Sunday 23 July 2017

Green Curriculum: Sustainable Practice in Teacher Education

Green Curriculum: Sustainable Practice in Teacher Education
Sareena, K.M. M.Ed student, NSS Training College, Ottapalam.
Dr.Minikumari, D. Assistant Professor, NSS Training College, Ottapalam.

Abstract
               Humanity is at an unprecedented crossroads and conservation is a state of harmony between men and land. Being holistic, a Green Curriculum views environment as all that is around us and aims to give a better understanding of the way the world functions its operation as a total system, its alteration because of the actions of the human race and its consequences on the system and on us. This paper emphasizes the importance of introducing green curriculum in teacher education , across every discipline, to sustainable building principles and practice , while highlighting successful methods for curricular and co-curricular integration. Several strategies are being practiced or considered by teacher education institutions to educate tomorrow’s teachers and experts about sustainable building principles and practices. It includes integrating sustainable practices in to course work and applying smart solutions to solve real world problem. 
Key words : Green Curriculum, sustainable  practice ,  teacher education
Introduction
            The ‘green trend’ in educational field as described as a concept of sustainability across the world by targeting eco-literacy.  The current global energy and environmental crisis leads to high energy demand, arises due to the un-judicial use and lack of knowledge about conservation.  This problem should be eradicated by the installation of infrastructure and introduction of best environmental practices in educational institutions.  The future of our planet hinges on the action of younger generation, so the greener transition should start from the education field. 
            Curriculum is the crux of all the educational system and it is intimately related with all the aspects of education. It is made up of everything that surrounds the learner to achieving the goals of education.  It includes all those experiences, activities and environmental influences which the student receives during his educational career.  The concept of green curriculum ensures that the students’ capability of taking the 21st century challenges.  It aims to develop positive attitude and responsible social networks for removing the world wide issues of global warming, climate change, social inequalities and unsustainable lifestyles. 
                        Green curriculum includes resource that helps students to gain skills and knowledge about construction, installation and maintenance of energy resources and awareness of natural and sustainable products.  Greening the curriculum means being open to nature as a teacher, the outdoors as classroom and sustaining life for all future generations as the most important learning objective.
Green curriculum and sustainable practices
            Higher education has a critical role to play in producing sustainable students by helping them to understand “the complex connections and interdependencies between the environment, energy sources, and the economy” (Elder, 2009, p.108). Elder further states: The education required to accomplish this is a new way of thinking and learning about integrated, systemic solutions not just to the economic and environmental challenges but also the interdependent health, social and political challenges. Above all, this new way of thinking uses the green economy as the focal point for understanding the deep connections between economics, energy, the environment and social well-being, often referred to as sustainability.
            Wals (2010, p. 380) agrees with this as he says: “Universities in particular have a responsibility in creating space for alternative thinking and emergence of new ideas, as well as in critically exploring old ones.” The Ubuntu Declaration (UNEP, 2006, p. 67), an initiative from education and scientific organisations all over the world, raised the following areas where universities have a role to play: review programmes and curricula in order to address the challenges of sustainable development; strengthen the role of teachers and attract young people to the profession; develop mechanisms to keep teachers informed; and promote knowledge transfers in innovative ways in order to bridge the gaps and inequalities of present knowledge.
In Europe (Togo, 2009, p. 64) and in the United States various courses of action have been taken towards curricular greening, and the following topics were proposed for sustainable development: atmosphere and climate; transport systems and fuel sustainability; agriculture, conventional and organic farming; ecological economics; tourism and sustainability; and urban physical environments.
Sustainability “represents an interconnectedness of factors and force —environmental, economic, and social—that require new and more sophisticated analyses, teachings, and interventions” (Timpson et al., 2006, p. 9). And yet, sustainability “requires integrating the knowledge base of individual disciplines to create a holistic program that brings together the economic, social, and environmental understanding, practices, and policies of a globally and environmentally connected world” (Berry, 2006, p. 103).
Greening the curriculum refers to the infusion of environmental and sustainability perspectives into the school curriculum. The key is the perspective and the approach in which the contents are explored and learnt. Many people think of a Green Curriculum as ‘nature studies’  a supplement to the educational system, an activity that largely takes place outside school and which relates only tangentially to the core curriculum.
Sustainable practice is defined as those activities that provide the ability to achieve continuing economic prosperity while protecting the natural systems and providing a high quality of life for its people and community.(Giannini, 2009).
The green trend is moving mainstream, it will improve the quality of peoples life through sustainable practices. It focuses on three elements such as profit, protecting the environment and enhance the quality of life. The researcher seeks to find answers for the following questions.
1.      What is the significance of green curriculum in education field?
2.      How is green curriculum related with sustainable development?
3.      What is the role of green curriculum in teacher education?
4.      What are the suggestive sustainable practices in teacher education?

Significance of green curriculum in education field
            The educational institution should play a pivotal role as children spend most of their time in schools. It is in that have advocate for the effective mainstreaming of green curriculum as a part of education. Children should be taught to live sustainably at a tender age. Learning institutions should teach basic principles of how nature sustains life and an understanding of the implications of anthropological activities on the environment.
            Educational institution that adopts an environmental focus demonstrates better academic and life skill performance across the curriculum. Green curriculum helps to build creative thinking and relationship skills and foster leadership qualities for different environmental activities. Green curriculum should promote and engage the students in learning about
Ø  The resources in their institution which consume and involve them in making consumption more sustainable.
Ø  Toxics issues in and around educational institutions and involve them to minimize their usage.
Ø  Gardens and food systems; and involve them in growing their own food.
 Relationship between green curriculum and sustainable development
Green curriculum model is based on the new knowledge, understanding, skills, experiences and attitude needed to create a new generation, which have the areas:
·         The science of global warming
·         Impact of climate change
·         Ecosystem
·         Part of nature
·         Ecological principles underlying how life works on earth
·         Ecological problems and solutions
·         Process of sustainable development
Green curriculum is working to ensure that all programmes of areas provide opportunities for students to explore the meaning of sustainable development in the context of their discipline. For some areas like Ecological principles underlying how life works on earth, nearly everything students’ study is concerned with sustainable development. For others, the engagement with sustainable issues will be less direct, and often linked to professional practice or employability elements of the programme. In all cases, it helps to increase and enhance the opportunities available to students through the curricula for engagement with the Sustainable Development Goals. Green curricular model has developed modules and programmes which explicitly focus on sustainable development.
Role of green curriculum in teacher education
Teacher education programmes need to addressing the issues of sustainability with their student. The teacher education curriculum is already filled with multidisciplinary topics but in some situations, it provides environmental education as a general paper. The topics in this paper only related with theoretical content. They didn’t promote practical activities for the sustainability during both normal course time and internship period. This general characterisation of common curricular patterns and problems outlined could be supplemented by a number of rich, promising, alternative approaches which have contributed to substantial restructuring and improvements of curricula of teacher education.
Green curriculum in teacher education helps to find out how to connect what they are teaching in the classroom to the principles, practices and technologies of sustainability. First element of the curriculum focuses on incorporating sustainable practices, related to the progress of environmental stability in all levels. It helps the teachers to understand why they should include sustainability in their lesson plans and classroom curriculum.
Through the internship training, students can learn from actual activities to expand their views and courage; and integrate what they learned to enhance their own value. The specific teaching goals are as below:
1.     Increase knowledge about the environment
2.     Cultivate environmental awareness and sensitivity
3.     Establish environmental value and attitude
4.     Fulfill environmental action skills
5.     Demonstrate environmental action experiences
6.     Develop ability of cooperation and development
The second component of the curriculum focuses on the fields of urban agriculture, sustainable architecture and energy practices. It helps the teachers to discover an incredible resource by workshops. During the workshops, presented by expert teachers and professional development staff; the teachers were able to find out what the curriculum was and how it been used.
Green curriculum provides process oriented and integrated approach in teacher education. It is flexible and connects to life outside the world. It encourages multiple sources of learning and also provides opportunity to raise awareness about sustainable practices.
Suggestive sustainable practices in teacher education
Learning for the environment aims at the development of an informed response and responsibility towards the environment. It goes beyond the acquisition of skills and knowledge. It is concerned with the formation of attitudes that lead to personal environmental ethics which will involve people in actions for the conservation and preservation of our national, social and cultural heritage. However, the main goal of a Green Curriculum for children at all stages is to understand environmental science and related social issues to make well-reasoned and ethically appropriate environmental decisions across different areas  be it economy, technology, industry or our social and cultural life, for sustainable growth and development. There are some suggestive sustainable practices in green curriculum.
·         Project based learning : to provide green activities reducing the environmental footprint of the classroom  and quick projects related to   recycling race, organic food taste test, recycled plastic bottle rockets, solar demonstrations, hand-made paper, and more should be given to teacher educators.
·         Green technological courses: according to the need and relevance of environmental activities different add on courses should be incorporated in teacher education.
·         Interactive Green Mapping : it is an interactive resource for teacher education. It provides an opportunity to students to learn about the environmental resources in their area as they create maps of the green resources in their own communities.
·         Green lesson plan: developed a green lesson plan, focusing on the 3R s, (Reduse, Reuse and Recycle) conducted the lesson, and then reported the actual lesson as a part of teacher education.
·         Green Media : Engaging media resources abound to help green-leaning teachers and students to make a difference for humanity and the planet.
·         Sustainability Curricula Directory : it is a collection of the best teaching tools and makes them more widely known to educators.
Integration of green curriculum in teacher education is having a vital role in sustainable development. The sustainable practices help to inspire today’s teacher educators and they will indirectly inspire their students to clear the path for a cleaner and healthier tomorrow. Our children hold the future of the planet in their hands by the valuable guidance of good teachers. The major endeavour of green curriculum is to mould the students to implement concepts of sustainability in the immediate surroundings by taking concrete actions.
References
Berry, J. (2006). Forward by Joyce Berry. In W. M. Timpson et al., 147 practical tips for       teaching sustainability . Madison, WI: Atwood Publishing.
Elder, J. L. (2009). Higher education and the clean energy, green economyEDUCAUSE Review.
Giannini, E. (2009). An introduction to going green for hotel operations and management. Hospitality Green, LLC: Mountaindale, NY.
Goethe Institute (2008). Sustainability - from principle to practise (Translation Mary-Lane Eisberger). Goethe institute.e.v.
Togo, M. (2009). A systems approach to mainstreaming environment and sustainability in universities: The case of Rhodes university, South Africa (Doctoral dissertation). Rhodes University. Retrieved from http://eprints.ru.ac.za/1708/1/Togo-PhD-TR09-205.pdf.
Timpson, W. M., et al. (2006). 147 practical tips for teaching sustainability: Connecting the environment, the economy, and society. Madison, WI: Atwood Publishing.
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) (2005). Annual report. Kenya: Earthprint.com.
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) (2006). Annual report. Kenya: Earthprint.com.

Wals, A. E. J. (2010). Mirroring, gestaltwitching and transformative social learning. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education

Wednesday 9 December 2015

Nervous System




NERVOUS SYSTEM
The nervous system is our body's decision and communication center. The central nervous system (CNS) is made of the brain and the spinal cord and the peripheral nervous system (PNS) is made of nerves. Together they control every part of your daily life, from breathing and blinking to helping you memorize facts for a test. Nerves reach from your brain to your face, ears, eyes, nose, and spinal cord... and from the spinal cord to the rest of your body. Sensory nerves gather information from the environment, send that info to the spinal cord, which then speed the message to the brain. The brain then makes sense of that message and fires off a response. Motor neurons deliver the instructions from the brain to the rest of your body. The spinal cord, made of a bundle of nerves running up and down the spine, is similar to a superhighway, speeding messages to and from the brain at every second.
CEREBRAL HEMISPHERES.
By means of a prominent groove, called the longitudinal fissure, the brain is divided into two halves called hemispheres. 

The vertebrate cerebrum (brain) is formed by two cerebral hemispheres that are separated by a groove, the medial longitudinal fissure. The brain can thus be described as being divided into left and right cerebral hemispheres.

CEREBRAL HEMISPHERES.

By means of a prominent groove, called the longitudinal fissure, the brain is divided into two halves called hemispheres. 
The vertebrate cerebrum (brain) is formed by two cerebral hemispheres that are separated by a groove, the medial longitudinal fissure. The brain can thus be described as being divided into left and right cerebral hemispheres.

The brain is made of three main parts:
1.Forebrain  (cerebrum)
The forebrain is divided into two main sections:
a)Telencephalon
i) Cerebrum (Cerebral Cortex)
    • The cerebrum or cortex is the largest part of the human brain, associated with higher brain function such as thought and action. The cerebral cortex is divided into four sections, called "lobes": the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, and temporal lobe
·         Frontal Lobe- associated with reasoning, planning, parts of speech, movement, emotions, and problem solving
·         Parietal Lobe- associated with movement, orientation, recognition, perception of stimuli, Spatial processing
·         Occipital Lobe- associated with visual processing

·         Temporal Lobe- associated with perception and recognition of auditory stimuli, memory,  speech, and understanding language




ii)Basal Ganglia
iii)Limbic System (hippocampus and amygdala)
    •  Memory formation
    • Responsible for the formation of long-term memories
    • Damage to this area does not destroy old memories; rather, new memories can no longer be formed
    • Emotion processing
b)Diencephalon
i)Thalamus
ii)Hypothalamus
    • The Hypothalamus controls the visceral nervous system, guiding actions such as thirst, temperature regulation, and glanduar secretions in the organs.
    • Maintains homeostasis: like a thermostat, it increases or decreases metabolism in order to regulate body activity

2.Midbrain (cerebellum)
Cerebellum

3.Hindbrain (medulla)
  • Medulla  (medulla oblongata)
  • Full name: Medulla Oblongata ("oblong marrow")
  • Connects the spinal cord to pons

  • Pons
    • Full name: Pons Varolii. Originally means 'bridge'
    • Bridges the cerebrum and the cerebellum through cerebellar peduncles

The Structure of the Neuron  

 Neurons are specialized cells that transmit chemical and electrical signals in the brain; they are the basic building blocks of the central nervous system.  The primary components of the neuron are the soma (cell body), the axon (a long slender projection that conducts electrical impulses away from the cell body), dendrites (tree-like structures that receive messages from other neurons), and synapses (specialized junctions between neurons). Some axons are covered with myelin, a fatty material that acts as an insulator and conductor to speed up the process of communication

Dendrites - a neuron's branches that receive information from other neurones and transmit it toward the cell body.
Cell Body - The part of the neuron that keeps it alive and determines whether or not it will fire.
Axon - a neuron's extending fibre that conducts impulses away from the cell body and transmits them to other neurones.

Myelin sheath - A fatty insulation that may surround the axon of the neurone
Synapse - place where transmission of nerve impulses go from one neurone to the next.   

- Includes the axon terminal, the synaptic cleft, and receptor sites in membrane of the next cell.
Neurotransmitter - a chemical substance(acetylcholine) that is released by a transmitting neuron at the synapses and that alters the activity of a receiving neuron.

 acetylcholine - transmits between nerves and muscles   


  dopamine - important in "reward" system and also seems to play inhibitory role, 
                       important in schizophrenia & Parkinson's syndrome
  serotonin - involved in sleep, dreaming, arousal & emotions