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Articles 1 - 13 of 13
Full-Text Articles in Education
Nature-Based Education For Elementary Students With Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder, Kayleigh Morrison
Nature-Based Education For Elementary Students With Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder, Kayleigh Morrison
Capstone Projects and Master's Theses
There are several advantages to including a nature-based curriculum and outdoor learning into state standards, and the consequences of students who do not have access to outside learning and activities can be severe. The term “Attention Restoration Theory” (ART) was coined by psychology professors Rachel and Stephen Kaplan in 1989 and claims that exposure to nature can improve mental fatigue and concentration. This senior capstone examines Kaplan’s Attention Restoration Theory and academic studies rooted in its philosophy as it applies to nature-based curriculum and outdoor learning. There are certain advantages for students who are exposed to a nature-based curriculum and …
Fostering Resiliency And Care Integrating Self-Compassion Into A Graduate Course, Heather L. Burns
Fostering Resiliency And Care Integrating Self-Compassion Into A Graduate Course, Heather L. Burns
Educational Leadership and Policy Faculty Publications and Presentations
Self-compassion, which involves mindful awareness of feelings and offering ourselves compassion, has been shown to support balancing emotions, overcoming challenges, and achieving goals. This action research study integrated self-compassion theory and practice in a graduate course in which students wrote their final comprehensive papers in sustainability education. This study found that self-compassion practice resulted in more self-awareness, more acceptance of difficult emotions, and more ability to handle stress. Additionally, students experienced more clarity and calm in the writing process and began to integrate self-compassion into their lives and work. This study points to the promise of self-compassion as a beneficial …
Sustainable Polymers: New 4-H Stem Curricula, Steven Worker, Jennifer Mccambridge, Anne Stevenson, Jane Fields, Alexa Maille, C L. Meehan, Amie Mondl, Charles Malone, Martin H. Smith
Sustainable Polymers: New 4-H Stem Curricula, Steven Worker, Jennifer Mccambridge, Anne Stevenson, Jane Fields, Alexa Maille, C L. Meehan, Amie Mondl, Charles Malone, Martin H. Smith
The Journal of Extension
There are many environmental issues surrounding the global production and use of plastics. Three science curricula (Grades K-2, 3-5, and 6-8) were developed to introduce youth to the past, present, and future of plastics. Designed using research-based methods and grounded in effective science pedagogy, the curricula provide young people opportunities to explore viable alternatives to plastics and develop knowledge and skills necessary to help mitigate environmental impacts associated with the production, use and disposal of plastics. Evaluation results demonstrated that youth improved their understanding of polymers and intention to help reduce impacts of plastics on the environment.
Teaching For Transformation: Developing Agency And Solidarity Consciousness In A Critical-Transdisciplinary, Garden-Based Urban Environmental Studies Program, Pieranna Pieroni
Teaching For Transformation: Developing Agency And Solidarity Consciousness In A Critical-Transdisciplinary, Garden-Based Urban Environmental Studies Program, Pieranna Pieroni
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
This dissertation focuses on “Community Roots,” an instantiation of urban, garden-based environmental education that employs a “critical-transdisciplinary” design framework and pedagogies. The “crit-trans” construct, articulated by the Urban Environmental Studies Research Coven (Strong et. al., 2016) is offered as both a generative approach to liberatory (environmental) pedagogies with applications across the curriculum and as a form of resistance to neoliberal logics shaping educational (and other) settings. After situating Community Roots in its socio-environmental, institutional, historical and theoretical contexts, a detailed description of the course’s instantiation of crit-trans pedagogy is offered. Additionally, reflections of 14 youth and adult participants are analyzed, …
Insights From Alumni: A Grounded Theory Study Of A Graduate Program In Sustainability Leadership, Heather Burns, Megan Schneider
Insights From Alumni: A Grounded Theory Study Of A Graduate Program In Sustainability Leadership, Heather Burns, Megan Schneider
Educational Leadership and Policy Faculty Publications and Presentations
This grounded theory action research study examines the impact of a graduate sustainability leadership program through the lens of its alumni. The study reveals elements of the leadership program that had the most impact on the lives and careers of its alumni, as well as suggestions for how the program could better prepare students in the future. This study finds that impactful sustainability leadership programs might incorporate opportunities for: paradigm and perspective shifts; a culture of support and care; holistic personal growth and development; experiential community-based learning opportunities; and leadership tools and skills that students can practice and use. This …
A Retro Development In Education: Evaluating The Feasibility Of Integrating Place-Based Education Into Mississippi Curriculum Standards, Colby K. Mcclain
A Retro Development In Education: Evaluating The Feasibility Of Integrating Place-Based Education Into Mississippi Curriculum Standards, Colby K. Mcclain
Honors Theses
This thesis evaluates the feasibility of integrating place-based environmental education activities from Think Green, Take Action: Books and Activities for Kids into the Mississippi Department of Education’s (MDE) Frameworks for Science and Social Studies for K-5. As children develop and experience the world, their ability to understand and interpret the surrounding environments expand; however, Mississippi schools are not focused on experiential environmental education, even though experiencing and understanding the surrounding environment is vital in fostering eagerness to learn. Due to a growing disconnect between humans and the natural world, this thesis examined 37 place- and environment-based activities for children, sixteen …
Cultivating Ecological Literacy And Rethinking Our Connections To Nature, Sean Fretwell
Cultivating Ecological Literacy And Rethinking Our Connections To Nature, Sean Fretwell
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
In this dissertation I explore the complex, often contested, relationships between humankind and nature. I consider the changing state of these relationships as they are influenced by factors rooted in science, technology, and economics. I also examine these relationships as they relate to human activities with agriculture. Considering the present state of environmental crisis and the abundance of evidence indicating the deleterious activities of humankind as primary causes for the many global calamities, I argue for revising industrially-driven ideologies; particularly those driven by the economic paradigm of capitalism and self-interest. Additionally, I submit that a return to kinship with nature …
Advocating For Mother Earth In The Undergraduate Classroom: Uniting Twenty-First Century Technologies, Local Resources, Art, And Activism To Explore Our Place In Nature, Christina Triezenberg, Ilse Schweitzer Vandonkelaar
Advocating For Mother Earth In The Undergraduate Classroom: Uniting Twenty-First Century Technologies, Local Resources, Art, And Activism To Explore Our Place In Nature, Christina Triezenberg, Ilse Schweitzer Vandonkelaar
The Hilltop Review
Despite the growing evidence of humanity’s impact on the natural world and the urgent need to shape citizens who understand the impact that their choices and actions have on their local and global environments, colleges and universities throughout the United States have been slow to add environmental education as a core component of their undergraduate curricula. Harnessing our shared interest in environment issues and the humanities, we designed and taught an experimental course in environmental literature for the honors program at Western Michigan University that we hope will become a template of what is possible in postsecondary environmental education. Using …
Going Green: A Parent-Teacher Collaboration, Laura Sametz, Claire Mansfield
Going Green: A Parent-Teacher Collaboration, Laura Sametz, Claire Mansfield
Progressive Education in Context
Details how a collaboration between a teacher and a parent in the Bank Street School for Children led to a school-wide composting program.
Exploring German And American Modes Of Pedagogical And Institutional Sustainability: Forging A Way Into The Future, Lindon N. Pronto
Exploring German And American Modes Of Pedagogical And Institutional Sustainability: Forging A Way Into The Future, Lindon N. Pronto
Pitzer Senior Theses
Rooted deep in Germany's past is its modern socio-political grounding for environmental respect and sustainability. This translates into individual and collective action and extends equally to the economic and policy realm as it does to educational institutions. This thesis evaluates research conducted in Germany with a view to what best approaches are transferable to the United States liberal arts setting. Furthermore, exemplary American models of institutional sustainability and environmental education are explored and combined with those from abroad to produce a blueprint and action plan fitting for the American college and university.
Educators' Attitudes Toward Outdoor Classrooms And The Cognitive Benefits In Children, Carlie Speedlin
Educators' Attitudes Toward Outdoor Classrooms And The Cognitive Benefits In Children, Carlie Speedlin
Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses
A case study was organized at a K-5 elementary school in Lincoln, Nebraksa. This school is Saratoga Elementary School and is a United States Title I Distinguished School1 under No Child Left Behind. It has a population of 266 students, with 47% being minority, 1% gifted, and 28% special education (LPS School Profile Brochure). 80% of the student population is eligible for free/reduced meals, implying that it’s a school with a lower socioeconomic status. At this school a garden space was constructed and an after school garden club was implemented for this case study. The club had been running since …
In Our Own Backyard: Critical Theory And The Development Of The San Jacinto Center For Environmental Education, Susanna Hamilton, Darleen Stoner, Randall Wright
In Our Own Backyard: Critical Theory And The Development Of The San Jacinto Center For Environmental Education, Susanna Hamilton, Darleen Stoner, Randall Wright
Journal of Critical Issues in Educational Practice
This research addresses the topic of nature centers from a critical theory perspective. This research assumed in part, the question: what are the characteristics of a functional and successful nature center that includes environmental education goals and programs? Nature center administrators from across the United States were surveyed and asked to share their opinions on this topic. Six overall characteristics pertaining to management and vision were identified through an exploratory mixed‑method design. Other components of these characteristics were discovered during the analysis of the data, and include factors such as approaches to education. Recommendations for improving nature centers and their …
Teachers' Concerns About Implementing Environmental Education Through Their Classroom Programmes, Karen Malone
Teachers' Concerns About Implementing Environmental Education Through Their Classroom Programmes, Karen Malone
Theses : Honours
This study examined the concerns of teachers when implementing environmental education into classroom programmes. A metropolitan district of Perth was used for data collection. Four schools and thirteen teachers participated in the study. The measure of concern was calculated using the Stages of Concern Questionnaire. The concerns were then subjected to a SAS computing analysis· programme to determine the relationship between level of concern and predetermined factors. These factors were personal factors: teaching experience; knowledge of the principles of environmental education; colleague support and year level taught; and school-level factors: the presence of school policies; participation in inservices or workshops; …