#979: A Tale of Two Rivers: Pedagogical Implications Learned Through the Co-Design of an Environmental Engineering Curriculum

As the impacts of climate change intensify, it is critical to support high school students in developing Critical Science Agency (CSA) and Systems Thinking (ST) to leverage science learning to address environmental concerns in their local communities and beyond. This study is part of a project involving a collaboration between university researchers, informal science educators, and high school students and teachers to codesign a place- and community-based environmental engineering curriculum. We explore pedagogical implications surfaced through the analysis of teacher and student codesign experiences and reflections that focus on community-embedded and relational environmental learning. Findings highlight the importance of physical presence to support critical and informed socio-ecological understanding of place.