By John Guyton, 2003 National PLT Outstanding Educator

Every day after school, I used to ask our daughters what they had learned that day - and I bet you already know their usual answer - “Nothing!”  Now, it took awhile for me to decode the meaning of that lackadaisical reply.  In reflecting on the occasional items they did mention, it was easy to understand what piqued their interest - lessons that they perceived as interesting or useful.  Unfortunately, most of the time they had convinced themselves that they were bored and failed to see the need, value, relevance, or usefulness of their lessons.  I wish that I – and they - had been exposed to EIC back then.

EIC is an approach to education that has been found to improve students’ interest in learning and standardized test scores in multiple subjects, reduce their attention and discipline problems (as reported by principals), and improve teacher satisfaction to the point of reducing teacher absenteeism!  Developed by Dr. Gerald Lieberman, EIC stands for using the Environment as an Integrating Context for learning.

Now, there are many ways to use integrated instruction based on environmental topics and issues in teaching and the journey is usually a successful one.  One technique I have found successful is to identify questions, problems, projects, and issues of interest to students that they can answer, solve, complete, or resolve.  Students can work on these projects individually or in groups.  Their individual interests or the needs of project groups can dictate whether individuals or groups work on common projects.  Teachers can use EIC in individual classrooms or with other teachers in a departmentalized or interdisciplinary setting, and can take advantage of advanced techniques such as block scheduling, team teaching, etc. in doing so.

A logical starting point for EIC is to involve the students in brainstorming a “laundry list” of questions, problems, projects, and issues relative to the environment in which they are interested. The Project Learning Tree? PreK-8 Activity Guide contains some incredible starting points to help stimulate students thinking, such as: A Few of My Favorite Things #15, Values on the Line #19, Power of Print # 59, Planning the Ideal Community # 55, Waste Watchers # 73 and The Native Way #90.  The news media also provides resources for this type of learning with a seemingly endless supply of stories on current environmental events. 

Once students have identified the questions, problems, projects, and issues they want to work on, the teacher’s job becomes easier and more enjoyable.  However, the teacher should have the final say on topic selection and must ultimately determine which topics identified by students are most easily adaptable to various curriculum mandates and which might also be useful in preparing students for the assorted standardized tests they will be undertaking.

Students progress in EIC by formulating theme statements that may be in the form of questions that will guide their problem solving activity.  Following are examples of a few problems some students might be interested in researching to illustrate the use of PLT within an EIC opportunity.

* If the world is heating up, what crops might grow better? Do plants grow better or faster in a CO2 rich environment?  (Air to Drive #85 and Our Changing World # 86 might be useful starting points to student’s investigations.)

* How much can I reduce my family’s grocery bills by growing vegetables on the back porch?  (Pass the Plants, Please, # 16 could be a big help here.)

* Why should I not squish a slug?  (Life on the Edge # 88 to the rescue!)

Once students have identified an area of investigation they are personally interested in, the teacher’s role becomes one of learning facilitator as he/she help students learn the fundamentals of their questions, problems, projects, or issues; find resources and references; develop the necessary skills and begin experimenting; and last but certainly not least, make sure their curriculum mandates can be mastered during the investigation.  The amount of class time devoted to EIC can be as little as one period or day per week or as much as one continuous activity, with the teacher inserting mandated instruction at key points.  The duration of an EIC activity may be a week or less – or all year.  Some class time may be allocated to various tasks required for EIC work and the remainder of time may resemble more traditional instruction.  In this case, the traditional instruction has typically become more meaningful to the students because they need the information and skills it offers for the completion of tasks in which they have an interest.  Here again, PLT contains a plethora of activities that are useful in guiding students’ explorations.

EIC lends itself to the use of local natural and community surroundings; natural and social systems; community-based investigations; integrated, interdisciplinary instruction; service-learning; collaborative instruction; learner-centered constructivist approaches; and cooperative and independent learning.  A good EIC investigation or community project might well also qualify for a PLT GreenWorks! grant.

There are numerous opportunities for folks trained to use PLT to work with students who are interested in more extensive outdoor investigations or an EIC type of study.  Consider contacting your PLT State Coordinator to find out how you can become more involved in EIC opportunities in your own state!
     
A more complete description of EIC can be found at www.seer.org.  A report linking this type of instruction to student achievement can be found on the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Internet site: http://www.ascd.ort/readingroom/infobrief/issues26.html.