How youth teach environmental educators through intergenerational learning

(Press-News.org) UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — How educators acquire and implement learnings from their students can play a critical role in environmental education, according to a new study from researchers in the Penn State Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management.

The researchers found a role reversal between teachers and students, as environmental educators reported improvement in teaching and leadership skills after learning from the existing knowledge and experiences of students in an environmental education program, demonstrating the impact and effectiveness of youth-to-adult intergenerational learning.

Led by Penn State doctoral student Amy Powell and Associate Teaching Professor Lucy McClain, the research team published its findings in Environmental Education Research.

“Intergenerational learning is bidirectional learning where youth learn from adults and adults learn from youth,” McClain said. “Youth and adults can both be experts or have unique knowledge that can be shared with someone from another generation.”

The research team interviewed 27 participants, all of whom were first-time counselors, returning counselors or lead educators for the Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center Outdoor School program, an environmental education camp for upper-elementary school students.

During the interviews, educators explained how their skills, attitudes and behaviors were influenced through interactions with youth, such as learning and applying different teaching techniques to relate to individual students. Educators said they experienced an increased strength in attitudes toward environmental education and reported behavioral changes in how they engaged with youth, such as a return to childlikeness or adding playfulness to their work.

The researchers said another significant finding was that sociocultural differences between the students and educators helped catalyze youth-to-adult intergenerational learning. In the case of the Shaver's Creek program, many elementary students were from rural areas. Some educators, however, were from out-of-town, urban environments, so they reported learning from the students’ existing knowledge about the surrounding environment.

“Environmental education is rooted in place-based learning,” Powell said. “Youth become the spokespeople for the trees, plants and animals of the region and help out-of-town educators feel more comfortable in that space. Educators can then take those tidbits and teach them to future students.”

The researchers said educators can use what they learn from students and reflect on their teaching practices to become better educators, all while creating learning spaces where they can learn from youth to incorporate their ideas into future lessons.

In addition to educators, youth can also teach their parents or adult family members what they learned, which extends the impact of youth-to-adult intergenerational learning.

“Youth offer new ideas, innovative practices and diverse perspectives that can further learning,” Powell said. “These spaces give youth platforms to make an impact on lives and communities now versus having to wait until they are adults.”

This research was adapted from Powell’s master’s thesis. Danielle Frank of the Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance collaborated on this research.

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