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Personalizing Environmental Science

Personalizing Environmental Science. Seeing the " I " in " Environment ". Matthew Laposata, Kennesaw State University. GOALS. Propose a philosophy of teaching for intro environmental science courses that emphasizes, when possible, personalizing experiences for students. Rationale Resources

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Personalizing Environmental Science

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  1. Personalizing Environmental Science Seeing the "I" in "Environment" Matthew Laposata, Kennesaw State University

  2. GOALS Propose a philosophy of teaching for intro environmental science courses that emphasizes, when possible, personalizing experiences for students • Rationale • Resources • Results

  3. How big are your intro environmental science sections?

  4. In which formats are intro environmental science courses offered at your institution?

  5. Making the case for personalization Advocating an approach that utilizes available strategies and resources Applicable in traditional, blended (hybrid), and online courses

  6. For non-majors, engagement isn’t tapped, it’s manufactured

  7. But I’m not majoring in science… Normally, I hate science, but this doesn’t totally suck… I’m taking this course because I have to… Science isn’t my strongest subject… Disconnecting starts early and persists…

  8. Engaging Millenials with non-majors science

  9. What’s Your Generation?

  10. MILLENIALS Raised in the era of “Information Saturation” Highly adept at filtering for personally-relevant information

  11. Once a luxury, it’s now an expectation

  12. BIG THE PICTURE Whenever possible, help themsee the “I” in “environment” with personalized experiences

  13. Course Field trips and service learning activities Personal response systems (“clickers”) Group discussions You already own the tools

  14. Approach complements Improved science literacy Course Thinking scientifically Goals Critical thinking Civic Engagement*

  15. “Real-world” relevance PERSONALIZATION ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE Abundant existing resources Lifestyle choices affect the environment

  16. Personalization tackles “scale” issues in environmental science

  17. Regional & global impacts seem unbelievably large Individual contributions appear negligible

  18. Use “calculator “to quantify each student’s unique impacts…

  19. Multiplicative Effects Individual University … then multiply to make scale manageable Metropolitan area

  20. SCALE and Human Population Growth http://video.nationalgeographic.com/

  21. Millions vs. Billions Your crazy, old, rich uncle dies and wills you his fortune. But you can only have the money once you’ve counted it all, at a rate of $1 per second for 8 hrs. a day. How long would it take to count: A MILLION DOLLARS: About 35 days A BILLION DOLLARS: About 95 years

  22. The Allowance Example A father complained that his daughter’s $20 a month allowance was too much. She replied, “O.K. Dad, how about this? You give me a penny on the first day of the month and double it each day until the end of the month.” WOULD YOU TAKE THE DEAL? How much would he have to pay out at the end of the month? Let’s see…

  23. Mon. Tue. Wed. Thu. Fri. Sat. Sun. 163.84 1.28 0.01 20,971.52 41,943.04 327.68 2.56 0.02 83,886.08 5.12 0.04 655.36 1,310.72 167,772.16 10.24 0.08 20.48 0.16 335,544.32 2,621.44 0.32 40.96 5,242.88 671,088.64 10,485.76 0.64 1,342,177.28 81.92 2,684,354.56 5,368,709.12 10,737,418.24 The Allowance Example All values are in dollars At the end of the month, he’d owe his daughter around $21,474,836 …

  24. Approaches for introducing personalizing experiences

  25. COURSE ACTIVITIES

  26. Do your intro environmental science courses have a laboratory component?

  27. EXAMPLES GHGs Home energy audit Ecological footprint Environmental “calculators”

  28. Environmental Science Activities for the 21st Century (ESA21) http://esa21.kennesaw.edu

  29. NSF # 0088723 and # 0231171

  30. Over 50 activities created Interdisciplinary team of developers

  31. Personalized lifestyle calculators and simulations

  32. Heavy emphasis on lifestyle analysis and effects of changes on personal impacts

  33. http://simulator.down2earth.eu/#

  34. Personalized-feedback coaching activities

  35. You matched 4 of 6 words/phrases incorrectly. The total fertility rate has been decreasing in many nations in recent years, and in most cases, improvements in women’s rights are a contributing factor. For which description would bettering women’s rights have a large effect? Place total fertility rate in that sentence.

  36. “CLICKERS”

  37. “CLICKERS” Questions aimed squarely at engagement “Votes” on social/political issues Draw out individual misconceptions

  38. “Which of these methods of electrical production releases appreciable amounts of greenhouse gases”? Solar Nuclear Coal Hydroelectric Natural gas

  39. EXAMPLE “What is the biggest component of the U.S. solid waste stream”?

  40. GROUP DISCUSSIONS

  41. “My opinion” + FACTS Don’t avoid topics that can foster great discussion Choose topics with HEAVY personal component Experience incredibly “sticky” over time

  42. You are the President and learn that U.S. crop production will decline by 50% over the next 20 years due to the effects of climate change and the emergence of numerous pesticide-resistant “super-pests”. You must propose socially-acceptable approaches to immediately and decisively slow U.S. population growth.

  43. Immigration made our country what it is, but in light of continued population growth and its associated environmental impacts, should the United States modify its existing immigration policies?

  44. Field trips & service learning http://www.lccc.wy.edu/academics/communityEngagement/serviceLearning

  45. Student impressions of personalized approaches

  46. SA or A (%) N (%) D or SD (%) The laboratory exercises were about issues that affect me. 60 (26) 20 (36) 20 (37) The laboratory program helped me to understand the environmental issues addressed. 68 (50) 21 (30) 10 (20) The laboratory program made me realize that I have a part in solving environmental problems. 58 (43) 28 (29) 14 (28) Participating in this laboratory program has caused me to change the way I do some things. 29 (17) 39 (31) 32 (53) ESA21 Exercises (Traditional Exercises) 2001 STUDENT SURVEY (KSU): SA=strongly agree : A=agree N=neutral : D=disagree : SD=strongly disagree

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