Environmental education service-learning in science teacher education

Abstract

Environmental service-learning offers a relevant authentic learning experience that also benefits the community. This instructional method engages students in citizenship through the development of metacognitive, decision-making, research, and community-building skills that meet the goals of both science and environmental education. Incorporating environmental service-learning into teacher education coursework can enhance the teachers' environmental, disciplinary, and pedagogical content knowledge. This chapter explores the history, theory, and use of service-learning as it relates to environmental education and teacher preparation. Also discussed are environmental service-learning models and specific project examples from the authors' experiences with the hope that readers will consider implementing service-learning as an instructional technique in their classrooms. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.