Progress 07/01/03 to 09/30/07

Outputs
This project has produced over 25 research-based publications, including refereed journal articles, technical reports, a Masters project, and published abstracts for North American and European conferences. In terms of ELECTRONIC instructional media R&D: Three on-line courses have been developed: Alien Species Education, Life in the Great Lakes, and Great Lakes Environmental Issues, for a total of 6 offerings to date. Each course has been evaluated using both University SEIs and special course assessments, and information gained from assessment has been used in course improvement. The courses appear to serve not only those with needs for the subject matter, but also students needing the flexibility of asynchronous learning regardless of their course of study. An exceptional opportunity occurred in December 2006 when the College of Exploration accepted our Great Lakes information as the subject of an on-line workshop that attracted over 400 participants for a week of web-based streaming video. The data from this workshop are now being parceled into appropriate presentations and publications, such as the CBLIS proceedings listed in the publications. As a result of the investigator's visibility in evaluation of on-line learning, she serves as a reviewer of electronic instruction for the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment [TEACH Great Lakes], and Bigelow Laboratories in Maine [Aquarius project]. TRADITIONAL media have been evaluated in the form of textbook coverage of environmental issues, courses related to sustainability education, how Chinese students use environmental media, and geoscience educators perceptions of best practices. Research has identified the priority topics for water education and teachers needs for enhanced learning about those topics. Major efforts were devoted to determining that teacher education can result in student learning, an outcome that is assumed but rarely tested in education. The project that will continue beyond this report is one that is examining cross-cultural differences between scientists and teachers in terms of their experience and preparation for collaboration. Those data are in preparation for a dissertation and three journal manuscripts during 2007.

Impacts
As people become more skilled with digital media, the potential of internet learning expands. Now that we have learned how to evaluate electronic learning with electronic tools, our research has become more exciting and relevant. Three short courses and an on-line video-streamed workshop have been developed and will continue to offer research potential. It is evident that this work is being noticed in international arenas, with requests for presentations and collaboration.

Publications

• Kim, Chankook and Rosanne W. Fortner. 2006. Issue-specific barriers to addressing environmental issues in the classroom: An exploratory study. The Journal of Environmental Education 37(3): 15-24.
• Fortner, Rosanne and Katie Fraser. 2006. Fisheries management: Personalizing the story. Insights on Law & Society [American Bar Association] 6(3): 24-31.
• Lee, Eun Ah and Rosanne W. Fortner, 2006. Development of the K-12 Science Literacy Education Program focused on the Earth System and Environment. Technical Report for Ministry of Education, Republic of Korea
• Eun Ah Lee and R.W. Fortner. 2007. Mystery Lines: Helping students understand scientific theories versus laws. Science Activities 43(4): 22-26.
• Rosanne W. Fortner, Chankook Kim and Eunju Lee. 2006. A Multi-scale Bayesian Framework for the Life Cycle Inventory of Industrial Materials - The Case of Transportation Fuels [Education Component of Engineering Planning Grant, NSF, Bhavik Bakshi, PI]. Summary Report.
• Kim, Chankook and R.W. Fortner, 2006. Perceptions of cultural differences and collaboration among environmental scientists and educators. NAAEE Research Symposium, St. Paul. Abstract.
• Fortner, R.W., Bruce H. Munson and Peter Tuddenham, 2007. REGIONAL SCIENCE EDUCATION WORKSHOP ONLINE THROUGH THE COLLEGE OF EXPLORATION. Proceedings, International Conference on Computer Based Learning in Science.
• Kim, Chankook and Rosanne W. Fortner, 2007 in review. Great Lakes Scientists' Perspectives on K-12 Education Collaboration. Journal of Great Lakes Research.

Progress 01/01/05 to 12/31/05

Outputs
1. Electronic media: Building upon the success of the Decisions for the Great Lakes internet site [http://earthsys.ag.ohio-state.edu/decision/ ], Master of Science student Lyndsey Manzo continued her research using the site to teach her biology students about environmental issues as well as decision making skills. Lyndsey found that both goals could be accomplished with the web site, and we made the Great Lakes and environmental education communities aware of the results through presentations and an Ohio Sea Grant Technical Report. Another internet site, supported by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, was reviewed for its pedagogy and accuracy before being presented to teachers. Results were not published separately, but the site now appears in the Great Lakes Information Network [http://www.great-lakes.net/teach/teachers/ ]. Finally, we are learning how to use on-line survey tools to get information quickly from targeted research subjects. We surveyed 50 teachers to determine their understanding of the concept of Sustainability, and their readiness for teaching in that area. Most of the teachers were veterans of many years in the classroom and their training had not included the concept. However, 80% were interested in learning about teaching tools for sustainable development education. The report was submitted as part of an NSF MUSES grant through the Chemical Engineering department. 2. In traditional media evaluation, 2006 had a study of field-based experiential education [memorable but only anecdotally related to career choices of students], two international efforts, and two classroom instruction studies. Among Chinese college students we examined environmental attitudes and risk experiences, and found that new media were the most-used information sources [but also the source of mis-information]. A study of international geoscience scholars identified interdisciplinary science and inquiry instructional techniques to be the most favored models for education in the 21st Century. When we examine the effectiveness of teacher education, researchers are rarely able to take the obvious next step and determine if the teachers are able to pass on their learning to their students. With former colleagues, I found that intensive teacher education did relate to both knowledge gain and gains in science process skills for middle school students. Finally, we examined teacher attitudes toward teaching environmental issues and taking action on them, and were able to match action predispositions to pedagogical content knowledge.

Impacts
As people become more skilled with digital media, the potential of internet learning expands. Now that we have learned how to evaluate electronic learning with electronic tools, our research has become more exciting and relevant. New short courses currently under development offer research potential for the coming year. It is also evident that our work is being noticed in international arenas, with requests for presentations and collaboration.

Publications

• Fortner, R. W. 2005. Lake Erie Learning -- Out of School. Twine Line [Ohio Sea Grant newsletter] Summer 2005.
• Corney, J., Fortner, R. W., and Mayer, V. 2005. Student Achievement As an Outcome of Inservice Education Using Standards-Based infusion Materials. NAAEE Monograph 2: Preparing Effective Environmental Educators, pp 73-90.
• Manzo, L. 2005. Evaluation of a structured decision-making framework for teaching about Great Lakes environmental issues. MS Nonthesis Project, The Ohio State University.
• Fortner, R. W., Manzo, L., and Arvai, J. L. 2005. Rationale for and evaluation of a structured decision-making framework for teaching about Great Lakes environmental issues. Ohio Sea Grant Technical Report. [Accepted, accession # not assigned yet]
• Duan, H., and Fortner, R. W. 2005. Chinese college students perceptions and information sources about global vs local environmental issues. Journal of Environmental Education 36(4): 23-32.
• Fortner, R. W., and Lee, H. 2005. International Geoscience Educators' Perceptions of Approaches to Science Education for the 21st Century. Journal of Geoscience Education 53(2):198-203.
• Fortner, R. W., and Malinowski, J. D. 2005. The Effect of Participation in Place-Based Environmental Education Programs on Student Affect toward Science: A Case Study of F.T. Stone Laboratory's Middle School Program [Abstract]. In: Adkins, Carol R., ed. Thinking Globally While Acting Culturally. Proceedings: NAAEE 32nd Annual Conference [2003], Anchorage, Alaska. P. 71. [publication released in 2005].
• Manzo, L., Fortner, R. W., and Arvai, J. L. 2005. Decisions for the Great Lakes: Effectiveness of Internet Activities for Secondary Science Learning [Abstract]. Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the International Association for Great Lakes Research.
• Fortner, R. W., Arvai, J. L., Froschauer, A., and Malinowski, J. D. 2005. Instructional Materials for Environmental Decision Making [Abstract]. In: Adkins, Carol R., ed. Thinking Globally While Acting Culturally. Proceedings: NAAEE 32nd Annual Conference [2003], Anchorage, Alaska. p. 342. [publication released in 2005].
• Fortner, R. W., and Kim, C. 2005. Pedagogical knowledge and perceived barriers to teaching science with environmental issues. Journal of Environmental Education, accepted for publication, Spring 2006.

Progress 01/01/04 to 12/31/04

Outputs
In this year I have been conducting some research and outreach programs based upon it. For electronic media we did research using three Internet sites. 1) Decisions for the Great Lakes. A masters student used the activities with her high school students and is now completing her paper for submission in March. Her results have been used in outreach presentations at the 13th International Conference on Aquatic Invasive Species and at the annual meetings of the Great Lakes Sea Grant Network and North American Association for Environmental Education. She demonstrated that decision making skills could be taught concurrently with environmental science, and that students gained skill and confidence in decision making through the experience. 2) Nab the Aquatic Invader. Middle and high school teachers in five states used the site and reported formative evaluation results. These were published in the poster sessions presented at conferences and used for improvement of the site. 3) Videoconferencing from Stone Laboratory was evaluated through SEI surveys and the seminar series in summer was rated at 4.5 out of 5 by course participants. Three web sites were developed with supporting materials for the high school videoconferencing, but not enough teachers have used those yet to complete the evaluation. Nevertheless, efforts with the videoconferences have led to an additional grant providing connect costs for schools through 2005. Traditional materials were also evaluated. 1) Textbooks for secondary science were identified by teachers attending a national conference, and the amount of environmental issue coverage in each was examined. Middle school texts had more issue coverage [12% of pages], but the levels of coverage in all texts were deemed insufficient for environmental science literacy. Topics with the greatest amount of coverage were soil destruction/erosion/desertification, air pollution, and global climate change. Wildlife management and invasive species were among the topics with lowest coverage. A paper reporting this research was submitted to School Science and Mathematics journal, but it was not accepted for publication. Revisions are in progress. 2) Experiential learning experiences at F.T. Stone Laboratory were evaluated with a set of three research pieces: teacher outcomes from summer courses, middle school responses to aquatic science workshops, and a review of literature on the role of place-based experiential education in adult and child development. These were published together as a Technical Report through the Center for Lake Erie Area Research. 3) With the assistance of PostDoctoral Fellow Eun Ah Lee from Korea, a manuscript has been submitted assessing Korean student understanding of the distinction between science theory and science law. The media being evaluated are the textbook and classroom learning.

Impacts
Production of instructional materials for environmental learning is insufficient if the materials are not evaluated among users. The research and evaluation activities of the project will be valuable for program improvement and for promotion of quality in materials.

Publications

• Fortner, R.W., J. Malinowski, and Robin Goettel. 2004. Educators respond to invasive species: Interactive web-based activities for learning and decision making. Presented at NAAEE and the 13th Annual Conference on Aquatic Invasive Species. Ennis, Ireland. PowerPoint content available on line.
• Rosanne W. Fortner, Lisa M. Bircher, Sara White, Hongxia Duan, Paul Genzman, Becky Lippman, and Melissa Simons, 2004. Teacher Education at Stone Laboratory: Program description, literature setting, and impact on educators. Ohio Sea Grant Technical Report TB-076. Columbus, Ohio Sea Grant.
• Fortner, R.W. 2004. Beam Me Up! Videoconferences Extend Stone Lab Learning. Twine Line 26(1): 4.
• Lee, Eun Ah, Byeong-Geon Park, and Rosanne W. Fortner. 2004. Korean High School Students Understanding of the Distinction between Scientific Theories and Scientific Laws. International Journal of Science Education [submitted]
• Fortner, Rosanne W., Kyle Gay, Chan Kook Kim, Emine Adadan, Ayse Oguz, Pelin Yalcinoglu, Bhezat Bektasli, Karen L. Cook-Hoggarth, Lyndsey Manzo, Craig McDonald, and Kristy D. Mishler. 2004. Secondary science teachers perceptions of how environmental issues fit in the science classroom. School Science and Mathematics [rejected, altered to Kim & Fortner below]
• Kim, Chankook and R.W. Fortner. 2004. Issue-specific Barriers to Addressing Environmental Issues in the Classroom. Journal of Environmental Education [submitted]
• Manzo, Lyndsey, and R.W. Fortner. 2004. Evaluating the use of a structured decision-making framework as a method of teaching about environmental issues. Presentation at First Annual SNR Graduate Student Seminar. M.S. Paper in progress.

Progress 07/01/03 to 12/31/03

Outputs
The early work of this project will be toward making the electronic media for environmental learning available to various audiences. This has proven to be a slower process than expected. Graduate students who are web-capable are not the same ones who know the subject matter of the environmental sciences, and the assembly of teams of students has not been supported well by University sources. Nevertheless, a pilot version of one distance learning course, Alien Species Education, NR 690D, was offered in Autumn 2003. Only two people enrolled, and they were not the practicing teachers for whom it was intended. While the course was enthusiastically completed, it did not serve as a source of research data because of low numbers of participants. University requirements of full tuition, including out-of-state tuition, for on-line learning will continue to keep enrollments low. Internet based decision making activities developed with funds from Ohio Sea Grant are nearly ready for public unveiling. They twelve topic areas on issues about the Lake Erie environment have been pilot tested in central Ohio classrooms. One of the non-thesis MS students who tested them will use the materials as the basis of her research for the degree. Additional learning experiences on the web will soon be available from the Great Lakes Sea Grant Network, so formal evaluation of their use can begin in 2004. Summer 2003 was the first offering of the Stone Laboratory lecture series by videoconferencing. In addition to the eight people who participated as student registrants, the weekly lectures were attended by as many as 12 others in Kottman Hall and more than 100 at Stone Lab. Course evaluations by the students will be prepared for reporting through Twine Line. We offered a videoconference laboratory demonstration for use by schools in the Cleveland area in autumn, but no schools signed up for the opportunity. It could be that this should become a late spring program, offered after compulsory testing programs are completed and more innovative instruction can be offered! Sadly, many excellent opportunities are being foregone by teachers who feel pressed to be sure their students perform well on the traditional subjects and tasks required by the tests.

Impacts
Since this is the first half-year of the project, expectations about electronic learning are based on incomplete information. The impacts of Stone Laboratory instructional programs are becoming clear, and should serve to support continued growth of those traditional field programs.

Publications

• Dudley, Jennifer E. 2003. Effect of participation in place-based environmental education programs on student affect toward science: A case study of F.T. Stone Laboratory's middle school program. MS Thesis, The Ohio State University, School of Natural Resources.
• Fortner, R. W., Merry, C. J., Lin, J., and Duan, H. 2003. Combining Digital Techniques and Field Data to Teach Interdisciplinary Coastal Studies. Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Computer Based Learning in Science. Nicosia, Cyprus: University of Cyprus. 1:894-897.
• Fortner, R. W. 2003. Educator Courses at Stone Lab: More Than Just Science Learning. Twine Line. Spring 2003.
• Lee, J., and Fortner, R. W. 2003. Cross-Cultural Comparisons of College Students' Environmental Decision Making Behavior. Environmental Education Research (Submitted).