One student in particular who had been struggling became immersed in the issue. It was really gratifying to see him light up. I learned a lot from how they integrated EE into their subject areas. This type of cross pollination of science, humanities, and social studies is what has made Environmental Education from Awareness to Action a popular program in the Southeast. The program's creator, Margaret Bogan, is an assistant professor of education at Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, Ala. One of her main goals is to expose teachers to an eclectic array of viewpoints, from local owners of mines and dams to biologists to native American medicine men.
Participants find that they begin to relate to everything in a new way.
They reevaluate why they teach their subject, to what ends. This helps them create classrooms that make science real for students. They also find themselves becoming more active, and, as a result, their students become more active. Each team was purposely made diverse not only teachers but staff from nonformal education institutions, university faculty, and curriculum administrators participated. In addition to learning how to integrate inquiry in the classroom, they learned the skills they need to work together in collegial teams.