Redesigning an Environmental Curriculum for Student Engagement

Abstract

Apart from equipping learners with 21st-century skills, environmental science (ES) education fosters problem-solving, creativity, critical thinking, and a sense of responsibility and agency in children. Community science centers contribute to ES education by stirring up interest, enthusiasm, and awareness in both science and environmental issues; however, they face challenges. This case study uses narrative inquiry to explore how two preservice teachers identified opportunities for improvement at a community science center, and how they consequently redesigned the curriculum to improve teaching and learning. The pedagogical opportunities for improvement at the science center covered learner experiences, teaching experiences and backgrounds, scaffolded learning, learner engagement with resources, learner connections, and programming at the center. The successful curriculum redesign was influenced by the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) model, which provided strategies for improvement. Our findings highlight pedagogical strategies and recommendations to improve ES curricula for young learners at informal learning centers.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords:

• Environmental science
• STEM
• science center

Disclosure statement

The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.

Ethics statement

Ethics clearance for this project was obtained from the Interdisciplinary Committee on Ethics in Human Research of Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador.