In principle, the research-teaching nexus should be seen as a two-way link, showing not only ways in which research supports teaching but also ways in which teaching supports research. In reality, the discussion has been limited almost entirely to the first of these practices. This paper presents a case study in which some student field-trip…

Epistemologies, ontologies, and education based on colonial Eurocentric assumptions have made animism difficult to explicitly explore, acknowledge, and embody in environmental research. Boundaries between humans and the "natural world," including other animals, are continually reproduced through a culture that privileges rationality and the…

Cell phones have become ubiquitous in society, but they are typically seen as a problem in the classroom. This study was designed to assess the perspective of students regarding the use of cell phones as academic tools in the classroom. The author encouraged students to use their cell phones in an environmental issues course to find data and other…

What experiences have influenced Chinese educators' environmental consciousness and their involvement in environmental education work? Using the autobiographical inquiry approach the author explored this question with fourteen master environmental educators from various regions of China and examined in depth their significant life experiences…

Science education is criticized because it often fails to support problem-solving skills in students. Instead, the instructional methods primarily emphasize didactic models that fail to engage students and reveal how the material can be applied to solve real problems. To overcome these limitations, this study asked participants in a general…

What is distinctive or indistinctive about environmental education in schools and other formal education settings in India? In essence, what is the "ness" of environmental education in the Indian education system? Our responses to these important questions form the focus of this paper, shedding light on the historical, present and future…

Traditionally, journalism majors gain professional experience before graduation through internships, part-time or summer jobs, and campus media. Those avenues are often insufficient to adequately prepare them for the professional workplace and professional standards. This essay explores two of a journalism school's practice-based programs that…

What is environment? The answer to this question is fundamental to how we teach environmental studies and sciences (ESS). We follow recent scholarly literature in approaching environment as connection, not as some category of reality, and consider pedagogical implications via concept mapping, a new learning technology. Concept maps potentially…

Conceptual models are useful for facing the challenges of environmental sciences curriculum and course developers and students. These challenges are inherent to the interdisciplinary and problem-oriented character of environmental sciences curricula. In this article, we review the merits of conceptual models in facing these challenges. These…

Following evolutionary theory and an agriculture model, ecosystem research has stressed bottom-up dynamics, implying that top wild predators are epiphenomenal effects of more basic causes. As such, they are assumed expendable. A more modern co-evolutionary and wilderness approach--trophic cascades--instead suggests that top predators, whose…

American Indian tribes across the nation are facing pressing ecological challenges related to alterations in species distribution, access and availability of water, shifting community structures, and other phenomena correlated to climate change. At the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute (SIPI, Albuquerque, NM), faculty and staff believe the…

More than a year and a half after the University of Minnesota made headlines when an administrator halted the premiere of an environmental documentary, controversy and questions persist at the Twin Cities university. "Troubled Waters: A Mississippi River Story" took nearly four years to make. It explores how agricultural runoff and…

Transportation is one of the biggest contributors to the destruction of the environment. Results from environmental research and pursuant governmental regulations are changing the way companies do business and how transportation systems address the future. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been at the forefront in leading environmental…

Abstract is of a pivotal genre in scientific communication, assisting not only highly selective readers with judgment of the pertinent articles but also researchers in disseminating new knowledge and intellectual discoveries. Difficult yet challenging, however, is the task of writing effective abstracts particularly among non-English speaking…

This article contributes to a critical dialogue about what is currently called "knowledge integration" in environmental research and related educational programming. Indigenous understandings in particular are seen as offering (re)new(ed) ways of thinking that have and will lead to innovative practices for addressing complex environmental issues.…