Dear Alan, James and all

I would add ESTA (Earth Science Teachers Association) to this list, and
also all the professional bodies like Royal Society of Chemistry,
Geological Society, Institution of Environmental Sciences  etc etc - all
now have education officers, are focussing increasingly on
schools-outreach activities and maintain good, informative websites.

My point in this topic discussion (practical application) would be to
make a plea for (secondary) schools to remember to teach basic skills
focussed on 'the scientific method', as, without these core-skills
(observation, measurement, recording, referencing, estimating, reviewing
and concluding) children are going out into the world of work or
University totally unprepared to be able to contribute or progress in
any effective way. 
Teaching eco-environmental subjects without the rigour of first
cementing the base skills ( the 3 R's) and then adding the above
scientific-method skills - which will culminate in the ability to write
a 'professional-style'  field notebook (a good end-product assessment of
capabilities), results in superficial observation and understanding of
our environment, presented in a way which is very often bubbly, useless
flim-flam.

Both Universities and employers now have to spend inordinate amounts of
time retro-teaching many school-leavers such base skills back to
pre-GCSE-standard, before we can even begin to take students on the
exciting road through Higher Education. If Schools could get these basic
skills embedded before AS-levels, then progression into either
University or employment would be greatly enhanced.  Field work in the
real (outdoor) environment is an exciting and stimulating place to learn
such rigorous scientific skills within an environmental project context.
However, fieldwork without such scientific rigour (which seems to be the
norm now in schools) - is little more than a day-out - as recorded in my
personal diary.

Actions, not ever-more pedagogical verbiage, are the way to provide a
useful, rewarding, pragmatic environmental education and subsequent
successful career.
Something to cogitate upon ? 
Regards

Nick Walton



>>> Alan Reid <[log in to unmask]> 06/05/2010 01:00 >>>
Dear James

I'd add that networking and participation with other practitioners and 

researchers, be that face to face and online, may also help address  
your plea.

In England, the National Sustainable Schools Conferences in June may  
provide a quick gateway to that, and for this event there is an online 

option, in case the various venues aren't accessible; see the tabs at:

http://www.se-ed.org.uk/conference2010/ 

Teacher professional associations, such as the ASE (The Association  
for Science Education) and GA (Geographical Association), as well as  
some of the teaching unions and research organisations, e.g. BERA  
(British Educational Research Association), may also offer avenues for 

support and guidance on your topic area and about research priorities, 

uses, applications and shortcomings in or for education.

Please also note that the wider research field has a long history of  
practitioner research, e.g. via various forms of action research by  
teachers, and partnerships between researchers, teachers and students 

to research learning and the conditions and limitations of  
'effectiveness' in this field - as Mark notes in the chapter from his 

recent book that he alludes to below, but also in the wider  
literature, e.g. discussing the long-documented 'Stevenson's Gap'  
noted as "Schooling and environmental education: contradictions in  
purpose and practice" (Bob Stevenson)
(http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title 
~db=all~content=g778179108~tab=toc~order=page)

Best wishes

Alan Reid


On 5 May 2010, at 23:35, Mark Rickinson wrote:

> Hi James
>
> You raise an important but all too easily overlooked issue: the use 

> of research in practice. It’s an area I have be
en interested for a 

> while both in environmental education and within education more  
> generally.
>
> Almost certainly, the magical summary document that you are looking 

> for will not exist in the precise form that you want. However, there 

> is research that should relate to your challenges and there have  
> been some efforts to connect research and practice in this area.
>
> As a start I would suggest looking at the attached documents, which 

> include:
> ·             Env Learning Chpt 8 (pdf) - concluding chapter of a  
> recent book looking at students’ experiences of environmental
learning
> ·             Sustde1 (pdf) – report of a project which involved EE
 
> practitioners using EE research in their practice
> ·             Evidence of the Impact of Sustainable Schools (pdf) –
 
> recent collation of relevant evidence
> ·             WP7.5 PracuseofRe42d (doc) – a short report looking
at  
> how teachers’ can and do use research (may be useful as
background)
>
> You should also be aware of the following sources of research for  
> education practitioners:
> ·             The Research Informed Practice Site 
www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/research 
> ·             Research for Teachers
http://www.gtce.org.uk/teachers/rft/ 
> ·             Teaching Training Resource Bank www.ttrb.ac.uk 
> ·             Educational evidence portal (EEP) www.eep.ac.uk 
> ·             Practical Research for Education (PRE)
www.preonline.co.uk 
>
> I hope this is helpful. Bear in mind that using research can be as  
> much about raising questions as providing answers.
>
> Mark
>
>
>
>
>
> Dr Mark Rickinson
>
> Educational Research Consultant
> Visiting Research Fellow, Oxford University
> Visiting Research Fellow, Policy Studies Institute
>
> The Innovation Centre, Howbery Park, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX10 

> 8BA.
>
> T: + 44 (0)1491 822612
> E: [log in to unmask] 
> W: www.markrickinson.co.uk 
>
>
> From: Environmental Education Research
[mailto:[log in to unmask] 
> ] On Behalf Of James Banks
> Sent: 05 May 2010 11:43
> To: [log in to unmask] 
> Subject: Plea for practical application
>
>
> Dear all,
> I would like to make a general plea as a teacher and examiner of  
> post-sixteen environmental science (in an English Sixth Form  
> college). I do not have the time to trawl through the literature on 

> improving environmental education, some of which sounds absolutely  
> fascinating, so I would like to know whether there is an accessible 

> and useful summary of the most relevant strategies and techniques.  
> My concern as a teacher of A level Environmental Studies and  
> Biology, is that much of the environmental learning that my students 

> have had is simply not very effective. Even students who have opted 

> to study the environment at post-sixteen, seem to be surprisingly  
> ignorant. How is academic research being practically applied ?
>
> If anyone could help me I would be most grateful. I am also very  
> keen to collaborate with researchers or anyone interested in  
> improving the effectiveness of environmental education, especially  
> at a post-sixteen level.
>
> James Banks
> Head of Environmental Science
> Sir John Deane’s College
>
> Disclaimer - This email and its attachments may be confidential and 

> are intended solely for the use of the individual to whom it is  
> addressed. Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the  
> author and do not necessarily represent those of Sir John Deane's  
> College.
>
> If you are not the intended recipient of this email and its  
> attachments, you must take no action based upon them, nor must you  
> copy or show them to anyone.
>
> Please contact the sender if you believe you have received this  
> email in error.
>
>
> Please consider the environment - do you really need to print this  
> email?
> <Env Learning Chpt 8.pdf><WP7.5-PracuseofRe42d (1).doc><EVIDENCE OF 

> THE IMPA
CT OF SUSTAINABLE SCHOOLS.pdf><sustde1.pdf>