Curriculum+Review+Memo+1

Allison Mrugal 09/14/15 Curriculum Review 1: Sust. Ed., 4280-01 Prof. Fortun
 * The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) **

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation provides lesson plans for grades 3-6 on their website with which I will review. Aside from their environmental programs, the DEC’s mission statement according to their website is "to conserve, improve and protect New York's natural resources and environment and to prevent, abate and control water, land and air pollution, in order to enhance the health, safety and welfare of the people of the state and their overall economic and social well-being.” The DEC also claims to pursue “environmental quality, public health, economic prosperity and social well-being, including environmental justice and the empowerment of individuals to participate in environmental decisions that affect their lives.” In other words, the DEC serves as a resourceful and educational portfolio for environmentally-oriented state programs.

Under the Environmental Conservation Law, the DEC must “encourage recycling, recovery and reuse of all solid waste to conserve resources and reduce waste”, “promote the wise use of water resources” and “inform the public about environmental conservation principles and encourage their participation in environmental affairs.” However, the DEC does not explicitly state an educational mission for their environmental curricula. Since they strive to promote the “…empowerment of individuals to participate in environmental decisions that affect their lives”, it must be assumed that the DEC environmental lesson plans do so through traditional study as well as hands-on projects.

The curriculum module aims to teach children in grades 3-6 various environmental topics including units encompassing animals, nature study, recycling and conservation, soils, and water. The learning outcomes can be generally summarized to target the study of animals and plants, environmental systems, sustainable concepts as well as the means to observing nature. By providing games like crossword puzzles and word finds or the formal lesson plans that include an introduction, key terms, a background, materials, and procedure, the curriculum module aims to engage students in thoughtful and interactive environmental discussion and activity.

According to the learning outcomes set by the DEC, the curriculum succeeds in educating and inspiring children to become active in the environment that shapes them. However, whether or not the program aligns with the EcoEd Research Group’s goals is also determinant of the programs effectiveness. Since most lessons directly and indirectly ask students to think about the origins of animals, plants, and everyday things, students gain an understanding of general cause and effect relationships. The “Where Is Away?” lesson plan in the Recycling and Conservation topics encourage students to think about the effects of their individual and communal actions. Still, students are not asked to consider complex causation where they would foresee political and societal ties that entangle environmental action. Likewise, students digesting the material present in this curriculum may lack the “capacity to recognize and productively deal with diverse perspectives, avoiding paralysis…” (EcoEd Research Group).

To better address literacies set forth by the EcoEd Research group advocates, the curriculum could walk students through the diverse opinions that exist in environmental discussions. Students should be capable of understanding “the history of disaster and decision-making failures” and “the vulnerability of some populations and regions” (EcoEd Research Group). This would enable students to foresee interference by public relations in politics and campaigns as well as identify greenwashing. These strategies, embedded in children, help cultivate a developing identity and voice, which prepares students for “deliberation and cooperative action” (EcoEd Research Group) in the future.

To view this curriculum, visit: []