Theory
and Practice in Environmental Education
Environmental
Studies 146
Mondays
1:15-4:15
Broad Center
208
|
Professor:
Paul Faulstich Broad Center 214, ext.18818 paul_faulstich@pitzer.edu |
 |
Office Hours:
Tuesdays
9:00 to 11:00
INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE:
PURPOSE AND CONTENT
This course will provide an
exciting opportunity for you to assist in teaching elementary school children
from diverse backgrounds about environmental concerns in our community. It is a component of the Leadership in
Environmental Education Partnership (LEEP) designed to provide hands-on lessons
in ecological issues, including habitat restoration, pollution prevention, and
environmental justice. We examine
innovative approaches to outdoor learning, and explore the theory and
implementation of effective environmental education.
Theory and Practice in
Environmental Education is a service learning course in that you will learn not
only through classroom instruction, but in your service to the community. The rewards and the demands of this course
will be great: as both a student and an instructor, you will have a significant
voice in the direction of your learning, the opportunity to make a positive
difference in the community, and the empowerment to increase ecological
literacy. And you will have fun! You also will be expected to work hard, to
challenge yourself, to strive for excellence, effectively teach kids about nature,
and to critically evaluate the goals of education. This course is designed to
be a significant component of Pitzer’s Social Responsibility Guideline, which
requires each Pitzer student to participate in a service learning
activity. Upon completion of the
course, students will be certified to utilize the Project Learning Tree, Project
Wild, and Project WET resource materials.
As David Orr (the author of
one of our texts) points out, our ecological crisis cannot be solved with the
same kind of education that helped create the problems in the first place. The way
education occurs is as important as its content, and in this course you will be
exploring effective alternatives to classroom learning. You will become a significant person in the
education of a group of elementary school children; you will guide them in
self-discovery, and help them make their own connections between things in the
world and themselves.
Leadership in
Environmental Education Program (LEEP)
This semester, LEEP will
enable approximately 130 children from four elementary schools in Pomona and
Claremont to study ecological and environmental issues at the Claremont
Colleges’ Bernard Biological Field Station.
During eight-week units held over the semester, classes of children will
visit the field station to study local ecosystems. Working under your guidance, the children will conduct
environmental science projects at the station’s outdoor laboratory and will
learn about regional ecological concerns.
They also will engage in cooperative problem solving and activities that
build environmental responsibility.
The field station, used
primarily by Claremont Colleges’ students for field research, is an 85-acre
parcel where the ecological interactions of plants and animals can be studied
under natural conditions. The station harbors a variety of ecosystems including
an aquatic habitat, a riparian zone, coastal oak woodlands, vernal pools, and
coastal sage scrublands and includes a number of threatened Southern California
native species. LEEP will enable school
children, many of whom have limited access to natural landscapes, to learn
about the ecology and biology of Southern California ecosystems. By working you, students will develop values
and skills that will enable them to become successful stewards of the land and
leaders in their communities.
Participant schools have been selected, partly, on the basis of the
ethnic diversity of students they serve.
In addition to providing
school children with much needed environmental education, you will expose them
to the college endeavor and serve as a role model and mentor. Heightened self-esteem, leadership, and the
ability to see themselves in the college setting are among the positive impacts
of the program. As you can see, your
role is this course is decidedly an active one, and your engaged, passionate
participation is vital to the success of this project.
At the end of the semester
the participating schools will share the results of their learning with the
larger community through an exhibition of their journals, photographs, art, and
experiments in connection with the project.
Along with community leaders, parents, and educators we will celebrate
the learning and community impact of our collaborative effort.
AIMS OF THE COURSE
You will be expected to gain
mastery in environmental education. You
are expected to develop, through this course:
|
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
One of the best ways to learn
a subject is to teach it. Hence, you
will immerse yourself in designing and implementing an outdoor, environmental
education program. Your learning will be cooperative as well as self-driven,
and your motivation, passion, sense of responsibility, and engaged, active mind
are critical to the success of this course.
Students work in teams to
develop and implement an environmental curriculum. Since you will be not only taking
this course, but teaching as well,
you must be prepared to devote significant time to LEEP. You will work in small groups on
semester-long projects to develop outdoor education programs at the field
station. In addition to our weekly
class meetings, you will need to coordinate meeting times with your team
members, and be available to lead weekly excursions at the field station. (The schedules for these will be worked out
early in the semester.)
You are asked to fulfill a
number of objectives, including:
|
You are expected, also, to
keep a journal of your experiences and a portfolio of your activities. This will be a place to reflect on the
successes and failings of your projects, to play with ideas, to develop
activities, to collect class notes, and to be candid and self-reflective.
Your final grade will be
based on your engagement in class and contribution to your team (I will ask for
peer evaluations of your involvement in the group project). Participation will count for 50% of your
grade. A mid-term paper and final group
presentation and report will constitute the remaining 50%. Since the ability to effectively teach
others is an expression of mastery in this course, your effectiveness as an
educator and the originality of your curriculum are also bases for
evaluation. I will also invite the
participating teachers to evaluate your performance. Final grades will be based on a comprehensive assessment of your
engagement in this course.
FINAL THOUGHTS
We are unlikely to succeed
in appreciating and restoring the natural environment if we lack the knowledge
and passion to restore human communities.
Together with the participating elementary schools, this course will
address both of these critical concerns.
Revitalizing communities is key to ecological health and social harmony.
The Leadership in Environmental Education Partnership will foster values
of community involvement and land stewardship among children, college students,
and educators. Your participation in this partnership will
be a gift to the community and challenge to yourself.
|
Required Texts: Project Learning Tree Environmental Education
Activity Guide
Project WET Curriculum & Activity Guide
Guide to the Bernard Field Station Field
Project WILD K-12 Activity Guide
Project WILD Aquatic Guide
Earth in Mind, David
Orr Reading Packet |
 |
Schedule
| DATE | TOPIC | READINGS |
| Jan. 22 |
Introduction to the Course; Field Station Walk-Through |
|
| Jan. 29 |
Introductory Workshop: Project Learning Tree Project WILD Project WET |
Earth in Mind, Part One Reading Packet, "Education in a Changing World" & "Getting to Know your Students" Guide to the BFS, "Introduction" |
| Feb.
5 |
Pedagogy Workshop Sharing the Joy of Nature Pond Life Coastal Sage Scrub |
Reading Packet, "What is Interpretation?" & "Practicing Interpretation" Guide to the BFS, "Geology" & "Climate" |
| Feb. 12 |
Preparation for Classroom Visits |
Reading Packet, "How to Prepare |
| Feb. 19 |
What is Education For? Ecology Animal Behavior Workshop: Project Learning Tree |
Earth in Mind, Part Two Reading Packet, "Educational Reform" & "Beyond Ecophobia" Guide to the BFS, "Vegetation" (VP 1-15) |
| Feb. 26 |
Teacher’s Perspectives Watersheds Ethnobotany Workshop: Project WILD |
Earth in Mind, Part Three Guide to the BFS, "Bryophytes," "Arthropods," "Amphibians," "Reptiles," "Birds," & "Mammals" |
| March 5 |
Cultural History Nature Awareness Team Conferences Mid-Term Assignment Distributed Workshop: Project WET |
Earth in Mind, Part Four Reading Packet, “Earth Education” |
| March 12 | Spring Break; no class | |
| March 19 |
Environmental Restoration Mid-Term Paper Due |
Reading Packet, "Education in Change" Guide to the BFS, "Lake Organisms" |
| March 26 |
Childhood Experiences Using Narratives Tracking & the Art of Seeing |
Reading Packet, "The Primary Years" |
| April 2 |
Team Reports Ecological Art |
Reading Packet, "Toward an Ecological |
| April 9 | Class Hike | |
| April 16 | Environmental
Education; What are the Pieces? |
|
|
April 24 April 28 May 1
|
Student Presentations LEEP Open House Celebration
|
 |