Welcome to the Resource Hub
The Resource Hub is your one-stop tool for finding new resources, programs, professional development, and grants to support environmental and energy education in your classroom in keeping with the 2019 K-12 Environmental Education Guidelines for Excellence, published by the North American Association for Environmental Education. If you have any questions, need help finding a resource, or would like to add a resource, please email diana@abcee.org. Last updated: May 7, 2023.
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Guidelines for Excellent Environmental Education Materials
Dear Resource Hub User,
The North American Association for Environmental Education describes six guidelines for excellent environmental education (EE) materials:
- Fairness and accuracy - EE materials should be fair and accurate in describing environmental problems, issues, and conditions, and in reflecting the diversity of perspectives on them.
- Depth - EE materials should foster awareness of the natural and built environment, an understanding of environmental concepts, conditions, and issues, and an awareness of the feelings, values, attitudes, and perceptions at the heart of environmental issues, as appropriate for different developmental levels.
- Emphasis on skills building - EE materials should build lifelong skills that enable learners to address environmental issues.
- Action orientation - EE materials should promote civic responsibility, encouraging learners to use their knowledge, personal skills, and assessments of environmental problems and issues as a basis for environmental problem solving and action.
- Instructional soundness - EE materials should rely on instructional techniques that create an effective learning environment.
- Usability - EE materials should be well designed and easy to use.
While we try our best to ensure the resources featured on our Hub are consistent with these guidelines, we also recognize that certain resources may be stronger in some areas than others.
One of the tenets of excellent teaching in the classroom is to encourage students to engage in critical thinking. We invite teachers to apply these same critical thinking skills when using resources found on the Hub or elsewhere by asking questions such as the following:
1. Is this resource based on a credible source of information?
2. Who authored the work? Why?
3. Who funded the work?
4. What biases might be present? Are there any hidden agendas or interests?
5. What are the underlying assumptions or narratives? What are these based on?
6. Are the right questions being asked?
7. Are multiple perspectives presented, and are these perspectives honest and explicit?
Happy teaching,
The ACEE Team
Thank you to the following for supporting the Resource Hub.
