Abstract
During 2011 the pre-service teacher education program of the Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University was the site for the implementation of a student module having an emphasis on sustainability education. Science education was infused into the program through place-based, ecological inquiries. The cohort program, termed Sustainability Education in an Environment of Diversity (SEEDs) enrolled 32 teacher education students in an intensive 12 month teacher certification program composed of equal parts of campus and field-based coursework and seminar/workshop experiences and practicum placements in on-going K-12 school classrooms. On successful completion of the program students were eligible to apply for certification as teachers within the province of British Columbia. The student reflections and commentaries do not speak of the influence of specific courses or requirements so much as they refer to the overall quality of the program’s experience and its learning environment. With regards to implementation, in most cases the teacher candidates appeared to have adopted a view of sustainability education (SE) in schools as being realistically implemented through an infusion approach within the on-going curriculum combined with a commitment to experiential and place-based approaches to learning. Lastly, their responses suggest the power of modeling in a learning environment or experience: students appreciate learning about concepts and ideas, but they deeply appreciate seeing those ideas and concepts applied to their own professional learning experiences. Consequently, the sustainability lens in science teacher education provides teachers with a new set of modern competencies that science teacher candidates may not otherwise possess.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alsop, S., Dippo, D., & Zandvliet, D. B. (2007). Teacher education as or for social and ecological transformation: Place-based reflections on local and global participatory methods and collaborative practices. Journal of Education for Teaching, 33(20), 207–223.
Beckford, C. (2008). Re-orienting environmental education in teacher education programs in Ontario. Journal of Teaching and Learning, 5(1), 55–66.
Bonnet, M. (1999). Education for sustainable development: A coherent philosophy for environmental education? Cambridge Journal of Education, 29(3), 313–324.
British Columbia Ministry of Education. (2007). Environmental learning and experience. Retrieved from http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/environment_ed/
Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC). (2012). Education for sustainable development in Canadian faculties of education. Toronto, ON, Canada: CMEC-Education for Sustainable Development Working Group Report.
Albala-Bertrand, L. (1992). Reshaping education towards sustainable development. Paris, France: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Government of Canada. (n.d.). Tools for leadership and learning: Building a learning organization. Retrieved from http://www.managers-gestionnaires.gc.ca/eng/tools-leadership-and-learning-building-learning-organization
Itin, G. M. (1999). Reasserting the philosophy of experiential education as a vehicle for change in the 21st century. Journal of Experiential Education, 22(2), 91–98.
IUCN, UNEP, & WWF. (1991/2009). Caring for the earth: A strategy for sustainable living. London, UK: Routledge.
Jickling, B. (1997). If environmental education is to make sense for teachers, we had better rethink how we define it! Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, 2, 86–103.
Lin, E. (2002). Trend of environmental education in Canadian pre-service teacher education programs from 1979–1996. Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, 7(1), 199–215.
Professional Development Programs. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.educ.sfu.ca/teachersed/pdp.html
Rioux, J. C. (1973). Environmental education in primary and secondary schools in Canada. Ottawa, ON, Canada: Environment Canada.
Saldana, J. (2012). The coding manual for qualitative researchers (2nd ed.). New York, NY: SAGE Publishers.
Towler, J. O. (1980/81). A survey of Canadian pre-service training in environmental education. Journal of Environmental Education, 12(2), 11–16.
United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). (2005a). Guidelines and recommendations for reorienting teacher education to address sustainability (pp. 74). Education for Sustainable Development in Action, Technical Paper No2. Paris, France: UNESCO.
United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). (2005b). United Nations decade of education for sustainable development (2005–2014): International implementation scheme. Paris, France: UNESCO.
Zandvliet, D. B. (2012). Development and validation of the Place-Based Learning and Constructivist Environment Survey (PLACES). Learning Environment Research, 15, 125–140.
Zoller, U. (2011). From teaching-to-know-to-learning-to-think for sustainability: What should it take? And how to do it? Journal of Modern Education Review, 1(1), 34–40.
Zoller, U. (2012). Science education for global sustainability: What is necessary for teaching, learning, and assessment strategies? Journal of Chemical Education, 89, 297–300.
Zoller, U., & Nahum, T. L. (2011). From teaching to KNOW to learning to THINK in science education. In B. J. Fraser, K. G. Tobin, & C. J. McRobbie (Eds.), Second international handbook of science education (pp. 209–229). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer.
Acknowledgements
We wish to thank Desmond Collinson, Jason Alsop, Duane Alsop, Barbara Stevens, staff at the Skidegate Band Council staff and the Haida Heritage Centre at Kaay Llnagaat, and Mount Moresby Adventure Camp for their support of the SEEDs module and the students themselves in their community of Haida Gwaii.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Ormond, C. et al. (2015). Pre-Service Teacher Experiences in a Teacher Education Program Reoriented to Address Sustainability. In: Stratton, S., Hagevik, R., Feldman, A., Bloom, M. (eds) Educating Science Teachers for Sustainability. ASTE Series in Science Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16411-3_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16411-3_10
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16410-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16411-3
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawEducation (R0)