HIGH SCHOOL ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE (HSES) CURRICULUM: COMPREHENSIVE STUDENT-CENTERED INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING WITH INTEGRATED GIS TECHNOLOGY

Understanding the environment, effective problem solving skills, and scientific literacy are key components for preparing the next generation of students to deal with issues like human impact, sustainability, and resources. Though many ecology-based environmental programs exist, there is a need for an earth systems-based environmental science text that provides the opportunity for all students to develop an understanding of the interconnectedness of the Earth, nature, and human society. To this end, AGI is developing a comprehensive curriculum called High School Environmental Science: Understanding our Changing Earth (HSES). HSES will be comprehensive in its treatment of the environmental science content standards outlined in the National Science Education Standards (NSES), and it will feature innovative approaches to helping students develop understandings of environmental science concepts, scientific inquiry, and nature of science. The curriculum is grounded in the integration of USGS Global GIS datasets and technology in student activities and assessments. The rationale for developing this curriculum is three-fold: environmental problems and anthropogenic impacts on the environment are complex; students need to integrate the sciences to examine the environment; and technology can be used to define and analyze the environment. A learning-cycle approach to curriculum design helps students to understand the relationship between themselves and the Earth upon which they live. The program consists of four major units and an epilogue: (I) Earth and Its Environment; (II) Living at Earth Systems Interfaces; (III) Living with a Dynamic Earth; and (IV) Depending on Earth. The HSES science program will be a resource for advancing science education reform efforts and improving the quality of environmental science education.