National Survey of High School Environmental Science Teachers

High school environmental science teachers play a critical role in preparing students to understand and respond to today’s most pressing environmental challenges. However, not much is known about what they teach or how decisions are made about what they teach. NAAEE, BSCS Science Learning, and The FieldScope Project are collaborating to conduct a national survey to better understand the content of high school environmental science classes in the United States.

The survey covers four core areas:

• Topics and instruction: What content teachers emphasize, how much time is devoted to different environmental science themes, and what kinds of learning experiences students have. 
• Curriculum and decision-making: Where teachers find materials, what influences what they teach, and how much flexibility they have to bring in new content and activities.
• Data collection and analysis: What kinds of data students collect and analyze, what tools and platforms teachers use, and what limits their ability to do more.
• Challenges and needs: What stands in the way of effective environmental science teaching, and what kinds of support, resources, or professional development would make the biggest difference.

The survey is open to any high school teacher who teaches environmental science as a dedicated course, or as a significant component of a broader science class in the United States. It takes approximately 15 minutes to complete. All responses are anonymous and will be reported in aggregate. NAAEE and BSCS Science Learning will publish findings on their websites and share the report with the broader science education community once the study is completed. 

If you’re interested in receiving survey results directly to your inbox or continuing to support this work, through a brief follow-up survey, focus group discussions, materials review, or pilot testing, please sign up using the form below. Your survey responses are not connected to this form in any way.

About the Partners

NAAEE is the leading professional organization for environmental education, advancing the field through research, policy, and educator support across North America and beyond.

The FieldScope Project, managed by BSCS and the University of California Museum of Paleontology, provides support for citizen and community science projects and for educators that use citizen and community science data to support inquiry-based learning.

BSCS Science Learning is a nonprofit research and development organization with more than 65 years of experience improving science education through curriculum development, teacher learning, and education research.