Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Influences Of Environmental Education Programs On The Participant's Affinity For Nature, Justin Alan Schmillen

Master's Theses

This study was conducted to determine the change, and the factors influencing the change, in the participant’s affinity for nature resulting from an environmental education experience. In addition, this study also examined the change and factors of change in aspects of the participant’s affinity for nature that directly relate to marine and coastal resources and environments. An adapted version of the Affinity for Nature scale, an outcome measuring instrument used by the American Camp Association was used to collect data from participants (n=529) at Rancho El Chorro Outdoor School and Camp Ocean Pines, whose experience included an overnight component and …

Urban Elementary Students' Views Of Environmental Scientists, Environmental Caretakers And Environmentally Responsible Behaviors, Patricia Lynne Horne

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to determine the nature of the relationship between urban elementary fifth graders, environmental workers, and the environment. The study examined 320 urban fifth grade elementary students' drawings of environmental scientists (DAEST) and environmental caretakers (DAECT). Additionally, semi-structured interviews were included to elucidate student illustrations. The study's sample represented one-third of all fifth graders in the mid-Atlantic school district selected for this research. Approximately 5% of participants were chosen for follow-up semi-structured interviews based on their illustrations.

A general conclusion is some of the stereotypes, particularly related to gender, revealed in prior research (Barman, 1999, …

Assessing The Effect Of Simulation Models On Systems Learning In An Introductory Environmental Science Course, Heather J. Skaza

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

While there is plenty of anecdotal evidence within the systems dynamics community supporting the use of systems simulations in the classroom to improve student understanding, there is little published, controlled, experimental research. This paper describes the results of a paired experiment testing the effect of using system dynamics simulations to increase systems understanding in an introductory environmental science course. We believed that the students using the systems simulations would demonstrate a greater systemic understanding of environmental issues than those who did not.

We conducted an experiment during the fall semester of 2009, with 304 students enrolled in four sections of …