Teachers TryScience

The North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) Guidelines for Excellence in Environmental EducationStrand 1-- Questioning and Analysis Skills Guidelines: A) Questioning--Learners are able to develop, focus, and explain questions that help them learn about the environment and do environmental investigations. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊIdentify environmental questions based on personal experiences both in and outside school, newspaper and magazine articles, television or radio news, or videos. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊSummarize an environmental problem or situation to provide context for, or explain the origin of, a particular question. Create visual presentations (such as maps, graphs, or video tapes) and written and oral statements that describe their thinking about the problem. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊPose clear questions and ideas to test (hypotheses), reformulating them when necessary. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊClarify their own beliefs about the environment and discuss how those beliefs are reflected in the questions they ask. B) Designing investigations--Learners are able to design environmental investigations to answer particular questions--often their own questions. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊSelect types of inquiry appropriate to their questions. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊDefine the scope of their inquiry, identifying the main variables and phenomena to be studied. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊSelect appropriate systems of measurement and observation. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊSelect tools that are appropriate for their environmental investigations based on the question asked and the type of information sought. C) Collecting information--Learners are able to locate and collect reliable information about the environment or environmental topics using a variety of methods and sources. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊObserve systematically, measure accurately, and keep thorough and accurate records, which may include written notes and data tables, sketches, and photographs. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊUnderstand and use various systems of measurement and derived measurements such as rates. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊAssess, choose, and synthesize materials from resources such as aerial photographs, topographic maps, and satellite images; library and museum collections, historical documents, and eyewitness accounts; computerized databases and spreadsheets; the internet; and government records. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊCollect firsthand information about their own community using field study skills. D) Evaluating accuracy and reliability--Learners are able to judge the weaknesses and strengths of the information they are using. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊIdentify and evaluate vague claims they hear on television or through other media. For example, examine the credibility of results of public opinion polling about environmental topics, considering such factors as sampling methods, logical conclusions, and appropriate analogies. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊIdentify factors that affect the credibility of information, including assumptions and procedures used to create it; the social, political, and economic context in which the information was created; and potential bias due to omission, suppression, or invention of factual information. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊExamine evidence, identify faulty reasoning, and apply other basic logic and reasoning skills in evaluating information sources.Identify gaps in information that indicate a need for further discovery or inquiry. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊEvaluate data and evidence for accuracy, relevance, significance, appropriateness, and clarity. F) Working with models and simulations--Learners understand many of the uses and limitations of models. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊDescribe how models are used to think about long-term processes such as population growth or processes that are difficult to see such as bird migration or the movement of the planets in relationship to the sun. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊUse models to represent and investigate aspects of the physical world such as weather and specific phenomena such as hurricanes. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊManipulate mathematical and physical models using a computer. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊEvaluate models based on the question being investigated. Account for variables such as the complexity of the model, its scale, its ability to represent important features of the process being modeled, and its reliability and accuracy. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊRecognize limitations of models and simulations. For example, describe a situation in which a model of an environmental phenomenon is not useful. G) Developing explanations--Learners are able to synthesize their observations and findings into coherent explanations. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊDistinguish between description and explanation and give examples of each based on their own environmental investigations. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊConsider the possible relationships among two or more variables. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊPropose explanations based on what they observed or learned through research, selecting which evidence to use and accounting for discrepancies. Synthesize and interpret information from a range of sources. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊList strengths and weaknesses of proposed explanations. Discuss how the proposed explanation could be rejected or its reliability improved. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊUse their proposed explanations to form new questions and suggest new avenues of inquiry. Strand 2.3--Humans and Their Societies A) Individuals and groups--Learners understand that how individuals perceive the environment is influenced in part by individual traits and group membership or affiliation. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊDescribe individual development and identity in terms such as learning, perception, innate abilities, culture, social influences, and experience. Interpret their own beliefs about the environment using similar concepts. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊExplain how group membership--and shared values, beliefs, and assumptions--can influence individuals, impel different reactions to physical and social environments and changes, and cause social change. For example, describe how family, religion, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and other factors may influence individuals' values and perceptions about the environment and their communities. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊIdentify and critique instances of stereotyping based on group affiliation. For example, discuss how people who are all identified as "environmentalists" may have very different perspectives from one another. C) Political and economic systems--Learners become more familiar with political and economic systems and how these systems take the environment into consideration. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊDifferentiate among public and private goods and services, using environment-related goods and services to illustrate. For example, examine the values and functions of wetlands. Distinguish among public goods, such as groundwater recharge, flood control, and wildlife habitat; and private goods, such as their value for agricultural production or water storage, or the value of draining the land for other uses. Discuss difficulties encountered in drawing these distinctions. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊIdentify economic and political features of the local community and state, and describe how environmental decisions can be influenced by these economic and political systems and actors. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊIdentify ways in which governments and economic systems work to protect the environment and distribute natural resources. Give examples of laws, incentives, and penalties that affect people's behavior toward the environment and each other. D) Global connections--Learners become familiar with ways in which the world's environmental, social, economic, cultural, and political systems are linked. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊExplain international trade in terms of uneven distribution of resources. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊDescribe ways in which the global environment is affected by individual and group actions, as well as by government policies and actions having to do with energy use and other forms of consumption, waste disposal, resource management, industry, and population. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊExplain how an environmental change in one part of the world can have consequences for other places. For example, develop a map or another visual presentation that shows the effects of acid rain or nuclear fallout in places distant from the source of the pollution. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊIdentify a variety of global links, including transportation and communication systems, treaties, multi-national corporations, and international organizations. E) Change and conflict--Learners understand that human systems change over time and that conflicts sometimes arise over differing and changing viewpoints about the environment. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊDescribe patterns of change within and across cultures, communities, and other groups. Consider the rapidity of change, mechanisms that helped spread change, and what motivated change. For example, discuss how and why wastewater treatment became a common practice in the United States. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊExplain how change affects individuals and groups differently and give examples of the trade-offs involved in decisions and actions ranging from the individual to the societal levels. For example, discuss how a decision about where to site a landfill, build a chemical plant, or locate a new highway might affect different neighborhoods, businesses, workers, people of varying socio-economic status, and others. Role play their reactions. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊDescribe and analyze examples of tensions between individual rights and benefits and the societal good. Illustrate with examples from the local community, possibly including disagreements over zoning, controversial proposals to raise taxes to pay for the purchase of open space or sewer system upgrades, or tradeoffs between commuting to work individually in a car or taking public transportation. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊIdentify some of the formal and informal ways that groups (including governments) attempt to anticipate, avoid, or resolve conflicts related to the environment. Strand 3-- Skills for Understanding and Addressing Environmental Issues B) Sorting out the consequences of issues--Learners are able to apply their knowledge of ecological and human processes and systems to identify the consequences of specific environmental issues. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊDescribe the effects of human actions on specific elements, systems, and processes of the environment. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊAnalyze issues by looking at trade-offs that have been made. For example, consider where various human activities (such as landfills, highways, chemical factories, or hazardous waste incinerators) are located and their effects on different places and different segments of the population. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊSpeculate about the effects of a proposed state or local environmental regulation. For example, consider effects on different sectors of the economy, neighborhoods, public health, particular plant and animal species and communities, and overall environmental quality. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊProject the consequences of inaction or failure to resolve particular issues. D) Working with flexibility, creativity, and openness--Learners are able to consider the assumptions and interpretations that influence the conclusions they and others draw about environmental issues. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊExplain how the interplay of ideas and perspectives strengthens the process of inquiry and the societal ability to address issues. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊReceive questions and alternative explanations that others offer in discussions as well as in readings. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊExplain why it is not always possible to select one correct explanation or a single best approach to addressing an issue. Strand 4-- Personal and Civic Responsibility Guidelines: A) Understanding societal values and principles--Learners understand that societal values can be both a unifying and a divisive force. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊIdentify some of the shared political values and principles that unite American society, and explain their importance. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊDiscuss conflicting views about the meaning and application of shared values in specific issues. For example, explore conflicting views about the idea that one person's rights end where they infringe on another's. Use a specific context such as proposed sports stadium or whether to permit an industrial facility or housing development that is likely to pollute a stream. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊFrom speeches and writings on specific environmental issues, identify ways in which advocates appeal to values such as individual freedoms, property rights, the public good, economic well-being, and patriotism. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊEvaluate the principle of stewardship as a shared societal value. For example, compare conceptions of stewardship contained in writings of John Muir, Gifford Pinchot, and Aldo Leopold with their own understanding. B) Recognizing citizens' rights and responsibilities--Learners understand the rights and responsibilities of citizenship and their importance in promoting the resolution of environmental issues. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊIdentify rights and responsibilities associated with citizenship, including personal and civic responsibilities. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊDescribe ways in which commonly accepted rights and responsibilities of citizenship motivate people to help resolve environmental issues. Consider rights and responsibilities such as acquiring, using and selling property; the right to vote; freedom of speech and assembly; accepting responsibility for the consequences of one's actions; obeying the law; and respecting the rights and interests of others. C) Recognizing efficacy--Learners possess a realistic self-confidence in their effectiveness as citizens. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊExplain the ways in which citizen action and public opinion influence environmental policy decisions. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊDescribe how individuals and groups act within society to create change, meet individual needs and promote the common good. Illustrate with examples from environmental issues. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊDescribe ways in which their actions have made a difference. Use examples that begin in the classroom and the home, and extend beyond to encompass the broader communities in which students begin to see possibilities for action. D) Accepting personal responsibility--Learners understand that their actions can have broad consequences and that they are responsible for those consequences. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊAnalyze some of the effects that their actions (and the actions of their families, social groups, and communities) have on the environment, other humans, and other living beings. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊDescribe actions in terms of their effects that reach into the future. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊDescribe their personal responsibilities, comparing their view of their responsibilities with commonly accepted societal views. åÊåÊ åÊ•åÊåÊ åÊIdentify ways in which they feel responsible for helping resolve environmental issues within their community