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UHCL professor named national outstanding environmental educator
March 29, 2017 | Jean Rudnicki
Members of Texas Project Learning Tree, or PLT, joined UHCL College of Education faculty
and staff for held a reception for Professor of Instructional Design and Technology
Jana Willis. Willis was named one of five National Outstanding Educators and also
recognized as the Texas Educator of the Year by PLT, a program of the American Forest
Foundation. Pictured are (l-r) are COE Dean Mark D. Shermis, Willis, Texas PTL State
Coordinators Misty Bowie and John Boyette, and COE Associate Professor Brenda Weiser,
coordinator of the Doctor of Education in Curriculum & Instruction with STEM Focus
Program. PLT provides educators with curriculum, professional development, and resources
to integrate environmental education into lesson plans for all grades and subject
areas.
University of Houston-Clear Lake College of Education Professor Jana Willis was selected
as one of five National Outstanding Educators, in addition to being named Texas Educator
of the Year, by the national environmental education program Project Learning Tree
or PLT.
PLT, a program of the American Forest Foundation, provides educators with curriculum, professional development, and resources to integrate environmental education into lesson plans for all grades and subject areas. PLT selects Outstanding Educators for their exceptional teaching skills, commitment to environmental education, and exemplary use of its award-winning curriculum materials.
“Jana and the other Outstanding Educators show the value of engaging, high-quality environmental education,” said Kathy McGlauflin, senior vice president for education at the American Forest Foundation. “They are equipping children and adults with knowledge and skills to meet 21st century needs.”
Willis, professor of instructional design and technology and chair of the Literacy, Library, and Learning Technologies Department, works with undergraduates who will become classroom teachers, as well as providing training to current teachers. She has conducted groundbreaking research on the integration of technology and environmental education to improve teaching skills.
Willis has written numerous publications and made presentations on these topics in Texas and throughout the country. She incorporated PLT into a Survey of Instructional Technologies course that all education majors at UHCL are required to take, which exposes them to environmental education as they launch their teaching careers. Willis has served on national PLT committees dealing with urban and community forestry and with pre-service teaching. She now serves on the Texas PLT Steering Committee and was a board member of the Texas Association of Environmental Education.
Along with four other Outstanding Educators, Willis will be honored at PLT’s 31stInternational Coordinators’ Conference on April 24-27 in Louisville, Ky.