My research project was on the topic of developing learning opportunities that foster environmental literacy. Environmental literacy was something I was interested in particularly because it doesn’t simply mean students are aware of environmental issues but it encompasses the ability of those students to have the agency to take action to help fix the environmental issues they see. In our philosophy of education course I discovered how much I believe that students need to be developed to be ready to face the greatest problem of our time- climate change. Students will need to be motivated to change their own behaviours but also be able to think of creative solutions to climate issues.

I think one of the most obvious connections of this research to the learning in this program is a shift from content knowledge (environmental issues) to more core competency based skills (agency, communication, sense of place) needed to achieve environmental literacy. Throughout this program, there has been an emphasis on developing activities that foster this next level thinking and understanding when interacting with class content (this has mostly been emphasized through the use of inquiry-based learning). At the Big Little Science Centre we learned all about the benefits of inquiry-based learning through Dr. Gore and Carol Rees. This research aimed to suggest that the use of place-based environmental education can be an equally useful tool for achieving these goals.

The first course of the program, adolescent growth and development, taught us that students needed to make connections to the content they’re learning for their developing brains to truly understand and engage with the content. This course also highlighted the importance of providing youth with a caring and safe environment with strong adult role models. In my opinion, place-based environmental education is easy for students to connect with because place is relatable to everyone in some way regardless of gender, socio-economic status etc. Place-based environmental education also has an inherent emotional component. People naturally care about issues facing their direct environment. It also is a compelling way for teachers to show strong leadership skills as a relatable role model. Students can easily see how they can act in a similar way because the action is rooted in their place as well.

Our aboriginal education class with Roxanne Letterlough highlighted the importance of connecting learning to indigenous methods that help support not only the aboriginal students but all students. This research project had indigenous knowledge of native plants front and centre for students and included a guest speaker from the district aboriginal education department to pass along knowledge to the students.

Complementary to this incorporation of indigenous perspectives, and place-based hands on activities is the concept of Universal Design for Learning we learned about with Pam Gurney. With these hands-on activities done in the research unit such as building planter boxes, making balms and salves, and research projects, students can accomplish those goals in a multitude of ways. Working in groups allowed students to use their strengths to help support the group project. For example, in some groups some students would plant the planter box, some would measure, some would cut and nail, and some would plan the project on paper before hand.

Something that was missing from this project was the assessment piece that is standard in most classes. The Food Sustainability course where this project was done was an elective with no grades assigned to work. Students received an effort grade of either I, S or G. I knew that in designing my unit that I would not have to assign a number value to these projects. In our assessment course, Rob discussed triangulation of assessment which was practiced in a more informal way in this project in order to assign students an effort level. I think this program needs more courses on assessment and specifically right before long practicum. I believe during the first summer semester we had no concept of the realities of the classroom and couldn’t connect the assessment course to our experiences in the short practicums.