Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Question 1
1.1 Environment
-our surroundings
-a holistic representation of the environment
-environment is more than just nature; everything around us is part of our
environment.
-example is roads, schools, mines, art festivals, rock formations, human
fellowship
1.3 Ecology
-interaction between living organisms and their environment as well as the
interrelationship between living organisms
1.5 Biodiversity
-term used to describe the richness and vast variety of forms of life on earth
-it describes the variety of life in an area, including the number of different
species, genetic wealth within each species, the interrelationships between them
and the natural areas where they occur.
-often defined as the variety among living organisms and the ecological
communities.
1.6 Overpopulation
-excessive population of an area to a point of overcrowding, depletion of natural
resources or environmental deterioration
-excessive population creates environmental stress, each person needs water,
food, clothing, shelter and energy which influences ecosystems directly or
indirectly
-countries all over the world are experiencing large-scale destruction of the
natural environment, while poverty and famine abound in developing countries
1.7 Urbanisation
-physical growth of urban areas as a result of rural migration and even suburban
concentration into cities, particularly the very large ones
-described as a specific condition at a set time.
-perception of life in urban centres and the slow rate of development in rural
areas are reasons for urbanisation in the world
1.8 Desertification
-has come about as a result of land deration, whereby the biological potential of
the soil and its ability to support populations is diminished
-caused by combination of natural and human factors
-natural causes are drought and desiccation of vegetation
-human causes are unsustainable land uses like over cropping, overgrazing,
deforestation and poor irrigation practises.
1.9 Deforestation
-occurs when forests are converted to non-forest uses such as agriculture,
grazing, selective timber cutting and fuel wood collection
-can be described as the permanent destruction of indigenous forests and
woodlands
1.10 Pollution
-unwelcome concentration of substance that are beyond the environments
capacity to handle
-pollution is the poisoning of the environment with anything that reduces its
ability to support life
-pollution occurs when the environment becomes overloaded beyond the
capacity of these normal processing systems
Question 2
I do agree with the allegation that peoples faith can have a powerful influence
on their attitudes towards the environment and the way they treat it
2.1 Christianity
-the predominant approach to the environment was that humans had been
placed in the world to rule creation.
Environment place d at the disposal of human beings and it is their right to
utilise and exploit it at their discretion
-Christians believed that human kind was the most important in the entire
universe
-duty of humans to conquer/rule nature
-believed that everything had been created for the sake of human kind
-environment viewed as something that was removed from human beings not as
something which people form a apart
2.2 Islam
-believe that everything has been created in balance
-humans are part of nature and are also subject to the law of nature which are
dictated by God
-God holds dominion over nature
-Muslim scientists do not feel it necessary to investigate the origin of things: this
has already been declared in Gods work.
-water is very important to Muslims because they believe that God created living
beings out of water
-wild herbivores may be hunted but should be killed in a prescribed way and
every part should be utilized
-it is unlawful to catch an animal for purpose of keeping it in a cage as a pet or to
make money
-wild plants are the joint property of all human beings and may be used for food,
animal feed, building material and medicine
2.3 Buddhism
-an environmentally friendly religion that gives clear rules about the way we
should utilize, protect and appreciate environment
-all living things should be treated with love and respect
-belief in reincarnation for this reason is important to be kind to animals and thus
also learn merits for next life.
-correct behaviour towards living creatures is prescribed in the sense that no
beings that breathe may be killed
-believe that humans are not superior beings elevated above nature
-believe in a nonviolent approach, they dont even simply break off branches
from a tree
2.4 Judaism
-believe that creation is good and that it reflects the grandeur of the creator
-all creatures have been created according to their sorts and each has a purpose
on earth
-the living things form a hierarchy from the lowest to the highest, and man as the
crown of creation
-people are responsible for the active preservation of all life
-humans and the earth are dependent on one another
-creation should be respected and no wastage or destruction may be allowed.
-Jews are permitted to eat curtain types of meat as long as animals are killed in
such a way that they do not have to suffer
-Jewish doctrine stipulated that humans are here on earth to guard over nature
not destroy it.
-life of humans take prejudice over animals
2.5 Hinduism
-believe all living beings are interdependent with one another and the actions of
each affect all others
-have a belief in a world forest, they see the whole world as a forest
-to keep the world as it is the world forest should be retained
-the world forest symbolises totality
-to the Hindus the earth is the peoples mother, who gave them life and who still
cares for and maintains them
-although all living things may not have the same material importance they are
on the same spiritual level and are equally important
-animals are not only placed here to provide human needs they are living
expressions of the spirit.
Question 3
Learner-centeredness
-emphasis is on what the learner should be able to know, understand, do and
become
-the learners do not only gain knowledge, they also understand what they
learn and must be able to develop appropriate skills, attitudes and values
-learners become active participants in the learning process and have to take
a measure of responsibility for their own learners
-learners are able to be allowed to work at their own pace and in different
ways
Learning programs
-consists of sets of learning activities in which the learner becomes involved
while working towards the achievement of specific outcomes
Role of teachers
-teachers play a facilitating roll in the learning process
-teachers have the freedom to develop their own learning programmes based
on the guidelines provided by the education department
Learning activities
-more important than teaching activities, god to provide opportunities for
hands on learning
Content
-Little specific content will be prescribed and the focus will be on achieving
learning outcomes
Assessment
-continuous, variety of assessment strategies
Question 4
4.1 Ecological indicators
-people are deeply connected to the place in which they live, its boundaries,
strengths, weaknesses and rhythms and humans live in synchrony and harmony
within the ecological system
-food comes primarily from local/bioregional sources, is organic, free of
contaminants and provides nutritional balance
-structures are designed to blend with and complement natural environment
-consumption and generation of waste are minimised
-clean renewable water supply available
-human waste used or disposed of to the benefit of the environment and
community
-renewable, non-toxic energy sources are used to heat and power the community
-innovative technologies are neither exploited nor suppressed, but applied for
common good
Question 5
5.1 Active learning
-learners should be active participants in the learning situation in environmental
education
-must be given the opportunity to be critical and creative and to be able to
discover things on their own
-purpose of the learning process must be to enable learners to develop as
individuals and to acquire knowledge, skills, attitudes and values
-projects in which learners are given autonomy and a scenes of ownership
-learners should become good at solving problems confidently and applying
solutions where possible
-active learning requires learners to act on info by transforming it into new
personal meaning
-usually closely associated with constructivist theories
-according to them learning experiences should be designed to facilitate
exploration and elaboration and should be built of experiences