Split Rock Lodge, Lake Harmony, Pa. 11-5-99

KWL List

This data was gathered from the workshop during a KWL activity. KWL stands for, (K) what participants already know, (W) what participants want to know, and (L) what participants have learned from an activity. During the workshop participants write out their answers to each statement on three different index cards and the results are posted on bulletin boards. Answers are used as a tool to stimulate discussion at the start of the workshop and to provide a review at the end.

Summary of results:

What do you already know about EE?

Other

• It is desperately needed for everyone, including the educators themselves.
• EE is gaining influence and support throughout the world.
• The importance of EE.
• I have been involved with EE for 30 years.
• I have taught people from preschool to golden age.
• I have been fortunate to work at a nature center that has many habitats to work with.

Methods

• That there are many approaches and lots of resources and materials out there, some good, some not so good.
• It ties in so many disciplines.
• The different approaches taken within the field of EE.
• The complexity of EE, and its connections to all educational topics.

Content

• That the term "environmental education" means many different things to different people.
• I have tried to make everything I teach relevant and useful to the students and how it relates to the "web of life."
• Soil, water, air, conservation bio, ecology, and Biodiversity.

Resource

• That there are many approaches and lots of resources and materials out there, some good, some not so good.
• There are too many curriculums.

Administration

• Not enough is being done in our schools for environmental education. The local
• communities could be doing more.

What do you want to know about EE?

Other

• We have a farm as a new part of our center and I don't have a lot of info in this area.
• I was curious what others thought the essentials of EE would be. And whether or not
• I thought those essentials were essential to me.
• I would like to know how all of this got started.
• Where are we headed.

Content

• Look at current trends in Pa. EE and Pa. standards.
• A "re-grounding" in the history, philosophers and principles of EE.
• Mission of Pa. center for EE.

Methods

• How to get children's attention to the environment, then to sustain their interest.
• I am interested in learning more about the standards and ways to incorporate them into the curriculum.
• Learning about incorporating activities about agriculture, farming, ect.

Administration

• How public school districts incorporate EE into existing curriculums.
• What laws/policies exist mandating environmental education in the classroom.

Resources

• I am always interested in learning new activities and ways to get information across to the students.
• I am interested in learning more about the standards and ways to incorporate them into the curriculum.

Networking

Values

• What are dangers or pitfalls of EE (brainwashing, preaching, lack of personal examples.

What did you learn about EE?

Resources

• Great info on education information.
• The NAAEE EE materials "Guidelines for Excellence."
• There are written evaluation standards in place/in use to review EE information.
• I learned the EE materials guidelines (NAAEE) is a valuable resource for beginning to evaluate curricula.

Background

Methods

• How to align curriculum and standards.

Values

• Pa. environmental edu. as a process toward stewardship.