About Environmental Education

Research

Current Status of Environmental Education Funding in Wisconsin Survey - 2006
In the fall of 2006, WAEE conducted a short survey to gather baseline data on the status of environmental education (EE) funding in Wisconsin and the impact, if any, changes in funding has had on programs and staff. It is our goal that WAEE will maintain data on EE funding levels to determine trends in EE opportunities around the state.
Survey Results Summary (PDF)
Full Survey Results (PDF)

Environmental Education in Wisconsin: Are We Walking the Talk?
A profile of environmental education in Wisconsin K-12 Schools based on statewide surveys and assessments of students, teachers, curriculum coordinators, and principals. (Compiled in 1997)
Entire Report (PDF)
The report in parts (PDF):
- Cover, Credit, and Introduction (588KB)
- Student Assessment (594KB)
- Teacher Assessment (393KB)
- Administrator Assessment (505KB)
- References (55.0KB)
- Findings, Implications, Strategies (298KB)
- Appendix A: Summary of Response Frequencies in Survey of Fifth Grade Students (406KB)
- Appendix B: Summary of Response Frequencies in Survey of Eleventh Grade Students (485KB)
- Appendix C: Summary of Response Frequencies and Means in Survey of Teachers (405KB)
- Appendix D: Summary of Response Frequencies and Means in Survey of Administrators (562KB)
- Appendices E, F, G: Additional Information on Student Surveys (252KB)
- Appendices H, I, J: Additional Information on Teacher and Administrator Survey Results (84.1KB)

Closing the Achievement Gap: Using the Environment as an Integrating Context for Learning
This report is a summary of the effectiveness of EE from a study that included 40 schools across the US in which over 400 students and 250 teachers and administrators were interviewed and surveyed. Standardized test scores, GPAs, and students' attitudinal measures were also examined. The study found:
- Better standardized test scores in reading, writing, math, science, and social studies
- Reduced discipline and classroom management problems
- Increased engagement and enthusiasm for learning
- Greater pride and ownership in accomplishments
www.seer.org/pages/GAP.html 

Changing Minds: The lasting impact of school trips
A study of the long-term impact of sustained relationships between schools and the National Trust via the Guardianship scheme. By Alan Peacock, Honorary Research Fellow, The Innovation Centre, University of Exeter, February 2006. Summary of Findings:

Benefits to students
- Education was fun, exciting, enjoyable and better than working in the classroom
 - Improved attitudes to the environment both in terms of a desire to protect the local environment and also in attitudes to issues such as recycling and avoiding waste
- Development of social skills such as tolerance, caring, group awareness and self-discipline
- Development Research skills involving understanding and management of the natural environment
- Gain in skills ranging from gardening and cooking to using digital cameras and microscopes
- Development of community spirit and valuing what was in their own backyard as a result of the scheme

Benefits to families, friends and the community
- Increased willingness of parents to come into school for events and meetings
- Increased visits by parents and siblings to natural sites

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-schools-guardianships-changing_minds.pdf (PDF)

Environment-based Education: Creating High Performance Schools and Students
This report is a follow up to the Closing the Achievement Gap study. The study included individual schools, a model school program involving five schools, and a statewide program, all of which have adopted EE as the central focus of their academic programs. The results in all of the schools studied are impressive and heartening.

Reading scores improve, sometimes spectacularly.
A notable example is the performance of Third-Grade students at Hawley Environmental Elementary School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. All of these students passed the Wisconsin Reading Comprehension Test, as compared with only 25% of the total Milwaukee public school population.

Math scores also improve.
Typically, in environment-based programs, students' scores on standardized math tests improve. At Isaac Dickson Elementary School in Asheville, North Carolina, Grade Four students achieved a remarkable 31 percentage point increase in math achievement in just one year.

Students perform better in science and social studies.
On state and national social studies and science tests, the scores of students who engaged in environment-based studies almost always exceeded those of students in traditional programs. At the School for Environmental Studies in Apple Valley, Minnesota, for example, students who took the ACT test for college admission scored higher than their peers in the district, the state, and the nation.

Students develop the ability to make connections and transfer their knowledge from familiar to unfamiliar contexts.
At Condit Elementary School in Bellaire, Texas, Third-Grade students who took part in the research-based environment program successfully solved problems involving natural habitats and sharpened their higher-level thinking skills. These results were confirmed by researcher Carol Basile via several test instruments designed for this purpose.

Students learn to do science rather than just learn about science.
Using nature as an outdoor laboratory helps create conditions conducive to learning. Students' natural interest in the environment motivates them to learn and understand the complexities of their world. Increased student motivation was observed in all of the schools and classrooms included in this study.

Classroom discipline problems decline.
Teachers who use environment-based strategies often note that classroom discipline problems decline, and formerly disruptive students find themselves in the environment's hands-on approach to learning. Improved classroom behavior was observed by virtually all of the teachers in the schools studied.

Every child has the opportunity to learn at a high level.
Teacher after teacher in Kentucky reported that students previously performing at low academic levels came alive when introduced to an environment-based curriculum. As Jane Eller, Kentucky Environmental Education Council, puts it: "The main tenet of our educational system is that every child can learn at a high level. In just a few years, we've begun to see schools from some of our poorest neighborhoods do very well on the assessment. We think this proves what we believe in Kentucky that there is a way to reach every child."

www.neefusa.org/pdf/NEETF8400.pdf (PDF)