ENVIRONMENTA
L
LEARNIN
G PROJE
CT
NICOLE
MENESES
Environmental and Sustainability EducationOntario Institute for Studies in Education
PROJECT GOALS AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
• Encourage identification of connections between areas of personal importance and environmental issues
• Discuss connections and issues which can be linked to local region
• Approach problem and create potential solutions
IDENTIFY PROJECT DESCRIPTION
• Identify• Areas of personal importance• Environmental issues and how this issue may impact them
• Create a card for one of the above
• Share cards
Air Pollution
Impact on health : Asthma Smoggy summer days
Results from factories : factories are in Milton
My car
Car creates
air pollution
Need car to drive
to work
Car uses non renewable
resources
EXPAND AND FOCUS PROJECT DESCRIPTION
• Discuss the activity and personalize• What was learned?• How are these issues related to the local community? School?• What other issues may be identified?
• Which issues are the most important?• Allow students to rank issues and vote as a class on which one
they would like to approach
PROBLEM SOLVE PROJECT DESCRIPTION
• Brainstorm• Allow students to brainstorm ways to approach identified problems
in the school community
• Problem solve• Students work in groups to focus in on one idea critique and then
ultimately present it
PROBLEM SHARE PROJECT DESCRIPTION
• Brainstorm• Allow students to brainstorm ways to approach identified problems
in the school community
• Problem solve• Students work in groups to focus in on one idea critique and then
ultimately present it
FEEDBACK
• Students said they enjoyed:• The looser format of the class itself• Being in charge of which problem they chose to approach• That we focused on their ideas• That the activity had meaning by being shared with the eco -
team
• Students didn’t like:• Being guilted - this was seen directly in the choices they made
about what problem to approach and general discomfort observed when discussing what is good for the environment and what isn’t
• Taking the time to share in the grade 12 class
CHALLENGES AND ADAPTATIONS
Originally:
• Grade 9 Academic Geography,
• Grade 9 Applied Geography
• Grade 12 University Canadian & World Issues
In actuality:
• Grade 9 Academic Geography,
• Grade 12 University Canadian & World Issues
Grade 9 applied constrained by time…
Originally:
• Start right away with all classes each doing different portions of activity to work together
• Eco – team feedback involved
In actuality:
• Portions split up among classes due to time constraints and timing of assignments and each class doing full activity separately
• No time for eco – team feedback after reviewing class - unable to find out who
CHALLENGES AND ADAPTATIONS
Learning IN, about and for the environment…
• AT preferred to stay indoors
• Curtains pinned shut
• Weird controversies : Water bottles
MINI RE-ENACTMENT/ POSSIBLE ACTIVITY IF YOU DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THE OTHER ONE
• On GOOS paper write in top two left hand corners write two different things that are important to you
• In bottom two corners write two different environmental issues
• Then pass your sheet to the right and on your new sheet draw one connection joining any two corners and brief point on line explaining connection
• Pass and repeat until you have your sheet back
• Discuss