Teaching and Learning about the Environment

The Teaching and Learning about the Environment project, from the University of York Science Education Group, produced four packs of resources containing lessons on environmental topics. All lessons were fully supported by photocopiable student materials and accompanied by detailed teachers' notes. The lessons were developed by working groups of schoolteachers, university lecturers in science and education departments and scientists working in industry.

The project teams started from three general questions:
*What would we like school students to know about the environment and about current environmental issues and concerns?
*How can science contribute to students' understanding of these issues?
*How can this understanding be best encouraged in active learning situations?

The ideas for each lesson were originated and developed by the working groups. All lessons were trialled in schools and modified and edited in the light of feedback from those trials. The aim was to help teachers by:
*Providing active learning opportunities
*Making information accessible
*Keeping up to date
*Taking a balanced view
*Emphasising the opportunities for action.