M.A. in Environmental Education

Designing Your Program of Study

In conjunction with your advisor, you will design a plan of graduate study (32 credits) that includes and integrates coursework in each of our program's focus areas:

1. Curriculum and Instructional Methods: A sound program of environmental education requires prospective teachers to recognize that instruction is something much more complex than a technical skill whose only goal is to transmit information from teacher to student.  The UNH MA Program in Environmental Education is committed to the belief that learning is a collaborative and constructive process that is best pursued in a context where teachers and students share a commitment to active inquiry and reflection.  This is a process that should involve and engage all participants as members of a learning community that respects, values, and builds on the diverse experiences of its members.  We offer the following qualities to describe an environmental educator who possesses the skills, knowledge, and dispositions associated with this focus area:

• an approach to instruction that takes seriously the notion that students have experiences and forms of knowledge that are not only relevant to their education but also valuable for others
• an awareness of the extent to which academic disciplines are interconnected in the context of human activity and that multiple intellectual perspectives are necessary for understanding the complexities of human society
• the ability to create and implement a curriculum (appropriate to the context in which it is used) that involves students in authentic forms of inquiry and investigation
• the ability to create educational experiences that encourage and enable students to participate constructively in local and community activities/dialogues/disputes related to the environment
• the ability to organize, facilitate, and promote reflection on discussions that may elicit disagreement among members of a learning community
• the ability to see teaching and learning as activities that take place in a social context of diverse beliefs, values, and life plans
• an awareness of the relationship between educational institutions (of various kinds) and society, and hence the necessarily value-laden and socio-political dimension of teaching
• a commitment to educating students in a way that helps to maintain and expand their curiosity about the world, that builds their capacity for self-directed inquiry, and that increases their capacity to share what they have learned with others
• a commitment to mutual respect and regard for human differences within learning communities, as well as in the society that surrounds them
• a commitment to working within educational institutions, as instructional leaders, to promote the kind of pedagogical practices described above
  

2. Environmental Science: To describe something as an environmental issue or concern already suggests the important relationship between scientific inquiry and other forms of human activity. We use science to understand and assess the consequences of our activities on the natural world in which we live and on the quality of life that we experience.  To help people make responsible decisions about environmental issues, educators must be able to assimilate information about ecosystems and help others understand this information in a way that informs and empowers them as decision-makers.  The MA in Environmental Education Program is therefore committed to the belief that environmental educators should possess knowledge of the physical and biological foundations of ecosystems.  Through work in this area, students will learn to apply their knowledge of environmental science to a diverse range of environmental issues.  We offer the following qualities to describe an environmental educator who possesses the skills, knowledge, and dispositions associated with this focus area:

• an understanding of basic ecological concepts and the ability to apply these concepts to specific environmental issues
• a basic understanding of how Earth’s systems function and of the relationships of soil, air, and water quality to the Earth’s ability to produce and support healthy biota, including humans
• the capacity and disposition to investigate environmental issues using both primary and secondary sources of information and to think systematically about the interrelation of environmental factors, and the ability to synthesize and draw conclusions from the data gathered
• the capacity and disposition to communicate effectively with others about the nature and practice of environmental science
• the capacity and disposition to collaborate with others in the study of local (or selected) ecosystem
• the capacity to understand and critically assess research in environmental science
• the ability to recognize and assess the risks associated with environmental problems and their impact on the health of an ecosystem
• an awareness of the contribution that scientific inquiry makes to sound decision-making about environmental issues
• an understanding of the relationship between local, regional, national, and international environmental issues, and how to make systematic connections in these multiple contexts

3. Environmental Values, Policy, and Planning: Taking the broadest view of its goals and objectives, environmental education is rooted in an attempt to understand how to teach others about the ways that human activity has transformed the natural world (for good and for ill) and about how to manage future transformations in ways that are positive.  Understanding and participating in the planning of environmental policy requires that we look at our beliefs, values, and goals in relation to a complex network of social institutions and socio-political relationships – that is, it requires us to know about the concepts and methods of social science.  Environmental educators use insights from social science to help citizens participate constructively in the dialogue and deliberation over environmental policies and to promote thoughtful and reflective decision-making about the management of natural resources.  We offer the following qualities to describe an environmental educator who possesses the skills, knowledge, and dispositions associated with this focus area:

• an understanding of the various paradigms that influence resource use, including their social, cultural, economic, and ethical implications
• the capacity to understand, critically assess, and respond to diverse arguments concerning environmental issues
• the capacity to reflect on personal experiences and views of environmental issues, to understand the values and beliefs on which these views are based, and to engage in constructive dialogue about these views with others (especially those who are motivated by different perspectives)
• an understanding of the pluralistic nature of individuals’/cultures’/nations’ views of environmental issues and the implications of this diversity for environmental policymaking
• the skills and disposition necessary for constructive participation in the consideration of environmental policies (e.g. as a concerned citizen, voter, educator, employee, participant in local government, etc.)
• a fundamental understanding of how democratic government in the U.S. is structured and the processes by which decisions about environmental and natural resource management are made
• an understanding of the way that governmental and non-governmental organizations affect environmental policy and resource management
• the capacity to identify and propose alternative solutions to environmental problems with an awareness of the personal, cultural, political, economic, and technical perspectives associated with these solutions
• an awareness of issues associated with democracy, human rights, and social justice in the determination of environmental policy

Program Pathways

Students may enroll in the MAEE Program on a full-time or part-time basis. Students can take up to 8 credits prior to enrolling in Summer Institute.

          /--------------1^st Year-------------/--------------2^nd Year--------------/-------3^rd Year-----/

**Please note: If you take more classes per semester or summer/J-term sessions, it is possible to complete the part-time schedule at a faster pace.

The Summer Institute (8 credits)

The Summer Institute is an intensive (8 credit), team-taught educational experience that immerses students in a process of inquiry explicitly designed to connect and integrate the Environmental Education Program’s three Focus Areas: environmental science; environmental values, policy, and planning; and curriculum and instructional methods. The Summer Institute is a four week, full-time program, including an experiential and project-based curriculum. Classroom and field-based activities help students experience the interdisciplinary nature of environmental education firsthand, while beginning to construct a plan for deepening their understanding through continued study in the field.

Elective Courses (20-24 credits)

You will select a group of elective courses that takes into account your past experiences, future career goals, and the three focus areas of the program. These twenty credits will provide you with a relevant, coherent, and challenging experience in the program. Your advisor will help you choose these courses and will support your progress toward completion of the degree. Some common courses in the three focus areas include, but are not limited to:

Focus Area: Curriculum and Instructional Methods

EDUC 703/803F – Methods of Teaching Elementary School Science

Learning inquiry-based and constructivist approaches to teaching science at the elementary level through a hands-on approach. Emphasis is placed on learning the theoretical basis for these approaches as well as practical applications in the classroom, in addition to discussions of lesson planning, assessment, and challenges for teachers at the elementary level.

EDUC 703/803H – Experiential Education

This course examines the theory and practice of experience as a powerful medium for learning, encouraging students to be thoughtful and reflective practitioners who learn from experience. We will look at and practice the skills and techniques needed to facilitate optimum learning from experience, and we will examine the educational significance of what is seen, heard, and touched. Experiential education is a cooperative enterprise, a partnership in the learning process between student and teacher, and this class reflects that partnership.

EDUC 891 - Methods of Teaching Secondary Science
Credits: 4.00
Application of theory and research findings in science education to classroom teaching with emphasis on inquiry learning, developmental levels of children, societal issues, integration of technology, critical evaluation of texts and materials for science teaching, and planning for instruction. Lab.

Focus Area: Environmental Science

NR 865 - Community Ecology
Credits: 4.00
Properties of biotic communities, especially biodiversity. Effects of physical stress, disturbance, competition, predation, positive interactions, and dispersal on community properties. Community dynamics, including succession and stability. Prereq: applied biostatistics and general ecology. Lecture and discussion.

NR 811 - Wetland Ecology and Management
Credits: 4.00
Analysis of the natural resources of coastal and inland wetlands and environmental problems caused by human use and misuse of these ecosystems. Groups will collect field data to summarize the structure and function of four wetland types within a management context. Special fee. Lab. Prereq: general ecology; watershed water quality management;/ or permission. Special fee. Lab/field trips.

NR 867 - Earth System Science
Credits: 4.00
This course provides an introduction to the study of Earth as an integrated system. It investigates the major components (e.g. atmosphere, biosphere, cryosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere), dynamics (e.g., energy balance, water cycle, biogeochemical cycles), and changes within the earth system. Particular emphasis placed on the interactions and feedbacks within the system. The links between components will be presented by examining present day processes and selected events in Earth's history. The lab portion examines these concepts through the development and use of computer models of Earth system processes. Prereq: MATH 424B; MATH 425; or permission. Lab. (Also offered as EOS 867.)

 NR 882 - Monitoring Forest Health
Credits: 4.00
Course provides the field and remote sensing tools and experience needed by students to assess forest conditions at the individual tree and stand levels, as well as to conduct independent research projects on specific topics of interest. Such topics may include assessing change-over-time, landscape-level impacts of urban development, severe weather events, and other natural and anthropogenic perturbations affecting the health of forests. Forest damage due to insects, air pollution (primarily ground-level ozone), drought, the 1998 ice storm, and others will be investigated. Lab. Special fee. Permission.

ZOOL 825 - Marine Ecology
Credits: 4.00
Marine environment and its biota, emphasizing intertidal and estuarine habitats. Includes field, laboratory, and an independent research project. Prereq: general ecology; permission. Marine invertebrate zoology, oceanography, and statistics are desirable. (Also offered as PBIO 825.) Special fee. (Not offered every year.)

Focus Area: Environmental Values, Policy, and Planning

NR 801 - Ecological Sustainability and Values
Credits: 4.00
Deeper more fundamental philosophical questions, including spiritual values questions, are being asked concerning the ecological/environmental challenge of our time; its causes and resolution. Aspects of this challenge--environmental education, energy, food, agriculture, and natural resources--analyzed with ethics and values approaches. Students develop ways of responding to problem identification and resolution.

NR 884 - Sustainable Living
Credits: 4.00
Concepts of sustainability are explored in a learning-community format. The importance of human communication, sense of place and time, and the health and longevity of the human species as part of natural systems is emphasized. Students develop measures for sustainable living, including ecological foot-printing, and gain an understanding of system conditions necessary to move toward sustainable living. Two required field trips. Special fee.

 NR 885 - Systems Thinking for Sustainable Living
Credits: 4.00
Introduction to systems thinking from a sustainable living perspective. The course is a collaborative inquiry using a problem-solving approach. After studying different types of systems and learning a variety of tools useful in systems analysis, we ask "In what ways can systems thinking be employed to understand and begin to resolve the complex problems that face us as we move toward living within limits of natural systems?"

Field-Based Practicum (4 credits)

The capstone experience of the program is a Field-Based Practicum that integrates the three focus areas and builds on your experiences in the Summer Institute and your elective course-work. During this Practicum, you will be asked to show that you can put into practice a thoughtful and effective vision of environmental education. You will spend approximately 60% of your time engaged in hands-on instruction, 30% in curriculum development, and the remaining in onsite instructional planning, research or leadership activities, and other responsibilities appropriate to your internship placement. Through high-quality internship placements, direct supervision by program faculty, and participation in a weekly seminar, you will have the opportunity to work intensively on a curriculum project that pulls together your program experiences and applies them to an authentic educational context. The Practicum will also help you to reflect on the direction of your professional career as an environmental educator and to make specific plans to pursue these goals.