Inspiring Environmental Literacy and Appreciation in an Urban Montessori Upper Elementary Classroom Without Easy Access to Nature

environment;classroom;nature;urban school;Montessori;elementary;environmental education

Bigelow, MariahPapadimitriou, Melina ;

University of Wisconsin

关键词: environment;    classroom;    nature;    urban school;    Montessori;    elementary;    environmental education;   

Others  :  https://minds.wisconsin.edu/bitstream/handle/1793/78808/MariahBigelow.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

瑞士|英语

来源: University of Wisconsin

【 摘 要 】

Environmental Education (EE) is often praised by educators as an ideal way to integrateacademic curriculum, encourage the academic, emotional and social growth of students, andpromote conservation of the natural environment. With the many benefits of EE, also comesmany barriers. This action-research explored the barrier of a lack of nature in an urban, publicschool in the Midwestern Montessori, E2 classroom. Data was collected using pre- and postsurveyscompleted by the students in the classroom concerning environmental literacy andappreciation. The researcher also observed classroom behaviors and adapted EE lessons to fitwith the currently taught Montessori curriculum. The research showed that by adding plants andanimals to the classroom environment along with connecting nature to what they are learning inother subjects, the students became more environmentally literate. It is concluded, that with moretime, the student’s environmental literacy would lead to environmental appreciation, to createpeople who are stewards of the land.