Environmental Education
in the 21st Century
Pfirman et al., Chronicle Feb 11, 2005
Background material for CEDD Session
May 21, 2009
Stephanie Pfirman, Barnard College
1
EDUCATIONAL TRENDS
2
LEAP: Proportion of employers who say
colleges and universities should place more
emphasis than they do today on:
Concepts,new developments in science and technology ……..
Teamwork, collaborate with others in diverse group settings
Apply knowledge and skills to real-world settings through
internships or other hands-on experiences …………………..………
Effectively communicate orally and in writing …………..………….
Critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills ………………………
Global issues, developments, implications for the future ………
Locate, organize, evaluate information from multiple sources
Innovate, think creatively ………….…..…………..…………………………
Solve complex problems ……………………………………….……..…..…..
Work with numbers and understand statistics …………….………..
82%
76%
73%
73%
73%
72%
70%
70%
64%
60%
3
http://www.aacu.org/LEAP/index.cfm
Pedagogy for the 21st Century
1. Learner at the center
– Multiple learning styles
– Adapts education to learning needs of each individual
2. Repertoire of teaching strategies and skills
– Traditional education systems fostered the obedience
demanded of the manufacturing workforce
– Future education must nurture creative and collaborative
skills. Knowledge available at the click of a mouse -learning to apply it requires teachers who instruct,
facilitate, guide, and support
Equipping Every Learner for the 21st Century,4 2008
Developed by the Centre for Strategic Education, Cisco Systems, Inc., and McKinsey & Company
Pedagogy for the 21st
Century, continued
3. Interdisciplinary and project-based work
–
–
In complex areas, learn how to draw on multiple
disciplines and recognize interdependence
Working in teams, link between 21st century skills
and the pedagogy used to impart them
4. Authenticity
– Appeal to existing interests
– Integrate real-life experiences into lessons: students
do not just make an architectural drawing, they
actually build a structure on the school lawn.
– Learning that extends beyond the classroom into the
community, the wilderness, the workplace, and the
virtual world
Equipping Every Learner for the 21st Century,5 2008
Developed by the Centre for Strategic Education, Cisco Systems, Inc., and McKinsey & Company
Pedagogy for the 21st
Century, continued
3. Interdisciplinary and project-based work
–
–
In complex areas, learn how to draw on multiple
disciplines and recognize interdependence
Working in teams, link between 21st century skills
and the pedagogy used to impart them
4. Authenticity
– Appeal to existing interests
– Integrate real-life experiences into lessons: students
do not just make an architectural drawing, they
actually build a structure on the school lawn.
– Learning that extends beyond the classroom into the
community, the wilderness, the workplace, and the
virtual world
Equipping Every Learner for the 21st Century,6 2008
Developed by the Centre for Strategic Education, Cisco Systems, Inc., and McKinsey & Company
“Environment” Moving Beyond
“Earth Systems Science”
7
Presented by Tim Killeen, NSF AD for Geoscience, CEDD winter meeting, 2008
Growth in “Environment/Sustainability/
Sustainable Development”
How has environmental student enrollment changed over the past
five years?
Vincent and Focht (CEDD Curriculum Study, in prep.)
8
Potential for New Environmental
Masters Degrees
80
Do you intend to pursue any additional
degrees?
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Master's Unsure
No
PhD
Other
JD
MD
9
Shukla and Freeman
Results from Harvard/CEDD Pilot Survey
ENVIRONMENTAL ALUMNI
10
When did you decide to pursue
an Environmental / Natural
Resources degree?
Shukla and Freeman: The
Alumni Career Survey -National Bureau of Economic
Research, Harvard Science and
Engineering Workforce Project
(http://www.nber.org/~sewp/),
Council of Environmental Deans
and Directors.
Phase I of survey administered
by 15 schools to their alumni
from the class of 2005,:
157 responses,
Response rate 27%
Elementary
School
Middle School/
(or earlier)
Junior High
3%
School
Post-grad
7%
2%
High School
26%
Undergrad
62%
11
What was the primary reason you decided to enter an
Environmental / Natural Resources
program in college?
Opens doors
to other fields
2%
Good career
opportunities
4%
Potential to
make societal
impact
28%
Other
5%
www.sierraclub.org/grassroots/sto
ries/00025.asp
Interest/
aptitude in
field
61%
12
Shukla and Freeman, CEDD/Harvard Alumni Pilot
Employment
50
40
30
20
10
0
In what type of
employment setting did
you most WANT to work
after graduation ?
In what type of
employment setting do
you currently work?
13
Shukla and Freeman
Career Choice
If you are NOT currently in an Environmental /Natural Resources
career, which of the factors below influenced you to consider work
outside of your field?
Other
22%
Higher pay or
promotion
opportunities
17%
Better working
conditions
0%
Better location
4%
Lack of jobs in
field
35%
Change in career
or professional
interests
22%
14
Shukla and Freeman
Responses
In college, who gave you the most VALUABLE
advice about potential career options?
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
“New Green Economy”
NCSE January 2010
15
Shukla and Freeman, CEDD/Harvard Alumni Pilot
Interdisciplinary
Student Advising
• Students in interdisciplinary programs tend to be less
well served than students in departments
– Advisors with dual affiliations are more comfortable
advising about courses and careers in their own disciplines
• This is especially unfortunate given that women and minorities
appear to be disproportionately attracted to these programs (Jill
Schneiderman, Vassar)
– Institutions … have a responsibility to provide them with
more advising and career services than is standard for
other departments, and to support that advising through
increased staffing (Hempel and Pfirman, program review)
16
CEDD Curricula Survey
CURRICULAR CONTENT
17
CEDD Survey of U.S. Environmental Programs:
Curriculum Models and Core Competency Areas
• Identified 840 programs at
652 institutions awarding
1183 degrees
• Response rate 31% - 260
programs at 238 institutions
awarding 343 degrees
– 73% baccalaureate
– 20% masters
– 7% doctoral
• Sample representative in
Carnegie Class, census
region/division, program
type (level, name)
Distribution of Institutions with
Environmental Programs
18
CEDD Curriculum Survey
Vincent and Focht (2009)
Cluster analysis discovered three clusters for
both undergraduate programs and graduate
programs:
1) a natural science focused cluster
2) a social science and humanities focused cluster *
3) an interdisciplinary, problem-solver cluster *
* These undergraduate programs had higher percentage of
growth than those in the natural science focused cluster
A total of 260 program leaders at 238 institutions participated in the survey for a
response rate of 31%. They provided information on 343 degree programs (69% named
19
Environmental Sciences or Environmental Studies).
Vincent and Focht (2009): Ranked Consensus
Factors for Undergraduate Degree Programs
Knowledge :
(1) social sciences and
humanities,
(2) sustainability,
applied sciences and
management,
(3) interdisciplinary
understanding
(4) life sciences
(5) physical sciences
Skills:
(1) management skills
(2) technical research
and communication
skills
(3) cognitive skills
(4) social research and
communication skills
(5) decision-making
skills
20
CEDD Environmental Curriculum Study Survey
Findings Relevant to Sustainability:
Shirley Vincent and Will Focht
• ca. 30% of all ID environmental degree programs
consider sustainability a core principle in their
curricula
• > 50% include sustainability concepts in
required coursework
----• 86% rate the importance of sustainability in
program curricula as modest to high
Vincent, S, and Focht, W. (2009) US Higher Education Environmental Program Managers’
Perspectives on Curriculum Design and Core Competencies: Implications for Sustainability as a
Guiding Framework, International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education (in press).21
Sustainability/Climate
• November 2007, 6,000 students
traveled across the country to
participate in the three day Power
Shift Conference outside
Washington, DC, to learn about
global warming and to lobby
Congress
– 10,000 are expected in 2009
• Undergraduate environmental programs that
include sustainability report higher rates of growth
over the past 5 years (ca. 238 institutions)
– Vincent and Focht (CEDD Curriculum Survey)
http://sierraclub.typepad.com/scrapb
22
ook/2007/11/power-shift-200.html
23
Academic Preparation
Do you wish you had received more training in how
technology developments in the following fields relate to the
environment?
Other
17%
Energy
40%
Computer Sciences
34%
Nanotechnology
0%
Biotechnology
Medicine/Health 3%
6%
24
Shukla and Freeman
CURRICULAR STRUCTURE
25
Beyond Earth Systems Science
26
Presented by Tim Killeen, NSF AD for Geoscience, CEDD winter meeting, 2008
Structuring Curricular Content
Disciplinary
Funnel
Introductory
Intermediate
Capstone
D or ID
D
D
Bloom's
Taxonomy?
Interdisciplinary
Fan
D
ID or D
ID
Sandwich
ID
D
ID
Buffet
ID
Knowledge,
Comprehension
ID
Application,
Analysis
ID
Synthesis,
Evaluation
27
How to
Develop
Expertise?
28
Measuring researcher interdisciplinarity
Alan L. Porter, Alex S. Cohen, David Roessner and Marty
Perreault, 2007, Scientometrics
Importance of Capstone Experience
I guess, I just wanted to see what you are up to, and
also to thank you because as I look back to Barnard,
one of the memories that come up in my mind most
often is all the classes that I took for the
Environmental Science major, and even writing my
thesis...(which I must admit, back then, I could not
understand the purpose of writing one, but now as I
look back... I realize that a lot of the projects that I am
working on now resemble small theses... the
research, the timing, the developing of the ideas... the
editing and the collection of all thoughts into one
small project...)." January, 1999.
This student graduated in 1997 and – last we knew –
was working as a Sr. Statistical Analyst for an
Investors Service
29
ACADEMIC HOME
30
Environmental Program Analysis
Barnard, Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, Colgate, Colorado College, Hobart
& William Smith, Lewis & Clark, Middlebury, Mount Holyoke,
Whitman
Common Directions
• Local environmental
engagement and service
learning
• Interdisciplinary student
research
• Building community
– Common spaces and
resources – connecting via
GIS
– Campus greening &
programming
31
Jill Bubier (Mt. Holyoke) and students at a wetland
research site in New Hampshire
Photo by Ralph Morang
ES&T May 2005: Pfirman, Hall, Tietenberg
PKAL 2005: Hall, Tietenberg and Pfirman
Common Challenges
• Staffing courses
– Cross-departmental
commitments
– Team teaching
• Staffing activities
– Balancing education
and scholarship
– Program management
– Service learning
– Campus greening
– Student internships
32

Diversity



Faculty
Students
Junior people
(women) in difficult
positions …
ES&T May 2005: Pfirman, Hall, Tietenberg
PKAL 2005: Hall, Tietenberg and Pfirman
Recommendations from
Mellon Review
• Institutions should take responsibility for
interdisciplinary programs, students and
faculty
– Invest in community building (on campus and off)
– Incentives and rewards for cross-departmental
contributions
– Staff programs
– Institutionalize faculty career path
33
ES&T May 2005: Pfirman, Hall, Tietenberg
PKAL 2005: Hall, Tietenberg and Pfirman
Spectrum of Interdisciplinary Involvement
Commitment
and
Investment
Modest
Intermediate
Significant
Students and
Curriculum
Minor
Concentration,
Special Major
Major
Committee
Center, Program
Interdisciplinary
Department
Affiliated Hire
in Disciplinary
Department
Adjunct,
Off-ladder,
Joint Hire
Tenure-track in
Interdisciplinary
Department
Administration
Faculty
Research
Scientists
Soft-money
Multi-year Support
Support for
Single or Shortterm Project
34
Institutioncommitted
Career
Interdisciplinary
Research
Scientist Line
Pfirman et al., Chronicle Feb 11, 2005
INTERDISCIPLINARY FACULTY
35
Stereotypes of Disciplinary vs.
Collaborative, Interdisciplinary
Students/Scholars?
Disciplinary
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
36
Quantitative
Tough
Self-driven
Independent
Assertive
Self-promoting, take credit for
successes
Careerist
Risky science within the
mainstream/consensus science
Focused, task oriented
Quick to publish, get ideas out
Productive
Competitive
Command-and-control leadership
(e.g. lab hierarchy)
Collaborative, Interdisciplinary
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Relational, qualitative
Friendly, nice
Concerned about others and their
welfare
Helping
Socially sensitive, listening
Communal
Less careerist
Interdisciplinary science
Multitasking
Synthetic
Not competitive
Consensus oriented, democratic
leadership
Different Approaches to Interdisciplinary
Research and Education
Intrapersonal:
Cognitive
Connections
Cross-fertilization – adapting and
using ideas, approaches and
information from different fields and/or
disciplines
Interpersonal:
Collegial
Connections
Team-collaboration – collaborating in
teams or networks that span different
fields and/or disciplines
Interdepartmental:
Cross-field
Connections
Field-creation – topics that sit at the
intersection or edges of multiple fields
and/or disciplines
Stakeholder:
Community
Connections
Problem-orientation – problems that
engage multiple stakeholders and
missions outside of academe, for
example that serve society
37
Rhoten and Pfirman, 2007a,b
Support Multiple Levels of ID Res & Ed
Intrapersonal:
Cognitive
Connections
38
“New directions” sabbaticals
Course development
Interpersonal:
Collegial
Connections
Multiple authors, PIs
Co-teaching
Interdepartmental:
Cross-field
Connections
Centers
Joint majors, linked courses
Stakeholder:
Community
Connections
Research practice, applications
Civic engagement
38
Rhoten and Pfirman, 2007a,b
Convene Around Complex Problems
Engage faculty through the affective as well as
cognitive realm
• Seminars/Workshops
– MacGregor workshop
– “One book” -- Chandler-Gilbert
Community College
– “Global Learning” -- Whitman
• Field experiences
– River Summer -- Pfirman, Kenna,
Barnard/Lamont/ Environmental
Consortium of Hudson Valley
Colleges and Universities
39
Recognize Initiative and
Reward Success
• Everyone wants to
others to recognize
their significance
– Citations, Book
reviews, Fellows of
Professional
Societies
• Create campus
awards for env.
teaching and
research
Who will deliver on America’s Promise: The Future Professoriate
40
W. Plater, J. Schuster, J. Gappa, AAC&U Seattle 2009
Make Time:
Faster – Better – Teaching?
• Use the entire campus – that fact that
faculty and students are together
– Link engineering, economics, psychology,
geology, ethics, business, policy, public health
• Align curricula with learning goals
– Minors/Concentrations/Masters
• Sustainable Development (Columbia)
• Entrepreneurship (Trinity)
• Leadership (Barnard)
• Innovative pedagogy
– Social networking as a learning tool?
41
Potential of New Approaches to Education
“Here Comes Everybody:
The Power of Organizing without Organizations”
Clay Shirky, 2008
• “Most of the barriers to group action have
collapsed, and without those barriers, we
are free to explore new ways of gathering
together and getting things done.”
• “When a real once-in-a-lifetime change
comes along we [with the experience] are
at risk of regarding it as a fad.”
– “… young people are taking better advantage
of social tools , extending their capabilities in
ways that violate old models …”
42
LOOKING AHEAD
Students
Develop student capacity to meet the needs of the
global community … adopt “Pedagogy for the 21st
Century”?
Connect to entrepreneurship?
Agencies/business
May be getting ahead of us?
Faculty
Need to catch up
Develop the will, capacity, incentives, and
administrative support for faculty to change and
then take changes to scale
43