This action approves funding in the amount of $80,000 to appalachian state university to implement its project, which will design, demonstrate, and disseminate environmental education practices,…

Appalachian State University received $80,000 in funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 4 under the Environmental Education Grants Program (CFDA 66.951) to design, demonstrate, and disseminate environmental education practices and techniques across five geographic locations: Boone, Wilmington, and Newland, North Carolina; and Newhalen and Port Heiden, Alaska. The two-year project, effective September 1, 2025 through August 31, 2027, will develop immersive technology-based environmental education programming utilizing 360-degree videos and innovative instructional methods aligned with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), the 2023 K-12 North Carolina Essential Science Standards, and Alaska Science Standards. The university will hire an undergraduate geology or environmental science major to assist in developing project materials and will collaborate with four partner public schools (two in North Carolina and two in Alaska) through subaward contracts to implement the curriculum.

The project's primary deliverables include a 5E learning cycle instructional plan focused on environmental problem-solving skills, immersive technology-enhanced learning modules, professional development activities for participating teachers conducted via remote collaboration, and enhanced environmental literacy resources for students and community members. Through these integrated activities, the project aims to bridge personal engagement via immersive technology with current scientific information, enabling young learners to develop a sense of ownership in identifying and solving environmental problems while building knowledge and decision-making capacity among students, teachers, and community stakeholders in the target regions.

This action approves funding in the amount of $80,000 to appalachian state university to implement its project, which will design, demonstrate, and disseminate environmental education practices, methods, and techniques, that will serve to increase environmental literacy and encourage behavior that will benefit the environment in appalachian state university, boone, NC, wilmington, NC; newland, NC, newhalen, AK, and port heiden, AK. The project will use immersive technology, innovative environmental education programing, and 360DEG; videos to enhance young learners' sense of ownership in solving environmental problems and ownership in showcasing results. The goal is to bridge the GAP between personal engagement through immersive technology and the most current scientific and environmental information, in order to define and solve environmental problems.activities:this project will increase public awareness and knowledge about environmental issues and provide students, teachers, community members the skills necessary to make informed decisions and to take responsible actions. Activities to be performed during this project period include project team members meeting and collaborating teachers from participating schools remotely via zoom, to discuss activities and timelines for implementing the project at their school. An undergraduate geology or environmental science major with outreach and K12 education experience will be hired at the host institution to help develop project materials. Develop a 5E learning cycle plan aligned with next generation science standards (NGSS)1, 2023 K12 north carolina essential science STANDARDS2 and the alaska science STANDARDS3 focused on environmental factors and building environmental problem-solving skills.subrecipient:subawards will fund four school -two public schools in north carolina and two public schools in alaska. The applying institution (appalachian state university) will create subaward contracts for each partner school specifying items that must be purchased with the subaward funds, as these will support implementation of the strategy. Subrecipients will increase understanding of air quality indicators and local impacts among youth 13-18 and increase engagement in global impacts of environmental education among participants. In order to accomplish these goals, the project will be guided by the following objectives: enhance environmental problem-solving skills among youth, foster collaboration and mutual learning between school communities across varied geographic and environmental settings (e.g., coastal, mountainous, and alaskan tribal communities), support teachers with high-quality, standards-aligned resources, provide educators with current, reliable, and accessible environmental education materials aligned with NGSS, NC, and alaska science standards.; develop a replicable educational model, create a simple, cost-effective, and scalable model for using VR and 360-degree video in environmental education that other schools can adopt. Outcomes:IT is anticipated that this project will result in the following deliverables: an educational module with all supporting materials including slides and training videos for teachers; a collection of eight 360-degree videos; a webpage housing all educational materials created for the project; and a collaborative student digital map that only showcases environmental problems solved. Expected outcomes of the project include increased environmental problem-solving skills among youth aged 13-18; increased understanding of how to use technology to solve environmental problems and connect school communities working to build environmental problem-solving skills. The intended beneficiaries include boone; wilmington, and newland, NC, newhalen and port heiden, AK.