Environmental mental models of science educators : a multiple case study of LET topnotchers

Abstract

This study used the multiple case method to look into millennial science educators' present environmental mental models, the pedagogical challenges faced when teaching environmental education, and their environmental attitudes. Six in-service secondary science teachers were chosen for an intensive study of their environmental mental models based on the following criteria: they must be a topnotcher in the licensure exam for teachers (LET), be a recent graduate of a Bachelor's degree in Secondary Education with a science major, and be a graduate of a Teacher Education Institution recognized as a Center of Excellence by the Commission on Higher Education. The following mechanisms were used to achieve the research objectives: 2 activities, namely, Draw-An-Environment Task and Pick-A-Photograph Task, while an interview guide was used for IDI. All interview sessions and tasks were done via Google Meet video conferencing technology. The tasks were analyzed using the Environment Mental Model Typology and DAET Rubric, while thematic analysis was applied for the interview data. Findings reveal that millennial science educators’ predominant EMMs view the environment as a place that supports life and a place that is impacted by man. Their understanding of the environment remained basic, reflecting a lack of a systems perspective on the interaction dynamics of the environment. In addition, Three themes describe the pedagogical challenges faced when teaching environmental education: exploratory and hands-on experience, emergent approach to teaching, and health and classroom restrictions. Lastly, seven themes emerged for their environmental attitudes: nurturing a caring attitude for the environment, desiring sustainable development, culpability due to anthropological activities, dismay over bureaucracy on environmental laws, remorse over the environment's fate, publicizing environmental issues, practicing the 3 Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle), and limiting human footprint. Keywords: environmental education, environmental mental model, multiple case study, typology, DAET-R, Philippines