EE Success Stories
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EE Validation
By Pamela Holz, Washington CCB Naturalist, 1999
Sometimes environmental education falls under criticism. For those of us who dedicate our lives to EE, this conflict can be frustrating. Fortunately for us, a recent study by the State Education and Environmental Roundtable validated the importance of a good environmental education.
This study, titled Closing the Achievement Gap: Using the environment as an integrating context for learning, gathered evidence from 40 schools across the U.S., including three from Iowa. The Environment as an Integrating Concept (EIC) is a framework for interdisciplinary, collaborative, student-driven, hands-on, and engaged learning. EIC does not focus strictly on the environment, but rather uses the environment as a comprehensive focus and framework for learning in all areas, using proven educational practices. The environment is then a tool to learn basic education topics, as well as general and disciplinary knowledge, thinking and problem-solving skills, and basic life skills.
The Roundtable based its findings on site visits, interviews, survey results, and gains on both standardized text scores and GPAs. The benefits of EIC include:
· better performance on standardized measures of academic achievement in reading, writing, math, science, and social studies;
· reduced discipline and classroom management problems;
· increased engagement and enthusiasm for learning; and
· greater pride and ownership of accomplishments.
EIC-based programs provide a comprehensive educational framework instead of traditional compartmentalized approaches, resulting in increased student performance and a positive school experience.
For a personal copy of this study, contact the Stare Education and Environmental Roundtable at (619) 676-0272 or visit their Web site at http://www.seer.org. If you are interested in implementing EIC at your school, the Iowa Department of Education periodically hosts special workshops with EIC as the underlying theme.
