A new partnership between the Kentucky Association for Environmental Education (KAEE) and Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) gives students the opportunity to earn dual credit for a combination of courses in teaching environmental education. Not only that, but completing the courses puts a participant halfway through earning an eeCredential and 25% of the way through completing EKU’s Certificate in Environmental Education!
“Offering dual credit is something we have envisioned and wanted since we started our eeCredential program a couple of years ago,” KAEE Education Director Brittany Wray says. “One of the main reasons we wanted to partner with EKU and the university’s Division of Natural Areas is to offer this kind of learning opportunity for the participants in our eeCourses and for EKU students.”
The course is a special combination of KAEE’s online, asynchronous eeCourse called “Foundations in Teaching Environmental Education” and KAEE’s EE Bootcamp, an in-person, two-day workshop. Although these separate offerings do not have to be taken together, participants who wish to maximize their learning can take both and, in doing so, complete half of the requirements to earn the Professional Learning Leader eeCredential. And, for those who wish to earn EKU undergraduate or graduate credit as well, they can enroll in EMS 563/763 and complete that course through the combination of “Foundations in Teaching Environmental Education” and the EE Bootcamp.
Dr. Melinda Wilder, EKU professor emerita, is the instructor for the course and one of the three workshop leaders of the EE Bootcamp. There, she’ll be joined by Brittany Wray and KAEE facilitator Vivian Bowles for a robust workshop that includes training in Project WET, Project WILD, Project Learning Tree, and a very intensive focus on how environmental education correlates with the Kentucky Academic Standards for science, reading, writing, social studies, and more.
“We’ll show teachers how you can use environmental education to support the standards and how you can use the environment as a context for teaching any discipline." -Brittany Wray, Education Director
The EE Bootcamp will be held August 1-2 at Maywoods Environmental and Educational Laboratory. Participants have the option to stay on-site at Maywoods on the nights of July 31 and August 1, and meals will be provided.
“One exciting aspect of the Bootcamp is that participants will get to take the training not only with students who want to earn EKU credit but also with teachers and educators from across the state who are interested in getting professional development training in these award-winning EE curriculum programs,” Brittany says.
How to Register
Those wishing to earn EKU credit should apply to be a student (the application is free here) and then enroll in either EMS 563 or EMS 763, depending on whether they would like undergraduate or graduate credit. The registration period for the summer eeCredential program will open on April 18 and close on May 13. During that time, participants can register for the summer “Foundations in Teaching Environmental Education” eeCourse. Registration for the EE Bootcamp will open in early summer.
Looking Ahead
KAEE and EKU plan to offer additional dual credit opportunities in the future. We also plan to offer this unique combination of offerings each summer, so interested participants who are unable to take part this year will have the opportunity again next year.
Learn More
For more information about KAEE’s eeCourses, eeCredentials, in-person workshops, or the dual-credit option, reach out to Brittany Wray at brittany@kaee.org.