environmental education curriculum                    health impacts of the school environment

How is Environmental Education Beneficial to Students?

 

According to the State Education and Environment Roundtable (SEER), a cooperative endeavor of 16 state departments of education, students learn more effectively within an environment-based context than within a traditional educational framework. Using SEER's model of education known as Environment as an Integrating Context (EIC), students have performed better on standardized testing and shown fewer discipline problems in school. They have also demonstrated increased enthusiasm and classroom engagement, and an elevated pride in their schoolwork.

 

Here at CHEJ, we view environmental awareness and action as a tool for scientific, political and social education, and agree that the EIC model effectively reaches students of all learning styles to improve overall performance. The Green Flag Schools Program employs elements of this model, connecting students, staff, educators, parents, and administrators through an integrated learning experience around environmental issues and policy development. Participants of the Green Flag Schools Program receive the opportunity to conduct environmental investigations, employ methodical research techniques and improve oral and written skills, while experiencing a cooperative, team-oriented approach to problem solving.

 

The fundamental teaching strategies of the Environment as an Integrating Context (EIC) include:

*An interdisciplinary curriculum design

*Hands-on learning experiences, often through problem-solving and project-based activities

*Team teaching

*Individualized instruction to support students' unique skills and abilities

*An opportunity for students to gain knowledge of their community and natural surroundings

 

In a study of 400 students in 40 schools teaching environmental education, student performance in traditional subject matter and behavior improved greatly Benefits include advanced thinking skills, dynamic and practical problem solving, and an increasing understanding of the world around them.

 

The results of the EIC study demonstrate that students who are engaged in subject matter pertinent to their lives perform better, work harder, and learn more than students who learn in the traditional framework. According to the study: "...[the students] like reading about nature and their

community; they enjoy writing about issues affecting society; and, they welcome the chance to express their ideas at public meetings and in presentations. These increased opportunities facilitate the development of strong skills in reading, writing and oral expression."

 

In addition to higher performance in language arts, students learning within the EIC context also improved their math, science and social studies performances. An overwhelming response of EIC educators said

students more concretely understood subject matter and retained the information longer when it was directly connected to their work. For instance, when math skills were employed to track and interpret ecological data, students were more successful than when they learned the same information out of a textbook. Students taught within an environmental context more readily develop deep understandings of the connections within government, civil society, policy and law, and also recognize the relevance of their decisions to their community and environment.

 

The Green Flag Schools project will assist you and your students to use the your community as a text book and your environment as a science kit, to engage the young people of today in the complex world around them.