Knowledge

A fundamental goal of environmental education is to establish environmental literacy in students. Though there has been extensive research on the outcomes for environmental education, there is still a lack of insight as to which curricular components make an impact with students over time. Some researchers found that practicing science, collecting data, using geospatial tools, developing models, and participating in citizen science programs can lead to students establishing longer-lasting environmental literacy, linking this work to their community and complex decision-making.

Research has shown that as American students progress through their educational journeys, their interest in science declines between elementary and middle school, which can spark a lack of interest in science in high school. Common factors include a lack of role models and mentors in science classes, low support from family and friends, a perception of science careers as difficult to attain, and unengaging science teaching methods.

Biodiversity education can be challenging for educators as biodiversity is complex and evolving with multiple definitions. Previous research indicates that personal experiences with nature can help students learn and retain environmental lessons in a more meaningful way than other teaching methods. Previous research defined the process model of meaningful understanding with five steps (building on personal experience, meaningfulness, comprehensibility, sense of learning, understanding) for students to develop science subject matter affinity through subjective and objective means.

Environmental education (EE) poses an opportunity to build recycling rates in communities by engaging students, teachers, and parents. In Iran, municipal recycling rates hover around 8% annually compared to other countries where municipal recycling rates can exceed 80% each year. The researchers drew upon the Albanian Health Promoting Schools Model (HPSM), which promotes health and well-being in the curriculum with different projects for students, teachers, and parents.

Environmental issues have become an increasing concern over the last few decades. Specifically, in Portugal, education on environmental problems has lacked compared with other European countries. In 2016, Portugal resolved to reduce its overall carbon emissions. As a part of that resolution, the country pledged to invest more in environmental education and awareness of the pressing issues of climate change in order to effectively promote environmentally-friendly behaviors in students. Higher education institutions (HEIs) are key in providing education to the next generation of leaders.

Climate change education (CCE) is complex yet critical for future generations. A significant component of CCE includes modeling because of the many spatial and temporal challenges to conducting climate change experiments in a lab at scale. However, climate models are not always complete since many factors (e.g., future population size, technology innovations, etc.) may still be unknown or cannot be accounted for as they may happen in the future. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the leading research consortium of climate change scientists.

Zoos have become popular as wildlife conservation centers, and they serve as an important place for environmental education. Zoos attract people of all ages throughout the year to observe and learn about the wide variety of animals that reside there. For this reason, zoos can be a great place to gather information what influences visitors' attitudes toward animal conservation.

Mangroves are vulnerable to climate change impacts and face degradation from human activities such as agriculture, aquaculture, and pollution. It is essential to conserve mangroves and mitigate the impacts to them because they provide an array of ecosystem services.

Environmental education (EE) has been practiced in the United States since the early twentieth century and helps students develop environmental literacy and the tools to address global climate issues. As scientists have predicted worsening climate conditions that will negatively impact human health and ecosystems, EE is well-positioned to positively influence students' knowledge, skills, and attitudes, leading to more pro-environmental behaviors over time to collectively reduce the negative impacts of climate change.

Institutions of higher education are positioned to influence students in becoming informed and action-minded citizens for sustainable change. There are studies that inform best pedagogical practice for undergraduates and studies that validate different objectives that college-aged students retain over time. However, there is a lack of inquiry linking curriculum design and learning outcomes.