Central Valley
Serving Mariposa, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Kings, and Tulare Counties

I. Education Systems
A successful environmental education system has the following characteristics:

A. Regional, state and national education systems provide support and resources for learning about and interacting with the environment.
1. People with different educational and cultural backgrounds are actively involved in systems design.
2. The education systems foster a spirit of experimentation, investigation, creativity, and innovation.
3. The systems enable successful participation of learners and expand prospective work opportunities through increased environmental literacy.

B. Individual schools and/or educational organizations are committed to supporting and enhancing environmental education.

1. All learners are expected to achieve environmental literacy.
2. Each district’s decision-makers are knowledgeable about environmental education.
3. Each district operates on the principle that environmental education is among its priorities when recruiting personnel, in allocating time and resources, and in designing assessment and evaluation instruments.
4. Each school community considers itself an important constituent in monitoring the environment and demonstrating appropriate environmental practices.

C. Curriculum programs and materials use environmental themes as a multidisciplinary approach to connect global thinking with local action.

1. Programs provide information and activities that engage learners in interactions between people and environments.
2. Learners develop the intellectual tools to effectively explore the world through science-based inquiry by investigating various environments and human relationships to them.
3. Themes of environmental education unify the physical, life, and earth sciences; incorporate the history and nature of science; and establish links to other disciplines.
4. Appropriate technology is used to provide learners with opportunities to investigate and understand environments.

D. Within the formal education arena, environmental education appears in various locations within the school’s curricular programming.

1. Environmental education is addressed within the science course in grades K-16. Topics may vary dependent upon the appropriate grade level course, i.e. general science, earth science, life science.
2. Environmental science/education courses can be offered in grades 7-16 as stand alone science courses.
3. Environmental education in grades K-16 can be infused throughout all curricular programming.

II. Standards
Educators, including pre-service and in-service, from many cultural and educational backgrounds work together to provide complete, challenging, and successful opportunities for learning about the environment. Educators supported by a cohesive educational system implement appropriate, challenging curricula to engage learners. Effective environmental education standards require the thoughtful coordination of programs with assessment instruments. Throughout, the overall goal is to maintain the link between Environmental Education and the National Science Education Standards.

A. Learner Characteristics

1. All learners, regardless of gender, religion, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status, receive high-quality instruction and diverse learning opportunities.
2. Learners assume responsibility as active partners as they study about the environment.
3. Learners acquire in-depth understanding of essential environmental knowledge, concepts, abilities, and habits of mind, and become fluent in the language, culture and habits that comprise scientific endeavors.
4. Learners are encouraged to enjoy their constructivist acquisition of knowledge and to validate their natural curiosity through both personal and provided experiences.
5. Learners participate in an active learning community sharing ideas, expertise, and continued science inquiry.
6. Learners are encouraged to participate in designing and evaluating new and alternative learning and teaching strategies.

B. Educator Characteristics

1. Educators possess requisite knowledge of the environment, science, and pedagogy.
2. Educators are open-minded and generate alternatives in planning science-based environmental education programs, fostering creative and critical thinking skills while facilitating learning through intellectual activities.
3. Educators respect the social, intellectual, and developmental maturity of learners, fostering a sense of the inherent value of natural systems and confidence that groups and individuals affect the environment.
4. Educators provide opportunities – such as environmental design, planning, and sustainable environmental practices – for learners to be involved in appropriate levels of challenging instruction.
5. Educators prepare clearly stated goals and objectives; treat controversial issues fairly and honestly; and instruct learners how to think not what to think.
6. Opportunities and resources are provided for educators to attend in-service training to further develop, support and enhance their knowledge base.

B. Programs Characteristics

1. Programs promote consistency in curricula and instruction and are adapted to be successful among diverse environmental and educational settings and with diverse learners.
2. Programs are evident within a curriculum framework and connect other subject areas with environmental science.
3. Programs address the areas of ecological concepts, conceptual awareness, issue investigation and evaluation, and environmental action skills.
4. Programs are grounded in solid research. Methods and materials are tested and their effectiveness is formally evaluated to assess learning objectives are met.
5. Programs use the services and resources available through professional associations, agencies, state education departments, and local organizations.

C. Assessment Characteristics

1. Programs provide coordinated and purposeful design based on stated goals, objectives, and outcomes.
2. Programs provide for field testing of curricula and materials and ongoing evaluation and revision in order to make sound inferences, provide accurate scientific content, and avoid biases. 3. Learners’ understandings and skills about the environment are evaluated through authentic assessment.

D. Technology Characteristics

1. Every learner has access to appropriate technological resources, including electronic and telecommunications networks.
2. Interactive technology such as computer based learning (CBL) devices, probeware, and other monitoring equipment is used to provide learners with opportunities to investigate and understand environments.
3. Learners use authentic, up-to-date technology and equipment, including measurement instruments, computers, calculators, and databases, as well as electronic networks and telecommunications systems.
4. Learners should be familiar with new emerging technologies in environmental technology including, but not limited to, Geographic Information Systems, Global Positioning Systems, Remote Sensing, and Environmental Monitoring Equipment.
5. Educators will be trained and literate in the use of appropriate technological resources

III. Additional Information

• Authors (at time of adoption) – names and affiliations
• References (collaborations with other organizations)
• Adoption Date
• Support documents

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