RESEARCH-BASED ADVOCACY FOR ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

1. RESEARCH-BASED ADVOCACY FOR ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

2. National Public Attention • Richard Louv, Last Child in the Woods • research from a variety of disciplines • indicated all people need the opportunity to connect with nature • continues to fuel a national advocacy movement. • Back to School, Back Outside • Healthy Lifestyles for children • Well-rounded students • Using the outdoors to create high performance learners • ‘Environmental Literacy’ in President’s budget proposal

3. Policy Potential • The No Child Left Inside Act (S.1372 and H.R.2547) • State Mandated Environmental Literacy Plans and Standards • Providing factual demonstration of the benefits of EE to inspire movement in positive directions

4. Research and Advocacy Advocacy Utilizing Available Data • Draw from existing research and extrapolate findings to your case • Document the outcomes of your own work Advocate for more supporting research!

5. Research and Advocacy Considerations • Audience • Needs • Anecdotal evidence is generally not sufficient • But make a personal connection to the work you do

6. Some Current Citations –Healthy Lifestyles • Hofferth, S. L. & Sandberg, J. F., “How American Children Spend Their Time” (2001) • Hofferth, S.L. & S.C. Curtin, “Changes in Children’s Time, 1997-2002/3: An Update” (2006) • From 1997-2003, the number of children in the United States ages nine to twelve engaging in outdoor activities such as hiking, walking, fishing, beach play and gardening declined 50%. Our nation’s youth are spending less time outside than at any time in our nation’s history. • Children under 13 living in the United States spend on average only about half an hour of unstructured time outdoors each week

7. Some Current Citations –Healthy Lifestyles • Kaiser Family Foundation, “Zero to Six: Electronic Media in the Lives of Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers” (2005). • Kaiser Family Foundation , “Generation M2: Media in the lives of 8 to 18 year olds” (2010). • our children are spending less than half the time out of doors that their parents did growing up • children are spending as much as 7.5 hours a day in front of electronic media

8. Some Current Citations –Physical and Mental Health • Coon JT, et al, “Does Participating in Physical Activity in Outdoor Natural Environments Have a Greater Effect on Physical and Mental Wellbeing than Physical Activity Indoors? A Systematic Review” (2011). • Exercising in natural environments was associated with greater feelings of revitalization and positive engagement, decreases in tension, confusion, anger, depression, and increased energy. Participants also reported greater enjoyment and satisfaction with outdoor activity and declared a greater intent to repeat the activity • Dyment, Janet E., "Grounds for Action: Promoting Physical Activity through School Ground Greening in Canada" (2006) • Children who experience school grounds or play areas with diverse natural settings are more physically active, more aware of good nutrition, more creative, and more civil to one another.

9. Some Current Citations –Social Justice • Committee on Environmental Health, “The Built Environment: Designing Communities to Promote Physical Activity in Children” Pediatrics, (2009). • Many low-income and minority children are often more cut-off from nature due to the built environment around them: poor housing conditions, high-volume traffic, and a lack of parks and green space

10. Some Current Citations –Environmental Literacy • NEETF/Roper Starch Surveys - NEETF, 1999 and 2005 • Most Americans believe they know more about the environment than they actually do • Only 3 out of 10 Americans can pass a quiz on basic environmental knowledge • McBeth, W. & Volk, T. L. (2010). The national environmental literacy project: A baseline study of middle grade students in the United States. • Baseline data on student knowledge, skills, affect, and behavior

11. Some Current Citations –Attention Deficit Disorder • Taylor, Andrea Faber; Frances E. Kuo; and William C. Sullivan, “Coping with ADD: The Surprising Connection to Green Play Settings.” (2001). • Taylor, Andrea Faber; Frances E. Kuo; and William C. Sullivan. "Views of Nature and Self- Discipline: Evidence from Inner City Children." (2001) • Kuo, F.E. & Taylor, A.F. (2004). A potential natural treatment for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: Evidence form a national study. • Green outdoor settings appear to reduce ADHD symptoms in children across a wide range of individual, residential, and case characteristics. • Children with attention-deficit disorder (ADD) benefited from more exposure to nature –the greener a child’s everyday environment, the more manageable are the symptoms of ADD

12. Some Current Citations –Academic Achievement • Archie, M., “Advancing Education through Environmental Literacy” (2003). • EE offers opportunities for rich, hands-on, real world and relevant learning across the curriculum • Environment-based education emphasizes specific critical thinking skills central to “good science”— questioning, investigating, forming hypotheses, interpreting data, analyzing, developing conclusions, and solving problems

13. Some Current Citations –Academic Achievement • Lieberman, G.A. & Hoody, L.L., “Closing the Achievement Gap: Using the Environment as an Integrating Context for Learning. State Education and Environment Roundtable” (1998) • Improved performance on standardized measures of academic achievement in reading, writing, math, science, and social studies • Reduced discipline and classroom management problems • Greater enthusiasm for language arts, math, science, and social studies • Better ability to apply science to real-world situations • Greater proficiency in solving problems and thinking strategically • Better application of systems thinking and increased ability to think creatively • More advanced skills in applying civic processes to real-life situations

14. Some Current Citations –Teacher Responses National Wildlife Fund Online Survey of 1878 teachers, ‘Back to School: Back Outside’ (2010) • 78% Strongly Agreed -- Children who spend regular time in unstructured outdoor play are better able to concentrate and perform better in the classroom • 82% Strongly Agreed -- Students need daily unstructured outdoor time as a counterbalance to the significant time spent indoors in front of electronic media • 75% Strongly Agreed -- Students who spend regular time outdoors tend to be more creative and better able to problem solve in the classroom

15. Some Current Citations –Environmental Attitudes • Wells, N. and K. Lekies, “Nature and the Life Course: Pathways from Childhood Nature Experiences to Adult Environmentalism.” Children, Youth and Environments 16(1): 1-24 (2006). • participation with “wild” nature before age 11 is a particularly potent pathway toward shaping both environmental attitudes and behaviors in adulthood. • childhood play in nature is associated with recycling, buying green products, voting green, and the choice of natural areas for recreation in adulthood. • Neither childhood participation in environmental education nor childhood experiences in nature with other people had significant effects on adult environmental behaviors

16. Some Current Citations –Promoting Learning and Citizenry The North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) and The National Environmental Education and Training Foundation (NEETF), “Using Environment-Based Education to Advance Learning Skills and Character Development”. Washington, DC: NAAEE and NEETF (2001). • Environmental education emphasizes cooperative learning (i.e., working in teams or with partners), critical thinking and discussion, hands-on activities, and a focus on action strategies with real-world applications. • Hands-on experiences in local communities help students develop a sense of connectedness and stewardship, making school learning relevant and interesting. • EE provides opportunities for students to develop and practice leadership skills such as: • Working in teams • Listening to and accepting diverse opinions • Solving real-world problems • Taking the long-term view • Promoting actions that serve the larger good • Connecting with the community

17. Additional Resources • NEEF – www.neefusa.org and http://www.eeweek.org/pdf/EE_Benefits.pdf • Louise Chawla’sFact Sheets http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/ArchitecturePlanning/discover/centers/CYE/Publications/Pages/FactSheets.aspx • NWF Back to School: Back Outside - http://www.nwf.org/~/media/PDFs/Be%20Out%20There/Back%20to%20School%20full%20report.ashx • Children and Nature Network - http://www.childrenandnature.org/research/ • NAAEE - http://eelinked.naaee.net/n/eeresearch

18. On the Reasons for and Limits of ‘Cherry Picking’ • One way of looking at the research literature is as a source of confirming or supporting evidence. • This often involves the search for, selection of, and promotion of, one or a small number of studies that provide such evidence and that have established credibility. • One reason this happens is to fill the need to justify or defend programming decisions. • A second is the absence of credible reviews of the wider research that may have a bearing on this. • A third is a gap between the knowledge/skills (a) required to conduct such a review vs. (b) available within/to a program. • One major limitation of the aforementioned approach is the inattention to studies that do not provide supporting evidence.

19. A Differing Perspective from the Research Arena • A traditional view of research is that its primary purpose is to generate knowledge (both theoretical and practical). • In very general terms, single studies contribute to the knowledge base of the field. • Some single studies may provide confirming, mixed, or even ‘negative’ results regarding the effects or effectiveness of certain EE approaches (e.g., effects of environment-based approaches on academic achievement: + Athman; - Clavijo) • From a research perspective, what is needed is a careful review of the widest possible range of relevant and credible studies. • Broad reviews allow researchers to detect patterns in and draw conclusions from the wider body of available evidence.

20. A Research Initiative in This Vein • Late in 2009, Tom Ackerman (CBF) approached and then worked with me to initiate a review of research pertinent to NCLI (i.e., EE approached that made use of outdoor/community settings). • This initial review was conducted over Spring 2010. Criteria for selecting intervention-and-outcome studies were set and used to select 47 studies from 8 published reviews of EE research. • Due to the limited number of studies located, an extended search was conducted. • The initial results were reported to CBF and presented at NAAEE in 2010.

21. ‘Next Steps’ Suggested in 2010 • Refine and expand search for studies that meet selection criteria • Merge all studies for each Cluster of EE Approach into a single list, and segment list for Specific EE Approaches • Review research methodology and outcomes for studies in each list • Refine and expand charting of studies for each Cluster and Specific EE Approach • Dissemination of these products

22. An Evolving Research Initiative • In Spring 2011, Todd Harwell (UGS at FIT) began to merge studies from the three sections of the bibliography that pertained to each ‘intervention’ (EE instructional approach) into a master list. He completed this for “A. Field Natural History and Ecology’. • In August 2011, he was joined by Yan Zhu and Melissa Daniel (new UGSs at FIT). Together, they have begun to analyze and prepare results from two more reviews of EE research (Voelker et al. ‘73; Hines et al. ‘86-’87) • Once they complete this, these results will be added to the initial bibliography, and these grad students will continue to prepare these merged master lists. • These drafts will be reviewed by otherresearchers, such as Rebecca Franzen (PhD student at NIU).