School requirements to achieve core standards has made it increasingly difficult to implement EE curricula in K-12 education. In many instances, EE is perceived as a separate subject, rather than integrated into the curriculum. Introducing the practices of ecological mindedness (EM) could allow teachers to incorporate EE into curricula without taking time away from core standards. This study investigated two main questions: (1) how can teachers integrate three qualities of ecological mindedness (ecological care, interconnectedness, and ecological integrity) into their lessons? and (2) how then can they make sure this integration is compatible with the current school standards?
To implement EM into curricula, the three qualities—ecological care, interconnectedness, and ecological integrity—must be interwoven. Ecological care promotes caring relationships between one's self and others. Interconnectedness focuses on relationships and connection among all things. Ecological integrity combines both ecological care and interconnectedness, which creates an individual who cares about someone or something and can act on that care. These qualities can help foster a relationship between a students' life and the ecological concepts they learn in school. Typically, the implementation of EE into K-12 curriculum involves increasing environmental content rather than EM. In order to increase environmental literacy among students, this study suggested that concepts of EM should be introduced early on and consistently. Additionally, integrating EM qualities into existing K-12 curricula would allow teachers to achieve core standards while also emphasizing important environmental themes.
The study interviewed seven secondary school teachers and three elementary school teachers in Colorado. All ten teachers (eight women, two men) had five or more years of teaching experience and taught various subjects (e.g., social studies, STEM, literature). The researchers selected participants via invitations through EE organizations and relied on participant suggestions for additional participants for the study. The researchers did not select teachers based on their ecological values, but noted that all participants were interested in environmental concepts.
Data collection began with a short one-on-one interview about the participants' professional background. The authors gave each participant a handout explaining the three qualities of EM. The participants were then given time to discuss with the researchers any questions about the handout. Once they were comfortable with the concept of EM, the researchers requested the participants create a lesson plan that included the three qualities. The researchers asked the participants to think aloud and explain their thought process and rationale behind the lesson plan. Following the lesson plan creation, the researchers interviewed each teacher about their process. Follow-up questions were emailed or discussed on the phone with participants. The authors analyzed the transcripts, interviews, and observational notes taken during each interview for themes.
Overall, the teachers agreed that EM can be easily integrated into current lessons and will not detract from reaching the current standards. The study found three common themes among the participants: (1) relevance of EM for schools, (2) external mandates and EM, and (3) EM as character education.
Within the first theme, relevance of EM for schools, the authors found three sub-themes: relevance for student engagement in school, relevance for students' lives, and relevance for content. Unexpectedly, participants believed EM would increase student engagement in class and make class more interesting. Additionally, participants believed that EM could create a direct connection with students' lives outside of school, which they believed to be imperative for education. Lastly, the researchers found that EM could easily be integrated into current coursework and standards because of the similar themes presented in both their coursework and EM.
The second theme indicated that the participants believed EM could be tied to the external mandates required by school districts. For example, during the initial interviews majority of participants would refer to current lessons they were teaching, which met the current standards, and integrated concepts of EM into those lessons. Additionally, researchers believed that using the terms EM rather than EE may help teachers to integrate environmental concepts into their curriculum without feeling like they needed permission.
The third theme (unexpectedly) indicated EM may be a means to “character education,” a term used to describe students' ability to think beyond themselves. All of the participants believed “character education” is the essential goal of education. The majority of the participants believed that the current curriculum and standards did not require students to think outside of themselves, but instead emphasized simply learning the materials to pass the standardized tests. The participants agreed that through the implementation of EM into curriculum, students would be more likely to begin thinking beyond themselves and understand how they may impact or influence the world.
A significant limitation to this study was site selection. The research was conducted in Colorado while the state was facing serious social issues in schools (such as frequent school shootings), as well as environmental crises (including extreme droughts and fires). It stands to reason that this context likely impacted participants' perspective on EM. Another study with different teachers conducted in a different location may produce different results; in order to best understand how to successfully implement EM into K-12 schools, a larger study is necessary.
The researchers recommend integrating EM qualities into curricula to help bridge the gap between EE and K-12 education. For example, one teacher introduced interconnectedness through the characters of the book the students were reading. The teacher's goal was to show students the 'ripple effect' these characters had on the story. The teacher would use this introduction to discuss how student's actions could impact the world beyond themselves. The researchers emphasize that integrating EM qualities into K-12 curriculum is not the definitive path towards implementing EE into the classroom, but could help shift K-12 programs towards more ecologically-oriented curricula.
The Bottom Line
This study explored how teachers can integrate ecological mindedness (EM) into their lessons. Ten teachers in Colorado were asked to integrate the three qualities of EM (ecological care, interconnectedness, and ecological integrity) into a lesson plan. This study found that teachers successfully integrated EM into existing K-12 curricula, and that this approach could help bridge EE and core standards without adding content. Additionally, the researchers believe that EM could help increase students' environmental literacy due to students thinking beyond themselves, resulting in a greater understanding of how they may impact the world.