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Assessing Schools for Generation R (Responsibility) pp 167–181Cite as

Teaching Earth Smarts: Equipping the Next Generation with the Capacity to Adapt

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Part of the book series: Contemporary Trends and Issues in Science Education ((CTISE,volume 41))

Abstract

What if we could equip the next generation with the capacity to adapt to a changing world? Isn’t it our responsibility to give them the ability to face local and global environmental challenges and improve, or at least maintain, the quality of life that many of us presently enjoy? Communities will need the ability to quickly and effectively adapt, or risk diminished lives or even collapse. This chapter will suggest that education should be about giving our kids “earth smarts,” a kind of street smarts writ large. Earth smarts is an educational construct, a tool that can help policymakers, educators, and researchers. Synthesized from a wide range of research and thought on environmental literacy and related concepts, it highlights our considerable capacity to meet challenges and will be a useful tool for anyone who believes that education can play a crucial role in preparing individuals and communities to creatively and justly adapt to environmental challenges. Freely available in a variety of formats, earth smarts was designed to be open, flexible, and practical – policymakers, researchers, and educators from around the world are encouraged to shape it to their own cultural and environmental contexts.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Education, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, 33620, USA

    Bryan H. Nichols

Authors
  1. Bryan H. Nichols
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Correspondence to Bryan H. Nichols .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. College of Education, University of Alaska Anchorage, Providence Drive 3211, Anchorage, 99508, Alaska, USA

    Michael P. Mueller

  2. Dept. Mathematics & Science Education, University of Georgia, Aderhold Hall 212, Athens, 30602-7124, Georgia, USA

    Deborah J. Tippins

  3. Oak Ridge Associated Universities, MC-100 MS6173, Oak Ridge, 37831, Tennessee, USA

    Arthur J. Stewart

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© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Nichols, B.H. (2014). Teaching Earth Smarts: Equipping the Next Generation with the Capacity to Adapt. In: Mueller, M., Tippins, D., Stewart, A. (eds) Assessing Schools for Generation R (Responsibility). Contemporary Trends and Issues in Science Education, vol 41. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2748-9_12

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