Accomplishments

More Information About GEA-China GEA-China Updates Plans and Projects Accomplishments Introduction to China Founding Partners Founders Quotables Committee

Textbooks

• An award-winning series of six sets of textbooks and teacher guides developed by E2: Environment and Education were translated and disseminated. Initially piloted in 28 Beijing schools, a total of 6,000 teacher guides and 24,000 student texts were subsequently printed and distributed in 1998 and 1999.

First Teacher Training in China

• Fifty Chinese teacher trainers, or "master teachers", were selected from thirty three carefully targeted pilot schools to participate in an initial four day training session on the E2 curriculum. It is estimated that each of these master teachers will eventually train 20 other teachers, who in turn will reach over 80,000 students in total.

Books presented to the Chinese students and teachers: "Water Conservation", part of the environmental action series produced by E2, and "Environmental Science: A Study of Interrelationships" by Dr. Brad Smith of Western Washington State University.

Dean Paschall, former Executive Director, GEA - China with teachers in the GEA - China teacher training program.

Second Teacher Training in China

• In April, 2000, a second teacher training workshop was offered to 67 teachers from 51 schools in greater Beijing.

China-U.S. Student and Teacher Exchange

• On Earth Day 2000, students from across Beijing took part in the GEA-China Environmental Education Contest by answering a 100-question quiz about environmental issues. The questions were listed on a full page ad in the Beijing Youth Daily, a youth paper with a daily readership of nearly 5 million students. From the 800 perfect scores out of thousands of entries, five Chinese students were selected as the grand prize winners to visit the United States and participate in environmental study programs in U.S. schools in September, 2000. Joining the students were three master teachers who are involved with GEA's innovative Environmental Education programs. Also participating in this groundbreaking exchange were three high-ranking government officials from China's Ministry of Science and Technology, the State Environmental Protection Administration of China and Beijing Municipal Education Commission.

College Faculty Exchange

• In the fall of 2000, four faculty members were chosen from Capital Normal University (CNU) in Beijing to travel to the US to study at Western Washington University. They spent the fall quarter writing articles, collaborating with faculty, and giving lectures.

Third Teacher Training in China

• In November, 2001, the third teacher training expanded the training program across China. The 115 participants included teachers and administrators from 50 different provinces.

College Textbook Published

• In September, 2002, GEA will publish the first environmental textbook for Normal Universities non-environmental majors, called Breaking New Ground: Case Studies in Environmental Issues. The text is currently being piloted this semester in 45 classes at CNU and also in Shanghai Huadong Normal University, the most prestigious Normal University in the region. When finished, the text will be used in Normal colleges across China to instruct future teachers on how to integrate environment and development lessons across the curriculum. This landmark text will also be the first college text in China to focus on techniques of interdisciplinary education.

New Curriculum and Textbook

• In 2003, GEA will publish a groundbreaking new curriculum for a one year course of study on sustainability and the environment for 8th/9th grade students across China. This curriculum is the result of a truly unprecedented collaboration between three Chinese ministries: the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Education, and the State Environmental Protection Agency. This collaboration has been organized by GEA-China to advance thinking about development within the country. This new 8th/9th grade, one year, comprehensive course is designed to help students place China in the global context while it invites them to connect locally and regionally. We intend to give students an opportunity to recognize the LEGACY they are receiving from their parents and grandparents, and to proactively determine what their own legacy will be.