Advancing EE Practice | Civic Ecology Lab

Advancing Environmental Education Practice

Duration: 4-week online course (Jan 5–30, 2026).
Certificate: Cornell University certificate, and 25 professional development hours.
Instructor: Learn with professor Marianne Krasny, a leading scholar in environmental education.
Textbook: Explore the "Applied Environmental Education Practice" textbook, free with the course.
Models: Move beyond the simple "knowledge, attitude, behavior" models.
Outcomes: Integrate new outcomes in your program, such as identity, efficacy, nature connectedness, sense of place, youth development, and collective action.

Why take this course?

Environmental and sustainability educators are often asked, “What difference does your program make?” This course helps you:

Clarify what success looks like for learners and your organization.
Explain how change happens in environmental education using theory of change and related frameworks.
Align activities, outcomes, and evaluation so your program fits together.
Earn a Cornell University certificate documenting 25 professional development hours that can support promotion and performance review.
Connect with a global community committed to outcomes-based, research-informed practice.

What you will do

Using your own program (or a program idea), you will:

Specify outcomes for individuals, organizations, communities, and ecosystems.
Build a theory of change for your program, and align activities and learning experiences with outcomes and evaluation.
Present your program in mentoring workshops and online discussions for feedback from Professor Krasny and peers.
Produce a short final project summarizing your theory of change and practical next steps.

Course experience

Format – Asynchronous modules (videos, readings, and discussion prompts) plus optional live webinars and mentoring workshops.
Optional webinars – Tuesdays, 9:00–10:00 a.m. New York time, with invited speakers.
Interactive workshops – Wednesdays, 9:00–10:00 a.m. New York time, with Professor Krasny facilitation and participant-identified topics; recorded.
Workload – About 6–7 hours per week for 3 weeks, plus ~5 hours for the final project (about 25 hours total).
Learning approach – Social learning, reflection, and practical application using course materials, selected textbook chapters, and global participant case examples.

Is this course for me?

This course is designed for:

School and university educators building environmental, sustainability, or climate courses, units, and co-curricular programs.
Nonprofit, nature center, and community educators leading programs in parks, zoos, aquariums, gardens, museums, and similar settings.
Conservation professionals in government and NGOs advancing environmental, climate, or sustainability initiatives who want clearer logic models and outcomes.
Graduate students and early-career professionals seeking a stronger outcomes-focused foundation.
Volunteers and parents supporting environmental and sustainability learning locally.

Meet your instructor

Professor Marianne Krasny (Cornell University, Department of Natural Resources and the Environment) is the lead instructor. She is a widely cited scholar in environmental education and civic ecology and the author of multiple books, including the textbook used in this course.

The course is offered by the Cornell Civic Ecology Lab, with support from researchers, graduate students, and teaching assistants who help facilitate discussions, workshops, and participant support.

Tuition

We use tiered pricing to keep the course accessible to educators worldwide while covering course development and facilitation costs. A limited number of competitive, need-based scholarships will be available.

$90 – Standard fee – Participants residing in the United States, Canada, European countries, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Mainland China, Taiwan, Australia, and New Zealand.
$20 – Reduced fee – Participants residing in all other countries.
Competitive scholarship – Apply by 11:59pm ET, December 30, 2025 (awards announced on January 3, 2026). Complete this Word document before registering for the course. You will save this file as PDF, and upload it as part of the online registration.

Credential

Participants who complete the course requirements (weekly work plus final project) will receive a Cornell University certificate in Advanced Environmental Education (PDF) documenting 25 professional development hours.

Questions?

Contact our course administrator at CivicEcology@cornell.edu and include “AEEP” in the subject line.

We look forward to learning with you and to supporting your efforts to design environmental education programs that create meaningful outcomes for people, communities, and the environment.