2 pages., Research summary via online from the North American Association for Environmental Education., Researchers interviewed 11 environmental or science journalism educators from four-year institutions and identified four common challenges: (1) keeping up with technology, (2) student interest, (3) environmental advocacy among students; and (4) lack of potential careers in the field. They suggested pre-requisites.
2 pages., Research summary online via the North American Association for Environmental Education., This study involved journalists who participated in science journalism training at the University of Rhode Island's Institute for Marine and Environmental Reporting between 1999 and 2015. Researchers collected data on the effectiveness of such training by surveying 111 participating journalists about their perceptions of the training. Researchers also analyzed the content of stories published by 20 journalists before and after they participated in a week-long immersion workshop. "Results showed a number of small but positive effects..." Journalists who participated found interpersonal interactions with scientists to be the most valuable tool for their science reporting.
13 pages, Peer-to-peer learning is gaining increasing attention in nonformal community-based environmental education. This article evaluates a novel modification of a concept for peer-to-peer learning about residential energy solutions (Open Homes). We organized collective “Energy Walks” visiting several homes with novel energy solutions and engaging people beyond those with a serious renovation project. We evaluated the intervention in terms of individual, network-centric, and institutional learning outcomes. Learning outcomes were observed on all these levels. We argue that this form of peer-to-peer learning builds capacity for sustainable action in the community by supporting discussion and reflection, rather than merely social learning as modeling.
2 pages., Research summary online via the North American Association for Environmental Education., Author used a three-component data collection frame. Findings suggested that "very little training exists at the college level; almost 80% of schools with communication or journalism programs did not offer any courses described as directly or indirectly about the environment. Nevertheless, almost 80% of surveyed students thought coursework in environmental reporting was somewhat important, important, or very important. Furthermore, of the news article published in campus papers, under 2% covered environmental topics, which the researcher rated as "typically simplistic and local(typically campus) in geographic scale.
12 pages., Via open access online., Authors examined the difficulty of teaching contemporary students of journalism to report on complex topics like science and the environment. They subjected 120 undergraduate students to a strategy that combined visual representations of abstract concepts, media texts, and experiential peer interactions. Findings indicated positive outcomes on comprehension and demonstrations of critical analysis from this pedagogical approach.
