Strategies to Increase the Involvement of Mosinee High School Teachers and Their Students in Environmental. Education

Abstract

Mosinee High School's involvement with Environmental Education has been through biology. This project attempted to broaden the scope and interest in EE by other instructors within and outside the Science Department. To do so, actions were taken on several fronts. Inclusion of "environment" in · the Science Department curriculum was sought and general biology was split into two separate courses-Environmental and Human Biology. Reasons · for not teaching EE often cited by teachers including a lack of training, materials, planning and teaching time were addressed. During this study instructors were informed of training opportunities and recruited to participate. In answer to the problem of a lack of materials, planning and teaching time, focus groups were held and three grants were sought. One grant provided equipment and a second provided planning time for three teachers to develop an interdisciplinary unit dealing with water issues and involving chemistry, biology and English. Teacher's interests were piqued through students' enthusiastic response to preliminary monitoring of water quality at a nearby park promoted as an outdoor teaching site.