Mediterranean models for integrating environmental education and Earth sciences through Earth systems education

Practitioners of modern environmental education frequently find themselves collaborating with those who are engaged in integrating the science disciplines in search of answers to natural hazard prediction/protection, understanding the deep sea and space, and especially confronting pressing environmental concerns with a basis in Earth sciences. Indeed, it is a lack of understanding of Earth systems processes and feedback mechanisms that has resulted in humans initiating or exacerbating environmental problems for centuries. In this paper the authors provide a perspective on the established fields of environmental education and Earth science, and propose a practical combination that is of larger global import as well as more personal relevance than either of the originals: Earth systems Education. The role of the Earth systems education model in integrating the science curriculum is discussed with regional examples from Israel and Cyprus.peer-reviewe

Global science literacy : definition, needs assessment and concerns for Cyprus

Global Science Literacy has as its goals to stimulate an interest in science, represent modern technological goals of science, develop international understanding, relate science to social needs, and develop thinking and problem-solving skills for the 21st Century. Such an approach is proposed as viable on an international basis for conceptual strength in integrated science courses. Assessment of GSL’s potential in Cyprus serves as an example of preparations needed and concerns to be addressed if GSL is to become the basis of the science curriculum. Toward this end, a survey of teachers throughout Cyprus identified teachers’ priorities for environmental issues and system science concepts their students should know, the teachers’ knowledge of those concepts and issues, and their current levels of teaching them. This paper will discuss the teachers’ relative perceptions of local and global understandings, Earth systems science, and teacher education issues involved in fostering Global Science Literacy.peer-reviewe

Ohio Students' Knowledge and Attitudes about the Oceans and Great Lakes

Author Institution: School of Natural Resources, The Ohio State University ; Science and Mathematics Education, The Ohio State UniversityA program to develop instructional materials for implementing marine and aquatic education in Ohio middle schools was begun by Ohio Sea Grant in 1977. This was followed 3 years later by a grant to disseminate the materials to schools in Ohio. To determine the effectiveness of the dissemination process a baseline study was conducted in the autumn of 1980. The survey obtained information on attitudes and knowledge of the Great Lakes and oceans from fifth and ninth grade students in randomly selected schools within 3 arbitrarily determined zones: the lake region, the central region and the Ohio River region. In addition, students responded to items to determine their perceptions of the sources of their knowledge

Ocean and Great Lakes Awareness Among Fifth and Ninth Grade Ohio Students: A Continuing Study

Author Institution: School of Natural Resources and College of Education, The Ohio State UniversityThe Ohio Sea Grant Education Program conducted a baseline study of ocean and Great Lakes awareness among Ohio's fifth and ninth grade students in 1979, and repeated it with some curriculum-specific additions as a longitudinal study in 1983. This report of the 1983 data indicates that over the 4-year period the ninth graders, cohort of the 1979 fifth graders, increased over 10% in ocean and Great Lakes knowledge scores. However, information considered critical to responsible decision-making is still lacking. Attitudes toward Lake Erie and the oceans, while remaining slightly positive for the group, did not change commensurate with knowledge. A new set of test items dealing specifically with information from Ohio Sea Grant curriculum materials was added to the survey in 1983 to provide a new baseline for future testing. The main self-reported source of student information about these topics changed over the period, so that in 1983 students in both grades were relying more on the classroom than on media sources for aquatic information. The survey will be repeated at regular intervals, continuing a longitudinal study unique to marine and aquatic education in North America