Teacher Persistence in Implementing EE: Implications for the Interpretive Community

2007 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Athman Ernst

There are a variety of barriers that deter teachers from using environmental education (EE), including state curriculum standards and testing, lack of funding and transportation, lack of training, and misconceptions about what EE is. Despite these barriers, some teachers persist in using EE. Because teachers and students in the formal educational setting often are a key audience for interpretive centers, it would be useful to understand teachers’ motivations for using EE and what helps them overcome barriers to integrating EE into their curriculum. Survey research was conducted with 70 K–12 teachers to investigate what they perceive as the strongest influences on their decisions to implement EE and their abilities to do so. Results indicated personal environmental literacy knowledge and skills, environmental sensitivity, and teaching context as key influences on teachers’ use of EE. Implications for the interpretive community related to providing teacher training and marketing school-based programs are discussed.

2021 ◽  
pp. 003452372110348
Author(s):  
Tim Corcoran ◽  
Matthew Krehl Edward Thomas

Global implementation of School-Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS) has grown considerably over the last forty years. SWPBS seeks to provide a multi-tiered approach to strategically frame integrated actions responding to matters of wellbeing, discipline and punishment in schools using Evidence-Based Interventions (EBIs). In this respect, EBIs rely on what are presumed to be value-free, reliably generated data which direct the selection, implementation and monitoring of SWPBS in schools. The paper begins by exploring how SWPBS is understood via implementation science. Following an outline of standard SWPBS EBI practice, discussion turns to instead consider this work as Evidence-Making Interventions (EMIs). To do so, first we outline how our before-the-fact anticipations influence relationships and disciplinary actions as they are realised in schools through EBIs. Our focus then turns to explain how SWPBS interventions, using multi-tiered systems of support and technology as examples, might be understood and enacted differently if engaged as EMIs. In conclusion, school-based relationships are subsequently reconsidered as a confluence of human (teachers and students) and non-human (data and policy) liaisons always and already subject to each other’s next move.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 272-291
Author(s):  
Rachel Bayer ◽  
Ashley Travis ◽  
Chenzi Wang

Kids Growing with Grains is a school-based agricultural education program that improves youths’ conceptual understanding of how agriculture is linked to nutrition, the environment, and human health. University of Maryland Extension Educators developed the program’s hands-on activities, which focus on grain science, grains and the environment, grains and animals, and grain nutrition. The program is traditionally implemented through a station-based field trip experience lasting 4 hours in length. The program has been evaluated using a mixed-methods approach that includes qualitative and quantitative data collected from both teachers and students. Evaluation results from the past 2 years indicate the program is achieving its learning objectives. The program is designed to be easily replicated by other Extension programs throughout the country in a variety of formal or non-formal settings.


2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 180-195
Author(s):  
Shirley A. Jackson

In 2017, Oregon passed House Bill 2845 requiring Ethnic Studies curriculum in grades K–12. It was the first state in the nation to do so. The bill passed almost fifty years after the founding of the country’s first Ethnic Studies department. The passage of an Ethnic Studies bill in a state that once banned African Americans and removed Indigenous peoples from their land requires further examination. In addition, the bill mandates that Ethnic Studies curriculum in Oregon's schools includes “social minorities,” such as Jewish and LGBTQ+ populations which makes the bill even more remarkable. As such, it is conceivable for some observers, a watered-down version of its perceived original intent—one that focuses on racial and ethnic minorities. Similarly, one can draw analogies to the revision of the Civil Rights Bill of 1964 when it included women as a protected group. Grounded in a socio-political history that otherwise would not have been included, this essay examines the productive and challenging aspect of HB 2845. Framing the bill so it includes racial, ethnic, and social minorities solved the problem of a host of bills that may not have passed on their own merit while simultaneously and ironically making it easier to pass similar bills.


Schools have become the default mental health providers for children and adolescents, but they are often poorly equipped to meet the mental health needs of their students. The introduction tackles how to make students eligible for school-based services using the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Using the new DSM-5 as an organizing principle, this book then addresses the 12 most common mental disorders of childhood and adolescence, ages 3–18. While there are many books that address child and adolescent psychopathology, this book focuses on how to help students with mental disorders in pre-K–12 schools. Each chapter addresses the prevalence of a disorder in school-age populations, appropriate diagnostic criteria, differential diagnosis, comorbid disorders, rapid assessment instruments available, school-based interventions using multitiered systems of support, and easy-to-follow suggestions for progress monitoring. Unique to this book, each chapter has detailed suggestions for how school-based clinicians can collaborate with teachers, parents, and community providers to address the needs of youth with mental health problems so that school, home, and community work together. Each chapter ends with a list of extensive web resources and a real-life case example drawn from the clinical practice of the authors. The final chapter addresses two newly proposed diagnoses for self-harm in the DSM-5 and brings a cautious and sensible approach to assessing and helping students who may be at risk for serious self-injury or suicide.


2021 ◽  
pp. 109830072110033
Author(s):  
Amy M. Briesch ◽  
Sandra M. Chafouleas ◽  
Jennifer N. Dineen ◽  
D. Betsy McCoach ◽  
Aberdine Donaldson

Research conducted to date provides a limited understanding of the landscape of school-based screening practices across academic, behavioral, and health domains, thus providing an impetus for the current survey study. A total of 475 K–12 school building administrators representing 409 unique school districts across the United States completed an online survey, which assessed current school-based screening practices across domains from the point of data collection to intervention selection. Whereas 70% to 81% of the respondents reported the use of universal screening across health and academic domains, respectively, only 9% of the respondents endorsed the use of universal social, emotional, and behavioral screening. In addition, discrepancies were identified across domains with regard to such factors as (a) who reviews screening data, (b) how screening data are used to determine student risk, and (c) how interventions are designed for those students demonstrating risk. The lack of consensus in practice calls for dissemination concerning best practices in the implementation of social, emotional, and behavioral screening; risk identification; and Tier 1 intervention.


Author(s):  
Jihoon Kim ◽  
Darla M. Castelli

Background: Gamified reward systems, such as providing digital badges earned for specific accomplishments, are related to student engagement in educational settings. The purpose of this study was to conduct a meta-analytic review to quantify the effects of gamified interventions on student behavioral change. Methods: A meta-analysis was performed using the following databases: The Academic Search Complete, Communication & Mass Media Complete, Education Source, ERIC, Library Information Science & Technology Abstracts, and PsycINFO. Inclusion in the review required: (a) peer-reviewed conducted between 2010 and 2019, (b) experimental controlled design, (c) gamification elements, and (d) educational setting. Results: Using a random-effects model, a statistically significant (Cohen’s d (ES) = 0.48, 95% CI = 0.33, 0.62) gamification effect was evidenced by moderate and positive grand effects sizes (ES). Gamification effects were higher with adults in higher education (ES = 0.95) than K-12 students (ES = 0.92). Brief interventions delivered in days or less than 1 week were significantly more effective (ES = 1.57) than interventions lasting up to 20 weeks (ES = 0.30). Interventions incorporating gamification elements across years (ES = −0.20) was adversely associated with behavioral change. Conclusions: Findings suggest that short-term over longer-term gamified interventions might be a promising way to initiate changes in learner’s behaviors and improve learning outcome.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 292-302
Author(s):  
S. D. Suryani ◽  
M. Amin ◽  
F. Rohman

This study intends to analyze the influence of the research-based monograph book as a learning resource to improve pre-service teachers’ knowledge, attitudes, and behavior towards the environment. This study is a quasi-experimental study using the Nonequivalent Control Group design. The research sample is 67 pre-service biology teachers using Cluster Sampling. Data were collected using environmental literacy instruments and analyzed descriptively and using the ANCOVA test. The results of the ANCOVA test showed that there was a significant effect on the use of the monograph book on environmental literacy. Knowledge domain obtained 0.047, attitude domain 0.186, and behavioral field 0.986 This research concludes that using the monograph book in learning affects aspects of ecological and environmental knowledge. Nevertheless, it has not had a significant effect on parts of attitude and behavior.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Lynch ◽  
Elissa Favata ◽  
Michael Gochfeld ◽  
Richard Lynch

Objective: Mercury catalyzed polyurethane (MCPU) floors installed in K-12 gymnasiums may release mercury vapor presenting possible mercury exposure to teachers and students. Varied approaches to sampling, air monitoring, ventilation, evacuation of gyms and/or removal of the floor coverings have occurred. As many gyms are being converted to classrooms during the COVID-19 pandemic, effective assessment and management of these floors is essential. Methods: Mercury assessment strategies for 10 New Jersey schools with MCPU floors were reviewed to assist school districts with decisions for management in-place or removal. Results: Bulk mercury levels do not predict airborne mercury levels. Mercury generation rates ranged between 0.02 to 0.17 μg/ft2/ hour. Hazards encountered during removal are substantial. Conclusions: Decisions to manage or remove mercury catalyzed rubber-like gym floor should be based upon a rigorous multi-factor assessment. Mercury exposures often can be managed via HVAC, added ventilation, temperature, and maintenance controls. A statewide registry of MCPU floors should be considered. Removal of MCPU floors should be professionally monitored to protect teachers, staff, and students.


2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 436-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marlena L. Minkos ◽  
Sandra M. Chafouleas ◽  
Melissa A. Bray ◽  
Tamika P. LaSalle

The current study used a multiple-baseline across subjects design to examine the effect of a daily, audio-delivered, mindful breathing intervention on adolescents with emotional and behavioral difficulties attending an alternative educational setting. Academic engagement served as the primary dependent variable, with disruptive behavior, feasibility, and acceptability serving as secondary dependent variables. Four students entered the baseline phase; however, only two students entered the intervention phase. Results indicated that participants displayed increases in academic engagement as measured by both direct behavior rating and systematic direct observation that were maintained at 6-week follow-up. Decreases in disruptive behavior were also observed. Because the effects were not replicated three times, changes cannot be directly attributed to the intervention. In addition, teachers and students perceived the intervention to be both feasible and acceptable. Implications of the findings are discussed.


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