Curriculum+Review+Memo+5

Allison Mrugal 12/15/15 Curriculum Review 5: Sust. Ed., 4280-01 Prof. Fortun
 * Earthday **

Prompt: Focus here on past or proposed Earth Week events that have had a critical, motivating effect on target communities. See, for example, [].

Response:
 * What organization developed the curriculum module you are evaluating?
 *  The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), http://www.aaas.org/about-aaas
 * Science NetLinks, []
 * Curriculum, []
 *  What is the mission of the organization?
 * The mission of AAAS is to "advance science, engineering, and innovation throughout the world for the benefit of all people" and fulfills this mission using several, broad goals.
 *  What is the educational mission and philosophy of the organization?
 * NetLinks is the educational sector of AAAS and is “a premier K-12 science education resource produced by the American Association for the Advancement of Science” that “provides K-12 teachers, students, and families with quality resources for teaching and learning science.”
 * NetLinks curricula are “Internet based and free to everyone. Lessons and activities can be printed or used online… All of the resources are designed to be delivered in a variety of formats and classroom settings.”
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">The philosophy of NetLinks and of AAAS is that science is necessary for the development of international cooperation and globalization. Furthermore, “responsible use of science in public policy” is important in managing societal issues.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> What does the curriculum module aim to teach? In other words: what are the learning outcomes supposed to be?
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">The curriculum module aims to teach ecology and environmentalism in the classroom by covering topics ranging from Animal Diversity to Food Webs to Green Roof Design.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">An example of a learning outcome for a given lesson like Power Up! is “to compare and contrast different energy sources and the trade-offs of using them.” The lesson also describes that “gaining an understanding of the concept of social trade-offs may be one of the most important components of a comprehensive education (Benchmarks for Science Literacy, p. 164)”.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Do you think the curriculum is appropriated designed to produce the intended learning outcomes?
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">In providing extensive amounts of material, NetLinks uses curricula with audio links, related websites, videos, and teaching aids. The Curriculum is appropriately design to to achieve stated goals in each lesson though does not link separate lessons together. This shows the curriculum’s inability to teach the interconnectedness of issues when learning about environmentalism.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">In the lesson Power Up!, for example, students are encouraged to look at their own use of energy and the trade-offs associated with making personal and community decisions related to energy.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Does this curriculum teach the kind of literacies the EcoEd Research Group advocates?
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> understanding of their own health and well being as shaped by an array of both proximate and far-off causes. Diet and cigarette smoke need to be considered, for example, as well as the health effects of transboundary air pollution and climate change.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> understanding of how their own actions have an array of proximate and far off effects. In choosing when and what to drive, one has an effect on air quality for example. In choosing consumer products (made of vinyl, for instance), one becomes involved in an occupational health hazard.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">understanding of potential for change, and of alternative ways of doing things and organizing society (though familiarity with historical and cross-cultural examples, for instance).
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> What could be layered into this curriculum so that it addresses more of the learning outcomes that the EcoEd Group advocates?
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">An important area for sustainability curriculum to incorporate is the “capacity to recognize the multitude of factors influencing what they are told about environmental problems (such as asthma), including vested interests, disciplinary bias and blindness, and the sheer limits of knowledge.” For this curriculum, the concept could be addressed by showing students what energy producers think about their jobs. Students and instructors could also examine why society does not generally know where its energy comes and the social constructions around specialized knowledge.