Abstract
Environmental studies provide an ideal opportunity for gifted children of any age to build critical and creative-thinking skills while also building skills in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) areas. Exploring issues related to sustainability and environmental concerns permits gifted learners to identify problems, develop research questions, gather and analyze data, develop possible solutions, and disseminate this information to others. Green issues are especially appealing to gifted learners as they are sensitive to the world around them and often long to engage in projects that touch on issues facing their communities. Although the relevance to STEM subjects is clear, green investigations can also build skills across the content areas, in diverse subjects such as English/language arts, social studies, music, and art. A variety of resources, including national and Common Core State Standards, exist that can help parents and teachers create investigations for gifted children that permit them to be both gifted and green.
Keywords
“If gifted children determine that certain sustainability or environmental issues challenge their community, they might decide to take action that will ameliorate these threats.”
Awareness of sustainability and environmental issues has grown rapidly in recent years (Cunningham & Saigo, 2001; Schroth, Helfer, LaRosa, Lanfair, & Mahone, 2011; Spellman & Stoudt, 2013). Gifted children are often passionately concerned about the world around them and have a keen interest in work involving issues that involve their lives (Renzulli & Reis, 2014; Treffinger, Young, Nassab, & Wittig, 2004). Parents and teachers of the gifted can integrate sustainability education concepts into the K-12 curriculum in schools, thereby harnessing children’s passion for green issues into projects and learning sequences that are robust, relevant, and rigorous (Spellman & Stoudt, 2013; Tomlinson, 2003; Treffinger et al., 2004). Projects that investigate sustainability and environmental concerns can touch upon all aspects of the curriculum, including English/language arts, mathematics, social studies, science, art, music, and other areas as well (Johnsen & Kendrick, 2005; Schroth, Helfer, Beck, & Swanson, 2011). Sustainability education is thus a high-interest field that also is adaptable to a variety of subjects (Cunningham & Saigo, 2001; Schroth, Helfer, LaRosa, Lanfair, & Malone, 2011; Spellman & Stoudt, 2013). Because investigations into sustainability and environmental issues can be both open-ended and complex, they are ideal areas of study for gifted learners (Renzulli & Reis, 2014; Schroth, 2007; Treffinger et al., 2004).
Many who are about to embark on an exploration of sustainability and environmental issues have certain questions. How can I integrate sustainability and environmental issues into my curriculum? What learning and content standards support sustainability education? Can I explore environmental issues with gifted children at any age level? How can I permit children to investigate problems they have identified while still adhering to certain learning objectives? Are there resources that can assist me in adapting a green curriculum? Happily, there are a variety of ways to integrate sustainability education concepts at any level of the K-12 curriculum, either as stand-alone activities or as a discrete area of study (Renzulli & Reis, 2014; Schroth, Helfer, LaRosa, Lanfair, & Malone, 2011; Tomlinson et al., 2009; Treffinger et al., 2004). This article examines how the National Education for Sustainability K-12 Student Learning Standards and the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) support sustainability education, methods of instruction that assist in shaping investigations into environmental issues, ways to differentiate instruction to meet the needs of gifted learners, and examples of projects that can be used in early childhood, elementary, middle school, and high school settings. The investigations suggested can be used in general education classrooms, in single- or multigrade gifted classrooms, or as part of a pullout program.
Sustainability Standards
The United States Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development (U.S. Partnership) has devised the National Education for Sustainability K-12 Student Learning Standards (National Sustainability Standards), the third version of which was unveiled in October 2009 (Taber, 2010; U.S. Partnership, 2009). These standards cover a variety of issues, including the following:
Intergenerational responsibility;
Ecological systems;
Economic systems;
Social and cultural systems;
Personal action; and
Collective action.
These standards are intended to be used to guide the learning of students enrolled in Kindergarten through the 12th grade (Schroth, Helfer, LaRosa, Lanfair, & Malone, 2011; U.S. Partnership, 2009). The U.S. Partnership has devised a summary chart that details how the standards can be used with students at different grade levels, a modified version of which is shown in Table 1.
Summary of Sustainability Standards at Various Grade Levels
CCSS
A total of 45 states and the District of Columbia have adopted the CCSS (Ravitch, 2010, 2013). For students enrolled in grades K-5, the standards involving reading/language arts for history/social studies, science, and technical subjects are integrated into the K-5 Reading standards (Schroth, 2015). For middle school and high school students, the CCSS (sometimes called the College and Career Readiness Standards) anchor standards and high school standards in literacy work together to define college and career readiness expectations—the CCSS providing broad standards, the high school literacy standards providing additional specificity.
The CCSS that relate to sustainability and environmental studies are set forth in Table 2. Teachers interested in adding sustainability or environmental studies instructional sequences would be well served by identifying some of these standards that they wish to address. These standards often ask students to do more than read and analyze, instead promoting activities where children can demonstrate their knowledge, understandings, and ability to do certain things. The CCSS can be used in conjunction with the National Sustainability Standards in ways that address concerns for better literacy skills while also permitting children to explore sustainability and environmental studies, topics that provide numerous ways for children to demonstrate their knowledge, understandings, and ability to do certain things. As a result, sequences of instruction that focus upon sustainability and environmental education can be more project-based and hands-on while still implementing the CCSS with integrity. A teacher working with very young students, for example, might combine a lesson on graphing with an examination of the types of trees in a particular community. Those teachers who work with high school students might introduce systems thinking as a way to analyze pollution and recycling, and ask the children to determine how using cradle-to-cradle manufacturing and distribution methods might reduce unwanted waste. Suggestions on how to implement these strategies are detailed in the lessons provided for primary and high school students in Appendixes A and D. Because they help children think critically and investigate areas of interest, the National Sustainability Standards can be used to frame and support the CCSS, thereby providing children and teachers a way to engage in sustainability and environmental studies investigations while building those skills identified by policy makers.
Common Core State Standards/College and Career Readiness Standards Supporting Sustainability/Environmental Studies
Note. CCSS = Common Core State Standards; ELA = English language arts; CCRA = College and Career Readiness Standards; RST = Reading Science Technical; WHST = Writing Literacy in History, Social Studies/Science, and Technical; SL = speaking and listening; L = language; R = Reading; W = Writing.
Guided Investigations
The study of sustainability or environmental issues assists gifted children to see how decisions by others affect their lives as well as to better understand the connections between various disciplines. If gifted children determine that certain sustainability or environmental issues challenge their community, they might decide to take action that will ameliorate these threats. Effective teaching considers which curricular goals, inclusiveness, and instructional methods will best reach and support students at a given grade level (Smutny & von Fremd, 2009; Tomlinson, 2003; Treffinger et al., 2004). When planning activities related to sustainability or environmental studies, teachers devise the most compelling means to relay information to students and often find that project-based learning experiences offer some of the best learning experiences for gifted learners (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000; Schroth, 2007). In class, mental models are introduced that allow students to organize and segregate the information learned (Perkins, 1992; Smyth, Collins, Morris, & Levy, 2000). Material must be reviewed over time to circumvent memory loss that otherwise occurs (Bransford et al., 2000; Perkins, 1992). Problems investigated must touch upon the child’s world so that the learning is meaningful and relevant (Perkins, 1992; Schroth, 2007). Teachers must assess and address student misconceptions about material learned, both to provide a safe environment in which mistakes can be made and also to prevent misinformation from interfering with the learning process (Smyth et al., 2000; Tomlinson, 2003). The interaction between children and society is crucial because topics studied do not come within their experience unless they touch children’s own well-being or that of their families and friends (Renzulli & Reis, 2014; Subotnik, Olszewski-Kubilius, & Worrell, 2011). When children investigate real-life problems that touch upon and affect their world, instruction is much more likely to take root. Such problems, with open-ended solutions, intrigue and interest children, spurring their best efforts and the most complete engagement possible (Feldhusen & Treffinger, 1980; Treffinger et al., 2004; Ward, 1980).
Guided investigations (GIs) rely on the teacher or parent playing an active role in student learning (Schroth, 2007). Simply put, teachers “guide” children’s progress. GIs assist children in investigating matters that affect them, their families, and their communities. Central to any guided investigation is the classroom teacher. These teachers are best able to guide the investigations of students because they are able to balance development and disciplines to assure maximum learning (Helfer & Schroth, 2010). The GI model is supported by classic concepts of learning theory, such as Bruner’s spiraling curriculum, Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development (ZPD), and Taba’s concept attainment (Bruner, 1974; Taba, 1962; Vygotsky, 1978). The ZPD is the distance between a child’s independent problem-solving level and that same child’s level of personal development at problem solving when working under an adult’s guidance. Using the GI model, the adult ascertains what the child’s independent problem-solving level is and then provides that student with the supports and structures necessary for him or her to work at the next level. For example, a native English speaker working on a problem regarding the volume required to fill a bottle must expect to do most of the work, but her classmate, because of his English language development (ELD) level, may need assistance that a native English speaker does not. Within GI, adults are not expected to help a great deal initially, but instead to stand back, allowing the child to manage as much as possible on his or her own. When a child’s attempts go askew, however, adults raise questions, rather than helping the student directly. Adults will ask the child to explain how he or she progressed through a particular step of a problem, how he or she might best describe what happened, how an answer was arrived at, or how one answer deviates from another attempt. The truly exemplary guide even manages to use this situation to transform the child from an extrinsic to an intrinsic motivational source. Rather than praise the student for getting the correct solution after it is solved, the expert guide discusses how difficult the problem is before it is tackled. GIs assist adults in meeting gifted children’s learning needs through curriculum that both challenges and supports them directly.
Differentiating GIs
Children learn best when they are provided with a moderate level of challenge (Tomlinson, 1999, 2001). When tasks are far too difficult for a learner, the learner feels threatened and will not persist with creative thinking or problem solving as a self-protection mechanism (Tomlinson, 1999). Conversely, tasks that are too simple also suppress a learner’s creative-thinking and problem-solving abilities; rather than learning, such a learner drifts through school and other activities unchallenged by and indifferent to the learning process (Tomlinson, 1999, 2003). Either situation is problematic, especially for those students for whom school represents the sole connection with the learning process (Tomlinson, 2001, 2003). Parents and teachers who are interested in decreasing the time gifted children spend with inappropriate tasks seek to differentiate activities so that the needs of all learners are met (Smutny & von Fremd, 2010; Tomlinson, 2003). Differentiation involves adjusting the complexity of content, the processes used for instruction, and the products students produce to afford each child an appropriate challenge (Tomlinson, 2001, 2003).
Differentiation presents such a compelling model for classroom and home modification of instruction because it is deep, profound, and multifaceted (Schroth, Helfer, Varela, & Scott, 2013; Smutny & von Fremd, 2010; Tomlinson, 2001). It provides a configuration that novice teachers can use to set up their practice, yet it also presents a challenge for the competent veteran teacher. Differentiation asks parents and teachers to determine the readiness and needs of each gifted child, and then to provide that child with instruction and activities that are appropriate, cogent, and beneficial. Classroom teachers and parents are, of course, the experts regarding the children in their care. Teachers who examine any set curriculum or set of standards understand that parts may need modification to best meet individual or group needs. Parents comprehend that sometimes their gifted children need experiences that cannot be provided in school. Some suggestions for how to ensure a successful change in the provided curriculum are detailed below.
Elements of Differentiation
No single formula produces a differentiated classroom or learning experience. Instead, Tomlinson (2003) suggests a few key ideas that guide the practitioner or parent who seeks to differentiate instruction. These principles include the following: Teachers focus on the essentials; Teachers attend to student differences; Teachers use ongoing and diagnostic assessment to guide instruction; Teachers modify content, processes and products; All students participate in respectful work; Teachers and students collaborate in learning; Teachers balance group and individual norms; Teachers and students work together flexibly. (Tomlinson, 2003, pp. 9-14)
These ideas are designed to assist children who learn in different ways and at different rates and who bring various talents and interests to school to feel comfortable and valued. In their planning and instruction, teachers must address the student traits of readiness, interest, learning profile, and affect (Sousa & Tomlinson, 1999, 2011). Readiness refers to children’s knowledge, understanding, and skills related to a certain subject or sequence of learning (Tomlinson, 2003; Tomlinson & Moon, 2013). Interest concerns events and subjects that spur learners’ curiosity and evoke their passions (Tomlinson, 1999, 2003). Learning profiles relate to learning style, intelligence preference, culture, gender, and other factors (Sousa & Tomlinson, 2011; Tomlinson, 2001). Affect involves children’s social and emotional response to themselves, their work, and the classroom or learning space as a whole (Tomlinson, 2003; Tomlinson & Moon, 2013). Finally, elements such as content, process, product, and learning environment are also concerns of differentiation (Tomlinson, 1999, 2003). They refer, respectively, to what is being taught, how a student makes sense of information, ideas, and skills; the assessments or demonstrations of what a child knows, understands, and is able to do; and the operation and tone of the classroom or learning space. In the successful differentiated classroom, student traits and classroom elements are linked to achieve the optimal learning situation for each student (Tomlinson, 2001, 2003).
Differentiation need not be implemented in all subjects all of the time (Tomlinson, 2001, 2003). For a teacher who wants to begin offering better differentiated instructional sequences, however, sustainability and environmental studies topics offer an ideal place to do so. Although we often first think of student readiness levels when planning differentiated instruction, this need not be the case. If a class of intermediate students examines how decisions are made in their community regarding recycling, availability of parks and bike paths, and use of sustainable energy, they can easily be grouped by interest, so that those most concerned about recycling can tackle that topic, those passionate about parks and bike paths can examine those, and those fascinated by sustainable energy can look more closely at that. Similarly, a classroom of middle school students who were asked estimate their personal ecological footprint might be grouped by learning profile to do so. Those interested in more fully implementing these strategies might examine the lessons provided for intermediate and middle school students provided in Appendixes B and C.
Elementary School
Studying sustainability or other environmental issues assists gifted children in seeing the connection between their lives, community, and society in which they live and the curriculum with which they interact at school (Corash & Jones, 2012; Johnsen & Kendrick, 2005). Elementary school teachers work to assist gifted children in seeing themselves as connected to the world (Smutny & von Fremd, 2009). As part of their role as citizens, students must grapple with concepts such as sustainability, environmentalism, and civic responsibility (Bland, Coxon, Chandler, & VanTassel-Baska, 2010; Kahyaoglu, 2013). Including these concepts expands the standard curriculum and provides students with a greater understanding regarding how human actions affect their Earth (Bland et al., 2010; Fraleigh-Lohrfink, Schneider, Whittington, & Feinberg, 2013). For children whose schools are unable to offer such study, parents can supplement their gifted children’s education by initiating guided investigations of a variety of sustainability and environmental issues (Schroth et al., 2013; Smutny & von Fremd, 2009; Tomlinson, 2003).
Primary Grades (K-2)
Students enrolled in the primary grades, traditionally Kindergarten through second grade, focus on exploring a variety of subjects related to each child (Schroth et al., 2013; Smutny & von Fremd, 2010). An array of material is presented, allowing children to see the breadth of information in their world while exploring few topics in any depth (Schroth et al., 2011; Schroth, Helfer, Beck, & Swanson, 2011; Smutny & von Fremd, 2010). Incorporating sustainability and knowledge of environmental issues can be done so that students realize their impact on the classroom and school community (Heilbronner, 2013; Johnsen & Kendrick, 2005). In discussing classroom procedures, for example, instructing children about the progress of recycling can begin an age appropriate discussion of how resources are used in the classroom, and what this means for the school and society as a whole (Kim, VanTassel-Baska, Bracken, Feng, & Stambaugh, 2014).
With primary grade students, incorporating literature into subject matter assists in explaining and emphasizing complicated points (Kim et al., 2014; Smutny & von Fremd, 2010). This is important when teachers seek to expose children to concepts such as sustainability because it permits the perspective to be moved away from actions taken within a specific classroom and shows how children’s behaviors affect the world (Michaels, Shouse, & Schweingruber, 2008; National Research Council, 2000). Doing so allows children to understand sustainable behavior and how their actions result in consequences for themselves, others, and our planet. (Michaels et al., 2008; National Research Council, 2000).
Classroom projects that build a sense of how personal action makes a difference range from the simple to the far-reaching (Robinson, Dailey, Hughes, & Cotabish, 2014; Smith, 2011; Treffinger, Isaksen, & Stead-Doval, 2006). Such projects, for example, might include simple actions such as reusing old cans as pencil holders in the classroom or more complicated efforts such as recording and graphing the garbage each student’s home produces and analyzing these data to conceptualize possible ways to reduce this amount. To introduce concepts such as graphing and data manipulation, a teacher might read Jason Chin’s Redwoods, and then send her students on a “tree hunt” where they find trees with different qualities and then graph these findings. One way to structure a guided investigation examining finding and sorting flora is set forth in Appendix A. Activities such as this instill an understanding in students that reusing materials has benefits for them, their families, and the world in which they live (Smith, 2011; Taber, 2010; VanTassel-Baska, 2008).
Intermediate Grades (3-5)
After initial exposure to a variety of sustainability topics in the primary grades, students in the intermediate grades (historically third through fifth) begin to explore environmental concepts in greater depth (Kim et al., 2014; Taber, 2007). These concepts can be explored through the curriculum, including during social studies, reading/language arts, science, music, and art (Renzulli & Reis, 2014; Tomlinson et al., 2009; Treffinger et al., 2006). Drawing connections to sustainability in all content areas is vital as the increasingly abstract nature of assignments demands that gifted children be able to draw clear links between the material that they are learning and its applicability in their lives (Renzulli & Reis, 2014; Smutny, 2010; Tomlinson et al., 2009; Treffinger et al., 2006).
Incorporating Literature
Using literature to introduce topics being explored strengthens the connections children make between sustainability and their world. For example, Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax provides a variety of lenses through which to examine sustainability (Michaels et al., 2008; Smutny & von Fremd, 2010; Taber, 2007). This book touches upon social studies as that subject not only relates to geography and economics but also has a science base that explores human interactions with the environment and its effect on animals and natural resources. Incorporating children’s literature into the classroom allows teachers and students to investigate the environment and human behaviors (Smutny & von Fremd, 2009; Spellman & Stoudt, 2013). Well-chosen books allow children to shift their perspectives on environmentalism from merely a scientific issue to one that investigates all aspects of daily life. Other books that may assist teachers in crafting sustainability lessons and activities for children in the intermediate grades include Donald Hall’s The Oxcart Man, Vera Williams’s A Chair for My Mother, Marcia Brown’s Stone Soup, and Virginia Burton’s The Little House. A list of books that are especially useful for sustainability investigations are listed in Table 3. Although picture books have long been used with younger children, they are now being used with middle school, high school, and even college students (Harvey & Goudvis, 2000; Pearson, 2005). When working on a class investigation, these books permit a teacher to quickly and effectively provide his or her students with important background information, a point of entry for discussion, or a common problem (Harvey & Goudvis, 2000; Pearson, 2005; Schroth, Helfer, Beck, & Swanson, 2011). Examples of how to use some of these books are provided in Appendixes A through D.
Children’s Books for Sustainability Investigations
Putting It Together
The National Standards allow incorporation of many instructional strategies to address environmental and sustainability issues (U.S. Partnership, 2009). Schools and families that desire to explore civic responsibility and raise awareness regarding environmental issues can easily do so using the National Standards as a framework (U.S. Partnership, 2009). Simple ways to build sustainability into the curriculum or household routines include scheduling field trips or outings to nature reserves, inviting guest speakers with expertise regarding recycling efforts, and allowing children to interact with their environment in ways that effect a positive change (Jones & Hébert, 2012; Newman & Hubner, 2012; Tomlinson et al., 2009).
Children of color, English language learners, or students from low socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds can prosper when working with sustainability issues (Ford, 2010; Fraleigh-Lohrfink et al., 2013). Understanding the environment in which they live and the positive steps they can take to change it for the better often increases their interest in and enthusiasm for school (Ford, 2010; Schroth et al., 2013). Although an appropriate project for any student, engaging gifted diverse learners in guided investigations that make better informed and more engaged citizens is especially helpful (Fraleigh-Lohrfink et al., 2013; Schroth, 2007). Gaining an understanding of the local nature of many environmental factors is often empowering, especially as diverse learners often live in the most environmentally unfriendly communities (Ford, 2010; Spellman & Stoudt, 2013). Allowing them to identify risk factors and to take actions to improve their community is empowering, emboldening, and energizing (Michaels et al., 2008; Spellman & Stoudt, 2013). Possible activities might include writing letters to elected officials, making presentations and podcasts regarding sustainable activities within their community, or initiating a recycling program. An example of how this might be approached is contained in Appendix B.
Middle School
Although elementary education focuses on providing children with a rudimentary understanding of and engagement with sustainability, as they progress to middle school (Grades 6-8) children should be able to think about those issues in more abstract ways (Michaels et al., 2008; National Research Council, 2000). Integrating sustainability into middle school education requires dealing with abstract ideas, something that is ideal for gifted children (Renzulli & Reis, 2014; Tomlinson et al., 2009; Treffinger et al., 2009). This “fuzziness” enables students to increase their critical- and creative-thinking skills while also engaging in instructional activities that build their content knowledge (National Research Council, 2000; Spellman & Stoudt, 2013). When integrating sustainability education into the middle school curriculum, it is important to link elements of different concepts together in a way that forces children to think critically about choices they and society make (Spellman & Stoudt, 2013; Ward, 1980). At this level, instructional strategies should emphasize higher order thinking skills through less structured investigations and more project-based learning (Renzulli & Reis, 2014; Schroth, 2007; Tomlinson et al., 2009; Treffinger et al., 2009).
As they reach the middle grades, children should take a greater role in defining the problems they wish to explore (National Research Council, 2000; Renzulli & Reis, 2014; Schroth, 2007). As knowledge constantly changes, the curriculum should provide students with the basic tools needed to investigate sustainability issues: identifying a problem, observing and gathering resources, formulating a possible solution, and taking action that will help bring about the solution (National Research Council, 2000; Renzulli & Reis, 2014; Tomlinson et al., 2009; Treffinger et al., 2009). Integrating sustainability into the curriculum allows students to encounter, accept, and embrace challenges in learning (Spellman & Stoudt, 2013). The middle school curriculum allows students to move from their own understandings regarding sustainability to grappling with how environmental issues challenge society as a whole.
Gifted children in the middle grades can explore a variety of topics that build upon those they explored in their younger years (Michaels et al., 2008; National Research Council, 2000). Potential topics that might be explored include examinations of ecological systems with regard to biodiversity, ecosystems, and carrying capacity (Michaels et al., 2008; Spellman & Stoudt, 2013). For example, children living in a given area might explore how housing developments and other construction affect wetlands in their community and how the depletion of these wetlands changes the environment in that area. Once students conclude that human actions affect the environment in which they live, they might investigate how their own choices shape their personal carbon footprint, learn how to calculate that footprint, and then determine what steps, if any, they might take to reduce their negative influence on their surroundings. Such an investigation will result in discussions regarding key concepts that shape sustainability, such as equity, resource scarcity, citizenship, and quality of life. Appendix C contains a more detailed plan for this sequence of instruction.
High School
High school students (Grades 9-12) who have been exposed to sustainability topics in earlier grades understand that the environment, broadly speaking, is made up of their surroundings (Michaels et al., 2008; Spellman & Stoudt, 2013). More specifically, the environment includes all of the living organisms around them, the landscapes humans inhabit, the things people construct, the oceans and other elements on Earth, and practically all with which they interact (Spellman & Stoudt, 2013; Taber, 2007). It is vital that students strive to preserve the environment in its healthiest state manageable (Spellman & Stoudt, 2013; Taber, 2007). Sustainability is a concept integrated within environmental studies (Schroth, Helfer, LaRosa, Lanfair, & Malone, 2011; Spellman & Stoudt, 2013; Taber, 2007). Its aim is to find the means with which to continue life on Earth indefinitely. By high school, children can explore ways to either develop new approaches to satisfy consumers or conserve and limit the amount of resources that are being consumed (Neihart & Teo, 2013; Roberts, 2013; Trna, 2014). High school students can also understand that if steps are not taken, then global climate change, overpopulation, consumption crises, species extinction, and other problems caused by human interaction with the environment may continue (National Research Council, 2000; Neihart & Teo, 2013; Roberts, 2013).
Science Courses
Although it is important to educate students about these issues, many children never have the opportunity to take an environmental science class because not all high schools offer these (Spellman & Stoudt, 2013). In those schools where environmental science is offered, students are able to learn in depth about sustainability and other related topics (Schroth, Helfer, LaRosa, Lanfair, & Malone, 2011; Spellman & Stoudt, 2013). If such classes are not offered, then it is incumbent upon teachers to incorporate such topics throughout the high school curriculum, as students will have few other options to explore these issues (Anderson, 2013; Neihart & Teo, 2013; Roberts, 2013; Spellman & Stoudt, 2013). Fortunately, student interest in sustainability issues is high, and their enthusiasm makes integrating these topics into classes fairly easy (Fraleigh-Lohrfink et al., 2013; Seo, Lee, & Kim, 2005). The breadth of sustainability topics also makes their connection with other content areas relevant and germane (Hausamann, 2012; Jones & Hébert, 2012; Spellman & Stoudt, 2013; Tomlinson et al., 2009). Teachers and administrators working in schools without an environmental science course might consider incorporating sustainability topics into other areas of the curriculum.
Certainly, students who have been made aware of these issues from an early age are often more likely to fully comprehend how sustainability issues shape our understandings of science and affect efforts to reduce or resolve them (Michaels et al., 2008; Spellman & Stoudt, 2013). By integrating sustainability education into all science courses through interdisciplinary lessons, teachers can provide students with important environmental information without the benefit of an environmental science course (Taber, 2010; Tomlinson et al., 2009). Students can learn what they need to know about being an environmentally responsible citizen through enrollment in any science course. Obviously, sustainability can be incorporated into branches of science other than environmental science. For example, an earth science lesson regarding the velocity of a rotating wind turbine, a chemistry lesson dealing with the reactions in a hydrogen fuel cell, and a physical science lesson on plate tectonics and its relationship to specific natural disasters all support sustainability education while remaining true to the subject at hand. A series of online resources that will assist teachers from any discipline to make these connections is included in Table 4.
Online Resources to Assist in Sustainability Investigations
Nonscience Courses
Thinking beyond the realm of science, sustainability instruction can be integrated within English/language arts, social studies, mathematics, or even art and music classes (Spellman & Stoudt, 2013; Taber, 2007; Tomlinson et al., 2009). In an English/language arts class, an easy writing assignment can entail having students write an essay or letter to their mayor, senator, or other elected representative, choosing a sustainability topic that is of interest to the students. Another idea is to have students imagine they are writing an article for a sustainable living magazine, in which they provide suggestions for living in a more sustainable manner. Teachers can always assign a research paper on an environmental topic, which then requires students to research and learn more about a particular sustainability issue.
There are many moments in history and social studies classes that permit integration of sustainability topics (Jones & Hébert, 2012; Pride, 2014). The examination of the Industrial Revolution provides an excellent point at which to integrate such topics. One can have students discuss or write about inventions that proved to be most harmful to the environment. A twist on this might be for students to write about a certain inventor’s perspective regarding whether he or she would have created the item if he or she had known how harmful it would be to the Earth beforehand. A teacher or parent can also have students recall how poor agricultural practices affected the environment and in turn helped lead to the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. As students work to expand the workings of corporations, organizations, and governmental agencies, concentrating on real issues increases motivation and on-task behavior. An example of how a social studies teacher might examine sustainability and environmental issues with her class is included in Appendix D.
Mathematics offers many opportunities to teach sustainability as well. Teachers and parents can develop math problems dealing with fuel efficiency in automobiles, jets, or other transportation vehicles. Gifted high school students can, for example, discover the miles per gallon at which a certain model of car performs in city or highway driving, or the total miles of a driving trip, by doing so algebraically, leaving out certain pieces of information. Gifted high school students can also be asked to determine the volume of water that a solar water heater with specific dimensions and measurements holds, or the total area of a deposit of bauxite ore found in a measured tract of land.
Within the art curriculum, there are numerous possibilities for incorporating environmental and sustainability education. A simple way is to have students go around the school grounds and pick up trash. The gifted high school students can use this trash to create recycled art sculptures. Gifted students benefit from raised environmental consciousness and are also able to create and enjoy their works. Another assignment that students can work on is to paint a portrait of the same popular landscape twice, once from the perspective of 100 years ago, and once from the present day (Glacier National Park is ideal for this). Gifted high school students will be able to better comprehend just how much environmental damage humans are doing to our landscape through engagement with such activities.
Conclusion
Gifted students who are aware of the importance of sustainability are more likely to act upon such understandings (Feldhusen & Treffinger, 1980; Spellman & Stoudt, 2013; Treffinger et al., 2004). Sustainability issues can, of course, be addressed in a high school environmental course, but many other opportunities exist to integrate this subject matter into the K-12 curriculum (Bland et al., 2010; Michaels et al., 2008; Roberts, 2013; Spellman & Stoudt, 2013). Students at any grade level can benefit from sustainability education, and a wealth of resources exists to aid teachers in weaving this into their curricula.
Footnotes
Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C
Appendix D
Conflict of Interest
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Bios
Stephen T. Schroth, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Early Childhood Education at Towson University and the past chair of the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) Arts Network. The author of more than 175 publications, including books, monographs, chapters, articles, and other reports, he served as a classroom teacher, gifted coordinator, and arts prototype school coordinator for a decade in the Los Angeles Unified School District. His research interests include early childhood education, artistically talented students, differentiated instruction, effective instructional and leadership practices, and working with English language learners.
Jason A. Helfer, PhD, is the assistant superintendent of the Illinois State Board of Education. Prior to this position, he spent more than a decade in higher education, serving as an associate professor of education and the chair of an educational studies department. Before this, he was a teacher in Evanston, Illinois, and in the Grapevine/Colleyville Independent School District in Texas. He holds a PhD in curriculum and instruction from the University of Illinois, and has authored a series of curricular materials for the Lyric Opera of Chicago (with S. Schroth).