Browsing by Subject "Environmental education"

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Assessing the Impacts of Field Days for Youth
(2007) Seidel, Wayne; Liukkonen, Barb; Meyer, Nathan
This is a 30-slide Powerpoint (pdf format) abbreviated content presentation that assesses the value of and education program with outdoor field days for children. The program is not identified, and a narrative report of this study could not be found. The slides show a variety of activities (forestry station, conservation station, research station, etc.) with small classes rotating between them. There are no accompanying notes, and the PPT slides are in bullet-point format. The authors note that a short survey and focus groups were done with learners and their teachers. The study makes the following conclusions: “Students remembered details and concepts; All participants valued event; Clear evidence of learning and behavior change; Opportunity & willingness to more fully integrate event with classroom work; Regular evaluation will help improve the program” The following implications were listed: Following Best Practices can help improve learning and stewardship; Single-day field day events can have both short- and long-term impacts; Regular evaluation will help improve the program.”
Best practices for field days : Assessment tool and observation protocol
(St. Paul, MN: University of Minnesota Extension Service, 2009) Carlson, Stephan; Heimlich, Joe; Storksdieck, Martin; Meyer, Nathan
Best Practices for Field Days: Factors That Influence Students’ Learning in an Environmental Field Day
(St. Paul, MN: University of Minnesota Extension Service, 2009) Wang, Hui-Hui; Carlson, Stephan
A field trip is a common strategy used by educators to bring out-of-school learning experiences into schools. Many research studies suggest a field trip will not only bring an individual close to the real-world, but may also increase an individual’s environmental knowledge and responsible behaviors. Therefore, many environmental educators use field trips as a tool to strengthen their in-school curriculum. Thus, program evaluations usually focus on the predetermined outcomes, such as increasing environmental knowledge and responsible behaviors, which were decided by environmental educators and program designers. Students rarely have active voices in program evaluations. How do students evaluate their field trip experience? This study focuses on students’ prespective and the factors that influence students’ field trip experience. In this study, we found that an interesting and fun learning environment is a critical criterion, which students believe can increase their satisfaction level, can help them focus on field day activities, and can contribute to their learning in an out-of-school experience.
Developing environmental citizens through 4-H shooting sports/wildlife : minnesota 4-H shooting sports/wildilfe studies, part 2.
(University of Minnesota Extension Service, 1995) O'Brien, Kimberly; Carlson, Stephan
The Effect of Environmental Charter School Participation on the Environmental Literacy Levels of 6th Grade Students
(2012) Poliseno, Jennifer A
This study lies in the need to better understand EE’s contribution to fostering environmental literacy of young students. In the coming years, students will be called upon to understand complex environmental issues and make informed decisions in their private and public lives. All this comes at a time when young people are less connected to the natural world (Mertz, 2010). This study used the Middle School Environmental Literacy Survey to explore the environmental literacy level of 6th grade students at an environmental charter school. The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of environmental charter school participation on the environmental literacy levels of 6th grade students.
Elementary teachers' perceptions of environmental education.
(2010-12) Bengtson, Karen Jo Maier
Efforts to develop and implement environmental education (EE) in classrooms across the United States need to be grounded in understanding teachers' perceptions of EE. A case study format was selected as an effective means of eliciting a wide range of the teachers' perceptions and capturing an in-depth elaboration of the complexity and internal consistency of those perceptions. The research questions for this study are: 1) What are the participating elementary teachers' perceptions of EE? 2) What are the participating elementary teachers' perceptions of ideal EE? 3) What are the participating elementary teachers' perceptions of the reality of teaching EE? And 4) How do the individual participating teachers' three types of EE perceptions misalign? Case studies of four elementary classroom teachers from the same school building were constructed from survey questions, interviews, and resource materials. Analysis and interpretation of the data were conducted using two sets of descriptors, strength and development, of the identified themes. The major implications of this study include (a) efforts supporting the implementation of EE need to account for the context that exists in the school, and how the structure of the school interplays with the implementation; (b) the need for teacher professional development in EE with considerations for teaching context, teachers' personal EE connections, and variability in teacher understanding, and (c) the complexity and diversity in the expression of teachers' EE perceptions needs to be attended in EE implementation efforts, as well as in research exploring teacher perceptions of EE.
An Evaluation of the Wolf Ridge Student Teacher Program: Past Participants' Perspectives
(2016-04) Factor, Mary Elizabeth
The Wolf Ridge Student Teacher Program (WRSTP) has been in existence since 2004, yet no evaluation has been conducted regarding the potential impacts on participants who have completed the program. Through interviewing eight past participants with experience teaching within the formal classroom, this evaluative study investigated the influence of the WRSTP on instructional methods utilized and the inclusion of several aspects of environmental education into their formal environments. The common and relevant themes that emerged included: participants utilizing aspects of environmental education in terms of experiential and social learning; school culture significantly influencing how teachers utilized program components; and a shifting outlook on formal and non-formal education after program completion. Overall, the WRSTP has been effective in terms of offering guidance in instructional methods used to teach aspects of environmental education in the formal setting. Recommendations for the WRSTP were provided, and areas for future research were noted.
Exploring your environment : Group activities. Helper's guide
(Univeristy of Minnesota Extension Service, 2002) Hartz, Carrie; Carlson, Stephan
Exploring your environment : Youth activity guide. Level 1, Eco-wonders
(University of Minnesota Extension Service, 2003) Hartz, Carrie; Carlson, Stephan
Exploring your environment : youth activity guide. Level 2, Eco-adventures
(University of Minnesota Extension Service, 2002) DeMarco, Laurie; Carlson, Stephan
Exploring your environment : youth activity guide. Level 3, Eco-actions
(University of Minnesota Extension Service, 2002) Hartz, Carrie; Carlson, Stephan
Fostering "Connectedness to Nature" through Digital Photo Journaling: A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Environmental Education Curriculum for Upper Elementary Students
(2012) Zwickey, Kara C
In Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder, Richard Louv (2005) described a shift in our relationship to the natural world. On average, today’s youth spend 6.5 hours a day with electronic media (Driessnack, 2009; Roberts & Foehr, 2008). While this technology has expanded access to the virtual world, it has also attributed to an ever-widening divide between today’s youth and the natural world (Louv, 2005). The Department of the Interior (DOI) initiative Youth in the Great Outdoors and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) priority Let’s Go Outside: Ensuring the Future of Conservation emphasize a need to foster environmental connectedness in America's youth (Department of the Interior, 2010; U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, 2010a). The purpose of this study was to explore the use of digital photo journaling as an environmental education method for fostering connectedness to nature among upper elementary youth. A digital photo journaling curriculum was developed, piloted, and evaluated in the Prairie Science Class (PSC) at Prairie Wetlands Learning Center (PWLC) in Fergus Falls, MN.
The Inclusion of Environmental Education in Formal Education through the Use of Educational Technology, a Study of Project Noah
(2015-07) Arthur, Augustus, Jr
The purpose of this survey research is to find out the effect of the use of technological tools in the teaching of lessons in Environmental Education in the formal classroom. This study will use the example of Project Noah and will examine the learning outcomes of students by collecting quantitative data and assessing attitudes towards nature and the environment using open ended questions. Project Noah is a tool to explore and document wildlife and a platform to harness the power of citizen scientists everywhere. Project Noah seeks to go beyond the ordinary structure where web administrators provide all data and information to the crowdsourcing model where users are responsible for data that is provided.
Journeying through despair, battling for hope: the experience of one environmental educator.
(2011-06) Andre, Elizabeth Kathryn
Environmentalism and environmental education can lead people to experience feelings of despair as they learn more about the severity and complexity of environmental challenges. Environmental educators often grapple with questions of how to remain hopeful without being naively optimistic and how to balance professional responsibilities with personal doubts about the efficacy of the field and the sustainability of the human enterprise. Using tools of autoethnography, this study examines the experience of one environmental educator as she struggles with these questions. Insights come from literature in education, cognitive psychology, sociology, medicine, theology, and philosophy.
Mentoring Relationships in Angling Education: Expert's Perspectives on the Essential Components of a Successful Mentoring Program
(2012) Ryan, Daniel Paul
The purpose of this study was to identify what experts in the field of angling education believe a mentoring program should encompass. The study gathered angling educators’ perspectives in an effort to identify what they believe a mentoring program in angling education should entail so that it leads to increased participation and responsible stewardship behavior. This research is relevant to outdoor educators and recreation professionals as it may identify a tool for increasing participation in angling. It may be possible to adapt the tactic to other types of nature-based outdoor recreation.
Nordic in nature: friluftsliv and environmental connectedness.
(2011-05) Beery, Thomas Harold
This study explored the question of whether a relationship exists between the Nordic cultural idea of friluftsliv and the psychological construct of environmental connectedness. This quantitative study employed a correlational design with existing data from the Swedish Outdoor Recreation in Change national survey. Results indicate that there is a significant and meaningful relationship between nature-based outdoor recreation participation and environmental connectedness even when controlling for other predictor variables. In addition, research findings indicate that age group moderates this relationship with one group exception. It was also found that activity participation by respondents shows a correlation with both environmental connectedness and age group. Implications of this study support a cultural understanding of nature-based outdoor recreation and an awareness of the important role of access to nature as an essential component of nature-based outdoor recreation. Age group differences supported a variety of implications and recommendations for future research. A consideration of how the results may have implications for environmental education and sustainability efforts in Sweden and the U.S. was explored.
The North Shore Curriculum Assessment Final Report
(2007) Smerud, Peter
This document describes the results of a project to assess the needs of teachers and schools regarding coastal resources and environmental education in the Minnesota coastal zone. A survey was carried out on K-12 teachers at 55 schools in the coastal zone, and a series of community meetings was held. Key findings are extracted and reproduced below. “The majority of surveyed teachers stated that they are quite comfortable teaching environmental education lessons in their classroom, resulting in one of the higher rankings (4.20) given in any area of the survey. This is supported by the fact that 77% of the teachers from this survey stated that they teach outdoors and 68% of them are currently using an outdoor school site. These numbers seem to indicate that many schools have an outdoor setting in which to teach. This is supported by the lowest ranking (2.83) for environmental education resource needs of obtaining an outdoor school site. The teachers seemed to indicate that they were knowledgeable in the content areas of environmental education with the positive rankings in every area (all above 3.0). The teachers in this survey rated that their greatest level of knowledge was among the area of outdoor recreation. This area is an integral part of our region and many may have gained experiential knowledge that would support this finding. Teachers indicated that they were more knowledgeable (3.70) about general environmental issues (climate change, acid rain, etc.) rather than specific issues relating to the coastal zone, (fisheries, forestry and development). Specific coastal zone issues was rated the lowest (3.02) in this category. The data showed that a moderate number of teachers were unaware of many of the existing environmental education curricula. The data also showed that many teachers were aware of the listed curricula, but did not use them presently in their teaching. Overall, of the teachers that did indicate they used these curricular resources, there was a relatively low rate of usage of these resources, all with rankings below 2.50. Specific coastal resource management issues were ranked as the highest level of need in terms of a specific content area, which seems to correlate with the prior result that showed this area to be ranked as the lowest item in the teachers’ level of knowledge. Other needed content areas that were ranked highest in this category were aquatic ecosystems, birds, current interaction of humans upon natural resources (an area similar to coastal resource management issues), historical interactions of human cultures upon natural resources, earth sciences and wildlife. 93% of surveyed teachers responding that they teach about the environment, it was surprising to note that only 38% of them use the identified published EE curriculum. Instead, many teachers (46%) have developed their own curriculum to teach about the environment. In addition to teaching about the environment, a majority (64%) of the teachers are taking their students on field trips to Environmental Learning Centers or Nature Centers. However, most of these field trip opportunities are happening only once or twice during the school year. The data also revealed that 19.6% of the surveyed teachers are teaching about the environment every week, which seemed to be a high percentage given the number of respondents. The outcomes and knowledge gained from this project are to be used to assess the needs of environmental education curriculum in the coastal zone and subsequently make recommendations for future funding and efforts that best meet the needs of coastal area schools and educators.”
Philosophical Orientation to Adult Learning: A Descriptive Study of Minnesota Environmental Education Practitioners
(2009) Zoellick, Erin
Adult education and environmental education (EE) are well-established, separate fields whose intersection requires further research and understanding. To reach the adult audience, EE practitioners throughout the state of Minnesota offer adult EE programs that work toward a variety of EE's goals. This study explored the adult education philosophical orientations of Minnesota EE practitioners using The Philosophy of Adult Education Inventory© (PAEI). As a result, this study also addressed the relationships of adult education philosophical orientation to position, training, and experiences of EE practitioners. Results inform EE practitioners' strategies for designing and delivering adult EE programs.
A Quantitative Assessment of the Presence of Stereotypes of Environmental Educators Among Public School Principals
(2011) Haugen, Connie
The purpose of this study was to establish a first step in identifying how public school principals, perceive environmental educators. This study drew heavily upon stereotype research in the field of social psychology. In attempt to determine if principals stereotype environmental educators, a self-administered online survey was conducted. It followed a very specific assessment format created by McCauley and Stitt (1978) in order to collect data that could be analyzed quantitatively by using the diagnostic ratio. The results showed that 10 of the 15 traits represented in the survey were stereotypes. Those attributes were: progressive, science-minded, liberal, choosing species over economy, idealist, activist, tree-hugger, self-motivated, logical and choosing people over the environment. It is interesting to note that the attribute ‘people over the environment” represented a negative correlation. Based on the implications of the traits represented, the results can be interpreted to show that there is a framework of ideas that principals had in their head when they thought about environmental educators. Knowing if principals have stereotypes about environmental educators could provide insight into why a particular school may, or may not, embrace environmental education.
Taking aim at youth development : Minnesota 4-H shooting sports/wildilfe studies, part 1.
(University of Minnesota Extension Service, 1994) Carlson, Stephan; O'Brien, Kimberly

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