Environmental Education in Colorado Springs Schools By Samantha Less

What is environmental education? §A learning process that l increases awareness and knowledge of environmental issues l develops skills and expertise to address the challenges l fosters attitudes, motivations, commitments to make responsible decisions and take action Taken from The Tbilisi Declaration, UNESCO 1978

Background §North American Association for Environmental Education formed in 1971 §First EE conference held in 1975 §National Science Education Standards published in 1996 §NAAEE K-12 Guidelines for Learning published in 1999

What are some barriers to the improvement of environmental education in Colorado Springs schools?

A) Lack of communication §Between classrooms §Between teachers and administration §Between schools §Between districts §Between the state and the districts

B) Lack of environmental elements in state science standards §Knowledge of environmental issues isn’t tested on the Colorado Student Assessment Program §Hard to fit environmental ed into “teach to test” curriculum §Costly process of applying for standards waivers §Colorado State Department of Education has the final word on standards

C) Teachers who aren’t trained to teach local issues §New science teachers to the Colorado Springs area §Not enough teacher education programs and resources

D) Students not gaining basic skills necessary to take action §Skills needed in taking responsible action is crucial to EE

E) Lack of funding §Leads to less resources (like equipment and books) §Reduced field trips or none at all §Fewer teachers hired

The Proposal: A plan of action to overcome barriers to environmental education

A) Creation of the “Sustainability Education Task Force” §Purpose: To open up communication §About 15 interested educators to form the core task force §“Environmental Education” liaisons appointed from each school and school district then convene as a whole with the task force and come to a consensus on the solutions

B) Task force members assess needs and evaluate solutions to improving EE in the Springs Possible solutions alone or in any combination may include, but are not limited to:

1) Establishment of tested state environmental standards §Cons: l Can’t test “appreciation of nature” l there is still a “teach to test” curriculum §Pros: l Students are exposed to environmental concepts l Class time is justified §Involve lobbying of state representatives to convince State Ed Dept.

2) Creation of “Colorado Springs’ Environmental Story” §A teacher resource book devoted to local sustainability issues in CS including the student’s home and school §Includes fun, interpretive, community-oriented activities for students §A shared vision for sustainability in Colorado Springs Modeled after “Albuquerque’s Environmental Story”

3) Make resource book mandatory in curriculum, remove standards test §Motivates students and teachers because the resource book pertains to their immediate surroundings whereas state standards test doesn’t §No more “teach to test”

Conclusion

Benefits of this proposal: §A coordinated effort of Colorado Springs educators towards sustainability education in K- 12 public schools §Future generations of environmentally literate Colorado Springs voters

Acknowledgments §Sharon Hall and Steve Harris §Julie Francis §Lee Durr, Mark Opincariu, Mark Schultz, Rose Dicenso, Karen Teja §My fellow EV 421 classmates