COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

The following courses offer breadth and depth to the study of environmental education and communication:

(2 Credits, offered as structured internship)

The goal of this course is to provide undergraduate students with an introduction to environmental education, mainly by giving them the opportunity to develop and implement environmental lessons at regional high schools. Students are assessed primarily based on the quality of their environmental lessons. Students also complete an environmental career investigation to prepare them to answer related questions from high school students. Many students have decided to pursue teacher certification after completing this course. Many students have also obtained internship or employment as a result of completing the environmental career investigation assignment.

(3 Credits, typically taught every alternate winter)

This is an interdisciplinary capstone course designed for SNR&E and School of Business Administration seniors. Through case studies, students explore the intersections of science, business, and human behavior. In addition to assessing students' content knowledge, assignments promote specific communication skills. Students write a case memorandum, a news story, and prepare a consulting report. The latter group assignment requires students to identify ways local businesses can reduce their environmental impact while increasing their profits. In the past, several businesses have changed their practices based on students' recommendations. Some students have decided to pursue additional degrees in business or environmental/natural resource science after completing this course and have obtained internships and employment with contacts made during the course.

NRE 481/ED 474 Foundations of Environmental Education

(4/3 credits, typically taught every fall)

The goal of this course is to provide undergraduate and graduate students from a variety of backgrounds (e.g., education, environmental studies, natural resources management) with the knowledge and skills necessary to become effective environmental educators. In this context, "effective" means that students are learning how to develop a citizenry able and willing to engage in environmentally responsible behaviors. To achieve this goal, students are introduced to theory, methods, and resources for conducting environmental education. The first third of the course focuses on the Hungerford and Volk (1990) environmental education behavior model and the cognitive, affective, and skill components of environmental education. The second third concentrates on developing, implementing, and evaluating environmental education resources and programs. The final third of the course addresses the needs of special audiences and current environmental education topics. A weekly two-hour lab is used to certify students in Project Learning Tree and Project WILD (two of the most frequently used environmental education resources in the nation) and to familiarize students with other environmental education materials and programs. As part of the course, students are required to write a competitive grant proposal and to review an environmental education instructional material based on national guidelines. A number of students have subsequently submitted their grants and were funded. Students' reviews have also led some curriculum developers to revise their materials.

(3 credits, typically taught every alternate winter)

This course provides an introduction to risk assessment and management, but emphasizes risk communication (i.e., any purposeful exchange of information between interested parties regarding levels of risk, their significance, and actions aimed at controlling these risks). The course begins with one-way communication models that address source, message, channel, and receiver needs before it progresses to two-way public participation models. With the help of case studies, students evaluate existing risk communication practice and formulate ways to improve public involvement in environmental risk decisions. Recent course papers resulted in a poster presentation at an international professional conference and a manuscript accepted for publication by a peer reviewed journal.

NRE 581 Advanced Environmental Education

(3 credits, typically taught every alternate winter)

The goal of this course is to examine a current environmental education topic in depth. Past topics have included environmental health education and sustainability education. Students are assessed based on their reviews of assigned readings, syntheses of course readings, and a research-based paper on a related topic of their choice. Students have obtained employment based on their expertise as a result of this course and have used information from this course to inform their graduate research. Course assignments are expected to lead to (poster) presentations and publishable manuscripts.