EDA3046 Exam Oct/Nov 2011

Section A

Question 1
ANSWERS:

1.1) 2

1.2) 4

1.3) 2

1.4)3

1.5) 2

1.6) 1

1.7) 3

1.8) 2

1.9) 2

1.10) 4
 (10)

. A dictionary definition described the environment long ago as surrounding.

Environment can also be defined as the surroundings or conditions in which a
person, animal, or plant lives or operate. Various authors have made holistic
representations of the environment. The environment is more than just nature.
Everything around us is part of our environment (dams, savannas, tarred roads,
schools, mines, art festivals, cultivated fields, rock formations and human
fellowship). We must decide how important it is for us to conserve it.

Environment is described as the aggregate of surrounding things, conditions or

influences ...the state of being environed. The verb environ can be described as
to form a circle or ring around. The circle or ring includes everything around us
for example: nature, political, social, economic, biophysical, ethical, cultural,
agricultural, and aesthetic phenomena.

The space created by personalities influences perceptions, attitudes and

behaviour in the environment. Aggression, love, helpfulness et cetera influence
peoples attitudes towards the environment and others. The environment is not
just nature.
3.1) Values

a) Ethical rules
We should always behave towards the environment in a way that
satisfies our own needs.
We should always behave towards the environment in a way that
satisfies the needs of other people.
In our treatment of the environment, we should always consider the
needs of future generations.
We should always treat the environment in a way that the needs of
species other than humans are satisfied.
Adequate nutrition, hygiene, a safe habitat, shelter and medical care
are basic requirements for need satisfaction.
Satisfaction of the needs of other species, populations and ecosystems
should not interfere with the satisfaction of basic human needs.

b) Ecological rules
The use of exhaustible resources should be stopped entirely.
We should not harvest more agricultural products and other products
from an ecosystem than the ecosystem can produce.
 We should not tax ecosystems that process waste products naturally
beyond their capacity.
The production of waste products that are harmful to life, such as
nuclear waste, should be prohibited.
Industrial activities should not be permitted in places where they
interfere with human needs.
We should conserve as many kinds of organisms as possible, but not
artificially.
We should manage technological systems carefully and only replace
them if we find another system that is more economical in terms of
materials, energy and space.
Ecosystems should be continuously monitored.
Population growth should be limited.

c) Social rules
Economic policy should give guidelines for preserving the quality of
the environment
The per capita consumption of resources should be reduced, that is,
each individual should use less of the scarce resources.
Prices should reflect ecological realities. In other words, products that
are unfriendly to the environment should be more expensive than
those that are more environmentally friendly.
The use of private motor transport in urban areas should be restricted.
Cars should be designed to use less energy.
People should not buy products in disposable packaging.
People should not dump garbage in vacant areas.
People should be forbidden to have more than two children per family.

Skills

a) Physical skills
Physical skills have to do with psychomotor abilities. Environmental educators
must be able to teach learners certain motor skills so that they can apply
them in practice.

b) Cognitive skills
A leading scientist in the field of cognitive skills defines thought as the
operating skill through which intelligence acts on experience. A person who
uses cognitive skills to solve problems will not simply accept the first solution
that comes to mind as the correct one, but will apply energy to justify the
choice of that solution.
c) Communication skills
Some of the important communication skills that need to be mastered include
Conveying ideas and views on the environment via various media
Presenting clear and succinct solutions to environmental problems
Investigating environmental issues and communicating the results with
relevant stakeholders
Presenting information orally and in writing

d) Numeracy skills
Some of the important numeracy skills that need to be mastered include
Collecting, classifying and analysing data
Interpreting statistics

e) Study skills
Some of the important study skills that need to be mastered include
Searching for, analysing, interpreting and evaluating information
about the environment from different sources
Planning a project
Studying environmental issues from different angles

f) Problem-solving skills
Identifying the causes and results of environmental problems
Forming considered opinions and making balanced judgements on
environmental issues
Developing divergent thinking
Considering and predicting the effects of certain actions relating to the
environment
Selecting, designing and implementing appropriate actions relating to
the environment
Evaluating, clarifying and adapting values in the light of fresh
information
Taking decisions on actions relevant to environmental issues
Evaluating action taken in terms of how it affects the attainment and/or
preservation of a dynamic balance between quality of life and quality
of environment

g) Personal and social skills

Cooperate with other to improve the environment
Take individual and group responsibility for the environment
Use all the different sense organs for the study of all kinds of
environments
Identify, analyse and make value judgments about the environment
Develop the political qualities needed for active citizenship
 Promote responsible individual and collective behaviour towards the
local community, the world community and the biophysical
environment
Bring about and accept change

h) Information and technical skills

Collecting data and feeding the data into a data base
Simulating or duplicating a study in which information technology is
used

3.2 Human needs in the environment

a) Physiological needs
Humans utilise the environment in various ways to satisfy their needs.
Farming activities, for instance, are aimed at providing humans with food, but
these activities have a definite impact on the environment.

b) Need for self-preservation and security

Apart from physical security, humans nowadays also focus on health. Shelter
whether in a squatter camp or in an upmarket neighbourhood, serves as a
means to protect oneself from the assaults of nature and other humans. This
need also relates to the aim of some individuals to conserve plants, animals,
soil and natural resources. The satisfaction of these needs may have a
considerable impact on the environment.

c) The need for self-respect, pride and praise

Humans have a tendency to see themselves as more important than others
and this may cause them to do things for their own gain. In making others
aware of their presence, they bolster their self-image and pride in
themselves.

d) The need for material wealth and the aesthetic

Material wealth relates to the need for safety as well as to ego needs.
Members of a community usually have a high regard for people who are
wealthy. People have different aesthetic needs some like beautiful paintings,
while others place a high premium on the beauty of nature.

e) Need for affection, love and the emotional

Love and affection can be coupled with the need for security, because people
will protect their relatives and friends out of love.

f) Need for information

People want to know what is happening around them irrespective of
whether it is an environmental, political or financial issue. The new trend of
 transparency is related to this. The media are often used to provide
information to people and environmental educator also o has an important
role to play in this regard.

g) The need for entertainment and adventure

People have different needs for entertainment. Most people have a desire for
adventure, because it satisfies their curiosity. People usually like new
experiences and ideas. The need for the aesthetic also plays a role.

h) Ideological needs
Each person has his or her own opinions and views about matters, and these
may concur or differ from those of others. A person should make allowances
for differences in ideological needs and be sensitive about those differences.

Education is the right to all; we are all learners and educators. All the
learners from the school as well as the teachers have now learned that
everyone can make their own garden to help increase the amount of food
that they can have.
Environmental education ,whether formal, non-formal or informal,
should be grounded in critical and innovative thinking in any place
or time , promoting the transformation and construction of society.
The learners and teachers from the school learn to think outside the box and
understand that they dont have to rely on other people to get fresh
vegetables daily, but with hard work they can have their own fresh
vegetables daily.
Environmental education is both individual and collective . It aims to
develop local and global citizenship with respect for self-
 determination and the sovereignty of nations. The learners will learn
how to create and substain their own organic vegetable garden. They will also
be able to tell their community and show them how to create their own
garden that will help a larger community deal with food shortage.
Environmental education is not neutral but is value-based. It is an
act for social transformation. By creating their own garden the learners
will have learned how to be able to feed themselfes and their families with
their own fresh produce.
Environmental education should treat critical global issues, their
causes and interrelationship in a systematic approach and within
their social and historical contexts. Fundamental issues in relation
to development and the environment such as pollution ,health,
peace, human rights, democracy, hunger, degradation of flora and
fauna, should be perceived in this manner. By creating a garden to eat
from this will treat the issue of hunger. And if more people create gardens
more people will have more food available, and thus treating the hunger
issue more intensively.
Learner-centredness

The methods should make provision for the full ,active participation of learners.
Methods such as investigation and problem solving may be appropriate.

Being activity based

The method should make provision for activities in which all learners can take part.
Games can be used to good effect. Cooperative group work is particularly suited to
activities.

Relevance to learners.

Any chosen method should be applicable to the learners needs and interests. It
should relate to the learners; prior knowledge.

Utilisation of the environment

Almost any environmental learning can take place by utalising the environment
around the learners.

Cross-curricular application

Almost any environmental issue can be taught across different learning areas.
Projects for instance may deal with environmental issues of a holistic nature such as
hazardous waste.
6.1. The greenhouse effect refers to the natural warming effect that certain gases
have on the temperature of the earths atmosphere under normal conditions.
Sunlight passes through the earths atmosphere and reaches the ground. Once it
strikes and warms the earths surface, long-wave radiation is given off and
reflected back into the atmosphere. Gases in the upper atmosphere, particularly
carbon dioxide, form a protective blanket that traps the outgoing long-wave
radiation in order to keep the earth warm enough to sustain life. This is called the
greenhouse effect, because it has some similarities to the way in which the
glass of a greenhouse keeps the air inside warmer than outside. Without the
greenhouse effect, the earth would be a frozen, lifeless planet with an average
temperature of 16 degrees Celsius.

Over the last few decades human population growth and increased industrial
activity have led to greater pollution. As a result of this, the concentration of
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased dramatically. This has led to an
intensification of the natural greenhouse effect, and the discovery that the earth
is warming up. Global warming refers to the gradual increase of the average air
temperature in the earths lower atmosphere.

6.2. Same as assignment 2. Choose 3 subjects like natural science, math, art and
culture.