"Teaching Environmental Issues"

January 19 – March 27, 2009

CAEE’s online EE Teacher Institute is a professional development course aimed at classroom teachers and non-formal educators who seek a variety of tools and techniques to help them deal with environmental issues and controversy.  The orientation toward “issues” makes the course somewhat more applicable to teachers in grades 6-12, but many teachers in grades 2-5 have also found it useful and enjoyable.  Via distance learning, course participants will explore, at their own pace and from the convenience of their home or office, how to effectively teach about environmental issues specific to their community.

The Institute actively engages the educator to explore their role in facilitating the investigation and evaluation of environmental issues with their learners – in classrooms and some non-formal settings.  The Institute models a variety of environmental education strategies that assist learners to analyze issues and seek courses of responsible action toward the resolution of issues.  Participants will work first individually and then participate in a virtual large discussion format by communicating their responses to the whole group.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

• To examine the role of EE in addressing environmental issues

• To demonstrate effective strategies for helping learners explore environmental issues.

• To explore some of the skills needed to investigate environmental issues.

• To introduce a five-step process as a framework for approaching environmental issues.
  

• To understand the role of “action” within the environmental education context, as well as the skills involved in responsible environmental action.

LESSONS AND ACTIVITIES: 

• Useful skills in teaching issues; self-assessing the individual strengths and needs.
• Making distinctions between environmental education and environmental advocacy.
• Developing a common understanding of EE.
• Motivation, concerns, and benefits of using issues as a teaching tool in the classroom.
• A process/plan for working through an issue.

• Methodologies for student-centered issue investigations.
• Levels of understanding within the general public regarding major environmental issues.
• Defining problems; identifying audiences in several examples of environmental issues.
• Examining personal beliefs and values.

Registration:

The fee for the course is $100. You can register online here or

send your payment by check made payable to CAEE, 15260 S. Golden Rd Golden, CO 80401 with the following information:

Name:

Organization:

Address, City, State:

Email Address:

Phone:

For more information, contact CAEE at 303-273-9527 or email.

Credit: Two optional graduate-level recertification credits are available through the Colorado School of Mines Teacher Enhancement program for an additional $80 fee.