Educator Preparation

• Funding: Wisconsin Society of Science Teachers and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
• Product: Developed resources for Taking Education Outdoors: A Toolkit for Schools
• Partnership with the Connectivity Project

Participant Project Abstracts: 

• Nature Journaling as a connection practice
  One activity that can be used in the classroom are nature journals. This outline created by Dr. Patty Born can be utilized as a resource for teacher educators with step-by-step instructions. This activity chronicles time outdoors with a focus on physical health, emotional health, and community health/equity. View resource
• Teaching Science Outside
  This resource outline created by Elizabeth Crotty takes into consideration on how educators can take their classes outdoors. It reviews what is needed to be considered before taking classes outdoors and what communication is needed beforehand as well. This outline covers a planning phase including a preparation checklist. View resource
• Model for Teaching Science Curriculum
  Project Learning Tree’s “Explore Your Environment” can be utilized as a model to pre-service science curriculum instruction. The outline created by Dr. Kathleen Kremer explores NGSS concepts in the classroom and references PLT curriculum features. Included in this outline are other resources related to Place-Based Learning, Connectivity, Inquiry-Based Learning, Questioning, and Nature of Science (NOS). View resource
• Learning Outside: A Logistics Checklist for Before, During, & After Learning Outside with Your Students
  Starting classroom learning outside can be difficult but this checklist created by Dr. Kendra Liddicoat, Dr. Amy Lindgren, Karla Lockman, Dr. Heidi Masters, and Dr. Jean Weaver covers may resources for educators to get started. Within this checklist, it covers the before, during and after stages of teaching outside. Included in each section are hyperlinks that can give more resources to guide educators in their preparation. View resource
• Redefining Curriculum—Mapmaking
  One activity that can be utilized in the classroom is map-making. This outline created by Dr. Randa Suleiman is adapted from David Sobel “mapmaking with children” and highlights objectives goals, materials, additional resources, and a specific project outline relating to a creation of a Rebus Treasure Hunt. This activity is thoroughly integrated with socio-emotional learning (SEL) while prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). View resource
• Empowering Educators in Marginalized Communities to Connect, Explore and Engage in their Greenspaces: A Summit for Pre-Service and In-service teachers in Marginalized Schools
  This outline created by Dr. Corey L. Thompson is heavy with resources related to environmental education curriculum and green space experiences. As Thompson connected with multiple experts in the field, this guides pre-service and in-service teachers to the multiplicity of resources available to them to help introduce students from marginalized populations to environmental education and the great outdoors within their communities. Included are resources related to the LEAF, KEEP, UW and WICCI covering clean energy, school forests, restoration, conservation issues and a variety of other environmental related topics. One section also includes resources pertaining to Native Nations. View resource
• Forest Bathing Guide: For Educators
  One activity that can be used in the classroom is the facilitation of forest bathing. This guide created by Jan Wellik, EdD, provides highlights of activities from M. Amos Clifford’s book – Your Guide to Forest Bathing. Through this guide, educators will be able to understand what forest bathing does and how it has health and social-emotional benefits. There is a group activity focus that creates an overall embodied awareness and other experiences for students. Other forest bathing resources such as books and videos are also mentioned. View resource
• “Adventure” Field Trips Planning Template
  One activity that can be used in the classroom are adventure field trips. This template created by Dr. Kevin Zak utilizes David Sobel’s design principles for educators. Example tasks through the adventure field trips are included as well as specific curriculum standards in which this activity covers. View resource

Energizing Pre-Service Teacher Education Programs and In-Service Teacher Collaborators

In 2019 the TENFEE event was held at the Wintergreen in the Wisconsin Dells and funded by Wisconsin Society of Science Teachers and KEEP—Wisconsin's K-12 Energy Education Program. Faculty members and K-12 educators paired up to complete energy education research projects. 

Major Topics: 

KEEP Activities: 

• Walking through activity book (battery example)
• Explore Wind and Sun
• Food Chain Game
• Coal Mining Cookies

Project Designs in Groups:

• Energy efficiency
• Wind
• Natural Resources
• Teacher efficacy/resources
• Learning assessment/extension
• Green spaces/food energy

Other Activities: 

• Name Toss Game

• Environmental Literacy and Sustainability Standards

  • Increased conversation in districts about enviro ed due to new standards

  • Switching terminology from EE to ELS (envrionmental literacy & sustainability) 

• Outside activity: Environment is not away featuring “Anyone Who” game
• KEEP Introduction
• Research Method Development

2018 Connect, Explore, Engage with Standards

This event was held at the Wintergreen in the Wisconsin Dells with funding provided by Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction for WISELearn. 

Major Topics:

• Wisconsin Standards for Environmental Literacy and Sustainability

• Project WILD, Project WET, Project Learning Tree Educator Certification

   

Product 

• Created lessons related to the three strands in the standards: Connect, Explore, Engage

2017 TENFEE Summit

This event was held in July in Madison with funding from the National Science Foundation with a follow-up meeting held in January 2018.

Environmental Education Activities for Teacher Educators: A Sampling from Wisconsin

These environmental education activities were created for teacher educators by teacher educators. Through a grant from the National Science Foundation (DRL 1638420), members of Wisconsin’s higher education programs were invited to participate in two workshops that provided professional development and time to create these activities. The teacher educators have also implemented these activities in their own courses.

The resource includes 34 activities that could be used to teach a range of disciplines and licensure levels. Additionally, they are aligned with the Professional Development of Environmental Educators: Guidelines for Excellence (NAAEE, 2017). 

Major Topic:

• Place-Based Education with guest David Sobel

Other Activities: 

• EE in Wisconsin Presentation

   

• NAAEE Guidelines Presentation

• Creating school Team Plan Intro

• Model Outdoor Activity

• Interest Group formation and Discussion

• Personal project

• Interest Group Activity Sharing

2016 TENFEE Summit

This event was held by the shores of Lake Michigan at Concordia University with funding provided by the Wisconsin Environmental Education Board, with in kind support from Concordia University and Project Learning Tree. 

Major Topics: 

• Project Learning Tree Facilitator Training  

• Focus: NAAEE Guidelines for Excellence: Professional Development of Environmental Educators 
• Funding: North American Association for Environmental Education
• Hosted in partnership with the Midwest Environmental Education Conference

Major Topics

• NAAEE Guidelines for Excellence: Community Guidelines Workshop 

Major Topics:

• Basics of Community-Based Learning Presentation

• Overview of using WGSN Lab Schools for Student Training and Practicum Sites

• General Research Discussion

  Turkey Research Discussion

Applied working session

• Preservice teacher preparation

   

• Research

   

• Community-Based Learning

2012 TENFEE Summit

This event was held at the Mead Wildlife Area and funded through a grant from the Wisconsin Environmental Education Board.

Major Topics

• Overview of Wisconsin’s Plan for Environmentally Literate and Sustainable Communities, Wisconsin’s Plan to Advance Education for Environmental Literacy and Sustainability in PK-12 Schools including Disciplinary Literacy

• Presentation of Quantitative analysis of EE in elementary teacher education programs

• Presentation: Next Generation Science Standards, Common Core Standards, and implications for new environmental education standards

• Licensing and Continual Review Process

Additional Activities

• Mead Tour w/ discussion on how do we integrate community resources into pre-service programs?

• Working Groups

  • Establishing criteria for preservice teacher preparation in EE and determining strategies to support and monitor compliance (reference NCATE and NAAEE guidelines) to provide equity for both in-state and out-of-state teacher

  • Statewide Env. Literacy Assessment

  • Identification of other research needs and opportunities in EE (following up on ideas from TENFEE 2011); WEERD updates

  • Call to Action

2011 TENFEE Summit

The 2011 summer gathering of educator preparation programs was held at the Aldo Leopold Foundation in Baraboo, Wisconsin. Funding was provided by the Wisconsin Environmental Education Board Research Committee. 

Major Topics: 

• Teacher Preparation Study Overview
• Environmental Education in PK-12 Schools PI-8, PI-34
• No Child Left Inside: Wisconsin’s Plan to Advance Education for Environmental Literacy and Sustainability in PK-12 Schools

Additional Activities: 

• Leopold Shack Tour

• Evening Film - A Fierce Green Fire

Educator Preparation Program Case Studies: 

• UW-Stevens Point and UW-River Falls
• Wisconsin Lutheran College
• Edgewood College and Northland College

Discussions:

• Brainstorming challenges to get interdisciplinary involvement (Flip chart activity)
• Future of Collaboration
• How do we address challenges to interdisciplinary approaches?
• How does your institution prepare teachers to meet these State Environmental Literacy Goals 1 and 2?
• How does environmental education fit across your campus, within as well as beyond the school of education?

Opportunities for Research: How do you use this information moving forward?

Resources

2001 — Energy funding hosted a small group interested in continuing, but no infrastructure to continue.

Mid 1990s — a group of higher education representatives. Event has good showing, but no infrastructure to continue.