SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
?
S.05413
. ?
Senate Committee on University Priorities
Memorandum ?
4
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7
TO.
Senate ?
FROM. ?
Bill Krane
Acting Chair, SCUP
Acting Vice President,
Academic
RE:
Post Baccalaureate Diploma in ?
DATE: ?
July 6, 2005
Environmental Education
?
Resubmitted: October 20, 2005
(SCUP 05-46)
Attached is a proposal from the Faculty of Education for a Post Baccalaureate Diploma
in Environmental Education.
The Senate Committee on University Priorities reviewed the proposal at its June'29,
2005 meeting, and the proposal was unanimously approved.
Once approved by Senate, the proposal is to be submitted to the Board of Governors.
MOTION
SThat Senate approve and recommend to the Board of Governors the prOposal for a
Post Baccalaureate Diploma in Environmental Education.
end.
C:
P. Shaker
L. LeMare
G. Nicholls
SOUP 05-046
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSIT\
?
MEMORANDUM
To: ?
Senate Committee on University Priorities
From: ?
R. Blackman, Chair
Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies
Subject: ?
Faculty of Education
Post Baccalaureate Diploma in Environmental Education
(SCUS Reference: 05-17 (formerly part of 04-26)
Date: ?
June 17, 2005
At the SCUS meeting held on June 14, 2005, SCUS approved in principle and recommended
approval by SCUP of the revised Post Baccalaureate Diploma in Environmental Education.
The relevant documentation is attached for review by SCUP.
.
I.
SCUS 05-17
(formerly part of SCLtSO426)
MEMO
To: ?
Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies (SCUS)
From: Lucy LeMare, Director, Undergraduate Programs, Faculty of Education
Date: .June 08, 2005
Re:
?
PBD in Environmental Education
Please find attached the revised version of the POD in Environmental Education. This item
was approved by SCUS at its 18 January, 2005 meeting
and
then later approved by SCUP,
however, it was pulled prior to being approved by Senate. The revised document is
provided for information before returning to SCUP prior to being introduced at Senate.
The minor changes in the new document resulted after further consultation with faculty
in
the sciences. The changes clarify some of the language /structure of the PBD so that it
communicates its intent more clearly. The aim of the POD is to broaden education
applicants teaching repertoire and content knowledge related to environmental issues. To
clarify and expand on this, the list of courses taken outside of the Faculty of Education
was expanded, then presented as two streams.
S
€2.
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Proposal for a Post Baccalaureate Diploma
?
in Environmental Education
Rationale
Environmental awareness as well as associated conceptual and philosophical understandings
of social and environmental issues have been an important consideration for Canadian
educators for some time. In British Columbia, the original publication
of 'Environmental
Concepts in the Classroom'
(BC Ministry of Education, 1995) brought environmental issues
to the forefront by providing BC educators a framework to guide their efforts to introduce
environmental and ecological thinking across all grade levels and all subject areas. More
recently, the federal government published
'A Framework for Environmental Learning and
Sustainability in Canada'
(Government of Canada, 2002) demonstrating further commitment
at the federal level for environmentally focused pedagogy. While there may be many
definitions for environmental education, all necessarily involve multidisciplinary, cross-
curricular and inquiry based approaches in the consideration of complex social and
environmental issues:
"Environmental education is a way of understanding environments, and how humans are part
of, and influence, environments. It integrates concepts and principles of the sciences and
social sciences such as ecology, biogeography, sociology, environmental chemistry,
environmental psychology, politics, and economics. It provides students with the opportunity
to learn about their connections to the natural environment through traditional subjects and
direct experience .. ." (BC Ministry of Education,
1995)
Coursework
The proposed new PBD would build on our successful and long-standing undergraduate
'Summer institute in Environmental Education':
a programmatic fixture at SFU for 35 years.
Our intent is to develop a PBD that would augment and expand on ideas developed in the
summer institutes and build further capacity in this area of inquiry. Work begun in the
summer institute (Educ
452-8)
will be further enhanced through the purposeful development
of curriculum resources, teaching models or other locally developed materials through
"Directed studies in Environmental Education" (Educ 493-4). These courses then form the
core (12 credit hours) of the program and are offered in conjunction with each other in
diverse locations (eg. Lower Mainland, Kelowna, Yukon, Haida Gwaii).
Since by its very nature environmental education is both multi and interdisciplinary, the PBD
also carries with it a requirement that educators will "expand their teaching repertoire and
content knowledge outside of their current teaching. This will be accomplished through the
enrollment in at least one methods course outside of their planned or current teaching area
(eg. a science educator might take Education 414 while a social studies educator might take
Education 416). The rationale here is that students' exposure to other pedagogical models
more commonly practiced in other disciplines would allow for a more multidisciplinary
approach in their teaching. This idea is linked to emerging research in the area of pedagogical
content knowledge. Further, science teachers would be required to take a selection of content
courses in the humanities or social sciences to build on their knowledge base while
3.
humanities majors would be required instead to focus on content in the sciences. Our
program focuses on aspects of education "in" "for" and "about" the environment and so
courses related respectively to outdoor education, social studies or science methods form the
core requirements in the PBD.
The remainder of the coursework comprises courses taken from the attached list of Education
courses or relevant courses offered by other faculties such as Arts or Science.
Admissions
Students applying for admission to the PBD in Environmental education will submit an
application to the Undergraduate Programs office and applications will be reviewed
periodically by cognate faculty members. Applications will typically include a recent
transcript, evidence of successful teaching experience and a letter of interest describing why
they wish to undertake studies towards the PBD.
Calendar Entry
The PBD in Environmental Education will be of interest to practicing teachers who want to
assist students in developing a greater awareness and understanding of the environment
broadly defined. Our program encompasses aspects of education 'in', 'for' and 'about' the
environment. Through selected course work, environmental issues are explored using a
multidisciplinary approach and historical and contemporary issues in human-environment
interaction are related to diverse curricula. In addition to the following requirements, you
must also meet the requirements stated above, in the Program Requirement section of the
Post Baccalaureate Diploma (General). Note: Students must complete 30 credits from the
following:
Requirements:
• EDUC
452
-8
?
Environmental Education
• EDUC 493 -4
?
Directed Studies in Environmental Education
plus 1 course from:
• EDUC 414 -4 ?
Designs for Learning Secondary Social Studies
• EDUC 416 -4 ?
Designs for Learning Secondary Science
• EDUC 474-4 ?
Designs for Learning Elementary Social Studies
• EDUC 476-4 ?
Designs for Learning Elementary Science
plus 2 courses from:
• EDUC 311 —3 ?
Foundations in Aboriginal Education, Language & Culture
• EDUC 433 -
.
4 ?
Philosophical Issues in Curriculum
• EDUC 437 -4
?
Ethical Issues in Education
• EDUC 441 -4 ?
Multicultural/Anti-Racist Education
• EDUC 471 -4 ?
Curriculum Development: Theory & Practice
Y.
plus a minimum of 6 upper division credits from the following lists:
For applicants with an academic background in the humanities/social sciences:
BISC 304-3 ?
Animal Ecology
BISC 310-3
?
Natural History of BC
BISC
425-3
?
Biology and Society
EASC 303-3 ?
Environmental Geoscience
EVSC 401-1 ?
Current Topics in Environmental Science
GEOG 449-4 ?
Environmental Processes and Urban Development
REM 311-3 ?
Applied Ecology and Sustainable Environments
REM 412-3 ?
Environmental Modelling
REM 445-3 ?
Environmental Risk Assessment and Management
For applicants with a an academic background in the science/applied sciences:
ECON 460-3 ?
Seminar in Environmental Economics
GEOG 315-4 Regional Ecosystems
GEOG 316-4 Ecosystem Biogeochemistry
GEOG
385-3 ?
Agriculture and the Environment
GEOG 389-3 ?
Human Ecology, Human Relations to Nature
GEOG 449-4 Environmental Processes and Urban Development
HIST 432-3 ?
Problems in Environmental History
SA 326-4 ?
Ecology and Social Thought
SA 371-4 ?
Environment and Society
S ?
Additional courses consistent with the aims of the PBD may be substituted for courses in the
above list with permission from the Undergraduate Programs office. Students are responsible
for prerequisites and other permissions needed to gain entry to courses listed above.
Departments sometimes give course registration priority to their own students. Because this
will reduce access to others, PBD students should consult with faculty and departmental
advisors when planning their program.
Rationale: At the moment, we request that students develop a focus for their Post
Baccalaureate Diploma. By developing specific PBDs, we are able to provide guidance and
structure for particular foci, as well as, formal recognition of their focus on their transcripts at
the conclusion of their studies.
Effective date: 2006/2007 Calendar or
APPENDIX
Rationale for inclusion of specific Education courses:
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EDUC 311 —3
?
Foundations in Aboriginal Education, Language & Culture
This course will afford students opportunities to consider First Nations philosophies and
traditional knowledge related to environmental issues.
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• EDUC 433 -4
?
Philosophical Issues in Curriculum
This course will afford students opportunities to examine fundamental philosophical issues
related to curricula in particular as they relate to social/environmental issues.
?
• EDUC 437 -4 ?
Ethical Issues in Education
This course will afford students opportunities to consider ethical problems with/in education.
In particular, morality and values education are linked to environmentalism.
?
• EDUC 441 -4 ?
Multicultural/Anti-Racist Education
This course will afford students opportunities to consider multicultural and anti-racist
teaching. Issues related to bias and social / environmental injustice could be considered.
?
• EDUC 471 -4 ?
Curriculum Development: Theory & Practice
This course will allow students to explore curriculum theory and processes of development
as it relates to cross-curricular approaches in environmental education.
fl
Revision 4
October 25, 2005
