Paul F-Brandwein 2004 Lecture: Regarding the Ecology of Science Education: Connections to Environmental and Distance Education

Abstract

Paul F-Brandwein was a visionary who looked at education broadly. He left us with an insightful view of the ecology of education in which he identified three ecological systems: school–family–community, postsecondary, and cultural. The first part of this lecture, by Dean B. Bennett, examines Brandwein's ideas related to environmental education and explores the relationship of environmental education with science teaching in the K-12 school–family–community ecosystem. Focusing particularly on the middle-secondary level, evidence suggests that the goals of environmental education, since their emergence in the late 1960s, are today strongly evident in science curricula, instructional resources, educational assessment, and teacher education. But the author points out that more must be done and provides some fundamental suggestions. The second part of the lecture, by Sheila K. Bennett, examines the role of distance education in the teaching of science in the postsecondary ecosystem and addresses its value as a viable tool in promoting scientific literacy. The lecture focuses on a successful statewide, interdisciplinary laboratory science course delivered by interactive television, the Internet, and computer network. Now in its ninth year, the course reflects Brandwein's thinking about effective classroom teaching and is based on national standards for scientific literacy.