Abstract
When looking at the issue of learning about environmental problems many difficulties stem from their inherent abstractness which causes difficulties because humans have a problem understanding information that is not directly perceivable. We primarily create our lives on perceivable information and by imitating other people. This paper will examine the limitations of the human mind and it will discuss environmental problems that we can't grasp, but on the other hand it will discuss our cognitive capacities and the kind of tools we can use, and how these might be handled by educators. The tools discussed are: models and miniatures, metaphors and analogies, tracking, key questions, and (participatory) stories. The cognitive science approach is just one way of looking at the issue but it can be useful when dealing with educational challenges.
Highlights
Most environmental problems today are abstract and embedded (e.g. Holmberg, 1995; Kollmuss & Agyeman, 2002; Jensen, 2009a)
When looking at the issue of learning about environmental problems many difficulties stem from their inherent abstractness which causes difficulties because humans have a problem understanding information that is not directly perceivable
This paper will examine the limitations of the human mind and it will discuss environmental problems that we can't grasp, but on the other hand it will discuss our cognitive capacities and the kind of tools we can use, and how these might be handled by educators
Summary
Most environmental problems today are abstract and embedded (e.g. Holmberg, 1995; Kollmuss & Agyeman, 2002; Jensen, 2009a). The purpose of this paper is to look at our potential and limitation as humans, and especially children, when it comes to understanding abstract knowledge related to environmental issues. What we see here is that our continuing everyday living will have effects on other people and on the planet’s capacity to support life, even if we do not know in detail what forms these take, and how we can change our way of living to mitigate these This is not a very positive picture but the paper attempts to show why that is and how we might handle it. The following parts of the paper will examine our cognitive limits and capacities, and identify the cognitive structures and components that might help us understand problems related to environmental issues. In what ways can we explore environmental problems with the use of cognitive tools? The guiding questions are: What are our cognitive limitations and weaknesses? How can we deal with them? What are our cognitive possibilities and strengths? How can we use them? How do we best learn? How can we create instructional processes based on the way we learn? What kind of cognitive tools are there? How can we use and combine them? How is all this related to the understanding of environmental problems? In what ways can we explore environmental problems with the use of cognitive tools? The last question is discussed in the last section of this paper
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
