This research is supported in part by the National Science Foundation Center for Curriculum Materials in Science grant (ESI-0227557) and a Michigan State University College of Education Summer Research Fellowship. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation or Michigan State University.

EVIRONMENTAL LITERACY

ENVIRONMENTAL LITERACY

Center for Curriculum Materials in Science (CCMS)

K-12 Students’ Understanding of Connections between K-12 Students’ Understanding of Connections between Human Engineered and Natural Environmental SystemsHuman Engineered and Natural Environmental SystemsBlakely K. Tsurusaki and Charles W. Anderson Michigan State University

Connections between Human Engineered and Environmental Systems

This research focuses on connecting human actions to environmental systems. In particular, it focuses on our actions as consumers of essential goods and services, including food, clothing, shelter, air, water, and transportation.

Key ideas:• Consumers of essential goods and services• Goods and services pass through a number of environmental systems on their way to us (the supply chain) and go through additional systems after we are done with them (waste disposal). • The human systems that supply all of our essential goods and services begin and end in the earth’s natural systems. • Environmental problems are linked/connected to supply and waste disposal chains.

Research questions:• How aware are students of food supply chains and waste disposal chains? • What do students know about the origin of goods and services they use in their daily lives and the impact that these goods and services have on the environment?• Does student understanding of supply and waste disposal chains and their effects on environmental systems differ due to context (rural, suburban, urban)? • How does student knowledge differ by grade level (elementary, middle, high school)?

Hamburger Supply Chain

Methods16 voluntary teachers from 14 different schools administered pen and paper assessments • 6 high schools, 6 middle schools, 4 elementary schools• 5 rural schools, 5 suburban schools, 6 urban schools

Emergent codes were developed from analysis of a sample of assessments. These codes were then used to analyze:• 125 elementary school students (34 rural, 46 suburban, 45 urban)• 140 middle school students (40 rural, 50 suburban, 50 urban)• 147 high school students (47 rural, 50 suburban, 50 urban)

Washing Dishes

What was it? Where did it come from?Ground beef in hamburger in the school cafeteria

Before that…Before that…Before that…Before that…Before that…

Question: You go through the lunch line at school and see that they are serving hamburgers. Where did the hamburgers come from?

The ground beef in the hamburger patties wasn’t always ground beef. It wasn’t even always beef. Fill in the table with your ideas about what it was and where it came from before it came to the school cafeteria. Trace the beef back as you can.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100%

storage

transportation

factoryfarm cow plants

Student responses

Percentage

Elementary n=124Middle n=140High n=143Total n=407

*No students mentioned feed lots

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Reduce fossil fuelsReduce deforestationStop use of aerosolsReduce pollution

Drive less

Alternative energyCan't be reducedDon't know

Student responses

Percentage

RuralSuburbanUrbanTotal

Ways to reduce global warming

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Fossil fuelsDeforestation

AerosolsOzone Pollution Weather

Earth's rotationDon't know

Student responses

Percentage

Rural

SuburbanUrban

Total

Causes of global warming

Resource Hand washingn=412

Dishwashern=412

Soap 79% 67%

Water 75% 60%

Sponge 25% 1%

Towel 36% 3%

Electricity 2% 39%

Question: You have to wash dishes after dinner every night. You can either hand wash the dishes or use a dishwasher. You use resources to wash the dishes, whether you wash them by hand or using a dishwasher. What resources do you use and what impact does using each of these resources have on the environment?

• Students rarely trace hamburger meat back to plants

• Students rarely mentioned humans at any stage of the supply chain

• High school students mentioned more steps (actors or locations/places) than middle school or elementary school students

• Rural students mentioned more steps than urban or suburban students

Global Warming

Key Findings and ImplicationsNote: The wording of this question may have been difficult for younger students to understand.

Resources used when washing dishes

• Students most commonly mentioned soap and water• Rarely mentioned electricity• Mentioned electricity more often when using a dishwasher• No clear trends across grade level• No clear trends across context

Supply Chain•less of resource •using materials to make resource

Waste Disposal Chain •polluting environment

No impactNo response

Resource impact on the environment

• Minimal trends across grade level• Slight trends across context - suburban students more likely to connect impact to supply or waste disposal chain

• Most commonly mentioned fossil fuels (by-product), pollution in general (by-product), and cars (source) as causes of global warming.• No trend across grade level• Suburban students mentioned fossil fuels more often than urban or rural students.

Students most commonly mentioned that global warming could be reduced by some means related to cars (I.e.,

alternatively powered cars or driving less

It is important for students to understand that the products and services we use start from and end up in natural systems. Students need to understand the actors and locations/places, infrastructure and by-products, and processes/transformation of matter and energy involved in supply and waste disposal chains. Students typically depict chains as sequences of locations/places. They rarely recognize the actors involved. Many steps of supply and waste disposal chains are invisible to students (e.g., feed lots). Even students recognize various steps, such as a factory, students may know little about what processes occur within the factory.

Older students have a better understanding of supply and waste disposal chains. Student understanding across context varied depending on the question.

Student understanding of how we are dependent on natural systems

Student understanding of the environmental impact of our actions Some steps and processes of supply and waste disposal chains may be invisible to students. Students need to understand these steps and processes in order to understand the impact we have on our environment. For example, students listed sources (I.e., cars) and by-products (I.e., pollution) as causes of global warming. They need to understand the processes involved in order to make decisions that can help reduce global warming.