Sustainability Pilot Curricula for K-12

Posted by on April 11, 2011

[posted to Sustain-K12 list]

I’m writing from Green Education Foundation (GEF), a national non-profit that offers free STEM-focused sustainability education curricula to K-12 schools and co-curricular programs, and I want to announce that GEF is now registering schools and youth groups to PILOT its free 1) one-semester high school Green Building Course, and 2) individual 10-hour K-8 School as a Teaching Tool curricula, for Fall 2011 (see below). This really is a phenomenal opportunity for schools to and teachers to offer web-integrated STEM education connecting USGBC-based school audit projects with classroom instruction. Send me an email if you or your school might be interested in this free pilot, or visit http://greeneducationfoundation.org to learn more about us!

1) GEF’s one-semester GREEN BUILDING COURSE educates 11th and 12th grade students on green building attributes and benefits, providing them with the resources necessary to understand, identify and, through capstone audit projects, improve the environmental inefficiencies in their own school buildings. GEF is currently the official K-12 education sector partner of the US Green Building Council (USGBC); the Green Building Course and integrated student-led audits are aligned with USGBC guidelines for green building (LEED) and based in the core concepts of environmental science. This course will be implemented in a feature-rich blended learning environment (classroom-based instruction that heavily utilizes digital web-based resources), featuring an interactive virtual textbook and accompanying online teacher’s manual, provided with the course.

2) GEF’s 10-hour SCHOOL AS A TEACHING TOOL K-8 curricula explores the relationship between a school’s built environment, and human and natural ecology. The curricula is aligned with USGBC guidelines for green building construction. School as a Teaching Tool is provided in sets according to grade level: K-2/3-5/6-8, developed to inform students with the understandings necessary to make recommendations for energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality and stewardship of resources in their own school building and beyond.

Adam Wheeler
Research Associate
Green Education Foundation (GEF)
153 Washington Street | Fourth Floor | Walpole, MA 02032
Main: 508.668.2278 | Fax: 508.668.2280