Michigan Environmental Education Online Teacher Training Development (2015)
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) has invested significant human and financial resources over the past decade into the creation and maintenance of an environmental education curriculum designed to integrate high-quality environmental education into elementary, middle, and lower high school classrooms across the state. This Michigan Environmental Education Curriculum Support (MEECS) project has created a set of standards-based, inquiry-driven, and Michigan-oriented environmental curriculum units for students in grades three through nine which emphasize Michigan’s unique natural resources and promote their wise use and management. The purpose of MEECS is to increase appreciation and understanding of Michigan’s environment by introducing students across the state to fundamental principles in environmental science and natural resource management. To date, seven different MEECS units have been created, focusing on topics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity, Land Use, Water Quality, Energy Resources, Air Quality, and Climate Change.
Development of the MEECS portfolio began in 2003 at the initiative of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) and in partnership with the Michigan Department of Education. Over the past decade, the MEECS materials have been through multiple rounds of revision and improvement under the guidance of scientists, educators, curriculum coordinators, leaders of environmental organizations, and members of the business community. More than 4,500 Michigan teachers have voluntarily participated in MEECS trainings through the more than 250 teacher training workshops that have been convened since the project’s inception. The MEECS second edition was released in 2012, featuring updates aimed at strengthening the relationship of MEECS to Great Lakes sustainability and outdoor education and producing the newest unit on Climate Change.
The traditional method of disseminating MEECS materials to Michigan educators through in-person training workshops throughout the state has been a useful method for equipping teachers with the knowledge, skills and confidence necessary to effectively use MEECS materials in their classrooms. However, in an effort to greatly expand the use of MEECS materials in Michigan classrooms, the MDEQ is seeking a master’s project team to create a set of online courses and training tools that teachers across the state can engage with in order to receive training in how to effectively integrate MEECS into their teaching.
The creation of these online courses would be a creative process in which students could draw from existing MEECS teacher-training resources while also designing new components such as videos, webinars, interactive games, and other innovative methods useful for empowering teachers to understand and feel confident in utilizing the curricula that MEECS provides. Master’s project team members would create online teacher training materials for each of the seven MEECS units, providing an additional training option for busy teachers who may not be able to attend in-person trainings and providing a resource for reinforcing the in-person trainings that many teachers would still choose to attend. If time permits, the team would conduct an evaluation of the product to compare the effectiveness of the online resources to the in-person workshops. The MDEQ anticipates that these online training resources would greatly expand the use of MEECS curricular materials by Michigan teachers, leading to improvements in the quality of environmental education statewide.
- Interest in promoting environmental education in elementary, middle, and high school classrooms across the state of Michigan
- Desire to research successful methods for facilitating web-based education, with special attention given to proven techniques for training teachers through online engagement
- Willingness to experiment with implementing these practices in the context of the proposed project
- Knowledge and/or experience in the field of environmental education
- Knowledge and/or experience in training educators or creating educational training materials
- Technical skills related to web-based instructional material development (e.g. webpage development webinar design, video editing, etc.)
- A willingness and interest to learn about both the theory/principles of developing environmental education teacher-training materials and the technological methods for translating these principles into useful online training resources
- Interest in evaluation of educational resources
Participation in this project would provide students with a variety of highly valuable and marketable skills and experiences. Students would acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to develop online educational curricular materials, and would be able to describe the finished product to potential employers, emphasizing its broad use and impact across the state of Michigan. This skillset is highly sought after by educational institutions of all levels, as online and computer-based learning continues to expand from the elementary to collegiate setting.
Student participants would interact regularly with an advisory committee created to oversee the project’s design and implementation. This committee would include faculty and staff from Central Michigan University, staff from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, and various MEECS unit authors including college professors and environmental education experts. This broad set of relationships within the realm of environmental education in Michigan would be a unique asset for students interested in working in this field.
Successful project completion would also afford students the opportunity to present their findings and accomplishments to stakeholders within Michigan and across the country through publication in an academic or professional journal, or presentation at an academic or professional conference.
The MDEQ will unfortunately not be able to provide financial compensation to student participants. It is hoped that the efforts of the students may help to leverage future funding for environmental education in Michigan. If the project garners recognition, possibilities for continuing work with the MDEQ and other MEECS partners on MEECS development and promotion may exist, although these opportunities will be dependent on numerous factors and cannot be counted upon by student participants.
A successful project will culminate in the creation of web-based teacher-training modules for each of the seven MEECS units. The master’s project team will have a considerable degree of freedom in determining the specific characteristics and content of the final product, and innovative approaches to achieving the overall objective are highly desired.
If time allows, a formal evaluation of the final product is desired. Potentially, pilot-testing could be conducted during the development process as well as a comparative study between in-person workshops and online resources to determine the efficacy of the products. This evaluation could lead to publishable data on online education resources.
Potential for expansion of the project’s scope beyond this primary objective is possible, contingent upon student interest. This might include the development of electronic instructional materials and activities to supplement each of the seven MEECS curricular units, allowing MEECS to combine rigorous environmental education with training in technological applications and enhancing student preparation for careers as environmental professionals.