| Teachers Learn Environment Lessons They'll Give to High
School Students | |
"We feel like environmental education is a good interdisciplinary approach to teaching so we're trying to introduce a lot of different types of teachers to this." -- Truman Stevens, chair of curriculum and instruction, UK College of Education --------------------------------------- "Cooperative Extension is always a great place to go when you think about natural resource education and providing support." -- Carol Hanley, Extension 4-H youth development specialist | By Haven Miller
HAZARD,
Ky. (Oct. 8, 2003) – A surface mine in eastern Kentucky recently served
as an outdoor classroom for a group of master’s degree students from the
University of Kentucky College of Education. The
students, who are preparing for high school teaching, learned about mining
and energy production, land reclamation, geology and other aspects of
natural resource preservation.
The group’s three-day visit to Perry and Breathitt Counties,
which also included instruction at UK’s Robinson Forest, was designed to
provide real-world experience they can pass along to their own students. “We
feel like environmental education is a good interdisciplinary approach to
teaching so we’re trying to introduce a lot of different types of
teachers to this,” said Truman Stevens, department chair of curriculum
and instruction in the UK College of Education.
“The ultimate goal here is to provide environmental and energy
education experiences for kids in the schools.” Teachers
participating in this special environment program have a variety of
academic specialties, including math, science, social studies and foreign
language. Tina
Hawley, an earth science teacher from Lexington, said it doesn’t
matter what major the participating teachers have because energy and
natural resources are important topics for everyone.
She said the trip to eastern Kentucky encourages her to perhaps
take her own students on a similar trip. “I
can definitely use this either on a field trip to have them come out and
search for fossils at a certain mine site, or talk about the impacts of
environmental geology and strip mining on the environment and how mines
actually rebuild the environment once they’re finished mining it,”
Hawley said. William
Henderson, a math teacher also from Lexington, said the experience gives him
another teaching tool to use in the classroom. “I
can go back to the city and share information with students who normally
might not find out or have any knowledge of what a coal mine is or the
mining processes used,” said Henderson. At
Robinson Forest the group heard presentations about forest plants and
animals from Cooperative Extension specialists in the UK College of
Agriculture.
The environment program received part of its financial support
through Extension and UK’s Tracy Farmer Center. “Blake
Newton presented facts on bugs in the forest, Tom Barnes gave an overview
on flora and fauna and Doug McLaren presented information on using global
positioning systems,” said Carol Hanley, a 4-H youth development
specialist who helped coordinate the trip.
“Cooperative Extension is always a great place to go when you
think about natural resource education and providing support.” Hanley
said many of the teachers brought digital cameras or recorders to the mine
and forest visit so their students can “live the experience”
vicariously through the images and sounds their instructors captured
during the trip. Collaborating
agencies for the environment program include Kentucky Geological Survey,
the Kentucky NEED Project, Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Sources: Truman Stevens, 859-257-4253; Carol Hanley, 859-257-5961 Return to Main News page. |