Karen Hollweg

Professional Title
Science and Environmental Education Consultant
About Me (Bio)
Karen S. Hollweg is a consultant to several national science and environmental education projects and 2008-2009 President of the North American Association for Environmental Education. Much of her 40-year career, which began as a classroom teacher in public middle schools and senior high schools, has been dedicated to bringing together the resources and expertise of schools, community-based organizations, scientists and higher education institutions to support teachers, students, and citizens of all ages in pursuing inquiry-based learning and addressing real-world issues. She was a district curriculum and instruction specialist and a Principal Investigator for seven different NSF-funded Elementary, Secondary and Informal Education (ESIE) projects, and has led nationwide teacher enhancement, curriculum development, and community-based projects. At the National Academies’ National Research Council she was responsible for the dissemination and implementation of the National Science Education Standards and directed professional development initiatives on inquiry and on the use of formative assessment for state science supervisors, school district leaders, and classroom teachers. As Fellow with the Institute for Learning at the University of Pittsburgh, she designed and led professional development for urban school district leaders. Karen has authored and edited books on team-based professional development, understanding urban ecosystems, program evaluation, and the influence of the national standards. She has served on many NSF panels and several national advisory boards, as well as state and local organizations, and has extensive experience recruiting and training volunteers for local projects. In 2007, she was awarded an Indo-American Environmental Leadership Fulbright to study environmental education for sustainability. Karen is currently a member of the Environmental Literacy Expert Group for OECD-PISA 2015 and leads a Climate Change Education Professional Learning Community for the EPA-funded EEcapacity Project with Cornell University.

Keywords
North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE)
11/15/2010

This workshop developed a new, comprehensive, research-based framework for assessing environmental literacy. By bringing together, for the first time, experts in research, assessment, and evaluation from the fields of science education, environmental education, and related social science fields, this project accessed and built its work on the literature and the insights of many disciplines.