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Earth Education Programs & Research
Yesterday I had the pleasure of making a journey of discovery with children on a beautiful afternoon in the Sonoran Desert in southern Arizona. The children, Earthkeepers-in-training at the Cooper Center for Envi- ronmental Learning, and I used E.M.’s diary and map to explore the wonders of an amazing wash. The joy and excitement of the children was palpable. They discovered giant cacti, tiny rocks, faint sounds, and an incredible array of colors. The experience served as a reminder to me of the importance of positive experi- ences in nature. Building on Steve van Matre’s groundbreaking work in the original Acclimatization program at Camp Towering Pines, earth education programs continue to emphasize personal contact with natural places. Whether it is creating an art exhibit of beautiful natural objects for a particular section of life in SUNSHIP III, using senses in new ways in an Earthwalk in Earthkeepers, appreciating the wonders of the shady side of the planet during Nightwatchers, or sitting quietly and alone in a Magic Spot in Rangers of the Earth, all earth education programs have specific activities to help participants develop their feelings for the natural world.
But how important are these really? We are hearing more and more in education, particularly environmental education, about sticking to the facts and just providing information to our learners. What does the evidence say? The research literature is quite clear: knowledge alone is not sufficient to effect change in what people do. We have evidence from several studies of earth education programs as well. Currently, we are testing a model that explains more about these relationships, the competence model for environmental learning
The Competence Model, adapted from Röczen et al, 2013. This figure illustrates the major findings of statistically significant relationships between variables. p < 0.1.
(Roczen, Kaiser, Bogner, & Wilson, 2013*). The model, shown below, quantifies the relationships between knowl- edge, attitudes, and behavior. The direction of the influences are shown by the arrows; the numbers show the strength of the relationship, ranging from 0 to 1.0. As you can see, the strongest influence on behavior is from attitudes toward nature.
University of Arizona Ph.D. candidate Lisa Felix is testing this model with earth education programs, using data from children participating in Earth- keepers and SUNSHIP III
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