Collaborating to help Alberta students become literate around environment, energy, and climate change
To help create a sustainable future, Alberta’s 670,000 K-12 students need to become literate around environment, energy, and climate change. ACEE is the 'backbone organization' for a collaborative multi-sectorial initiative to make this happen, following the Theory of Change shown below.
What happened at the October 2015 Summit?
Individual and Collective Commitments
What happened at the October 2015 Summit?
On 15 October 2015 ACEE convened a very successful full-day Summit to Advance Environmental and Energy Literacy - 120 teachers and stakeholders from non-profit organizations, universities, and government gathered to discuss our Theory of Change and how to create a ‘collective impact’ – and offered their ideas and suggestions for improvement. The group agreed on the following:
- ACEE is the best group to provide backbone support to groups and take the lead on communication
- A multi-stakeholder group volunteered to support ACEE, serving on a ‘Backbone committee’ that would help steer the work
- ACEE and its colleagues should reach out to key education leaders for support
- Many participants individually or collectively committed to engage in mutually reinforcing activities, organized by the three pillars of the diagram
- Mapping of the complex systems involved (in teacher professional learning, and educational policy) will help provide clarity, and show intervention points
ACEE staff are currently working hard to…
- Secure funding for this initiative, including regional face-to-face meetings and workshops – and a 2016 conference and summit to report on progress and help move this work forward
- Follow-up with those who offered to serve on a Backbone committee; and who made commitments to do mutually reinforcing activities
- ‘Mine’ the fabulous set of ideas and suggestions you provided, to enrich our collaborative work
Executive Director Gareth Thomson will facilitate the Backbone Team, while Kathy Worobec will support the collaborative work. Please contact Kathy at Kathy@abcee.org if you’d like to find our more or get involved!
Key Findings from the October 2015 Summit
- 83% of post-Summit survey respondents felt that the work outlined in the 'Theory of Change' to help Alberta students become environmentally and energy literate is very important or important
- 88% of respondents were extremely satisfied or satisfied with the Summit
- high approval ratings for keynotes
- Responses to 'What are the most important things ACEE can do to help the environmental and energy education community advance environmental and energy literacy for Alberta students?' (In decreasing rank order):
- Be a 'backbone support' for a community effort (collective impact)
- Work with key education stakeholders
- Work with the education and environmental/energy education community to ensure there are more teacher professional learning opportunities
- Host an annual conference and summit
Review the complete survey responses!
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