Archive | 2019
Environmental Literacy for All: Innovating Environmental Education for Teacher Education Majors and Non-education Majors
Abstract
This chapter examines the nature of an undergraduate Environmental Education (EE) course designed to meet the needs of Preservice Teacher Education (PTE) majors and non-education majors at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario. A survey was designed for the purposes of evaluating effectiveness of the course and for improvement purposes. Twenty-eight undergraduate students who were enrolled in the course completed the anonymous, post-course survey. Survey results indicated that students found the course to be well balanced in terms of lectures, hands-on/action-oriented activities, invited guests, as well as opportunities to voice their opinions. The students also reported that their environmental behaviours were enhanced or changed in a positive way as a result of taking this course, and they felt empowered to teach others how to live more sustainably. Drawing from the findings, I argue that, alongside the preparation of environmentally literate teachers, we should also think about preparing environmental educators for “the masses”. The conclusion provides some insights into how this course can be used to ensure that all concurrent education majors are well prepared to effectively integrate EE across the school curriculum.