By Kim Kastens and Margie Turrin
Presentation to ESIP Federation
19 July 2006

Information
Specialists
(ESIP)

Instrument
Builders
Information
Specialists
(ESIP)

Instrument
Builders
Information
Specialists
(ESIP)
Scientists

Instrument
Builders
Information
Specialists
(ESIP)
Scientists
Curriculum
Developers

Instrument
Builders
Information
Specialists
(ESIP)
Scientists
Curriculum
Developers
Teachers

Instrument
Builders
Information
Specialists
(ESIP)
Scientists
Curriculum
Developers
Teachers
Who?

Instrument
Builders
Information
Specialists
(ESIP)
Scientists
Curriculum
Developers
Teachers
Who?
• Families?
• Friends?
• Environmental Journalists?
• Environmental advocacy groups?
• Clergy?
• Boy & Girl Scouts?
• Summer camps?
• Parks & nature centers?

Instrument
Builders
Information
Specialists
(ESIP)
Scientists
Curriculum
Developers
Teachers
Who?
Does science education take responsibility for closing the loop?
Should science education take responsibility for closing the loop?

The case for why science educators should
NOT take responsibility for “closing the loop”
• We are science teachers. Our limited time with these students is completely full, helping them build an understanding of Earth processes and phenomena.
• Telling students that they or their families should change their behavior is environmental activism, not science. Once we start down the activist pathway, we undermine our credibility as a source of accurate, objective information.
• Students’ families have widely varying opinions about environmental issues as they impact lifestyle choices, local economic development, and politics. It’s better to steer clear of topics that could cause conflict with parents or community leaders.

The case for why science educators
SHOULD take responsibility for “closing the loop”
• Environmental issues can motivate students who wouldn’t otherwise be interested in science.
• As Earth Science educators, we probably have a better understanding of Earth processes than 99% of the people that our students will come in contact with. If we don’t seize this opportunity to motivate them to live more sustainably on the
Earth, then when and where will they learn?

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

Earth & Environment => Humanity
(E => H)
• Standard states or implies that Earth & environment influence or affect humanity OR standard states or implies that humanity is dependent on natural systems.
• Refers to “humans,” “human beings,” “humanity,” “society” or
“societal,” “economy,” “people,” “community,” or “family” and also mentions an object, phenomenon or process of the Earth or environment.

Earth & Environment => Humanity
(E => H)
• Standard states or implies that Earth & environment influence or affect humanity OR standard states or implies that humanity is dependent on natural systems.
• Refers to “humans,” “human beings,” “humanity,” “society” or
“societal,” “economy,” “people,” “community,” or “family” and also mentions an object, phenomenon or process of the Earth or environment.
• Key words connoting humans being impacted by Earth processes i.e.
“damage” or “hazard.”

Earth & Environment => Humanity
(E => H)
• Standard states or implies that Earth & environment influence or affect humanity OR standard states or implies that humanity is dependent on natural systems.
• Refers to “humans,” “human beings,” “humanity,” “society” or
“societal,” “economy,” “people,” “community,” or “family” and also mentions an object, phenomenon or process of the Earth or environment.
• Key words connoting humans being impacted by Earth processes i.e.
“damage” or “hazard.”
• Key phrases connoting humans depending on the Earth i.e. “natural resource,” “renewable resource,” “non renewable resource,” “fossil fuel.”

Earth & Environment => Humanity
(E => H)
• Standard states or implies that Earth & environment influence or affect humanity OR standard states or implies that humanity is dependent on natural systems.
• Refers to “humans,” “human beings,” “humanity,” “society” or
“societal,” “economy,” “people,” “community,” or “family” and also mentions an object, phenomenon or process of the Earth or environment.
• Key words connoting humans being impacted by Earth processes i.e.
“damage” or “hazard.”
• Key phrases connoting humans depending on the Earth i.e. “natural resource,” “renewable resource,” “non renewable resource,” “fossil fuel.”
• Mentions a specific natural resource (e.g. water) that humans use or depend on, in a context where use by humans is clearly implied.

Earth & Environment => Humanity
(E => H)
• Standard states or implies that Earth & environment influence or affect humanity OR standard states or implies that humanity is dependent on natural systems.
• Refers to “humans,” “human beings,” “humanity,” “society” or
“societal,” “economy,” “people,” “community,” or “family” and also mentions an object, phenomenon or process of the Earth or environment.
• Key words connoting humans being impacted by Earth processes i.e.
“damage” or “hazard.”
• Key phrases connoting humans depending on the Earth i.e. “natural resource,” “renewable resource,” “non renewable resource,” “fossil fuel.”
• Mentions a specific natural resource (e.g. water) that humans use or depend on, in a context where use by humans is clearly implied.
• Mentions a specific human or societal use of a resource, e.g.
“drinking,” “washing,” “irrigating.”


Nebraska: Earth & Space Science
4.4.3. by the end of fourth grade, students will develop an understanding of the characteristics of earth materials.
• List earth materials that are used by humans (e.g., water, fossil fuels, ores, soils).
• Select the best earth materials for a specific human use (e.g., marblebuildings, clay-pottery, coal-heat).

Humanity Impacts Earth & Environment
H => E
• Standard states or implies that human society influences/affects/changes the Earth or environment.
Category refers to actions of decisions of humanity acting collectively
(organizations, institutions, governments, communities, corporations, society as a whole).
• Refers to “humans,” “human beings,” “humanity,” “society” or
“societal,” “people,” or “community,” and also mentions an object, phenomenon or process of the Earth or environment.

Humanity Impacts Earth & Environment
H => E
• Standard states or implies that human society influences/affects/changes the Earth or environment.
Category refers to actions of decisions of humanity acting collectively
(organizations, institutions, governments, communities, corporations, society as a whole).
• Refers to “humans,” “human beings,” “humanity,” “society” or
“societal,” “people,” or “community,” and also mentions an object, phenomenon or process of the Earth or environment.
• Implies humanity affecting the Earth and environment in a positive way include “preserve/protect/conserve [e.g. biological diversity, natural resources],” “reduction of energy consumption,” “solve environmental problems,” “management [of waste, of natural resources].”

Humanity Impacts Earth & Environment
H => E
• Standard states or implies that human society influences/affects/changes the Earth or environment.
Category refers to actions of decisions of humanity acting collectively
(organizations, institutions, governments, communities, corporations, society as a whole).
• Refers to “humans,” “human beings,” “humanity,” “society” or
“societal,” “people,” or “community,” and also mentions an object, phenomenon or process of the Earth or environment.
• Implies humanity affecting the Earth and environment in a positive way include “preserve/protect/conserve [e.g. biological diversity, natural resources],” “reduction of energy consumption,” “solve environmental problems,” “management [of waste, of natural resources].”
• Implies humanity affecting the Earth and environment in a negative or possibly negative way include “pollute” or “pollution,” “environmental impact [e.g. of a technology],” “environmental degradation,”
“consequences of exploration and/or development of natural resources,”
“depletion of ozone in the atmosphere,” “global warming,”
“deforestation.”

Example:
Humanity impacts Earth & Environment
• Delaware: Standard 8 –
Ecology
– Grades K-3: Changes in
Environments
Pollution and human activities can change the environment and adversely the health and survival of humans and other species.
Careful planning and safe practices are required in waste disposal, recycling and waste management, pest control, and use of resources to ensure the well being of humans and the environment.

Individuals impact the Earth & Environment
I => E
• Standard states or implies that the actions of individuals influence/affect/change the Earth or environment.
• This category differs from the previous in that it refers to actions or decisions made by individual adults or children in their private capacity in their daily lives (e.g. as they purchase, consume, conserve or waste, dispose of).

Individuals impact the Earth & Environment
I => E
• Standard states or implies that the actions of individuals influence/affect/change the Earth or environment.
• This category differs from the previous in that it refers to actions or decisions made by individual adults or children in their private capacity in their daily lives (e.g. as they purchase, consume, conserve or waste, dispose of).
• The individual actions/decisions can be good (e.g. conserving water, conserving energy) or bad for environment (e.g. littering).

Individuals impact the Earth & Environment
I => E
• Standard states or implies that the actions of individuals influence/affect/change the Earth or environment.
• This category differs from the previous in that it refers to actions or decisions made by individual adults or children in their private capacity in their daily lives (e.g. as they purchase, consume, conserve or waste, dispose of).
• The individual actions/decisions can be good (e.g. conserving water, conserving energy) or bad for environment (e.g. littering).
• The focus of this category is on actions or decisions that could be achieved by all or most students, either now or when they become adults.

• Arkansas: Strand 2:
Life Science Systems
Content Standard 3: Students will demonstrate an understanding of the connections and applications in life sciences.
– Grade 2: Students can write about ways to save the rain forests of the world. Students can develop plans for their homes that can save resources.
– Grade 3: Students can measure the amount of solid waste produced at their homes over a week's time.

Grade 6-8
Production/Consumption/Application of Energy
1. Techno logical advance s throughou t history (e.g., electric li ght, steam eng ine, internal combustion eng ine, radio, TV) have l ead to new applications , which use different forms of energy . Such advance s have led to increased demand for energy , and in some cases, unan ticipated effects on society.
2. Energy is obtained from a variety o f sour ces, some of which are finit e and some of which are renew able. The major source of energy fo r society is chemi cal energy s tored in fossil fuels created many yea rs ago through the p rocess of pho tosyn thesis. Ano ther source is nuc lear energy . Renew able sourc es (e.g., wind , geothermal, waves , biomass) vary in their ava il abilit y and ease of use .
• List a variety of energy sources, which provide alternatives to the use of fossil fuels, compare their relative ease of renewability, and explain their advantages and disadvantages. Discuss the various sources of energy used around th e world and explain the basis for the differences.
(1 MS E>H)
3. Most energy used by industrial societie s is derived from fossil fuel sources. Such sources are inhe rently limit ed on the earth and are uneven ly distributed geog raphically.
Respons ible use of energy r equires consideration o f energy ava il abilit y, efficiency, env ir onmental is sue s, and alterna tive sources.
• Use available information (e.g., from power compan ies) to condu ct a personal aud it of energy consumed by a family. Determine the amounts, types, and cos t of energy (e.g., electricity, oil, gas, gasoline) used and the total energy used ove r a given period.
Considering the efficiency of different applications, propo se approaches to reduce energy used by a significant amount.
(1 MS I>E) (1 MS H>E)

Large variation from state to state in how much emphasis on human/environment interactions

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
More emphasis on Humanity impacting the Earth & Environment than on the Earth & Environment impacting Humanity

Humanity Affects Environment (H=>E)

H

E vs I

E
21 states have no mention of any impact of individuals
Far more emphasis on Humanity impacting the Earth & Environment than on Individuals impacting the Earth & Environment

Humanity Affects Environment (H=>E)
All States emphasize collective rather than individual impact

Abundance of human/environment interactions in state science standards does not follow familiar Red States/ Blue States pattern.

• Coverage of human/environment interactions is loaded into high school years in many states.
• Some environmental education research has found that improved environmental behaviors are most likely to result when the intervention targets young participants.

Human/Environment Interactions in Non-science
Standards
•
Character Education: (“courage, patriotism, citizenship, honesty
…cleanliness, cheerfulness, respect for the environment, patience, creativity, sportsmanship…..)
• Geography Standards: (e.g. effect of climate and resource distribution on development of human society)
• Technology Standard independent of science standard (e.g. disposal of hazardous waste, use of new technologies for environmental remediation)
• Health Education health)
Standard: (e.g. impact of air pollution on human
• Consumer & Family Science: (e.g. purchasing choices that conserve natural resources)
• Free-standing “Environment” Standard: (“spanning economic, cultural, political, social structures as well as natural processes and systems”)

Science Education?
Observations
:
• No consensus
• More emphasis on collective impact of humanity than individual impact
• Asymmetrical emphasis stressing humanity as the actor and environment as recipient
• Coverage skewed towards high school years in many states
• Bits of human/environment interaction scattered across the curriculum

Education?
Options
:
1.
Changing student attitudes and actions towards the environment is important and should be done in science class.
2.
Changing student attitudes and actions towards the environment is important and should be done in school. Some aspects can be done in science class; others are more appropriate for other parts of the curriculum.
3.
Human/environment interactions should be taught in a new subject area: environmental education.
4.
Changing how humanity interacts with the environment is not an appropriate goal for public schools.

Education?
2.
Changing student attitudes and actions towards the environment is important and should be done in school. Some aspects can be done in science class; others are more appropriate for other parts of the curriculum.
Best option, but requires purposeful coordination and alignment of curricula across disciplines, with planned handoffs, e.g.:
Science => Social Studies => Family/Consumer Education

Your role?