
  Cultural Organization. Available from
  http//unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001433/14337
  0E.pdf
• Journal of Education for Teaching international
  research and pedagogy Special Issue Teacher
  Education for Sustainable Development - Volume
  33 (2) May 2007
• Pre-service Teacher Preparation in Environmental
  Education A Current View. EETAP Resource
  Library. May 2004 Number 117 http//eelink.net/eet
  ap/info117.pdf
• Ohio EE 2000 A Strategic Plan for Environmental
  Education in Ohio This report is available from
  Office of Environmental Education, Ohio EPA, PO
  Box 1049 Columbus, OH 43216-1049 [phone]
• Best Practices for Environmental Education
  Guidelines for Success This report is available
  from Office of Environmental Education, Ohio EPA,
  PO Box 1049 Columbus, OH 43216-1049 (614)
  644-2873 Also available at http//www.wpa.state.oh
  .us/other/oeef/oeemain.html
• Meredith, Joyce, et al. Environmental Education
  in Ohio Preservice Teacher Education A research
  report, June 2002. Available at
  http//eeco-online.org/publications/pdfs/eeohio/pr
  eservice.pdf
• Lin, Emily. Trend of Environmental Education in
  Canadian Pre-Services Teacher Education Programs
  from 1979-1996. Canadian Journal of Environmental
  Education, 7(1), Spring 2002. pp 199-215