Ten Years of Teacher Workshops in an Environmental Problem-Solving Model: Teacher Implementation and Perceptions

Abstract

In this study, the authors focus on quantitative and qualitative methods to examine the training model for Investigating and Evaluating Environmental Issues and Actions (IEEIA). The authors examined (a) the relationship between IEEIA implementation rates and type of training; (b) workshop participants' perceptions of support for their use of IEEIA and the relationship between those perceptions and implementation; and (c) workshop participants' perceptions about the impact of the instructional approach on themselves, students, administrators, colleagues, parents, and the community. A direct-mailed questionnaire was used to collect data from 132 teachers who had participated in IEEIA training between 1990 and 1999. Interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 8 workshop participants. More than half of the teachers used the approach. Participants of extended or multiple trainings tended to use IEEIA more than their counterparts. Support after the workshop was important to implementation; IEEIA teachers perceived that it had positive impacts on themselves, students, and others.

Key Words:

• environmental education
• environmental problem solving
• Investigating and Evaluating Issues and Actions (IEEIA)
• teacher training

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Trudi L. Volk

Gina Paul owns an EE consulting business for training and program evaluation. Trudi L. Volk is a professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Southern Illinois University.