Learning Outcomes, Assessment, Program Improvement: Environmental Education

In terms of program goals, the graduate in environmental education will:

Achieve a level of environmental literacy sufficient to enable them to educate others;
Be knowledgeable of the goals, theory, practice, and history of the field of environmental education;
Understand and accept the responsibilities associated with practicing environmental education;
Be proficient in design and implementation of effective instruction about the environment;
Be proficient in facilitating learning about the environment and about issues and problems of that environment; and,
Be able to effectively assess and evaluate the outcomes of environmental education instructional programs.

In terms of program objectives,

For Goal #1: The student will achieve a level of environmental literacy sufficient to enable them to educate others.

Objective #1. The student will demonstrate skills of questioning, analysis, and interpretation.
Objective #2. The student will gather information on complex questions, analyze that information, and explain conclusions drawn from this analysis in written and oral presentations.
Objective #3. The student will describe the earth as a physical system and how human societies do and have in the past interacted with and affected that system.
Objective #4. The student will describe the perceptions of nature that have governed human interactions with the environment over time.
Objective #5. The student will exercise skills in analyzing issues about the environment, reviewing a range of positions on issues, and making decisions regarding resolution of issues.
Objective #6. The student will be motivated to learn about, evaluate, and act on environmental issues.
Objective #7. The student will enjoy a sense of self efficacy regarding the challenges of addressing and solving environmental issues and problems.

For Goal #2: The student will be knowledgeable of the goals, theory, practice, and history of the field of environmental education.

Objective #1. The student will be able to state the goals of the field of EE as described in the Belgrade Charter, the Tbilisi Declaration, and other historically important formulations in the field.
Objective #2. The student will be able to define “environmental education” and explain the broad view that EE takes of “environment.”
Objective #3. The student will describe the commonly accepted qualities of good EE, including that it is interdisciplinary, integrative, and involves a process of moving learners from awareness to action.
Objective #4. The student will be able to describe the variety of settings in which EE is commonly delivered, the difference between formal and non-formal delivery systems, and the special challenges and opportunities of the various settings.
Objective #5. The student will be able to explain how the field has changed over time, moving from nature study to conservation education to outdoor education to environmental education and how and why the field evolved in this way.
Objective #6. The student will be able to describe the nature and broad conclusions of environmental education research and how that has and is affecting practice.
Objective #7. The student will identify current and emerging issues in the field.

For Goal #3: The student will understand and accept the responsibilities associated with practicing environment education.

Objective #1. The student will understand the need for fairness and balance in addressing issues of the environment.
Objective #2. The student will accept the responsibility of developing EE that is developmentally appropriate.
Objective #3. The student will understand and accept the challenge of relating EE to accepted curriculum standards and educational reform goals.
Objective #4. The student will model responsible, respectful, and reasoned behavior during instruction.
Objective #5. The student will be able to identify instructional materials, strategies, and techniques that allow learners to form their own opinion, draw informed and reasoned conclusions, and make independent judgments.

For Goal #4: The student will be proficient in design and implementation of effective instruction about the environment.

Objective #1. The student will design lessons based on knowledge of learners which will involve understanding of learning theories and theories of cognitive and moral development.
Objective #2. The student will be familiar with instructional strategies identified by the North American Association for Environmental Education as “essential,” such as: hands-on observation and discovery in the environment; inquiry; cooperative learning, community-based action research and problem-solving; service learning; and project-based learning, among others.
Objective #3. The student will be able to plan instruction from multiple-lesson programs to individual lesson plans.
Objective #4. The student will know of the wide range of materials and resources available for EE, and understand how to access, evaluate, and use these resources.
Objective #5. The student will be proficient in using a range of technologies available to assist student learning.
Objective #6. The student will be able to design safe and conducive learning environments both indoors and outside.
Objective #7. The student can use the process of curriculum design and development that involves steps from needs assessment through development of goals and objectives to selection of content and process and assessment of outcomes.

For Goal #5: The student will be proficient in facilitating learning about the environment and about issues and problems of that environment.

Objective #1. The student will be able to create a learning climate in which learners are motivated to study the environment.
Objective #2. The student will understand the importance of allowing learners to have firsthand experiences of the world around them, and will facilitate such experience in implementing EE programs.
Objective #3. The student will value the diverse backgrounds and perspectives of learners and incorporate this diversity into the learning experiences.
Objective #4. The student will understand the need for flexibility and be adept at modifying programs and lessons plans to take advantage of unanticipated learning opportunities.
Objective #5. The student will smoothly blend a variety of instructional methods and activities to meet instructional objectives according to the learner variables present in the instructional situation.

For Goal #6: The student will be able to successfully assess and evaluate the outcomes of environmental education instructional programs.

Objective #1. The student will be skilled at writing learning objectives that clearly state the learner outcomes intended in programs and lessons.
Objective#2. The student will identify standards (where there are any) that apply to the EE curriculum and link assessment of EE to them.
Objective #3. The student will understand assessment and evaluation options and be adept at prescribing appropriate strategies to understand the outcomes of educational programs.
Objective #4. The student will recognize the value of assessment and evaluation to program development and improvement, and will use them to improve future instruction.
Objective #5. The student will understand why it is important to constantly evaluate EE programs.

Actual student learning outcomes underlying each objective, with assessment methods for each outcome, as well as criteria for judging the quality of the outcome are given in the full text of the document referred to on the cover page.

In terms of the time cycle for review of objectives and related outcomes, and evaluation, each time a course is offered, the goals and objectives are reviewed and revised based on student evaluations, new literature, and other factors. Further, an extensive review of Spring Block (the principal field experience of the undergraduate program) and of the residency experience (the principal field experience of graduate students) is done annually by the EE faculty and, in the case of the residency, the staff of the North Cascades Institute.

Gene Myers is responsible for coordinating the assessment process. The type of feedback data provided by the assessment process include student evaluations, alumni feedback, employer feedback, placement rates, types of placements after graduation, observations, and portfolios (required of graduate students). Program faculty meet regularly to process all data. Also in process is “Strategic Plan for Huxley’s Environmental Education Program” prepared by a committee of faculty, students, and EE practitioners from outside the University and drafted by Gene Myers in September 2006. Also see Appendix 5, which contains various exhibits for the EE program – success stories, typical student feedback on an internship report, and syllabi.

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