Nationally, the performance of students at all grade levels in science is declining. The improvement of science education is consistently viewed as a top priority by both scientists and educators. Many states include guidelines for science education at all grade levels that emphasize inquiry-based learning and the process of science. This type of learning has been shown to improve basic science understanding and to engage and excite students, and often results in increased retention of knowledge, better student behavior and improved critical thinking skills.

One attempt to improve local educational opportunities includes development of outdoor classrooms and wildlife habitats, many of which are certified through organizations such as the Georgia Wildlife Federation. However, despite the documented effectiveness of the use of schoolyard habitats in teaching science, many teachers lack the confidence and experience to effectively utilize these areas. A shortage of teachers who have hands-on experience in environmental education and field techniques is clearly evident.

In response to these deficiencies and needs, and to assist K-12 teachers in developing new strategies in their teaching in response to these educational priorities, the Biology faculty of Oxford College of Emory University, developed a two-week summer workshop in environmental education. First taught in 1992 and certified for 6 continuing education credits, the goal has been to teach principles of ecology with hands-on experiences using current laboratory and field techniques for teaching and investigating ecology and environmental science. Instruction emphasizes learning as a process of scientific inquiry; participants ask questions, pose hypotheses and test their hypotheses using schoolyards as outdoor laboratories. Having gained a deepened experience with science and taken on the role of scientists, teachers leave the Institute ready to engage students in "doing", not just "viewing", science.

The result of our many years of programming since 1991 demonstrates that the most significant impacts of this workshop are the changes in teacher attitudes, increased confidence in teachers’ abilities to teach science, and their commitment to using hands-on techniques in the outdoor classroom and investigative approaches in the teaching of science. Particularly impressive has been the cross-disciplinary use of science in areas such as mathematics, literature, social studies and art. The Oxford Institute for Environmental Education has provided summer classes for more than 250 elementary and secondary school teachers in the South who have sought to enhance the environmental curricula for their students. Named in 2001 as the Georgia Wildlife Federation’s Conservation Educators of the Year, the organization’s highest honor, OIEE provides teacher/participants with the tools to positively affect the environmental education of hundreds of elementary and secondary students.