rhode island k-12 environmental literacy assessment plan

32
Rhode Island K-12 Environmental Literacy Assessment Plan

Upload: hadan

Post on 29-Jan-2017

216 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Rhode Island K-12 environmental literacy assessment plan

Rhode Island

K-12 Environmental Literacy Assessment Plan

Page 2: Rhode Island K-12 environmental literacy assessment plan

Produced by the Rhode Island Environmental Education Association in association with New Knowledge Organization Ltd. 2016

Recommended Citation: RIEEA (2016). Rhode Island K-12 environmental literacy assessment plan. Providence, RI:

Rhode Island Environmental Education Association.

Date of Publication: August 24, 2016

These materials were prepared by New Knowledge Organization Ltd. for the Rhode Island

Environmental Education Association through funding provided by the Rhode Island

Foundation, and the North American Association for Environmental Education..

Rhode Island K-12 environmental literacy assessment plan is licensed under a Creative

Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

Page 3: Rhode Island K-12 environmental literacy assessment plan

Rhode Island Environmental Literacy Assessment Plan ii

Rhode Island Environmental Education Association

(RIEEA) and Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE)

collaborated on the development of an Environmental

Literacy Plan released in June 2011. The plan outlined the

purpose of environmental literacy, identified core

attributes and linked those attributes to curriculum goals

and objectives.

Five years after publishing that plan, RIEEA convened the

Environmental Literacy Assessment Planning Summit

(summit) on July 14-15, 2016. The two-day workshop

consisted of a series of facilitated discussions with expert

advisors from the national environmental education field

as well as local stakeholders from the Rhode Island

education community. The advice from this group helped

a RIEEA leadership team develop a three-year strategy for

implementing an ongoing assessment plan to monitor

progress toward achieving comprehensive environmental

literacy (EL) for high school graduates across the state.

To prepare for the workshop the facilitators from New

Knowledge Organization Ltd. (NewKnowledge) compiled

a set of briefing materials on EL assessment and student

performance in Environmental Education (EE) and related

fields.

Based on input from the leadership group, the RIEEA

team developed four distinct initiatives and a work plan to

develop an ongoing benchmark assessment for the

adoption of the literacy plan. The work aims to develop

measures for monitoring growth in the field, modifications

to the assessment strategies over time, and to support

gap analysis to make decisions that can directly impact

students in their K-12 learning career. This report

summarizes the findings and output from the summit

while outlining the four assessment initiatives.

Executive Summary

Page 4: Rhode Island K-12 environmental literacy assessment plan

Rhode Island Environmental Literacy Assessment Plan iii

_JACK REED

RHODE ISLAND

WASHINGTON, D. C. 20510-3903

July 13,2016

Hi, I'm Jack Reed and I would like to thank you for coming to Rhode Island for theEnvironmental Literacy Assessment Planning Summit. This is critical work.

Environmental education and outdoor learning programs can have a positive impact on kids'health and academic achievement, and empowers them to be good stewards of our environment.

Your efforts here today are critical to equipping the next generation with the knowledge andskills they need to achieve their fullest potential, to be good citizens, and to confront globalchallenges like climate change.

We have come a long way since we began crafting the No Child Left Inside Act nearly a decadeago. Today, key parts of the bill have been signed into law as part of the Every StudentSucceeds Act. As a result, we are freeing up critical resources for environmental education toinspire the next generation of scientists and conservationists.

Thanks to the hard work of many of you here today, nearly every state in the nation has madestrides toward developing an environmental literacy plan. This summit will help us move to thenext level. It will advance our understanding of how to integrate and evaluate environmentalliteracy across our educational programs, helping connect the dots between environmentalliteracy and student success.

I would like to thank the summit's sponsors and organizers, including the Rhode IslandEnvironmental Education Association, the Rhode Island Foundation, the North AmericanAssociation for Environmental Education, the Rhode Island Department of Education, the RhodeIsland School Building Authority, and the New Knowledge Organization for bringing all of youtogether.

Finally, I would like to take a moment to commend Rhode Island's environmentaleducators: You are committed, creative, and extraordinarily effective. You are national leadersin the field for good reason.

Again, thank you for all you do to advance environmental literacy. I wish you a successfulsummit and look forward to continuing our work together.

Sincerely,

Page 5: Rhode Island K-12 environmental literacy assessment plan

Rhode Island Environmental Literacy Assessment Plan iv

Initiative 1: EL Leadership and Partnerships

This effort will focus on understanding the political and

administrative context surrounding the implementation of

EE practices across Rhode Island. It will include those

responsible for policy implementation at the state and

school level to help direct resources to those most

capable of advancing the EL plan and assessments. This

initiative will aim to identify areas for advancing adoption

of EE strategies that can contribute to advancing EL. It will

also implement regular check in and monitoring with

these leaders and partners to create a practical strategy

for managing key advocates and opponents.

Initiative 2: Striving for Excellence in EE Practice

Initiative 2 will focus on advancing practice in the field.

Building on NAAEE’s Guidelines for Excellence, this team

will launch a new professional practice group within RIEEA

to engage in self-directed study, employing action

research to develop their own practice as a model for the

field. Together, they will identify readings helping define

excellence in EE and experiment with practical assessment

of learning outcomes to help those currently working with

the EL plan advance and improve EL practice. This

initiative represents an experimental think tank partnering

with a key college partner for guidance. They aim to lead

experiments in measuring EL advancement across a

student’s career in EE focused schools.

Initiative 3: Monitoring the Status of K-12 EL

This effort will focus on developing a comprehensive

assessment of student achievement in environmental

literacy at key phases in their school career. RIEEA

members will focus on assessments that consider potential

affordances in the school such as Green School buildings,

access to nature and neighborhood learning, as well as

presence of curricula that can support development of EL.

This group takes on the task of developing assessment

tools that are embedded in student work products. It will

aim to reduce the burden of testing, by considering

assessment strategies that representatively sample from

across the state and school systems rather than focusing

on each student. This group will also attempt to

collaborate over the next two years with those tasked with

developing the Next Generation Science Standards

(NGSS) assessments in Rhode Island. It will aim to embed

questions in the NGSS assessments that can assess STEM

achievement as a subset of the larger standardized test.

Initiative 4: EL Supporting a Better Rhode Island

EL is considered essential to creating a better Rhode

Island. This task group seeks to define how major

agencies and non-profits in Rhode Island seeking to

advance education, student learning, environmental

sustainability and creative arts can align with EL and EE

practices to advance their mission. Through a series of

collaborative meetings and discussions, the team will

consider how EL might support the objectives and goals

other organizations have set for themselves.

Four Assessment Initiatives

Page 6: Rhode Island K-12 environmental literacy assessment plan

Rhode Island Environmental Literacy Assessment Plan v

Executive Summary ii

Four Assessment Initiatives iv

Initiative 1: EL Leadership and Partnerships iv

Initiative 2: Striving for Excellence in EE Practice iv

Initiative 3: Monitoring the Status of K-12 EL iv

Initiative 4: EL Supporting a Better Rhode Island iv

Table of Contents v

Introduction 1

Purpose of an Assessment Plan 4

Goals, Uses, and Cautions for EL Assessment 5

Measurement Assumptions: 6

Cautions in Measurements 6

Initiative 1: Leadership and Partnerships 8

Initiative 2: Striving for Excellence in Practice 11

Initiative 3: Monitoring the Status of K-12 Environmental Literacy 14

Instructional Practices and Indicators of EL 15

Indicators of EL 15

Physical Environment of Schools 15

Initiative 4: EL Supporting a Better Rhode Island 18

Metrics and Measures Appendix 20

Resources 21

Workshop Participants 25

List of Tables

Table 1. Work Plan Coordination and Reporting Schedule 7

Table 2. Timeline for Leadership & Partnerships 10

Table 3. Timeline for Striving for Excellence in Practice 13

Table 4. Potential process and output measures (see

appendix for references) 16

Table 5. Timeline for Monitoring Status of K-12 EL 17

Table 6. Timeline for Supporting a Better RI 19

Table 7. Commonly used environmental literacy

instruments 20

Table of Contents

Page 7: Rhode Island K-12 environmental literacy assessment plan

Rhode Island Environmental Literacy Assessment Plan 1

Rhode Island was among the first states in the US to

complete and publish an Environmental Literacy Plan

(ELP). That effort opened the door for potential federal

funding to support and equip teachers with the skills,

knowledge, and confidence needed to integrate critical

environmental and science learning into their curricula. It

also laid out the core concepts considered essential for

graduating seniors to become active participants in Rhode

Island’s economy and ecological future.

In the Rhode Island ELP, Rhode Island Environmental

Education Association (RIEEA) and Rhode Island

Department of Education (RIDE) adopted the Framework

for 21st Century Learning. The Partnership for 21st

Century Skills defined an environmentally literate student

as one who can:

• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the environment and the circumstances and conditions affecting it, particularly as relates to air, climate, land, food, energy, water and ecosystems;

• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of society’s impact on the natural world (e.g., population growth, population development, resource consumption rate, etc.);

• Investigate and analyze environmental issues, and make accurate conclusions about effective solutions; and

• Take individual and collective actions toward addressing environmental challenges (e.g., participating in global actions, designing solutions that inspire action on environmental issues).

Furthermore, the Rhode Island ELP also adopted The

Campaign for Environmental Literacy’s (2011) five

essential components that reflect humanities and civics

learning capacities:

• Capacity for personal and collective action and civic participation;

• Problem solving and critical thinking skills;

• Attitudes of appreciation and concern for the environment;

• Knowledge and understanding of human and natural systems and processes; and

• General awareness of the relationship between the environment and human life.

Submitted by the Rhode Island Environmental Education Association

in collaboration with the Rhode Island Department of Education

Donna Braun, Ed.D.Center for Research and Evaluation

Johnson & Wales University

Peter McLarenRhode Island Department of Education

Kristen SwanbergAudubon Society of Rhode Island

Rhode IslandENVIRONMENTAL LITERACY PLAN

Introduction

Page 8: Rhode Island K-12 environmental literacy assessment plan

Rhode Island Environmental Literacy Assessment Plan 2

In the five years since publication, RIEEA and RIDE have

committed resources to implement four key aspects of the

Rhode Island ELP:

• Managing a searchable resource database of

environmental education opportunities;

• Promoting the Green Ribbon Schools initiative and

guiding applicants through the process;

• Offering professional development opportunities for

formal and informal educators; and

• Developing guidelines for the School as a Tool

portion of the Collaborative for High Performance

Schools (CHPS) program.

This report focuses on a fifth resource that is essential to

following through on an ELP: an assessment strategy that

can easily and effectively evaluate advances in EL through

K-12.

To accomplish this goal, and with the support of the

Rhode Island Foundation (RIF), the North American

Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) and in

collaboration with New Knowledge Organization Ltd.

(NewKnowledge), RIEEA convened a two day workshop to

rapidly advance the development and implementation of

a comprehensive state-wide assessment plan. The

workshop consisted of two efforts: A one-day

brainstorming session with leading experts in EE and

Rhode Island stakeholders focused on how an assessment

can be undertaken in meaningful, useful, and practical

ways. This led to a second day where RIEEA members

developed four distinct initiatives that could be used to

assess the state of EL in the K-12 system.

EL has been defined in many ways. Here we adopt one of

the most comprehensive definitions of EL as taken from

The Campaign for Environmental Literacy:

…the capacity of an individual to act successfully in daily

life on a broad understanding of how people and

societies relate to each other and to natural systems, and

how they might do so sustainably. This requires sufficient

awareness, knowledge, skills, and attitudes in order to

incorporate appropriate environmental considerations

into daily decisions about consumption, lifestyle, career,

and civics, and to engage in individual and collective

action. (Campaign for Environmental Literacy, 2011)

Coincident with the publication of Rhode Island’s ELP,

Developing a Framework for Assessing Environmental

Literacy (Hollweg, Taylor, Bybee, Marcinkowski, McBeth, &

Zoido, 2011) reported that a consensus definition of

environmental literacy is only a recent development and

the lack of agreement on the definition of EL had made

measuring it a difficult task. Despite this difficulty, there

has been an increasingly refined set of instruments

designed to measure components of EL in K-12 (see

Appendix Table 7).

Furthermore, national assessments in Korea, Israel, and

Turkey have been compared to the U.S. assessments

(Marcinkowski et al., 2013) and the 2006 PISA Science

Assessment (OECD, 2009). Combined, these U.S. and

international studies give researchers a baseline for EL and

opportunities for comparison if common measures are

adopted. There is general consensus among EE

researchers that EL assessments should break down data

by EL components and age/developmental level. It is

important to consider which aspects of EL are likely to be

influenced by the existing EE efforts in Rhode Island, and

where there may be gaps between the two. Keeping

these gaps in mind, data collected may answer questions

as to how to move forward with EE efforts in Rhode Island.

Page 9: Rhode Island K-12 environmental literacy assessment plan

Rhode Island Environmental Literacy Assessment Plan 3

The EE workshop participants recommended that an EL

assessment should not be considered solely on the basis

of school exit performance, but should be measured

across the learning career. The workshop participants also

recommended that measuring implementation of an ELP

is linked to the leadership that will implement the plan

through political and administrative branches of

government including at the school board and school

administrator’s level. They also suggested that context

would play a central mediating role that may obscure

cause and effect between EE and EL.

There was general agreement among the workshop

participants that assessment is currently conflated with

standardized testing. While some standardized measures

are useful, the purpose of this assessment is to gauge the

EL of students graduating from high school in order to

understand their capacities to face environmental

challenges in the future. Workshop participants suggested

that assessment of the overall state of EL does not require

a focus on every student. They recommended that an

assessment focus on effective EL as a general school level

measure that can include the understanding that not every

student will perform well. They suggest that a reasonable

goal would predict a small percent of individuals to attain

Nominal literacy, a majority to achieve Functional literacy,

and about 5 - 10% of all students, the future leaders in

environmental decision-making, to reach Operational

levels of EL (see Roth, 1991). That is to say, measures of

effectiveness should see a normal bell curve on literacy

scores reflecting that not all members of a community will

emerge as leaders in environmental strategy.

Lastly, it was noted that this effort is timely, with the

pending development of standardized testing for the

NGSS.

Page 10: Rhode Island K-12 environmental literacy assessment plan

Rhode Island Environmental Literacy Assessment Plan 4

The purpose of this assessment plan is to develop a

baseline measure and benchmarking strategies that can

assess the advancement of EL across the state of Rhode

Island. In so far as these objects are achieved it will

provide reporting that can help RIEEA and its

partners/collaborators reveal opportunities and gaps, set

priorities for interventions, and identify possible new

partners/collaborators that can support the expansion of

state-wide EL. Ultimately the intention of such an

assessment plan is to prepare Rhode Island’s next

generation of citizens for the coming environmental

challenges of the 21st Century.

This assessment plan will lead to the development of

tools, schedules, and reporting strategies to:

• Effectively assess development of EL;

• Monitor research that examines the contribution of EE to academic achievement during a child’s development; and

• Provide comparative data from all school types and regions (public, charter, and private school) to help identify the most effective or important areas to direct resources to.

This assessment plan acknowledges that variation in the

degree to which EE is integrated into school practices will

influence environmental literacy outcomes. In the

following pages, the assessment plan outlines steps

toward an agreed suite of related measurable indicators of

learners’ development. Included are recommendations for

comparative research to understand how different

education pedagogies are implicated in advancing EL,

and the contexts that might influence EL outcomes.

This plan further recognizes that minimum standards alone

will not advance EE practice. Therefore, this assessment

plan includes a focus on advancing practice in EE

pedagogy parallel to the primary measures of literacy

across the state. Lastly, no assessment plan would be

complete if it did not attempt to capture the sociocultural

context that supports the efforts.

In summary, this assessment plan seeks to develop

ongoing measures for the following:

• Political partnerships and opportunities;

• Excellence in EE program delivery;

• Advancing state wide EL; and

• Understanding EL status for K-12 in the state,

While developing:

• Standardized instruments that can measure EL at strategic points across grades;

• Standardized instrument to measure effectiveness in teaching EL; and

• Studies that explore the value of EE to student achievement across all aspects of the curriculum.

Purpose of an Assessment Plan

Page 11: Rhode Island K-12 environmental literacy assessment plan

Rhode Island Environmental Literacy Assessment Plan 5

The following steps were considered necessary to

implement an assessment plan:

1. Re-committing to the definition of EL as

articulated in the ELP with grade specific goals

that start at the novice and stair step toward

functional and operational literacy;

2. Developing a RIEEA policy articulating the range

of influences that can impact EL (both positive

and negative factors);

3. Developing EL assessments with the intention

that they can serve as model assessments

deployed across the country, while adopting

already tested assessments and those that need

to be developed based on intended use in

policy, advocacy or investment priority setting;

4. Aligning the definitions and assessments to

existing curriculum priorities already embedded

in RIDE standards; and

5. Prior to implementation, developing a

sustainability plan to ensure benchmarking is

continued should state priorities shift.

RIEEA has identified four unique areas for an ongoing

assessment of Environmental Literacy:

• Initiative 1: Leadership and Partnerships

• Initiative 2: Striving for Excellence in Practice

• Initiative 3: Monitoring the Status of K-12

Environmental Literacy

• Initiative 4: EL Supporting a Better Rhode Island

The workshop participants recommended the following

goals and uses for data gathered from an assessment.

The bracketed criteria after each bullet indicates the use

of data from across the four initiatives:

• Support data-based decision making where effort is needed to prepare the next generation for 21st century environmental problems (priority setting);

• Outline flexible solutions to address statewide capacities and deficits (priority setting).

• Help support continuous improvement of all EE practices (improving professional practice);

• Use data-based direction for improving policies that lay the foundation for excellence in EL education (supporting advisory work);

• Create learners with the skills to address future issues we do not even understand yet. (supporting advance of environmental disposition);

• Support advocacy to both institutionalize and advance EL education at all levels and in across the range of K-12 school (advocacy); and

• Direct attention toward efforts that can support healthier learners that can support full cognitive development (advocacy).

Goals, Uses, and Cautions for EL Assessment

Page 12: Rhode Island K-12 environmental literacy assessment plan

Rhode Island Environmental Literacy Assessment Plan 6

Measurement Assumptions:

• It is important to use data to clearly communicate to school leaders the benefits and rationale for improving EE and EL in their schools;

• High levels of EL at the end of the senior year might be the result of paths other than an EE curriculum. Therefore, measures should include efforts to describe which experiences during the K-12 period lead to more environmentally literate students;

• Measurement should account for both the path to EL and prime conditions for the adoption of a new EE focus;

• Measures will likely have greater opportunity for adoption if they are aligned to the Every Student Succeeds Act and metrics such as student engagement, student absenteeism, etc.;

• The pending development of NGSS assessment with RIDE offers an opportunity to integrate EL assessment as an aspect of that program without increasing student test burden;

• RIDE is bringing back the School Climate Survey, which provides an opportunity to collaborate with RIDE on an assessment that can also map to EL measures;

• RIDE will be developing Proficiency Based Graduation Requirements (PBGR), Applied Learning Assessment (ALA), and a three dimensional survey, which could also include EL measures;

• Measures should include triangulation to the demographics of Rhode Island and ensure sufficient data captures the voices of each cultural group; and

• It may be useful to develop measures that account for out-of-school activities such as student volunteer opportunities, family nature habits, and other nature experiences that could provide alternate paths to EL.

Cautions in Measurements

Workshop participants also noted a few cautions related

to advocacy and inference from data;

• Any measurement strategy should start with an

assumption that effective integrated instruction,

whether EE or not, may contribute to higher levels of

teacher and student engagement and happiness from

teaching and learning. This instructional model may

result in higher EL achievement since there is no

evidence to the contrary to date; and

• Any advocacy should be directly grounded in the

outcomes of research studies that demonstrate student

improvement rather than anecdotal evidence that may

simply reinforce existing beliefs.

Page 13: Rhode Island K-12 environmental literacy assessment plan

Rhode Island Environmental Literacy Assessment Plan 7

Table 1.Work Plan Coordination and Reporting Schedule

Time Activity Reporting

Q1 Establishment of RIEEA Working Groups

Confirm commitment from a Chair for each initiative and support team

Establish coordinator meeting schedules

Establish team meeting dates & intersection meeting for cross-group collaboration

Confirm working group teams and identify key points where intersection meetings should occur

Q2 Set first activities in motion

Develop an integrated schedule with key reporting dates and communications tree to ensure leveraging of resources.

Updates due at coordination meeting

Q3 Continued action per each plan

Identify and celebrate key cross-initiative successes

Identify & develop remediation plan for cross-initiatives in conflict

Updates due at coordination meeting

Q4 Continued action per each plan

Identify and celebrate key cross-initiative successes

Monitor, report, update remediation plan for cross-initiatives in conflict

Develop annual report on results to date

Annual report on the plan for distribution to RIEEA members and stakeholders. Identify revisions to the plan based on data collected to date, develop first benchmark report for each of the four initiatives, what is known, what are the next steps, and how are others helping

Q5 Year 2 Activities commence Updates due at coordination meeting

Q6 Identify and celebrate key cross-initiative successes Updates due at coordination meeting

Q7 Continued action per each plan

Identify and celebrate key cross-initiative successes

Monitor, report, update remediation plan for cross-initiatives in conflict

Updates due at coordination meeting

Q8 Continued action per plan

Develop annual report on results to date

Annual report on the plan for distribution to RIEEA members and stakeholders. Identify updates to the plan and report on benchmark data.

Q9 Lay foundations for first state-wide assessment

Revisit working group structure and consider additions and restructuring

Updates due at coordination meeting

Q10 Continued action per plan/Launch state-wide assessment strategy Updates due at coordination meeting

Q11 Continued action per plan and first wave data analysis Updates due at coordination meeting

Q12 Publish first state-wide assessment of Rhode Island K-12 EL

Develop next wave of ongoing assessment and institutional support process

Annual report on the plan for distribution to RIEEA members and stakeholders.

Page 14: Rhode Island K-12 environmental literacy assessment plan

Rhode Island Environmental Literacy Assessment Plan 8

Environmental literacy in the K-12 system is not part of

Common Core nor any other education standards

currently assessed through standardized testing. It does,

however, have components that can be aligned to

Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM),

language, arts, humanities and civics. Through alignment

of content, EL could quite reasonably be considered as an

indicator topic relevant to statewide testing. To

accomplish this objective will require political leaders and

administrators from across the school system to support

this objective. Therefore, the first assessment focuses on

assessing the state of EL leadership among stakeholders.

The workshop participants agreed that Bybee’s (1997) four

P’s: Purposes, Policies, Programs, and Practices offered a

framework to describe the landscape of EE in Rhode

Island. The purposes are already mostly outlined in the

ELP, the policies can easily be garnered from RIEEA and

the state’s documents as a baseline assessment rubric to

describe the beliefs and support of leaders and

stakeholders who can facilitate support for EL in the state.

In parallel, this initiative recommends using personal

connections from RIEEA members in meetings to develop

an internal status report on where EE and EL lay on the list

of importance in formal schools. The work and statements

of superintendents across Rhode Island were suggested

as sources for these reports.

In a first wave assessment, this initiative will focus on

leadership within key stakeholder organizations:

A first priority for leadership is to explore the possibility of

partnering with RIDE and its partners for opportunities to

support development of the NGSS assessment. This will

require identifying key individuals with specific skills and

connecting appropriate experts within the RIEEA network

to serve as instrument developers. In a parallel effort, this

leadership will be critical in the effort to identify test sites

for pilot testing and validity studies. Possible measures

might include: Superintendent, principal and/or teacher

surveys, and interviews with select participants.

Rhode Island has already committed to the “School as a

Tool” (SAAT) effort where new publicly funded schools or

those scheduled for renovation must sign a commitment

to incorporate EE curriculum in their school. A first wave

assessment of how SAAT schools have achieved

implementing EE curriculum could offer both an initial

benchmark of how SAAT is supporting EL and exemplar

data concerning the leadership that implemented the

program.

Initiative 1: Leadership and Partnerships

Page 15: Rhode Island K-12 environmental literacy assessment plan

Rhode Island Environmental Literacy Assessment Plan 9

Another effort will focus on the Board of Regents current

supporters’ values and concerns. It was noted that much

of this effort is strategic identification of relationships that

have been established in the past and developing

partnerships and contact rubrics to report back on the

political support for the EL effort. It should not be

assumed that support has remained stable. Developing a

strategy map that identifies those willing to champion EL

initiatives will be useful for designing an appeal campaign

that can advance EL efforts across the state.

The group also suggested that a similar team be

developed to focus on members of the General

Assembly’s education committee, the Governors office

staff responsible for education and family initiatives, the

Director of the Department of Environmental

Management, and federal level elected official’s offices.

As noted in the introduction, a team should be convened

to focus on the Superintendent Association, school

principal’s and school committees associations to

determine the state of support and priority setting for EL.

Lastly, this same assessment team should map the state

and interest in supporting national funders and media

partners as part of a strategy plan for the state.

Some considerations for how to map individuals as key

supporters:

• Leaders’ understanding of the “Big Picture”

• Democratic environment in which they work

• Potential as a lead communicator or supporter

• Connections with the local community or ability to support

• Are they informed enough to assess current EL in schools or what resources can be provided to help them.

Page 16: Rhode Island K-12 environmental literacy assessment plan

Rhode Island Environmental Literacy Assessment Plan 10

Table 2. Timeline for Leadership & Partnerships

Time Activity Reporting

Q1 Establishment of Chair and five Working Groups

Confirm commitment from a Chair for each initiative and support team

Establish coordinator meeting schedules

Establish team meeting dates & intersection meeting for cross-group collaboration

Confirm working group teams and identify key points where intersection meetings should occur

Q2 Set first activities in motion

Develop an integrated schedule with key reporting dates and communications tree to ensure leveraging of resources

Updates due at coordination meeting

Q3 Continued action per each plan

Identify and celebrate key cross-initiative successes

Identify & develop remediation plan for cross-initiatives in conflict

Identify key partners for NGSS measurement alignment

Updates due at coordination meeting

Q4 Continued action per each plan

Identify and celebrate key cross-initiative successes

Monitor, report, update remediation plan for cross-initiatives in conflict and NGSS partnership opportunities

Develop annual report on results to date

Annual report on the plan for distribution to RIEEA members and stakeholders. Identify revisions to the plan based on data collected to date, develop first benchmark report for each of the four initiatives, what is known, what are the next steps, and how are others helping.

Q5 Year 2 Activities commence Updates due at coordination meeting

Q6 Identify and celebrate key cross-initiative successes Updates due at coordination meeting

Q7 Continued action per each plan

Monitor, report, update remediation plan for cross-initiatives in conflict

Coordinate with Initiative 3 to Lay foundations for first state-wide assessment

Updates due at coordination meeting

Q8 Continued action per plan

Develop annual report on results to date

Annual report on the plan for distribution to RIEEA members and stakeholders. Identify updates to the plan and report on benchmark data

Q9 Revisit working group structure and consider additions and restructuring

Updates due at coordination meeting

Q10 Continued action per plan/ Launch state-wide assessment strategy Updates due at coordination meeting

Q11 Continued action per plan and first wave data analysis Updates due at coordination meeting

Q12 Share results of first state-wide assessment of Rhode Island K-12 EL

Develop next wave of ongoing assessment and institutional support process

Annual report on the plan for distribution to RIEEA members and stakeholders

Page 17: Rhode Island K-12 environmental literacy assessment plan

Rhode Island Environmental Literacy Assessment Plan 11

The workshop attempted to inventory how EE pedagogy

is being practiced by teachers in Rhode Island, the degree

to which they are engaging in project-based learning

(PBL), and where PBL is environmentally themed. To date,

there has not been a comprehensive assessment of how

EE focused schools are operating, nor is there consensus

on themes or exemplars of leading practices. During the

workshop it also became apparent that the NAAEE

published Guidelines for Excellence which articulate

concepts central to EE practice that have demonstrable

impacts on EL are not being used to benchmark practice

in the state.

Therefore, it was agreed that RIEEA should sponsor a

specific focus on professional development (PD) and

practice research that can report on the pursuit of

excellence in the state. This group of RIEEA practitioners

could pursue a self-study and research effort to describe

the range of existing programs and practices and how

they are working to advance their work based on the

Guidelines for Excellence. They might focus on identifying

how many Rhode Island teachers are taking their PD or

using their services at schools or off-site (and in what

manners; one-offs, long-term at school, repeated field

trips, etc.). While not a traditional survey strategy, by

working as a collaborative, this group of practitioners

could focus on gathering data on what tools EE

practitioners are using at schools that have committed to

EE to determine the human capital in the school systems

and how they are utilizing EE tools. They gave the

example that having a school garden is great, but only if it

is used for instruction and to provide healthy food. This

group also felt that an internal assessment within

committed EE teachers could identify the degree to which

tenacious teachers who spearhead EE find support or feel

resistance to their practice.

Based on these ideas, it was recommended that a distinct

RIEEA practitioner Community of Practice (CoP) be

launched to undertake a self-reflective and CoP action

research effort. Through partnership with an academic

familiar with Action Research theory, this group will focus

on assessment tools, self-refection and outreach as a

study group. It will be able to respond to the urgent need

to assess EE impacts by experimenting and sharing results

and solutions in a learning community.

A workshop participant/academic leader (Bisaccio) agreed

to facilitate the Action Research effort so the practitioner

network could be convened. It was noted that this group

would not focus on representativeness, but rather, where

EE innovators are leading practice within the state and

their administrative context.

Some discussion items recommended that this group

tackle Integrated Environmental Education (IEE, Formerly

Green School Pedagogy) as part of their data gathering.

Initiative 2: Striving for Excellence in Practice

Page 18: Rhode Island K-12 environmental literacy assessment plan

Rhode Island Environmental Literacy Assessment Plan 12

They felt there needed to be a consistent measuring effort

for competency and growth in competency. Integrated EE

is in many respects just good pedagogy. It just happens to

be multi-disciplinary with a focus on the environment.

Integrated EE is likely to be implemented in some form in

all types of schools (fully IEE, partial IEE, and no IEE focus).

Things that can be measured are:

• Field work;

• Attendance;

• Integrated outdoor experiences rather than

unstructured play/free time outside;

• Integrated disciplinary focus around the environment;

• Efforts in the community, especially formal

partnerships;

• Local and global connections being explicitly taught;

and

• Service and stewardship that is student led and

teacher/admin supported.

For all of these measures, the workshop participants felt it

would be important to quantify the frequency of each of

those seven aspects of EE practice at each school, or at

least a representative sample of all schools from across

the state. These measures would support quantitative

analysis the conditions supporting development of EL

more accurately for the entire student population. This will

probably be accomplished through a teacher survey.

Some assessments may already exist that can give us

some of the following data: Attendance, pre/post EL tests,

the environment as an integrating factor, how many

Environmental Technology and Science schools and

Expeditionary Learning schools that are in the state, and

the peace schools movement.

Page 19: Rhode Island K-12 environmental literacy assessment plan

Rhode Island Environmental Literacy Assessment Plan 13

Table 3. Timeline for Striving for Excellence in Practice

Time Activity Reporting

Q1 Establishment of Leadership, Advisory and Collaborators group

Confirm commitment from participants and schedule for meetings and discussion forums (logistics)

Establish tentative meeting/reporting schedules to the larger effort

Sign a participation commitment for teachers and administrators

Establish learning community of practice

Confirm meeting dates & intersection meeting for cross-group collaboration

Launch first meeting and clarify shared goals and objectives

Q2 Set first goals in motion

Develop an integrated schedule with key reporting dates and communications tree to ensure leveraging of resources

Review and consider Guidelines for Excellence.as practice research

Updates due at coordination meeting

Identify opportunities for the assessment of embedded data and goals for measures

Test first thesis

Q3 Continued action per each plan

Identify and celebrate key cross-initiative successes

Identify & develop remediation plan for cross-initiatives in conflict

Updates due at coordination meeting

Q4 Continued action per each plan

Identify and celebrate key cross-initiative successes with other efforts

Develop reporting strategy on the state of the community of practice

Develop annual report on results to date

Annual report on the plan for distribution to RIEEA members and stakeholders Identify results and next steps for the community of practices

Q5 Year 2 Expanding the circle

Invite a wider circle of EE practitioners to join the learning circle, develop working groups for each context and K-12 developmental cohort

Updates due at coordination meeting

Q6 Identify and celebrate key cross-initiative successes Updates due at coordination meeting

Q7 Continued action per each plan

Monitor, report, update remediation plan for cross-initiatives in conflict, consider opportunities to intersect with other EL initiatives

Updates due at coordination meeting

Q8 Update action plan

Develop participant feedback on impacts and support annual report on results to date and next steps

Annual report on the plan for distribution to RIEEA members and stakeholders Identify updates to the plan and report on benchmark data

Q9 Commence first state-wide assessment of committed EE leaders, and the administrative context for their work

Updates due at coordination meeting

Q10 Continued action per plan/ consolidate findings from state-wide assessment of practices

Updates due at coordination meeting

Q11 Continued action per plan and first wave data analysis Updates due at coordination meeting

Q12 Develop next wave of ongoing assessment and institutional support process

Annual report on the plan for distribution to RIEEA members and stakeholders

Page 20: Rhode Island K-12 environmental literacy assessment plan

Rhode Island Environmental Literacy Assessment Plan 14

The first two efforts focus on assessing the contexts

promoting EL. This third domain seeks to provide

quantitative data describing the overall state of EL literacy

in the K-12 school population as an ongoing assessment.

As noted in the introduction, the goal is to provide

representative sampling from across the state, to minimize

burden, and to repeat these assessments annually to

maintain a status report on EL.

Initiative 2 outlined a landscape study for the most

promising practices and practitioners. It recognized that

these leadership assessments do not represent the overall

learning landscape in K-12. A suggestion was raised to

randomly sample as often as possible to reduce burden

but still maintain statistical power. Finally, it may seek to

focus on what students gain from existing EE efforts.

The workshop participants recommended that all

assessment strategies focus on parsimony in data

collection. They felt that data should be limited to the

quantity required to estimate the range of learning

outcomes in K-12 rather than measures of every student in

every school. The group questioned when in-school

learning was all that contributed to EL or if some learning

was redundant based on family opportunities and learning

outside of school. There was a suggestion that this effort

could focus on potential interaction effects that should be

teased out in overall assessments to avoid crediting

school programs with natural learning from outdoor

experience.

Another challenge is to balance learning between

cognition vs. behavior change that can result in

sustainability based on behavioral norms. In considering

these factors, it was recommended that ideally, measures

would be developed either as an addendum to existing

tests or as embedded work product assessment that

considered how curriculum outputs themselves could be

scored on a rubric to describe the learning outcomes. For

the former, it may be possible to develop questions in

conjunction with NGSS measures to reduce the burden if

support could be gathered through Initiative 1.

At present, there does not seem to be comprehensive PD,

even though some notable PD programs continue to draw

new teachers and advance their skills that should be

measurable among the student population. Therefore, it

was recommended that secondary datasets confirm if

student outcomes are triangulated to whether their

teachers participated in formal PD programs. Despite the

presence in an EE PD program, some teachers may be

more likely to have an EE focus that can enhance EL

outcomes whether or not they participate in the PD

Initiative 3: Monitoring the Status of K-12 Environmental Literacy

Page 21: Rhode Island K-12 environmental literacy assessment plan

Rhode Island Environmental Literacy Assessment Plan 15

efforts. Therefore, this domain of measurement should

assess teachers’ pedagogical approaches and perceptions

of how their practices lead to EL for comparison with

actual test results.

Instructional Practices and Indicators of EL

The group felt that RI teachers were incorporating a range

of curricula that have demonstrable links to EL outcomes.

They listed NGSS, EE, STEM, integrated instruction, and

others as all having causal links to EL. They also described

current EE efforts such as outdoor experiences, cross

cutting concepts, projects that spiral, field

research/studies where students generate and pose

questions and develop models, as supportive practices

that have not been quantified nor mapped to statewide

EL outcomes. It would seem that all are paths to

advancing EL but they may have differential learning

outcomes. Therefore, it is suggested that those measures

be delayed until after Initiative 2 has an opportunity to

report on their efforts before completing this aspect of the

work.

Indicators of EL

The workshop participants felt there was need for

experimentation in metric development before settling on

a final strategy. They suggested that measures should

focus on students’ use of critical thinking to

design/engineer solutions to environmental problems as a

task that is both measurable and true to practice. Here,

the group recognized the need for a stratified learning

goal where integration emerges in the sciences, the

humanities and the arts. These measures might be

stratified to explore where operational literacy is emerging

as excellence, but focus on a primary goal of measuring

functional EL. For example, in a synthesis test, it may be

possible to ask students to solve a grade level appropriate

environmental action problems, ideally using STEM

approaches. Do students use STEM thinking to

experience nature, build connections, and engage with

the environment? This type of intervention could be

considered embedded if students were asked to complete

the task rather than a learning experience followed by a

test.

Physical Environment of Schools

The group also recognized that some measures of EL are

context learning based and can emerge through

integration with the physical environment, the school

building, and overall access to nature as part of daily life.

Therefore, it was suggested that schools be assessed as a

parallel measure for all students taking any assessment at

that school. These physical assets may correlate with

student outcomes and therefore may be valuable assets

that can partially explain score variation.

The workshop participants recommended a battery of

descriptive measures that could be captured annually

from the school without burden on students and

instructional time. These include the school’s strategic

plan, school improvement plans, the school’s use of

outdoors as part of learning, and whether students have

access to programs (energy and water conservation,

gardening, composting, etc.) that can contribute to EL.

They also suggested that these data include

presence/absence and/or principal rating of the likelihood

their formal partnerships might contribute to advancing EL

in their student population.

It was suggested that much of the data mentioned above

may already be available from other sources such as state

and local governments, Google maps, GIS sources,

wellness scores, green space, tree cover, and other data

repositories. In parallel, many RI cities are developing

sustainability efforts, which could be explored as a

variable that may have impact on EL outcomes.

Page 22: Rhode Island K-12 environmental literacy assessment plan

Rhode Island Environmental Literacy Assessment Plan 16

Based on these potential variables that could correlate

with student EL outcomes, participants suggested that the

measurement strategy consider pilot testing at a model

school where some students are bus commuters while

others are resident in the town working on sustainability

programs. The effort to identify and clean these data

represents valuable work given the lack of information on

how context informs advancement of EL.

The group also felt a focus on environmental equity

including: proximity to nature or tree-cover; other

affordances of nature; and access to healthy food as an

important measure. They noted that many schools use a

caterer that serves processed food that may not offer

good nutrition. These observational data may suggest

possible mitigating variables that advance or hinder EL

practice.

The group noted that it is possible to assemble some of

these datasets today, pulling from multiple sources and

integrating them into one GIS measurement tool and

status of the landscape around the school.

It was recommended that the NAAEE framework be

referenced and utilized as the EL assessment plan is

developed. In addition to the potential RIDE led EL

aligned STEM assessments, additional assessments could

be focused on:

1. Attitudes and Actions (ideally actual actions, but data

on verbal commitment or intention to act would also

work).

2. Portfolios to show growth of students and what topics

they are choosing to focus on. How are the students

civically engaging with environmental issues?

3. Establishing a baseline (state of the state) but also

measuring growth over time.

Table 4. Potential process and output measures (see

appendix for references)

Input/Process Measures Output Measures

School leadership

School vision

Improvement plans

Student Input

Topic/problem selection

Supports for this process

School/Community Resources

Staff Agency

School Culture

Curriculum Relevance

Community Engagement

PD for superintendents, principals, teachers

Self-assessment on some items

Time to Reflect

Dosage and frequency of EE instruction

Continual and growing student input

Increased Staff Agency

Students’ engagement and passion for chosen topics/issues

Effects on the community (how are the students improving things?)

Student transformation:

Attitudes

Self-efficacy

Connectedness, new connections

Sense of places/character

Service and Stewardship

Academic success

Self assessment and reflection on results

Page 23: Rhode Island K-12 environmental literacy assessment plan

Rhode Island Environmental Literacy Assessment Plan 17

Table 5. Timeline for Monitoring Status of K-12 EL

Time Activity Reporting

Q1 Establishment of Leadership, Advisory Council

Confirm commitment from participants and schedule for meetings and discussion forums (logistics)

Establish tentative meeting/reporting schedules to the larger effort

Confirm meeting dates & intersection meeting for cross-group collaboration

Launch first meeting and clarify shared goals and objectives

Q2 Confirm fit of existing instruments or questions to NGSS, new measures requiring development, and those measures not part of NGSS that will explore other aspects of EL

Develop an development schedule for new instruments and leadership for each measurement strategy

Review and consider Guidelines for Excellence.as practice research

Updates due at coordination meeting

Identify opportunities for the assessment of embedded data and goals for measures

Q3 Develop partnership site relationships for pilot testing

Coordinate with Initiative 1 team on NGSS opportunities

Develop pilot instruments for testing

Updates due at coordination meeting

Q4 Manage IRB review for instrument testing

Identify datasets that can be used for predictive mapping of context variables

Secure commitment from GIS data management team

Annual report on the plan for distribution to RIEEA members and stakeholders Identify results and next steps for the assessment strategy

Q5 Pilot testing instruments at a representative sample of RI schools

Undertake first context variable pilot study

Updates due at coordination meeting

Q6 Data analysis and report publication Updates due at coordination meeting

Q7 Modify and update survey tools and confirm validity of context variables

Updates due at coordination meeting

Q8 Update action plan

Develop participant feedback on impacts and support annual report on results to date and next steps

Annual report on the plan for distribution to RIEEA members and stakeholders Identify updates to the plan and report on benchmark data

Q9 Commence first state-wide assessment K-12 EL Updates due at coordination meeting

Q10 Data analysis Updates due at coordination meeting

Q11 Report development Updates due at coordination meeting

Q12 Finalize ongoing assessment strategy Annual report on the plan for distribution to RIEEA members and stakeholders

Page 24: Rhode Island K-12 environmental literacy assessment plan

Rhode Island Environmental Literacy Assessment Plan 18

The final assessment focused on expanding

understanding of how an ELP can support a range of

goals for state organizations and NGOs. Unlike other

measures that focus on documenting the cause, effect and

outcome of EE programs toward EL, this effort focuses on

how a fully realized, integrated EE approach may help

support other organizations’ priorities.

Therefore, this small action committee of RIEEA would

undertake a long range set of meetings to describe core

partners’ goals and outcomes, to align that work with what

the literature suggests can be accomplished through EE

practice. They would ideally be able to present scenarios

to these stakeholders about what benefits accrue from an

environmentally literate citizenry.

Therefore, this working group will develop a long-range

outreach strategy to join organizations (including public

agencies and advocacy groups and collectives) to learn

about their goals and objectives, to develop alignment

and “common interest” educational goals that can be

further reported in future years.

It was noted by participants that many of these agencies,

i.e.: RIDE, Dept of Health, DEM, peripheral education, are

not tied to state funding nor state mandates. However,

this does not preclude engaging with them to address

these issues alongside Head Start, Higher Ed, and other

non-RIDE agencies, such as the land trust and

conservation districts not covered by DEM.

It was suggested that this team focus on small partner

alignment meetings to map strategic plans to support

such as problem solving, systems thinking, access to

natural spaces, healthy spaces, going outside, PD and

leadership support.

As with all other initiatives, cross-walking these data will

help expand understanding of the learning affordances

across the state.

Initiative 4: EL Supporting a Better Rhode Island

Page 25: Rhode Island K-12 environmental literacy assessment plan

Rhode Island Environmental Literacy Assessment Plan 19

Table 6. Timeline for Supporting a Better RI

Time Activity Reporting

Q1 Establishment of Leadership and Collaborators group

Confirm commitment from participants and schedule for meetings and discussion forums (logistics)

Establish tentative meeting/reporting schedules to the larger effort.

Identify priority list of contacts

Establish learning community of practice.

Confirm meeting dates & intersection meeting for cross-group collaboration

Launch first meeting and clarify shared goals and objectives

Q2 Hold 6 stakeholder meetings

Meet to identify crosswalked EL contribution to partner goals

Send individualized summary to stakeholders

Updates due at coordination meeting

Q3 Hold 6 new stakeholder meetings

Meet to identify crosswalked EL contribution to partner goals

Send individualized summary to stakeholders

Updates due at coordination meeting

Q4 Hold 3 stakeholder meetings

Coordinate EL contribution to a Better RI synthesis report

Send full report to stakeholders

Annual report on the plan for distribution to RIEEA members and stakeholders Identify results and next steps for the community of practices

Q5 Reconnect with Stakeholders

Transition supporters to Initiative 1 team

Identify new Stakeholder organizations.

Updates due at coordination meeting

Q6 Hold 6 new stakeholder meetings

Meet to identify crosswalked EL contribution to partner goals

Send individualized summary to stakeholders

Updates due at coordination meeting

Q7 Hold 6 new stakeholder meetings

Meet to identify crosswalked EL contribution to partner goals

Send individualized summary to stakeholders

Updates due at coordination meeting

Q8 Hold 3 stakeholder meetings

Coordinate EL contribution to a Better RI synthesis report

Send full report to stakeholders

Update action plan

Annual report on the plan for distribution to RIEEA members and stakeholders Identify updates to the plan and report on benchmark data

Q9 Reconnect with Stakeholders

Transition supporters to Initiative 1 team

Identify new Stakeholder organizations

Updates due at coordination meeting

Q10 Develop collective support plan to report on state of EL to stakeholders

Updates due at coordination meeting

Q11 Work with Initiative 3 to identify sub-report needs for stakeholders Updates due at coordination meeting

Q12 Publish stakeholder updates (1 page) on EL in K-12 for a Better RI Annual report on the plan for distribution to RIEEA members and stakeholders

Page 26: Rhode Island K-12 environmental literacy assessment plan

Rhode Island Environmental Literacy Assessment Plan 20

Table 7. Commonly used environmental literacy instruments

Metrics and Measures Appendix

Instrument Grade Range Components Measured Context

Children’s Environmental Attitude and Knowledge Scale (CHEAKS)

1-7 Verbal Commitment (VC), Actual Commitment (AC), Environmental Affect, Ecological Knowledge (EK)

Widely used in grades 2-7 on its own and as a portion of other instruments.

New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) Scale of Children

4-6 Rights of Nature, Human Exemptionalism, Eco-Crisis

Based on the NEP scale which doesn’t come from the same theoretical framework as EL.

Children’s Environmental Affect Scale (CEAS)

4-8 (potentially 4-12)

Environmental Attitude, Environmental Sensitivity, Willingness to take environmental action

National assessment of 4th and 5th graders in Turkey (Erdogan & Marcinkowski, 2015).

Environmental Scale (2-MEV) 4-8 Preservation of Nature, Utilization of Nature

Used in many studies; different theoretical framework than most EL instruments (Johnson & Manoli, 2011)

Modified Children’s Environmental Perceptions Scale (CEPS)

4-8 Eco-learning and behavioral, Eco-appreciation, Eco-impact awareness

Surveyed grade 4, 5 & 7 in Michigan. (Bergman, 2016)

Middle School Environmental Literacy Survey (MSELS)

6-8 (potentially down to 4)

EK, VC, AC, Environmental Sensitivity, Issue Identification, Issue Analysis, Action Planning

Most recently used instrument for US National EL Assessment, grades 6-8 ( McBeth & Volk, 2010)

Ecology Attitude Knowledge Survey (EAK)

High school and Adults

EK, VC, AC, Environmental Affect

Maloney, M, Ward, M., Braucht, G. (1975).

Secondary School Environmental Literacy Assessment Instrument (SSELI)

9-12 Multiple scales similar to MSELS

High school students (Marcinkowski & Rehrig, 1995)

Page 27: Rhode Island K-12 environmental literacy assessment plan

Rhode Island Environmental Literacy Assessment Plan 21

Baker, E. L., Barton, P. E., Darling-Hammond, L., Haertel,

E., Ladd, H. F., Linn, R. L., & Shepard, L. A. (2010).

Problems with the Use of Student Test Scores to Evaluate

Teachers. EPI Briefing Paper #278. Economic Policy

Institute.

Bartosh, O, Tudor, M, Ferguson, L & Taylor, C. (2006).

Improving Test Scores Through Environmental Education:

Is It Possible? Applied Environmental Education and

Communication, 5(3), 161-169.

Bergman, B.G. (2016). Assessing impacts of locally

designed environmental education projects on students’

environmental attitudes, awareness, and intention to act.

Environmental Education Research, 22(4), 480-503.

Berman, M., Jonides, J., & Kaplan, S. (2008). The

Cognitive Benefits of Interacting With Nature.

Psychological Science, 19, 1207-1212

Campaign for Environmental Literacy. (2011). What is

Environmental Literacy? Retrieved from

http://www.fundee.org/facts/envlit/whatisenvlit.htm

Children and Nature Network. (2011). Fact sheet

children’s health and nature research and studies.

Retrieved from

http://www.childrenandnature.org/research/Intro

Committee on STEM Education National Science and

Technology Council. (2013). Federal Science, Technology,

Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education 5-Year

Strategic Plan. Retrieved from

https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/

ostp/stem_stratplan_2013.pdf

Connor-Greene, P. A. (2000). Assessing and Promoting

Student Learning: Blurring the Line Between Teaching and

Testing. Teaching of Psychology, 27(2), 84 – 88.

http://doi.org/10.1207/S15328023TOP2702_01

Deno, S. L. (2003). Developments in Curriculum-Based

Measurement. The Journal of Special Education, 37(3),

184–192. http://doi.org/10.1177/00224669030370030801

Domestic Policy Council, Office of Science and

Technology Policy. (2006). American Competitiveness

Initiative. Retrieved from https://georgewbush-

whitehouse.archives.gov/stateoftheunion/2006/aci/aci06-

booklet.pdf

Ernst, J., & Monroe, M. (2004). The effects of

environment-based education on students’ critical thinking

skills and dispositions toward critical thinking.

Environmental Education Research, 10(4), 507-522.

Resources

Page 28: Rhode Island K-12 environmental literacy assessment plan

Rhode Island Environmental Literacy Assessment Plan 22

Erdogan, M. & Marcinkowski, T. (2015). Development and

Validation of Children’s Environmental Affect (Attitude,

Sensitivity and Willingness to take action) Scale. Eurasia

Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education,

11(3), 577-588.

Fraser, J., Gupta, R., & Krasny, M. E. (2015). Practitioners’

perspectives on the purpose of environmental education.

Environmental Education Research, 21(5), 777–800.

Fraser, J., Gupta, R., Flinner, K., Rank, S. & Ardalan, N.

(2013). Engaging Young People in 21st Century

Community Challenges: Linking Environmental Education

with Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

(NewKnowledge Report #PRCO.106110.06). New York:

New Knowledge Organization Ltd.

Fraser, J., & Yocco, V. (2010). American beliefs associated

with encouraging children’s nature experience

opportunities. Edgewater, MD: Institute for Learning

Innovation.

Gardner, H. (1992). Assessment in Context: The

Alternative to Standardized Testing. In B.R. Gifford & M.C.

O’Connor (Eds.), Changing Assessments (pp. 77–119).

Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands.

http://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-2968-8_4

Go Green Initiative (2016). Our History. Retrieved from

https://gogreeninitiative.org/wp/our-history/

Green Schools Alliance (GSA, 2016). Our History.

Retrieved from

http://www.greenschoolsalliance.org/history

Green Schools Initiative (GSI, 2016). Green Star Schools

Program. Retrieved from

http://www.greenschools.net/article.php?list=type&type=

79

Healthy Schools Network. (2012). School Renovation and

Construction: What You Need to Know to Protect Child

and Adult Environmental Health. Retrieved from:

http://www.healthyschools.org/downloads/Renovation_an

d_ Construction_Guide.pdf

Heimlich, J.E. & Ardoin, N.M. (2008). Understanding

behavior to understand behavior change: a literature

review. Environmental Education Research, 14(3), 215-

237.

Hollweg, K. S., Taylor, J. R., Bybee, R. W., Marcinkowski,

T. J., McBeth, W. C., & Zoido, P. (2011). Developing a

framework for assessing environmental literacy.

Washington, DC: North American Association for

Environmental Education. Retrieved from

http://www.naaee.net.

Jeronen, E., Jeronen, J., & Raustia, H. (2009).

Environmental education in Finland - A case study of

environmental education in nature schools. International

Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 4(1), 1-

23.

Johnson, B. & Manoli, C.C. (2010). The 2-MEV Scale in the

United States: A Measure of Children’s Environmental

Attitudes Based on the Theory of Ecological Attitude. The

Journal of Environmental Education, 42(2), 84-97.

Johnson, C. J., Moran, J., & Pekich, R. (1975). Carbon

monoxide in school buses. American Journal of Public

Health, 65(12), 1327-1329.

Kaplan, R., & Kaplan, S. (1989). The Experience of Nature:

A Psychological Perspective. New York: Cambridge

University Press.

Lieberman, G., & Hoody, L. (1998). Closing the

achievement gap: Using the environment as an integrating

context for learning. San Diego, CA: State Education and

Environment Roundtable.

Page 29: Rhode Island K-12 environmental literacy assessment plan

Rhode Island Environmental Literacy Assessment Plan 23

Lucas, A. M. (1973). Environment and environmental

education: Conceptual issues and curriculum implications

(Doctoral dissertation, The Ohio State University, 1972).

Dissertation Abstracts International, 33(11), 6064A. (UMI

No. 73- 11531)

Maloney, M.P., Ward, M.P., & Braucht, G.N. (1975).

Psychology in action: A revised scale for the measurement

of ecological attitudes and knowledge. American

Psychologies, 30, 787-790.

Marcinkowski, T., & Rehrig, L. (1995). The secondary

school report: A final report on the development, pilot

testing, validation, and field testing of The Secondary

School Environmental Literacy Assessment Instrument. In

R. Wilke (Ed.) Environmental Education Literacy/Needs

Assessment Project: Assessing environmental literacy of

students and environmental education needs of teachers:

Final Report for 1993-1995. Stevens Point, WI: University

of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

Marcinkowski, T., Shin, D., Noh, K., Negev, M., Sagy, G.,

Garb, Y., McBeth, W., Hungerford, H., Volk, T., Meyers, R.,

& Erdogan, M. (2013). National assessments of

environmental literacy: A review, comparison, and

analysis. In M. Brody, J. Dillon, R. Stevenson, and A. Wals

(Eds.). International handbook of research in

environmental education. Washington, DC: AERA, and

Abingdon, UK: Routledge.

McBeth, W. & Volk, T.L. (2010). The National

Environmental Literacy Project: A Baseline Study of

Middle Grade Students in the United States. The Journal

of Environmental Education, 41(1), 55-67.

National Wildlife Federation (NWF, 2016). Eco-Schools

USA Award. Retrieved from https://www.nwf.org/Eco-

Schools-USA/Become-an-Eco-School/Awards.aspx

National Science Foundation (NSF, 2016). Education and

Human Resources. Retrieved from

http://www.nsf.gov/dir/index.jsp?org=EHR

National Math and Science Initiative. (NMS, 2016). STEM

Education Statistics. Retrieved from:

https://www.nms.org/AboutNMSI/TheSTEMCrisis/STEME

ducationStatistics.aspx

North American Association for Environmental Education

(NAAEE, 2004). The Excellence in Environmental

Education Guidelines for Learning (Pre K-12). Washington,

D.C.: NAAEE.

National Environmental Education & Training Foundation

[NEETF]. (2000). Environment-based Education: Creating

high performance schools and students. Washington, DC:

The National Environmental Education & Training

Foundation.

NEEF (2015). Environmental Literacy in the United States:

An Agenda for Leadership in the 21st Century.

Washington, DC: National Environmental Education

Foundation.

Newmann, F. M., Marks, H. M., & Gamoran, A. (1996).

Authentic Pedagogy and Student Performance. American

Journal of Education, 104(4), 280.

http://doi.org/10.1086/444136

Occupation Health and Safety Association (2007).

Preparing and Protecting Security Personnel in

Emergencies. Retrieved from

https://www.osha.gov/Publications/3335-security-

personnel.pdf

OECD (2009). Green at 15? How 15-year-olds perform in

environmental science and geoscience in PISA 2006. Paris,

France: OECD Publishing.

Page 30: Rhode Island K-12 environmental literacy assessment plan

Rhode Island Environmental Literacy Assessment Plan 24

Oaklandon Elementary (2016). About. Retrieved from

https://oaklandon.ltschools.org/about

Paramount School of Excellence (2016). Retrieved from

http://www.paramountindy.org/

Project Learning Tree (PLT, 2016). Green Schools

Program. Retrieved from

https://www.plt.org/greenschools

Project Wild. (2016). About Us. Retrieved from

http://www.projectwild.org/aboutus.htm

Roth, C. E. (1992). Environmental Literacy: Its Roots,

Evolution and Directions in the 1990s. Newton, MA:

Education Development Center.

Stevenson, R.B., Brody, M., Dillon, J., & Wals, E.J. (Eds.).

(2013). International Handbook of Research on

Environmental Education. New York: American

Educational Research Association.

The Nature Conservancy. (TNC, 2016). Leaders in

Environmental Action for the Future. Retrieved from

http://www.nature.org/about-us/careers/leaf/learn-

more/index.htm

Townsend, C. L., & Maynard, R. L. (2002). Effects on health

of prolonged exposure to low concentrations of carbon

monoxide. Occupational and Environmental Medicine,

59(10), 708-11

U.S. Department of Education. (U.S. DOE, 2016). U.S.

Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools.

Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/programs/green-

ribbon-schools/index.html

Wenglinsky, H. (2002). The link between teacher

classroom practices and student academic performance.

Education Policy Analysis Archives, 10(12). Retrieved from

http://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.v10n12.2002

Wheeler, G., Thumlert, C. Glaser, L., Schoellhamer, M., &

Bartosh, O. (2007). Environmental education report:

Empirical evidence, exemplary models, and

recommendations on the impact of environmental

education on K-12 students. Washington State Office of

Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Wiggins, G. P. (1993). Assessing student performance:

Exploring the purpose and limits of testing. San Francisco:

Jossey-Bass.

Page 31: Rhode Island K-12 environmental literacy assessment plan

Rhode Island Environmental Literacy Assessment Plan 25

Aleeza Oshry, HHMI Science Education Fellow

Bora Simmons, Ph.D., National Project for Excellence in

Environmental Education & Oregon State University

Brandee Lapisky, The Compass School

Brendan Haggerty, The Greene School

Brian Plankis, Ed.D., Indiana University at IUPUI & New Knowledge

Organization Ltd.

Bridget Prescott, Save The Bay

Britt Slattery, Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR)

Carolyn Higgins, M.Ed., RI Science Teachers Association

Christina Willett, South Kingstown School District & GEMS-Net

Dan Bisaccio, Ph.D., Brown University

Desiree Derix, Westerly Middle School

Donna Braun, Center for Leadership and Educational Equity

Elisabeth Bux, RIEEA

Erica Beck Spencer, FOSS,

Jason Morris, Pisces Foundation

Jeanine Silversmith, RIEEA

Jennifer Pereira, Rhode Island Foundation

Joe E. Heimlich, Ph.D., COSI Center for Research and Evaluation &

The Ohio State University

Joel Tolman, Common Ground

John Fraser, Ph.D. AIA, New Knowledge Organization Ltd.

Joseph da Silva, Ph.D., AIA, Rhode Island Department of Education

Joshua LaPlante, The Greene School

Judy Braus, North American Association for Environmental Education

Kathryn Stevenson, Ph.D., North Carolina State University

Kelly Shea, University of Rhode Island, GEMS-Net

Kristen Swanberg, The Trustees in Massachusetts

Lauren Parmelee, Audubon Society of Rhode Island

Melissa K. Herliczek, Providence Country Day School

Molly Allard, Scituate Reservoir Watershed Education Program

Phyllis Lynch, Ph.D., Rhode Island Department of Education

Rachel Holbert, Norman Bird Sanctuary

Robert Mitchell, Cumberland School Department

Sara Sweetman, Ph.D., University of Rhode Island & GEMS-Net

Sarah Bodor, North American Association of Environmental Education

Shareen Knowlton, Roger Williams Park Zoo

Steven Morrone, Chariho Regional Middle School

Susan Zoll, Ph.D., Rhode Island College

Workshop Participants

Page 32: Rhode Island K-12 environmental literacy assessment plan

Rhode Island K-12 Environmental Literacy Assessment Plan

by the Rhode Island Environmental Education Association is

licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-

NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

Rhode Island Environmental Education Association

PO Box 40884

Providence, RI 02940