Designing Community Projects

DESCRIPTION: PBL based teacher workshops encourage the use of technology in the use of appropriate educational and environmental education. The project is committed to advancing environmental stewardship through a focus on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s educational priorities for Advancement and Teaching Skills. Environmental priorities of the sub-grant initiative are aligned to the interconnected needs observed across EPA Region II, including, Taking Action on Climate Change and Protecting America’s Waters. Together, the partners support and study the design and implementation of community based projects committed to authentic, hands-on, environmental education across Region II. The primary goal of the initiative is to improve the capacity for environmental education at multiple levels of the system. To do this, the project engages in a competitive award process to support schools and districts with a common vision for environmental education on climate and America’s waters

OUTCOMES: A minimum of 22 competitive grant awards have been made, these 22 sub-award winners attend a leadership summit at Teachers College, Columbia University to engage in the design of their respective community projects and curriculum, to establish high-level standards for their projects, and to work alongside their peers, and experts in the environmental field. The partners provide monthly webinars for teachers and leaders throughout the 2013-2014 academic year to support the projects, and provide an online platform for participants to communicate their experiences through a public blog maintained by Teachers College, Columbia University. The partners host a conference, with virtual capabilities, toward the end of the grant term to disseminate each team’s curriculum and the larger, research-based findings surrounding the advancement of environmental education and shifting instructional pedagogies amongst teachers