Postgraduate Course: Outdoor Environmental Education: Concept-based Practice (EDUA11117)
Course Outline
| School | Moray House School of Education |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Credits | 20 |
| Home subject area | Education |
Other subject area | None |
| Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | The concept of environmental education is undergoing change. Within public discourse there is a lot more talk of Education for Sustainable Development. Environmental education has traditionally been about the green environment with an implicit hope that children will develop the skills and attitudes to enable them to make informed decisions about environmental issues.
Education for sustainable development contains all of the content of environmental education but starts from the aim of people altering their behaviour to achieve sustainable living, ie living in a way that does not deplete non-renewable resources which will be needed by future generations. It acknowledges that people are the problem and the solution to most environmental problems and recognises that economic, political, social and cultural behaviour have a big part to play in sustainable living.
These developing ideas create exciting opportunities for outdoor educationalists. Because outdoor education depends to a large extent on direct experience of different environments, and multi-sensory approaches to learning, there are specific opportunities to engage in ESD not readily available through class-based education. However, research suggests that outdoor educators tend to define environmental education very narrowly focussing on, for example, avoiding trampling over rare plants, not disturbing birds, taking care to limit erosion at abseil sites, creating wildlife habitats and instructing pupils that litter can be harmful to wildlife. These differing definitions provide a starting point from which this course will explore the role of outdoor education in relation to values and attitudes. This will be done by looking at theoretical positions which transcend the belief that environmental education is simply about the 'green' environment. A central theme of the course is the relationship between human beings and the non-human world. |
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | Food and linen. |
Course Delivery Information
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| Delivery period: 2012/13 Semester 1, Available to all students (SV1)
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WebCT enabled: Yes |
Quota: 30 |
| Location |
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Description |
Weeks |
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Tuesday |
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| No Classes have been defined for this Course |
| First Class |
First class information not currently available |
| No Exam Information |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
On completion of the course students will:
1 have explored a range of theoretical positions and their implications for environmental education;
2 understand the historical development of environmental education and the emergence of education for sustainable development;
3 be able to relate an ontological assumption with an epistemological position in order to formulate a programme of outdoor environmental education;
4 explore a range of thematic approaches to environmental education and be able to draw on these in the compilation of a programme of outdoor environmental education;
5 be able to understand the concept of environmental education from the perspective of different providers;
6 have arrived at an individual ethic of environmental responsibility as a guiding principle for professional practice;
7 have taken part in experiential environmental education activities;
8 have taken part in a group to deliver a programme of outdoor environmental education to peers. |
Assessment Information
| Assessment will be in the form of a written assignment of 4000 words. This covers LO 1-6. However, this does not include the assessment of LO 7-8. To maintain flexibility within the mode of assessment the course tutor may set a more practical assignment where students will prepare a lesson plan for an activiity within the scope of the course(s) and deliver the lesson to the group at a local outdoor venue. Students will be assessed on this activity by course tutors and subsequently on their own critically reflective evaluation of their lesson plan and exercise. This may form part of a combined assignment with other courses as validated. This assignment would cover the assessment of LO 7-8. |
Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
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| Transferable skills |
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| Reading list |
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| Study Abroad |
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| Study Pattern |
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| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Robbie Nicol
Tel: (0131 6)50 9793
Email: |
Course secretary | Ms Marie Hamilton
Tel: (0131 6)51 6573
Email: |
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