“EE in Cyberspace, Why Not?” Teaching, Learning and Researching Tertiary Pre-Service and In-Service Teacher Environmental Education Online

Abstract

Information communication technologies (ICTs) have the potential to enable intending and in-service teachers in regional, rural and remote regions greater access to tertiary education. This paper describes how a fourth year environmental education subject has been successfully delivered wholly online for several years and how pre-service and in-service teachers have responded to learning through an online platform. Research indicates the necessity to create a social learning space in cyberspace to support learning; as well as the importance of building flexible learning opportunities and offline assessment tasks to generate meaningful learning experiences related to local places. Teaching environmental education online may initially create the dilemma of how to engage meaningfully with place-based learning through the no-place of cyberspace. However, carefully designed, online learning can and does support positive learning outcomes. While there are limitations to online study, well-conceived, web-based delivery is certainly no barrier to teaching and learning environmental education in the tertiary sector.

Promoting Online Students’ Engagement and Learning in Science and Sustainability Preservice Teacher Education

“…Having delivered an environmental education elective for preservice teachers online at JCU since 2001, which has sustained high levels of student enrolments and satisfaction over time, Whitehouse (2008) concluded that, "well-conceived, web-based delivery is certainly no barrier to teaching and learning environmental education in the tertiary sector" (p. 11). Initially concerned with "how to engage students meaningfully with place-based learning through the no-place of cyberspace", Whitehouse (2008, p. 11) reflected on learning and pedagogical design aspects of the fourth-year elective, as follows:…”

“…'Learnscapes' analysis of a school ground, designing a web-quest); and reflective posts on the discussion board. In contrast with Whitehouse's (2008) emphasis on self-directed and largely individual, place-based inquiry, Briano, Midor and Trentin (1997), in much earlier work, highlighted the potential of online environments to facilitate collaborative, interdisciplinary, project-based learning in environmental education, for Italian teachers and their students. While the article reported significant logistical challenges in the structuring and facilitation of the project groups, which needed to be addressed, the authors concluded that the pedagogical approach allowed the teachers who engaged in all phases of the projects to develop skills in environmental education project planning and implementation, problem solving and working in interdisciplinary teams.…”

“…Academic staff engaged in collaborative projects in order to design two new dedicated sustainability subjects (FSE, the focus of this paper, and a fourth-year capstone, Service Learning for Sustainable Futures); revise aspects of content in a longstanding elective (Whitehouse, 2008); and embed sustainability principles, concepts and issues in other early childhood and primary subjects in the B.Ed. (see Lasen et al, 2015;Simoncini, Lasen, & Rocco, 2014).…”

Identification as Incentive to Care: Pre-service Teachers’ Orientation Towards Inclusion in Nature

“…Such approach to teacher education appears conductive to involving learners, drawing them in, engaging them and thereby fostering a fuller and more meaningful participation in the learning process. Such apprehended, personally meaningful learning is crucial in education for sustainability (Evernden, 1985;Whitehouse, 2008;Gadotti, 2010) which is not concerned with memorisation of ready-made knowledge but rather focuses on construction of personally-significant insights about relational issues and encouraging a deeply internalised commitment to sustainable living.…”

“…It has become generally recognised that currently universities, besides diffusing information, need to produce new knowledge and encourage new ways of looking at habitual phenomena (Orr, 1992;Gadotti, 2010;King, 2010). Thus, seeking new ways of teaching and learning about the human-nature relationship (Whitehouse, 2008) and looking for novel ways of incorporating sustainability related issues in educational practice (Hernandez & Mayur, 2000) is high on the agenda of nowadays education. This paper seeks to contribute to these initiatives by suggesting a way of learning about and for sustainability which involves identification with nature and is judged by learners as novel in form and facilitating examination of previously unexplored perspectives.…”