Environment General Courses (ENVIRON)

graduate level, taught in Durham

298.39. Applied Environmental Education and Communication

Faculty Representative: Norm Christensen
Instructors: Deborah Hall and Charlotte Clark

For the 2004-2005 academic year, the proposed environmental education course is divided into three one-credit components, all seeking to broaden the knowledge and skills of students in environmental education and communication. The one-credit fall course encompasses the workshop component, and it aims to provide tangible teaching and interpretative skills for students to use with lay audiences on environmental science topics, experience with nationally established environmental education curricula (Project Learning Tree, Project Wet, Project Wild), and exposure to some local environmental education centers. The spring course will be divided into two one-credit components, one being a seminar and the other being a teaching practicum. Details of the two spring credits will be presented in a separate memo as soon as a few details are decided.

A primary goal of the course is to set students well on their way to acquiring the NC Certificate in Environmental Education. North Carolina is the only state currently offering a Certificate in Environmental Education. It requires completion of 5 components (described in detail on the DENR web site at http://www.ee.enr.state.nc.us/Certification/ee_certification.htm) -- workshops, teaching, experiences in the out of doors with experts, familiarity with environmental education centers, and completion of an action stewardship project. Although this course does not aim for students to complete their NC Certificate in one semesters time (not possible), it does aim to give them a generous start on component I (workshops) and component III (knowledge of EE resources and facilities). Component II can largely be completed through their NSEES coursework, and component IV (teaching) can be addressed through the teaching practicum course proposed for the spring, or through volunteer service to the community now or in the future.

Structure: Pass/fail grading. This course has two 1-credit components. Evaluation will take the form class participation, exhibition of teaching skills, and written self-evaluations. (40 hours)

1) Attendance at an initial class orientation meeting. We will use speakerphone to involve interested and registered students from DUML. (2 hours)

2) We will use one weekend (all day Saturday and Sunday) to complete training in two of the three “projects” -- Project Wet, Project Learning Tree, and Project Wild, three very high quality and universally known environmental education packages. This weekend will include 12 hours of class time training. Students will spend 4 additional hours after the weekend (but during the semester) per Project teaching with the learned material (8 hours total of instructional experience). After this weekend, students will have completed 2 of the 4 required workshops for the NC certificate (the 4th one is below). Students must provide me a copy to me of their signed NC Certification Form to document completion of the workshops, and must submit a memo describing their instructional activity. (20 hours total)

3) Attendance at one Environmental Education Learning Experience (EELE) of the student’s choice. An EELE will be scheduled for the class as a benefit to the students. Each NC State Park has an EELE curriculum covering topics presented at each park and covering topics appropriate for that Park’s natural resources; each EELE requires 10 hours of time. Completion of an EELE is the only requirement of the NC Environmental Education Certificate that can only be satisfied here in NC. Therefore, students hoping to complete their certificate can do so after graduation, and while located in another state, if they have completed an EELE. For example, in the Durham area, students can attend the EELE at Umstead (soils and land use) or Eno River (water) State Parks; near the marine laboratory, students could go to Hammocks Beach State Park (turtles) or Carolina Beach State Park (carnivorous plants). (10 hours)

Note: For reasons of interest or convenience, students may elect to complete a different workshop in lieu of the EELE described in (b) above. A list of approved workshops is found at the DENR web site at http://www.ee.enr.state.nc.us/Certification/workshops.htm, and Alison and I will facilitate students’ finding a workshop of their choice.

4) Two 4-hour field trips to local environmental education centers. Trips will be scheduled for the class as a whole, but students who missed or were unavailable for one of these field trips could schedule a visit on their own to a site approved by me. The visit would be led by an educator on staff with the site. Documents of the visit would be provided to me via a copy of a signed NC Certificate form (which they also need for their certification packet). Likely choices are the Museum of Life and Science, SEEDS, the NC Zoological Park, and/or the NC Natural History Museum. (8 hours)