30. Environmental and Sustainability Education Research (ESER)
Paper
(Re)connecting with nature in NaturTEC-Kids Living Lab.
Judith Martín-Lucas, Sara Serrate-González, José Manuel Muñoz-Rodríguez, Jesús Ruedas-Caletrio, María Teresa Silva
University of Salamanca, Spain
Presenting Author: Martín-Lucas, Judith
We live in a society in which few things remain untouched by technology. It is increasingly difficult to escape from screens and the hyperconnectivity they entail, even for the youngest generations. We live in an Onlife world where children are getting used to live in artificial and online environments from very early ages. New generations spend more a more time connected to the internet (Auxier et al., 2020; Murciano-Hueso et al., 2022). Meanwhile, the literature shows that children and adolescents are increasingly experimenting the so called Nature Deficit Disorder, understanding as the suffering of a range of physical, psychological and behavioral problems due to our lack of contact with nature (De Tapia-Martín & Salvado, 2021; Louv, 2005).
For western children, contact with nature decreases even more as they grow, showing a similar pattern in countries such as the United Kingdom (Hughes, 2019), Germany (Lefländer et al., 2013) or Canada (Crawford et al., 2017). There are studies that relate the Nature Deficit Disorder with the urban lifestyle (Collado y Corraliza, 2016). Even current studies show that many children, despite having natural environments in their city, do not visit them due to the lack of security perceived by their parents (Chawla, 2020). That is why this future generation has already been called “backseat generation” and “bubble-wrap generation” (Chawla, 2020; Novotny, et al., 2021).
It is a fact that contact with nature from childhood influences the construction of our ecological identity (Fretwell & Greig, 2019), even the contact with nature is related with mental, physical and spiritual health benefits (Broom, 2017; Berrera-Hernández et al., 2014). For example, some studies have shown that contact with nature significantly reduces symptoms of ADHD and obesity (Mygind et al., 2021). Human beings perceived the world through our five senses and it is precisely the contact with nature that allows us to smell, see, touch, taste and hear. By contrary, screens and digital devices are only able to show us the world through visual and sound stimuli (Kilbey, 2018). This new reality poses a challenge for educational arena. We need to study how this generation is connected with nature in a digitized world and provide answers on how to educate the new generations in ecological awareness.
In line with the above we present the first results of two national projects called “NATEC-ID. Analysis of the processes of (dis-re) connection with NAture and TEchnology when building a child's IDentity” and “NaturTEC-Kids. Disruptive technology as a catalyst for the ecological transition from environmental education. Study and design of techno-educational solutions from NaturTEC Kids Living Lab”. The study sets out from the idea that we need to embrace the benefits and potential of digital technologies to generate solutions that allow us to (re)connect the new generations with nature environment. That is why this project seeks the development of a technological solution for learning in natural environments. Three objectives are pursued: 1) To analyze the main indicators that allow children and adolescents to learn and connect with nature. 2) To create the NaturTEC-Kids Living Lab, and 3) To design a technological solution with the participation of children and adolescents. For this purpose, we present the first results from a qualitative study. The results obtained so far have allowed us to obtain a first assessment of the mechanisms that facilitate the nature-technology binomial.
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedThe research followed a qualitative design, carried out during 2022 and framed within a Participatory Action Research study. The participating sample was formed by 360 children and adolescents, between 10 and 15 years old, who participated in a program of nature and technology leisure activities (two weekend trips to natural environments and six urban activities) The program of activities was intentionally designed by the group of researchers. Participants were classified into three groups based on technology use: A. Intensive use, B: Moderate use, C: Minimal use. Using techniques of ethnography, all data was obtained through a direct observation method (Arborio & Fournier, 2015). The researchers recorded data related to the behavior, attitudes and interpersonal relationships shown by children and adolescents in the natural space, and the use they give to technology when they are in this type of space. Data analysis was carried out using the Nvivo12 software. The data was analyzed through an inductive categorical approach (Packer, 2017), carried out by the researchers and structured in three dimensions: resources used, ways of resource usage, ways of occupying time and space. Ethical and data protection criteria relevant to this type of research was always followed (BERA, 2018).
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsData collected in this first research phase shows us that children and adolescents from group A (intensive use of technology) try to make use of screens whenever they were given the opportunity , even in the natural environment. This group of participants was less likely to participate in group activities and showed little connection with natural elements and environment. Regarding group B (moderate use of technology), the participants showed positive attitude towards the use of technology, but seeking greater contact and participation with their peer group. Also they showed some awareness and connection with the natural environment. Finally, the participants belonging to group C (minimum use of technology), made less use of digital technology in the natural environment, also they showed greater contact and participation with their peer group. Although this group showed a very positive connection with natural environment, they were more enthusiastic about the use of digital technology in the activities. This could be due to restrictions on the use of digital technologies in their homes, which made them want to use screens as something new and attractive. In conclusion, the first results of this study provide data of pedagogical interest to address the nature-technology binomial. In this sense, we believe that education should work on the development of technological solutions that promote the development of ecological awareness as well as contact with the natural environment of future generations.
ReferencesArborio, A.M. & Fournier, P. (2015). L’observation directe. Armand Colin.
Auxier, B., Anderson, M., Perrin, A. & Turner, E. (2020). Children’s engagement with digital devices, screen time. Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech. Retrieved from: https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2020/07/28/childrens-engagement-with-digital-devices-screen-time/
Berrera, L. F., Sotelo, M. A., Echeverría, S. B., & Tapia, C. O. (2020). Connectedness to Nature: Its Impact on Sustainable Behaviors and Happiness in Children. Frontiers in Psychology, 11.
BERA. (2018). Ethical Guidelines for Educational Research (4thed.).
Broom, C. (2017). Exploring the Relations Between Childhood Experiences in Nature and Young Adults’ Environmental Attitudes and Behaviours. Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 33(1), 34-47.
Collado, S., y Corraliza, J.A. (2016). Conciencia ecológica y bienestar en la infancia. Efectos de la relación con la naturaleza. Editorial CCS
Chawla, L. (2020). Childhood nature connection and constructive hope: a review of research on connecting with nature and coping with environmental loss. People and Nature, 2 (3), 619-642.
Chawla, L. (2015). Benefits of nature contact for children. Journal of Planning Literature, 30(4), 433–452.
Crawford,MR., Holder,M.D., & O'Connor,B.P. (2017). Using mobile technology to engage children with nature. Environment and Behavior, 49 (9), 959–984.
De Tapia-Martín, R. & Salvado Muñoz, M. (2021). From a Deficit of Nature to a Surplus of Technology: the search for Compatibility in Education. In Muñoz-Rodríguez, J.M. Identity in a Hyperconnected Society. Springer. pp185-199.
Fretwell, K., & Greig, A. (2019). Towards a better understanding of the relationship between individual's self-reported connection to nature, personal well-being and environmental awareness. Sustainability, 11(5).
Kilbey, E. (2017). Unplugged parenting. Headline
Liefländer, A. K., Fröhlich, G., Bogner, F. X., & Schultz, P. W. (2013). Promoting connectedness with nature through environmental education. Environmental Education Research, 19(3), 370–384. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2012.697545
Louv, R. (2005). Last child in the woods. Algonquin books on chapel hill.
Mygind,L., Kjeldsted,E., Hartmeyer,R., Mygind,E., Stevenson,M.P., Quintana,D.S., & Bentsen,P. (2021). Effects of Public Green Space on Acute Psychophysiological Stress Response: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Evidence. Environment and Behavior, 53(2), 184–226. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916519873376
Murciano-Hueso, A., Gutiérrez-Pérez, B., Martín-Lucas, J. & Huete, A. (2022). Onlife youth: a study of young people’s user profile and their online behaviour. RELIEVE, 28 (2). https://doi.org/10.30827/relieve.v28i2.26158
Novotny,P., Zimová,E., Mazouchová,A., y Šorgo,A. (2021). Are children actually losing contact with nature, or is it that their experiences differ from those of 12 years ago? Environment and Behavior, 53(9), 931-952.
Packer, M.M. (2017). The science of qualitative research. Cambridge University Press
30. Environmental and Sustainability Education Research (ESER)
Paper
Cognitive Learning about Forests: The Key Role of Environmental Attitude
Tessa-Marie Baierl, Franz X. Bogner
University of Bayreuth, Germany
Presenting Author: Baierl, Tessa-Marie
Brief description: Schools are platforms for learning about our environment and its protection. Despite being faced with the same learning opportunities, however, learning outcomes are very heterogeneous. In this study, 261 students participated in a 180 minutes educational program about the forest ecosystem and related sustainability topics. The learning module was based on 8-station and relied on a student-centered learning approach, i.e., collaborative, hands-on, and autonomy-supportive. Environmental knowledge was measured at three times, that is prior to the program (pre-test), right after program completion (post-test), and six weeks after program completion to test long-term learning (retention-test). Knowledge scores increased right after program completion and decreased in the retention-test, though retention-scores remained considerably above pre-test scores. We were also interested in environmental attitude’s role in learning. Attitude considerably affected knowledge scores of each test time, while the effects on pre- and retention-scores were larger. Surprisingly, retention-scores of those students with highest attitude scores exceeded their post-program attitude scores.
More details:
Research questions:
- To what extend do students gain and retain environmental knowledge about the forest ecosystem and related sustainabiltiy topics over the course of a student-centered educational programme?
- How does environmental attitude relate to knowledge scores prior to, right after, and six weeks after the educational programme? To what extend does environmental attitude help students gain and retain their environmental knowledge?
Pedagogical framework: The study is based on a 8-station module that relies on a collaborative, hands-on, and autonomy-supportive learning approach. Since it is not only important to highlight environmental attitude's role in learning, we briefly describe the learning module and those elements that (most likely) promote environmental attitude in a classroom setting. There is thus a focus on pedagogical approaches: collaborative learning, Deci and Ryan's (2012) self-determination theory, and a hands-on learning. Those are the title's and is thus the content of the 8 work stations:
- The forest and its trees
- The age of trees
- Forest litter
- Forest pollution
- Deadwood and its inhabitants
- Hunters of the night – bats
- Are trees made of air?
- Ecological footprint
Methodological/ statistical framework: To calibrate environmental knowledge and attitude, we rely on the Campbell Paradigm (Kaiser et al., 2010). The paradigm says that a person's attitude and the cost invovled in a behavior affect the likelihood that a behavior will be carried out (i.e., pro-environmental behavior). In this line, the calibration provides two critical outputs: It gives an estimation of each item's difficulty (i.e., how demanding it is to agree with a statement or engage in a certain behavior) and an estimation of a person's attitude (derived from the type and amount of agreement and engagement in the items given). The calibration thus allows to point at critical statements/ behaviors that can be lowered through external prompts/ incentives/ etc. or through strengthening environmental attitudes.
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedEnvironmental attitude (selected from the item-pool of Baierl, Kaiser, & Bogner, 2022) is a compilation of student’s self-reports of their past engagement in nature preservation activities and from their expressions of support for protecting the environment. For the 9 behavior-based items, students indicated how frequently they have engaged in pro-environmental activities (never, rarely, sometimes, often, or always). For the 16 opinion-based items, students indicated their degree of agreement (strongly disagree, disagree, not sure/ neutral, agree, or strongly agree). For reliability, 8 items were negatively formulated and reverse coded prior to the analysis. Environmental attitude was calibrated as a unidimensional Rasch scale. The separation reliability (rel. = .73) estimates the accuracy in distinguishing between the students. Student parameters (logits) ranged from –2.86 to 2.18, and the higher a score, the stronger a person’s pro-environmental attitude is. Item-fit values reflect the discrepancy between the model’s prediction and the actual data with mean square values (MS: .80 ≤ MS ≤ 1.20) weighted by the item variance (.80-1.31; Bond & Fox, 2013; Wright & Masters, 1982).
Environmental knowledge consists of system, action, and effectiveness knowledge (the three dimensions are derived from Roczen et al., 2014) and is used to reflect cognitive learning. System knowledge covers facts and an understanding of our natural environment. Action knowledge builds on system knowledge and asks about an individual’s nature-preservation behaviors. Effectiveness knowledge is on a broader scale and covers the ecological impact of actions. The questionnaire comprised 36 items (12 system, 12 action, and 12 effectiveness items). Students filled in the questionnaire three times (prior to, right after, and six weeks after the program).
Environmental knowledge was also calibrated as a unidimensional Rasch scale (see Adams & Khoo, 2015). In a multiple choice format, students marked one of four options. The Rasch output shows in logits and represent the level of each person’s knowledge. The higher the value, the more correct answers a student had, so the stronger we expect his or her environmental knowledge to be. Logits ranged from –1.93 to 2.51. Item difficulties indicate how demanding each item was and ranged from –2.05 to 2.53, so the items were able to differentiate well between the students, which showed in a fairly robust reliability score (rel. = .71; MS: .84-1.18)
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsLearning about the environment and related sustainability topics appears to strongly relate to environmental attitude: Although students were faced with the same learning opportunities, those with stronger attitudes knew more before program participation, right after program completion, and in the long-term learning test. Students with weaker attitudes only achieved comparatively strong knowledge-scores right after program completion which points to external rather than internal motivators for knowledge acquisition. Those with strongest environmental attitudes, on the other hand, must have engaged in the topic before and after the educational program since their retention-scores outlevelled their post-program scores. Thus, those students with strongest attitudes not only sustained long-term knowledge over time but gained more knowledge probably from outside the classroom setting. This points to environmental attitudes important role for learning about the environment to guide students toward living a more sustainable lifestyle.
ReferencesAdams, R. J., & Khoo, S.‑T. (2015). ACER ConQuest: Generalised item response modelling software.
Baierl, T.-M., Kaiser, F. G., and Bogner, F. X. (2022). The supportive role of
environmental attitude for learning about environmental issues. Journal of Environmental
Psychology, 81:101799.
Bond, T. G., & Fox, C. M. (2013). Applying the Rasch Model: Fundamental Measurement in the Human Sciences, Second Edition (2nd ed.). Taylor and Francis.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2012). Self-Determination Theory. In P. van Lange, A. Kruglanski, & E. Higgins (Eds.), Handbook of Theories of Social Psychology: Volume 1 (1st ed., pp. 416–437). SAGE Publications Ltd.
Kaiser, F. G., Byrka, K., & Hartig, T. (2010). Reviving Campbell's paradigm for attitude research. Personality and Social Psychology Review: An Official Journal of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc, 14(4), 351–367.
Roczen, N., Kaiser, F. G., Bogner, F. X., & Wilson, M. (2014). A Competence Model for Environmental Education. Environment and Behavior, 46(8), 972–992.
Wright, B. D., & Masters, G. N. (1982). Rating scale analysis: Rasch measurement. MSEA.
30. Environmental and Sustainability Education Research (ESER)
Paper
Chemistry Teacher Perspectives on a Systems Thinking-oriented Mapping Activity used to Engage Students with Critical Challenges Facing Society
Seamus Delaney1, Madeleine Schultz2
1School of Education, Deakin University, Australia; 2School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Australia
Presenting Author: Delaney, Seamus
Young people expect to be educated about climate change and sustainability (Royal Society of Chemistry, 2021), in order to take an active role in addressing the disproportion of anthropogenic mass to biomass globally and the current imbalance between species on Earth. Traditional educational approaches seldom address connections between disciplines and levels of knowledge, and so new teaching strategies are needed that position students (and their educators) to identify the economic, social and environmental aspects that have impacted the formation of the science that they learn in the classroom. Students are then more able to describe the relationships between these different levels and so realize the interconnectedness of modern society, in order to better understand the complex real-world contexts and critical challenges (such as those related to the United Nations Global Goals for Sustainable Development) that are making their futures uncertain (Gilbert, 2016).
In some ways, this has been recognised by governments worldwide, with mandated curricula being updated to include sustainable development-relevant socio-scientific issues (SSIs), for example in the United States’ Next Generation Science Standards and in the Australian National Curriculum. However, a recent global survey of national curriculum documents from 48 countries in 2020, published in the Learn for our Planet report (UNESCO, 2021) found that less than half of national curriculum documents made mention of climate change explicitly. With respect to chemistry education, this misalignment between curriculum policy and global priorities has been referred to as the “untenable disconnect” (Talanquer et al, 2020, p. 2697) between the type of chemical understanding students learn and the ways that students will need to be able to think and act in order to critically address global challenges.
Over the past few years, chemistry educators have increasingly called for chemistry education to be restructured to incorporate sustainability concepts through a Systems Thinking approach (Mahaffy et al, 2019). Systems thinking, as an educative approach, can be defined as an approach that incorporates the complexity of the whole system (such as a chemical process) in a holistic manner, including intended and unintended consequences (Delaney et al, 2021). Systems Thinking in Chemistry Education (STICE) has been claimed to benefit student learning through developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills (York and Orgill, 2020). Although teachers have shown enthusiasm for STICE, they need to be supported with appropriate professional learning opportunities and resources to be able to adopt STICE methods (Delaney et al, 2021). It needs to be acknowledged as well that any teaching or curriculum innovation needs to fit into an extremely crowded curriculum (Timms et al, 2018). Thus, it is critical to find strategies that teachers can easily use in their classrooms to teach STICE and engage students to explore this way of analysing problems.
This presentation explores the outcomes of a recently implemented systems thinking-oriented professional learning program, through activity responses collected from students and teachers and semi-structured interviews with the teachers. The program supported secondary chemistry teachers to integrate systems thinking and socio-scientific issues such as climate change and sustainable development into their chemistry classroom through a mapping activity (Schultz et al, 2022). One way to support students to integrate new information into their knowledge structures, and to identify and describe the relationships between at-first-glance unrelated aspects of knowledge (such as economic, environmental, social, and human levels) is through a mapping exercise. Here, the purpose of the mapping exercises was to provide opportunities for students to explore and express concepts and connections related to specific chemical or manufacturing processes, as a way to develop their systems thinking capacity.
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedSince 2020, a year-long externally funded professional learning program has involved supporting secondary school chemistry teachers from different schools to work jointly to carry out a chemistry education research project. In 2020, one such group of teachers (N=5) chose to focus on incorporating systems thinking into their classroom practice, and so implemented their own version of the mapping activity across a diverse range of topics (such as ocean acidification, N95 masks, fertilisers, bioplastics, aluminium) suitable for their own students and own situation (maps drawn by hand or electronically, in-class or during remote learning). These teachers were interviewed towards the end of their year-long involvement and as a 12-month follow-up. Examples of “systems maps” drawn by their students will be shown and described in the presentation. Through the teacher interviews and analysis of the maps, we were interested to consider how the systems-oriented mapping activity of chemical processes engaged students with the development of systems thinking skills.
While strict definitions for different types of maps have been proposed, all forms of mapping have a common capacity to display a complex body of knowledge in a two-dimensional format, showing links between related concepts. The “systems maps” generated here, challenged the participant to: include the different components of a chemical process (the reaction sub-system); identify the inputs and the factors (economic, social, scientific, environmental) that contribute to their choice as a useful input for this chemical process; identify the outputs (including waste and by-products), and the intended uses but also unintended consequences of these outputs, in order to describe their impact on other factors; and link individual components on their maps to a UN Global Goals for Sustainable Development number (SDGs 1-17) and state its impact as either being positive or negative towards meeting that SDG. A stated objective of the mapping exercise therefore was to steer students away from seeing a chemical process (and so chemistry) as simply ‘positive’ or ‘negative’, and to through their own illustration demonstrate to them that it is much more complex, and only through better understanding the relationships between parts of the system can we better design the overall system (here a chemical process providing intended products that can positively, or not negatively, impact global society).
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsA consistent theme observed in teacher interviews was that through the mapping activity they believed their students made better connection to the unintended consequences of chemical processes. One teacher stated, “Often students miss these connections, particularly the unintended uses/consequences/outcomes of materials, and linking it with the SDGs gave it real depth and richness”. In contrast, several teachers perceived that this open-ended task may be unpopular with goal-oriented students because it requires creativity, does not have a single correct answer and may be perceived as taking time away from core content. Also, despite the intention not to increase pressure on time to cover the curriculum, most teachers believed that systems thinking is a skill that still needs to be explicitly taught, rather than as skills-based concepts embedded in a curriculum context. These themes and others will be further explored in the presentation.
In conclusion, all teachers agreed that the task of labelling map components as positive/negative influences towards individual SDGs enabled students to better understand the multi-faceted nature of connections between sustainability and what they were learning. We suggest this relatively simple inclusion could be used across science, by educators and researchers alike seeking to infuse sustainable development into the enacted curriculum. It was difficult to quantify the development of systems thinking skills through analysis of student-drawn maps, however, we are reasonably confident that the mapping exercise led students to visualize chemical processes as “systems”, thus developing a systems thinking skill related to identifying and representing components and relationships within the system as well as its boundaries. The maps themselves are representationally rich, offer an alternative to an essay assessment, and could be used for individual or collaborative formative assessment to provide teachers with insights into students’ broader thinking on the connections between chemistry, sustainable development and the global society.
ReferencesDelaney, S.; Ferguson, J.P.; Schultz, M. (2021). Exploring opportunities to incorporate systems thinking into secondary and tertiary chemistry education through practitioner perspectives. International Journal of Science Education, 43, 2618–2639. doi: 10.1080/09500693.2021.1980631
Gilbert, J. (2016). Transforming Science Education for the Anthropocene—Is It Possible?, Research in Science. Education, 46, 187–201, doi: 10.1007/s11165-015-9498-2
Mahaffy, P. G., Matlin, S. A., Holme, T. A., & MacKellar, J. (2019). Systems thinking for education about the molecular basis of sustainability. Nature Sustainability, 2(5), 362-370. doi: 10.1038/s41893-019-0285-3
Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). (2021). Green shoots: A sustainable chemistry curriculum for a sustainable planet. Retrieved from: https://www.rsc.org/new-perspectives/sustainability/a-sustainable-chemistry-curriculum/
Schultz, M., Chan, D., Eaton, A. C., Ferguson, J. P., Houghton, R., Ramdzan, A., Taylor, O., et al. (2022). Using Systems Maps to Visualize Chemistry Processes: Practitioner and Student Insights. Education Sciences, 12(9), 596. doi: 10.3390/educsci12090596
Talanquer, V., Bucat, R., Tasker, R., & Mahaffy, P. G. (2020). Lessons from a pandemic: Educating for complexity, change, uncertainty, vulnerability, and resilience. Journal of Chemical Education, 97, 2696-2700. doi: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.0c00627
Timms, M.J.; Moyle, K.; Weldon, P.R.; Mitchell, P. (2018). Challenges in STEM Learning in Australian Schools, Policy Insights; Australian Council for Educational Research. Retrieved from: https://research.acer.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1007&context=policyinsights
UNESCO. (2021). Learn for our planet: A global review of how environmental issues are integrated in education. Retrieved from: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000377362
York, S.; Orgill, M. (2020). ChEMIST Table: A Tool for Designing or Modifying Instruction for a Systems Thinking Approach in Chemistry Education. Journal of Chemical Education, 97, 2114–2129. doi: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.0c00382.
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