Teachers' perspectives on Eco-Literacy

Teachers' Perspectives on Incorporating Eco-Literacy

Other than effectiveness, my other question before starting this project is who is teaching E.L. and how are they doing it?  If they aren't incorporating E.L., why not?  To find out, I surveyed teachers around the Rogue Valley.  Specifically, I sent surveys to teachers in all grade levels in the Ashland, Medford, Talent-Phoenix, and Eagle Point school districts.  Of the 561 teachers I asked to participate, 160 responded (28.5%).  32% do not specialize in a specific discipline.  Of those who do specialize, there was no specific teaching focus or discipline that responded significantly more than another.

Here is a summary of their responses. Of those surveyed:

• 40% taught high school, 21% taught middle school, 11% taught upper elementary, and 28% taught lower elementary
• There was not majority who taught any particular discipline

 

Of the 30% who were already familiar with E.L.:

• 48% had learned about E.L. through educational or scientific news or literature, 32% discovered it through some sort of educational class or experience, and 16% learned about it from a colleague/friend
• the majority felt that they were only somewhat familiar with E.L. as a concept and how to incorporate it
• 45% had incorporated E.L. into their curriculum on a limited basis, 27% never had, and 16% had on a regular basis
• of the 6% who had discontinued teaching E.L., the primary reason for discontinuing was that they felt the curriculum didn't allow for incorporation
• the majority stated that incorporating E.L. was a positive experience for both the teacher and the student and students were able to make connections between ecology and non-ecology subjects.

In their own words, this is how teachers incorporate E.L. into their curriculum:

• "I am an English literature and writing teacher. We read current essays on eco-literacy themes as well as non-fiction books and poetry with environmental themes. Currently my Creative Writing class is reading Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. They will read The Open Space of Democracy by Terry Tempest Williams and poetry by Mary Oliver and Wendell Barry. We read essays by Barry Lopez."
• "Tons of ways. Taking students outside every few days. Monitoring sites, species inventory, environmental advocacy, local science specialists, stewardship, backpacking and camping trips, and more."
• "I used to teach about colonialism and travel writing and there were many opportunities to discuss nature and nature writing in those courses. Now it's harder." 
• "Looking at efficiencies of simple machines, pros and cons of different types for power generation, especially nuclear power, discussions of the financial and ecological costs of moving water around."
• "Our school just began our own community involved garden on-site. We are incorporating planting vegetables into our math, writing and reading. My students will also be researching best practices for gardening."
• "Currently I am a specialist so my curriculum is limited. When I was teaching elementary I did a variety of activities usually connected with science or social studies. We did out door education trips to the coast and mountains. We did recycling activities and included them in classroom procedures. one year we even planted a school garden. We planted red tulips with red ribbon week and enjoyed them in the spring. Being a good steward, being responsible was and is just part of life."

These teachers' definitions of E.L. included:

• "Understanding how one's conduct influences the environment, and using that knowledge to behave in an eco-friendly way."
• "Being able to speak about, read, and analyze the importance of Earth's systems"
• "Eco-literacy is knowledge of the way the earth and sustainability works for the health and well-being of all creatures on the planet. Our food sources, our natural resources and those who use them are all part of this literacy awareness and discussion. "
• "Eco-literacy is the awareness of ones impact to the environment around them. Knowledge and awareness of the environmental-footprint of ones decisions on daily living are a measure of ones literacy to the ecology. The more eco-literate a person is the more environmentally conscious are the decisions that person makes throughout the daily life (ie. buying local, carpooling/mass transit, recycling/composting, etc.)."
• "Eco- literacy is understanding the interrelationship of ecological systems. What keeps systems in balance and what moves then out of balance. It is understanding the interrelationships enough to look at pros and cons of big projects like the Keystone Pipeline or water issues in the Klamath Basin."
• "Being a good steward of the earth where we balance our needs with the natural environment. We take care of what God has provided us. For example we may need lumber to build buildings, furniture, etc. We log our forest carefully and replant so there will be more in the future."
• "Eco-literacy is similar to scientific literacy. A person having a working knowledge and understanding of ecological issues, challenges and events." 

Of the 70% who had not heard of E.L before:

• 24% said they would definitely be interested in learning more about E.L. and 59% said they might be interested
• those who responded favorably, most wanted to know more in-depth information about E.L. itself, how to integrate it, and examples of lesson plans
• of the 17% said who were not interested in learning more the primary reasons listed were that E.L. didn't apply to the teacher's discipline or the teachers didn't feel they had the time
• for those who said they would prefer to rely on outside experts, the primary reasons given were for the teacher's own training and the teacher did not feel like they were knowledgeable enough to integrate E.L. into their curriculum

So what does this information mean for me as a future environmental educator?

• We need to create more opportunities for teachers to learn about E.L./environmental education and how to incorporate it into the preexisting curriculum
• For those who are already familiar with E.L. or prefer to rely on outside experts, we need to provide opportunities to see and practice E.L. incorporation.  They also need ideas for lessons and curriculum.
• For those who don't see how E.L. can apply to their discipline, we need to show them that there are opportunities for integration and help them understand why integration is important

Tumalo Falls near Bend, OR
Photo: Bri Foster