Copyright © 2012 Green Education Foundation (GEF). All rights reserved. Overview Creating a Sustainable Future Through.

Copyright © 2012 Green Education Foundation (GEF). All rights reserved. www.GreenEducationFoundation.org

Overview

Creating a Sustainable Future Through Education


Preparing Students for the New Green EconomyNationwide, the clean economy is growing at a rate of 8.3% annually, nearly

double the growth rate of the overall economy from 2003-2010.

Wages for green energy careers are about 13% higher than the economy average.

For every megawatt of solar or wind power generated, 15 to 20 manufacturing jobs are created.


GEF Mission

GEF provides curriculum and resources to K-12 students and teachers worldwide with the goal of challenging youth

to think holistically and critically about global environmental concerns and solutions.


Sustainability education provides educators with the real-world applied learning models that connect science, technology, and math education with the broader human concerns of environmental, economic, and social systems.

Leading the Sustainability Education Movement


Sustainability can be a cornerstone of a school’s education, while:

• Preparing students for careers in the new green economy• Teaching critical and analytical thinking and writing skills• Meeting national core standards in Science, Math, Social

Studies and ELA• Providing educators with an opportunity to earn

professional development or academic credit• Making improvements to the school building resulting in

savings in utility costs and improved indoor environmental quality

Why Sustainability Education?


Member Demographics and Outreach

• Over 9,000 members • Over 5 million kids• All 50 States• Available to the over 55 million students and 3.8 million teachers in more than 125,000 K-12 schools throughout the U.S.

Outreach• Schools are reached through teachers unions, administrator and

principals’ organizations, national and local departments of energy, national and local departments of education, and like-minded non-profits

• GEF devotes resources to connecting with schools in underserved communities through advocates like the office of environmental affairs in urban school districts, state and national associations of career and technical education, etc.

Copyright © 2012 GEF Institute. All Rights Reserved. www.gefinstitute.org

GEF Institute, a division of Green Education Foundation (GEF), was established to meet the increasing demand for sustainability education.

The Institute develops state-of-the art online courses, certificate programs, and blended learning curriculum in sustainability concepts for K-12 schools, colleges and universities.

GEF Institute


Available Resources Include:

• Blueprint for Sustainability Literacy

• Online Courses and Professional Certificates in Sustainability for your Faculty, Staff and Students

• Sustainability Workshops for Faculty and Staff

• Green Building Blended Learning Curriculum for High School Classrooms

Sustainability Education with GEF Institute

Working with GEF Institute means having the flexibility to customize a sustainability program that meets your needs.


Developed for 10 -12 grade students to learn about green building attributes and benefits to provide a healthier and more energy-efficient school and home

Provides the educational resources necessary to understand, identify and improve environmental inefficiencies

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Green Building Course

Copyright © 2012 GEF Institute. All rights reserved.


Unit 1: Introduction to Green Building

Unit 2: Energy and the Built Environment

Unit 3: Water and the Built Environment

Unit 4: Sustainable Sites and Land Use

Unit 5: Materials and Resources

Unit 6: Indoor Environmental Quality

Unit 7: Building Science

Unit 8: Present and Future of Green Building

Green Building Course Outline



A collection of individual GEF Institute courses packaged and ready for classroom-based instruction and supplemented by our digital learning platform.

A Blended Learning Approach Course content is streamed Teachers receive special access to download

selected sections Students access online activities and assignments

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Green Building Course Format



Unit Audits Prioritize areas for enhanced efficiencies in the students’ school building in

preparation for capstone project

Capstone Project Students analyze and recommend building improvements based upon feasibility,

greatest need and return-on-investment (ROI). Students research how and where to request funding (from government sources,

utility rebates, etc.) in an effort to offset the costs of their proposed upgrades.

GEF Institute’s Green Building Course is aligned with U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) guidelines for what constitutes green building construction according to their LEED®

(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system.

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Audits



“I will really be emphasizing the hands-on aspect and the audit component of the course. ” - Jenny Kostka, South Shore Charter Public School in Norwell, MA

“For a few years now I have been teaching a course on Green Architecture and another on Sustainable Design, but with very little funding for materials or development. The GBC Green Building Pilot is a wonderful hybrid of both courses with a more streamlined approach and with superior materials.” – Jeremy Stone, Common Ground High School in New Haven, CT

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Pilot School Experiences



Blueprint for Sustainability Education

Grassroots IntegrationHelping all teachers of all grade levels effortlessly integrate sustainability concepts into material they’re already teaching while meeting National and Common Core standards for core subjects including Science, ELA, and Social Studies.

Blueprint Process:

• Outlines the “big concepts” being taught in classrooms today by subject area

• Describes the concepts the standards aim to teach

• Identifies how sustainability can be integrated in the concepts by grade level

• Provides teaching tools for integration i.e. educational overviews on concepts, “teacher speak,” ready-to-use lessons and glossary


Courses incorporate dynamic instruction methods:

Video narration Pre and post unit assessments Interactive activities Discussion forums And more!

Courses are self-paced and available on-demand

Course lengths range from 1.5 hours to 15 hours

Professional Development or Academic Credit is available

Online CoursesThe Institute’s Online Courses are the backbone of the

Sustainability Certificates and Blended Learning Curriculum.





2011 Testimonials• "This has been a tremendously rich experience. I am impressed and happy with the resources you have

provided." – Course Participant

• "Great course! I learned a lot and was impressed with the quality of the information, expertise and resources, variety of content, the videos, etc. It was user friendly." – Course Participant

• "This could well be the most engaging sustainability course I have taken (either online or face-to-face). Nicely presented, well organized and completely pertinent, I found it very worthwhile." – Course Participant

• "I loved the course. It enabled me to feel more confident about moving forward with sustainability at my school." – Course Participant

• "The videos are fabulous and just the right length. The questions and material are thought provoking and thus effective. I find this course so engrossing that I often do not see time fly by and suddenly I realize I have been working on it for 3 hours! I also had hesitations about on-line courses in general, but now I am 'sold.'" – Course Participant

• "I think these units are terrific. I can't wait to incorporate these ideas into my already green classroom.” – Course Participant

• "I have never seen a course on Moodle as nice as this." – Course Participant


Contact GEF Institute

Victoria WatersPresident & [email protected]

Molly HislopDirector, Programs and [email protected]

[email protected]


K-12 Sustainability Lesson Clearinghouse

• Largest online database of sustainability focused lessons for K-12 sorted by grade, subject, eco-area, keyword

• Provides a virtual platform for teachers to upload and share K-12 sustainability education curricula

• Educators across the nation rate, comment and provide feedback on curricula, with the goal of designing an online social network that promotes cross-school best practices in sustainability education

Brought to you in partnership with

Copyright © 2012 Green Education Foundation (GEF). All rights reserved. Overview Creating a Sustainable Future Through.

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