Group items tagged

This is a compilation of resources for teaching kids about the environment. It contains links aimed a kids of all different ages, organized by the following topics... * Global Warming * Energy * Air * Oceans * Water * Wildlands * Wildlife * Health * Environmental Justice * U.S. Law & Policy * Nuclear * Smart Growth * Recycling * International Issues * Green Living

look what i found...npr is awesome! remember i told you about the Nature Deficit Disorder braodcast on BBC.. Lisa Bingham Book Review: What are we Escaping From?: Richard Louv Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books, 2005. 334 pp Bulletin of Science, Technology &

This is a website for children that contains an animated "show" and a blog. The characters, "The Greens" are a family living somewhere in America, who care about the environment. They teach children about how to conserve resources, and value the outdoors. The site also includes activity guides for teachers and games for children to play. One game has children turn lights on and off as characters leave room, another has children upcycle the characters' clothes by adding new decorations to what they already have. There is also a carbon calculator for kids.

The four diagrams capture the 4 world views about human impact on the environment. (I provide some critical commentary on this view of worldviews in "Exploring themes about social agency through interpretation of diagrams of nature and society," in How Nature Speaks: The Dynamics of the Human Ecological Condition , ed. Y. Haila and C. Dyke. Durham, NC, Duke University Press)

My sense of Yamana is that it works mostly as a clearinghouse of exchange of innovative approaches. The second unSummit coming up in a few weeks has no schedule of papers, but facilitates discussions that evolve over the 2 days. I think one would have to experience this to understand how it works. I had planned to do so this time, but decided I was too far behind on following up on previous connections. Here are Yamana's guidelines: "We feel the current culture of science creates an invisible cost in loss of productivity, slower rates of discovery, and 'wasting assets,' including human capital. We are committed to having enough conversations with the people that can make a difference, including (and perhaps especially) within our own scientific communities. We will transform what is possible both for people who are currently working in the field of science and for those that are interested in studying to become scientists. We will impact the experience of learning science, the experience of teaching science and the experience of doing science. We include conversations across the whole gamut of what affects desired outcomes, from salaries, to healthcare, to personal leave, to the work environment, to the conversations being had about science, to how science is funded, commercialized, and shared. By acting as a clearinghouse for issues and concerns, as well as a catalyst for potential solutions, we are connecting the passionate voices in science with one another to create a shared vision for the future."

I've been thinking about this alot lately. How do you make cultural change? How do you shift conventional wisdom? How do you create new practices and ways of doing, especially if the dominant "narrative" and system of "incentives" don't support change? Do you shift one relationship at a time? Or is larger change possible? What are the spaces for going against the grain?

This article shows insurance company data that indicates that costs from storms and floods are going up, but not so much from earthquakes, tsunamis or from temperature extremes. It connects with CS's inquiry on frequency of extreme climatic events and my project on using the insurance industry to get beyond political posturing.

IBM is releasing a real world came around urban planning solutions. But the idea of embedding real-world solutions into a gaming environment might be one way to tackle science based issues and the policies and plans surrounding them.

Interesting. I would like to know the assumptions behind the simulations. Indeed, this game or "tool" may be helpful, yet its results may be assumption-driven. Nevertheless, it seems worthwhile learning more about it. Thanks Felicia!

What does it mean with grassroots organizing and activist result in legislation that seem to challenge the foundations of science? The academic freedom bill would: " 'create an environment ... that encourages students to explore scientific questions, learn about scientific evidence, [and] develop critical thinking skills' regarding 'scientific controversies.' " Who could be against critical thinking. But what if your definition of critical thinking is to provide alternative explanations of evolution that are not based in scientific knowledge or methods. What is that? What does it say that there are science teachers who may feel they are constrained in challenging theories of evolution? What is the right way for challenging consensus views? The bill seems to bring forth some very sophisticated "activism" in pushing forth anti-science, or Moore's idea of marginal scientists.

I like this line: Think of this way: If you come home to find your television and computer stolen, along with a note saying, "This removal of your goods shall not be construed as a burglary,"... It's interesting to think about the law around what is and is not taught in different cases. I sometimes have issues with the MA state frameworks as well in that certain things are emphasized and others left out.

Richard Louv discusses "nature deficit disorder" in this 12 minute video

Kendra - I read his book a few years back and can really appreciate his approach to "intelligence."

Richard Louv is a well renowned author, best known for his book "Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature Deficit Disorder" In this page, Louv presents a field guide based on his more recent work, "The Nature Principle: Reconnecting with Life in a Virtual Age". The guide is meant for citizens to help apply his principle to their daily lives in areas such as "Resources and Ideas for Creating a Restorative Home & Garden", "Creat(ing) a Natural Health Care System for Your Family and Community" and "Know(ing) Who You Are by Knowing Where You Are".

Soil Erosion

Seeing this news item this morning reminded me that, whenever a topic is raised in a course, one then starts to "see" news about it. I put "see" in scare quotes because most likely the topic was in the news before, but now one notices it. On the substance of the news item, it does show that sometimes business picks up on the science even when it remains contested by politics. For example, nuclear power plants are not being built in most part because corporations with millions of dollars cannot see themselves making a profit and bearing the risk.

Peter - Thanks for posting this. It will be interesting to see what they disclose and to consider what thought process they used for preparing these reports.

The documentation from this 2005 Congressional hearing may help insert some of the science Peter was prompting us to incorporate into our case investigations -- GIS, communications science, demographics, and others are brought to bear; the Q&A toward the end give some sense as to what the decisionmakers (Members of the House) took away from the expert scientists' presentations.

Scientific research plays a very important role in the development of the areas discussed; for example, information data collection and development and improvement of hazard and risk assessment models. These programs are critical since we live in a country with so many natural risks year round.

Indeed very comprehensive. I find interesting when they ask the effect of the local environment in shaping our perceptions of risk. It was interesting to see how people felt in Southesat Lousiana before and after hurrican Ivan.

I've just been reading some papers from the journal of economic education and I got the need to share this one with all of you. Mind mapping seems like an exciting resource very close to concept mapping. The authors note that these resources are crucial in creating a more engaging and collaborative learning environment. Although they try to test the degree of learning among 39 students, their results are dubious do to the small sample size and only suggestive. Yet the conclusion remains, these resources create a more active learning class motivating students and creating more class participation.

This paper by Lord et al. provides evidence on the benefits of the constructivist teaching and learning approach. The authors show how students in a constructivist classroom environment learn more and are more motivated towards learning than those in classroom with a teacher-centric approach. I thought the constructivist approach was only effective in the social sciences yet this article shows that in the hard sciences it is also effective in increasing academic performance. I just wanted to share this with the group.