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The problem of this study is to determine the trends in the Nature Study in Texas with reference to the quantity and quality of printed materials for primary grades and the trends in methods of presenting them.

The majority of research in environmental education (EE) has focused on measuring knowledge, attitudes, and behavior using quantitative tools and methods. Few studies have attempted to elicit and characterize children's conceptions of the environment or nature, particularly those resulting from a residential EE experience, which contextualize knowledge, attitudes, and may be used to predict behaviors. Therefore little is known about how physical, socio-cultural, and personal dimensions are reflected in conceptual learning in the context of a guided outdoor program. This study begins to address this relative knowledge void by employing qualitative and phenomenological methods in a grounded theory approach. Interviews, writings and drawings on the topic of nature were collected from 5th grade students before and after a three-day residential outdoor school program conducted on the Oregon coast. Students' responses were analyzed in terms of breadth and depth of their nature conceptions. Individual students' additions to the emergent categories of breadth, including new organisms, habitats, processes, and non-living things, were used to measure change in the breadth of students' nature concepts. Change in depth of students' nature concepts was measured by means of emergent hierarchical typologies representing ideas included in students' understanding of nature. Factors affecting students' learning, including the themes students use to frame their interpretations of nature, emergent misconceptions, references to TV and books, students' interest, and weather, are discussed in terms of their impact on the breadth and depth of students' nature conceptions. Findings indicate almost universal gains in breadth and modest gains in depth of students' nature concepts. Children's preconceived ideas about nature, particularly an idealized view in which nature is seen as the opposite of human environments, appear to play an important role in learning. / Graduation date: 2006

Thesis (MEd (Curriculum Studies))--University of Stellenbosch,2007. / This mini-thesis documents a Narrative Inquiry as a phenomenon with special focus on reflective accounts of my experiences, opportunities and constraints in the process of self development as an environmental education practitioner in an environmental education centre situated in a nature reserve. I provide some background information on the environmental education centre, the reserve and the broader structure in which it functions. Through the process of reflection I try to clarify some of the issues that I grappled with in my practice as an environmental educator in nature conservation. A critical discussion of the projects, activities and programmes offered through the centre provide clarity and insight into the work I am doing as well as my role as environmental education officer in the broader context of my job and the organisation for which I work. Reflection of my personal experiences over a period of time is weaved throughout this study in order to contribute to/or provide a sense of clarity and understanding of my believes as an environmental educator responsible for an environmental education centre situated in a nature reserve. Through this study the importance of training for education officers, engaging with research and the need for clearly defined aims and objectives for the centres funded by nature conservation became apparent. The study demonstrates that the implementation of environmental education is possible and can be achieved, but with the necessary capacity.

published_or_final_version / abstract / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

I believe art can offer an antidote to our numbness and rekindle a sense of childlike wonder. Reclaiming Wonder is an installation in which I aim to explore the possibility of evoking the curiosity of childhood in the viewer’s mind and transporting him or her into a dreamlike atmosphere to wander about in wonder through the use of the senses of sight, touch, and hearing. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.F.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Thesis (M.I.T.)--The Evergreen State College, 2004. / Title from title screen (viewed 3/3/2010). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 50-56).

If students are to become aware of the vital, but fragile, interrelationships in their environment, they require many firsthand experiences in the out-of-doors. Environmental education is taught in some classrooms and nature centers, but to date, little research has been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the instructional methods used. Nature center managers are finding it difficult to personally educate an increasing number of park visitors. School teachers who may lack expertise in the natural sciences need educational resources that can be used to supplement their science curricula. These situations indicate that there is a growing demand for environmental interpretive methods that are dynamic, convenient, and accessible to a large number of people.The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a particular method of interpretation which involves the use of a taped message and hands-on activities along a nature trail. Middle school students took part in the project. The treatment for the experimental group consisted of taped instruction and nature trail activities. The control group toured Christy Woods Arboretum without a taped message. Both groups completed a short written questionnaire after theirexperience. Responses were analyzed to determine if the taped interpretive method was effective in helping students learn concepts and develop positive attitudes toward the natural environment. Teacher response was also evaluated.

This thesis is a history of science education reform in Ontario, from 1880 to 1940. It examines successive eras of science education reform in secondary (pre-university) schools, including the rise of laboratory science; the spread of general science programs; and efforts to teach science “humanistically.” This research considers the rhetorical strategies employed by scientists and educators to persuade educational policymakers and the public about the value and purpose of science education. Their efforts hinged in large part on building a moral framework for school science, which they promoted an essential stimulus to students’ mental development and a check on the emotive influence of literature and the arts. These developments are placed in international context by examining how educational movements conceived in other places, especially the United States and Britain, were filtered and transformed in the distinct educational context of Ontario. Finally, the sometimes-blurry boundaries between “academic” science education and technical education are explored, most notably in Ontario in the late nineteenth century, when science education was undergoing a rapid, driven expansion in the province’s high schools. This research contributes to a relatively recent body of literature that promotes a greater appreciation of pre-college science education – an area that has often been overlooked in favour of higher education and the training of specialists – as an important window onto the public perception of science.

This thesis is a history of science education reform in Ontario, from 1880 to 1940. It examines successive eras of science education reform in secondary (pre-university) schools, including the rise of laboratory science; the spread of general science programs; and efforts to teach science “humanistically.” This research considers the rhetorical strategies employed by scientists and educators to persuade educational policymakers and the public about the value and purpose of science education. Their efforts hinged in large part on building a moral framework for school science, which they promoted an essential stimulus to students’ mental development and a check on the emotive influence of literature and the arts. These developments are placed in international context by examining how educational movements conceived in other places, especially the United States and Britain, were filtered and transformed in the distinct educational context of Ontario. Finally, the sometimes-blurry boundaries between “academic” science education and technical education are explored, most notably in Ontario in the late nineteenth century, when science education was undergoing a rapid, driven expansion in the province’s high schools. This research contributes to a relatively recent body of literature that promotes a greater appreciation of pre-college science education – an area that has often been overlooked in favour of higher education and the training of specialists – as an important window onto the public perception of science.