Personalizing Environmental

Science Seeing the "I" in "Environment"

Matthew Laposata, Kennesaw State University

GOALSPropose a philosophy of teaching for intro environmental science courses

that emphasizes, when possible, personalizing experiences for students

•Rationale•Resources•Results

How big are your intro environmental science sections?

Answer Enrollment(a) < 30(b) 30 – 75(c) 75 - 125(d) > 125

In which formats are intro environmental science courses

offered at your institution?

Answer Format(a) Traditional(b) Trad/Blended (hybrid)(c) Trad/Blended/Online

Making the case for personalization

Advocating an approach that utilizes available strategies and resources

Applicable in traditional, blended (hybrid), and online courses

For non-majors, engagement isn’t tapped, it’s manufactured

Science isn’t my strongest

subject…

Normally, I hate science, but this doesn’t totally

suck…

But I’m not majoring in

science…

I’m taking this course because

I have to…

Disconnecting starts early and persists…

MillenialsEngaging

with non-majors science

What’s Your Generation?

Answer Generation Years(a) Silent < 1928(b) Greatest 1928 – 1945(c) Boomer 1946 – 1964(d) Gen X 1965 – 1980(e) Millenial > 1981

MILLENIALS

Raised in the era of “Information Saturation”

Highly adept at filtering for personally-

relevant information

Once a luxury, it’s now an

expectation

THE

Whenever possible, help them see the “I” in

“environment” with personalized experiences

BIGPICTURE

You already own the tools

Course

discussions

Personal response systems

(“clickers”)

Field trips and

service learning

Group

activities

GoalsCourse

Improved science literacy

Critical thinking

Engagement*Civic

Thinking scientifically

complements Approach

PERSONALIZATION

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

“Real-world” relevance

Abundant

existing resource

s Lifestyle choices

affect the environment

Personalization tackles “scale” issues in

environmental science

Regional & global impacts

seem unbelievably

large

Individual contributions appear negligible

Use “calculator “to quantify

each student’s unique

impacts…

MultiplicativeEffects

… then multiply to make scale manageable

Individual

Metropolitan area

University

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/

and

Human Population Growth

SCALE

Millions vs. BillionsYour crazy, old, rich uncle dies and wills you his fortune. But you can only have

the money once you’ve counted it all, at a rate of $1 per second for 8 hrs. a day.

How long would it take to count:

A MILLION DOLLARS:

A BILLION DOLLARS:

About 35 days

About 95 years

The Allowance ExampleA father complained that his daughter’s $20 a month allowance

was too much. She replied, “O.K. Dad, how about this? You give me a penny on the first day of the month and double it

each day until the end of the month.”

WOULD YOU TAKE THE DEAL?How much would he have to pay

out at the end of the month?

Let’s see…

0.01 0.02 0.04 0.320.160.08 0.64

Mon. Tue. Wed. Sat.Fri.Thu. Sun.

1.28 2.56 5.12 40.9620.4810.24 81.92

163.84 327.68 655.36 5,242.882,621.441,310.72 10,485.76

20,971.52 41,943.04 83,886.08 671,088.64335,544.32167,772.16 1,342,177.28

2,684,354.56 5,368,709.12 10,737,418.24

The Allowance Example

All values are in dollars

At the end of the month, he’d owe his daughter around $21,474,836 …

Approaches for introducing

personalizing experiences

COURSE ACTIVITIES

Do your intro environmental science courses have a laboratory

component?

Answer(a) No(b) Yes – “on ground”(c) Yes – “online”

Environmental “calculators”

GHGs

EXAMPLES

Ecological footprint

Home energy audit

http://esa21.kennesaw.edu

Environmental Science Activities

for the 21st Century (ESA21)

NSF # 0088723and

# 0231171

Over 50 activities created

Interdisciplinary team of

developers

Personalized lifestyle

calculators and simulations

Heavy emphasis on lifestyle

analysis and effects of changes

on personal impacts

http://simulator.down2earth.eu/#

Personalized-feedback coaching activities

You matched 4 of 6 words/phrases incorrectly. The total fertility rate has been decreasing in many nations in recent years, and in most cases, improvements in women’s rights are a contributing factor. For which description would bettering women’s rights have a large effect? Place total fertility rate in that sentence.

“CLICKERS”

“CLICKERS”Questions aimed squarely

at engagement

“Votes” on social/political issues

Draw out individual misconceptions

“Which of these methods of electrical production releases appreciable amounts of greenhouse gases”?

Solar

Natural gas

Nuclear

Hydroelectric

Coal

“What is the biggest

component of the U.S. solid waste stream”?

EXAMPLE

GROUP DISCUSSIONS

Choose topics with HEAVY personal

component

Don’t avoid topics that can foster

great discussion

“My opinion” + FACTS

Experience incredibly “sticky” over time

You are the President and learn that U.S. crop production will decline by 50% over the next 20 years due to the effects of climate change and the emergence of numerous pesticide-resistant “super-pests”. You must propose socially-acceptable approaches to immediately and decisively slow U.S. population growth.

Immigration made our country what it

is, but in light of continued

population growth and its associated

environmental impacts, should the

United States modify its existing

immigration policies?

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Field trips & service learning

Student impressions of personalized approaches

  SA or A(%)

N(%)

D or SD(%)

The laboratory exercises were about issues that affect me. 60

(26)20 (36)

20 (37)

The laboratory program helped me to understand the environmental issues addressed.

68 (50)

21 (30)

10 (20)

The laboratory program made me realize that I have a part in solving environmental problems.

58 (43)

28 (29)

14 (28)

Participating in this laboratory program has caused me to change the way I do some things.

29 (17)

39 (31)

32 (53)

SA=strongly agree : A=agree

N=neutral : D=disagree : SD=strongly disagree

STUDENT SURVEY (KSU): ESA21 Exercises

(Traditional Exercises)2001

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT Science Education for

New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities

(SENCER)

Design content around socially-relevant issues that engage students and promote civic

action

Voting

Political involvement

Environmental volunteering

Discussion of science issues

Lifestyle Changes

1= Not more likely

2 = A little more likely

3 = Somewhat more likely

4 = Much more likely

5 = Extremely more likely

Not Applicable

Mean(SD)

Engagement with Science Issues

Discuss a science-related issue informally 11 15 30 27 15 03.22

(1.21)

Discuss a civic or political issue informally 7 19 23 34 16 03.34

(1.17)

Read a science-related magazine not required by class

11 24 29 25 11 03.01

(1.17)

Political Action

Vote in elections 12 10 12 19 35 103.61

(1.45)

Write a letter or email to a public official about a science-related issue

40 20 15 15 7 12.26

(1.33)

Talk with a public official about a civic or science-related issue

34 21 21 16 7 02.41

(1.29)

Attend a meeting, rally, or protest about a civic or political issue

39 25 16 12 4 22.14

(1.20)

All table values are percentages, rounded to the nearest whole number (n = 92-103)

After finishing this class, I am more likely to…

STUDENT ENGAGEMENT SURVEY RESULTSScience, Society, and the Environment I, Fall 2005

Online SALG pre-survey (first week) and post-survey (end of semester)

All table values are percentages, rounded to the nearest whole number (n = 92-103)

After finishing this class, I am more likely to…

1= Not more likely

2 = A little more likely

3 = Somewhat

more likely

4 = Much more likely

5 = Extremely

more likely

Not Applicable

Mean(SD)

Participatory Activities

Participate in science-related civic education 45 28 12 9 4 11.95

(1.14)

Join a science-related civic organization 52 25 10 7 4 11.82

(1.12)

Participate in one-time civic events such as walk-a-thons

33 23 20 15 7 02.39

(1.28)

Personal Lifestyle Changes

Actively recycle waste products in my house 7 14 19 30 27 23.57 (1.24

Buy a more efficient vehicle 12 12 25 24 26 13.42

(1.32)

Buy a more efficient home or repair the one I have to make it more efficient

10 15 21 30 19 33.37 (1.25

STUDENT ENGAGEMENT SURVEY RESULTS

Science, Society, and the Environment I, Fall 2005

Confidence Decrease

No ChangeConfidence

IncreaseMean

Difference

Discuss scientific concepts with my friends and family 10 32 59 0.79

Think critically about scientific findings I read about in the media

10 35 56 0.73

Determine what is – and is not – valid scientific evidence 15 31 54 0.63

Make an argument using scientific evidence 7 27 67 0.93

Determine the difference between science and “pseudo-science”

8 21 67 1.16

Understand how scientific research is carried out 16 28 57 0.59

Understand scientific processes behind important scientific issues in the media

8 25 65 0.98

Presently, I am confident I can…

Scale 1 = Not at all confident to 5 = Extremely confident

Pre-survey vs. Post-survey by student

STUDENT ENGAGEMENT SURVEY RESULTS

Science, Society, and the Environment I, Fall 2005

All table values are number of students

Confidence Decrease

No ChangeConfidence

IncreaseMean

Difference

Discussing science with friends and family 12 39 49 0.55

Reading about science and its relation to civic issues 16 29 56 0.60

Taking additional science courses after this one 16 35 50 0.55

Majoring is a science-related field 16 59 20 0.15

Exploring career opportunities in science 16 55 28 0.26

Joining a science club or organization 12 65 21 0.18

Teaching science 6 68 24 0.30

Scale 1 = Not at all interested to 5 = Extremely interested

Presently, I am interested in…

Science, Society, and the Environment I, Fall 2005

STUDENT ENGAGEMENT SURVEY RESULTS

Pre-survey vs. Post-survey by student

All table values are number of students

CAVEAT[a HUGE caveat]

Which of these topics do your students find the least interesting?

Answer(a) Nature of science(b) Human population growth(c) Biogeochemical cycles(d) Climate change(e) Food production

matthew.laposata@kennesaw.edu

Please drop me an email for URLs, to “talk shop”, and to

share your approaches