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Using the Internet to Teach Environment Education Program Evaluation
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| Presenter(s):
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| Janice Easton,
University of Florida,
jeaston@ufl.edu
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| Lyn Fleming,
Research Evaluation and Development Services,
fleming@cox.net
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| Abstract:
Applied Environmental Education Program Evaluation (AEEPE) is an online course offered through the Environmental Education and Training Partnership at the University of Wisconsin. Over the last 4 years, approximately 250 non-formal environmental educators from 46 states and 13 countries have enrolled in this 12-week course. Surveys of former course participants have shown significant increases in the knowledge of program evaluation as well as improvements made to over 100 programs serving more than 125,000 people across nation. This presentation will highlight the development of AEEPE and the challenges associated with teaching environmental education program evaluation in an online format. Some of the challenges include striking a balance between evaluation theory and practice, accommodating the schedules of working professionals, and creating a social learning experience for each semester’s cohort of students.
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Uncharted Waters: Developing Guidelines for Program Evaluation at the Environmental Protection Agency
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| Presenter(s):
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| Britta Johnson,
United States Environmental Protection Agency,
johnson.britta@epa.gov
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| Abstract:
EPA is continually working to increase its performance and program evaluation capacity for all Agency programs. A step in this effort taken in 2008 is the development of evaluation guidelines for individual EPA partnership programs, a set of programs that address environmental protection outside of the traditional regulatory framework. In the nascent world of environmental program evaluation these guidelines represent the first such document produced for a federal environmental program and likely for any environmental program. The guidelines are intended to introduce partnership program staff, who have little or no evaluation experience, to the practice of program evaluation, to assist them with program evaluation planning, priority setting and methodology, and to walk them through the steps necessary to produce rigorous evaluations of their programs. This paper highlights the process of guidelines development undertaken at EPA and the challenges faced in attempting to provide direction relevant to programs of great diversity.
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My Environmental Education Resource Assistant (MEERA): A Web-Based Resource for Improving Evaluations of Environmental Education Programs
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| Presenter(s):
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| Michaela Zint,
University of Michigan,
zintmich@umich.edu
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| Abstract:
My Environmental Education Resource Assistant” or “MEERA” (www.meera.snre.umich.edu) is an experiment funded by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Forest Service to support the evaluation efforts of environmental educators. MEERA provides step by step guidance for conducting evaluations of EE programs as well as other relevant information and resources such as details on over 20 EE program evaluations. MEERA is different from other clearinghouse type web sites that offer evaluation resources. For example, MEERA indicates whether resources are most appropriate for educators with “beginner,” “intermediate” or “advanced” evaluation experience. MEERA was designed and developed based on needs assessments and formative evaluations involving interviews, focus groups, and reviews. Currently an outcome evaluation is being conducted to assess the extent to which MEERA is able to help educators conduct quality evaluations of their EE programs. This presentation will describe MEERA’s features and focus on the methods and results of MEERA’s evaluations.
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Developing Evaluation Guidelines for the United States Environmental Protection Agency's "Partnership Programs": The Challenge, the Process, and the Progress
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| Presenter(s):
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| Terell Lasane,
Environmental Protection Agency,
lasane.terell@epa.gov
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| Abstract:
In 2008, the Evaluation Support Division at the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) initiated a ground-breaking project for environmental program evaluation: the development of evaluation guidelines for individual EPA partnership programs. “Partnership programs” are generally defined as programs designed to deliver measurable environmental results by motivating a wide variety of participants (companies, organizations, communities, and individuals) to adoption of good environmental practices. These new guidelines are intended to introduce partnership program staff, who have little or no evaluation experience, to the practice of program evaluation, to assist them with program evaluation planning, priority setting and methodology, and to walk them through the steps necessary to produce rigorous evaluations of their programs. This paper highlights the guideline development process undertaken at EPA and the challenges faced in attempting to provide guidelines relevant to environmental programs that are diverse in terms of size, maturity, program type, and the tools they employ.
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