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Residential Environmental Education Program Evaluation Practices and Needs
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| Presenter(s):
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| Nicholas Bourke, Auburn Montgomery, nbourke@aum.edu
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| Abstract:
This study presents results of a survey that examined the current program evaluation practices of residential environmental education centers and the needs of their directors in regard to program evaluations. Presently, a lack of quality evaluation has been noted in the area of environmental education. This is problematic given that evaluation is critical to the design of educational experiences. Survey respondents (n=114) were program directors of residential environmental education centers across the United States. The survey provided information detailing the program evaluation practices and needs of the center directors and their level of satisfaction with their present program evaluations.
Analysis of survey data revealed that residential centers evaluate programs using a variety of methods, but lack effective methods of evaluating important center goals. This study portrays the multi-dimensional needs residential centers would like to address in their processes of evaluation, and their need for assistance to improve their evaluation practices.
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Evaluating a Wildlife Curriculum: Lessons Learned
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| Presenter(s):
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| Jesse Brant, Littlestown High School, brantj@lasd.k12.pa.us
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| Ewing John, Penn State University, jce122@psu.edu
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| Rama Radhakrishna, Penn State University, brr100@psu.edu
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| Abstract:
Developing a wildlife curriculum is both a challenging and a time consuming effort. Determining the appropriate format is critical to its successful implementation. The need for developing a Wildlife Notes curriculum emerged in order to increase knowledge and improve results in both the Envirothon Wildlife Category and [State] Science Exam. Through this effort, environmental educators across the state will have access to the curriculum that will help them educate students about the subject of wildlife and environmental science. In this paper presentation, we describe the process we used to evaluate the curriculum that was developed to meet the needs of [State] Environmental education standards. First, we describe how the curriculum was put together—proposing the idea to stakeholders, developing the curriculum, and testing the curriculum for content validity. Then we discuss the procedures used to evaluate the curriculum and final editing of the curriculum after incorporating suggestions from the evaluation.
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Front-End Evaluation of Audiences' Prior Knowledge, Values and Belief Systems: Informing the Development of Effective Vehicles for Increasing Climate Literacy
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| Presenter(s):
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| Susan Burger, David Heil & Associates Inc, sburger@davidheil.com
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| Gina Magharious, David Heil & Associates Inc, gmagharious@davidheil.com
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| Lauren Russell, David Heil & Associates Inc, lrussell@davidheil.com
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| Kasey McCracken, Oregon Health & Science University, mccrackk@ohsu.edu
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| Abstract:
This paper describes a promising approach to increasing the relevance and utility of front-end evaluation for informing the development of educational programs, products, and services. Specifically, the evaluation addressed the question of how can educators best communicate with their audiences to promote climate literacy. Using the 'Six Americas' profiles identified by The Yale Project on Climate Change (Leiserowitz, et al., 2009) the evaluation team conducted front-end evaluation of the values, beliefs and knowledge of science center visitors about topics related to climate change. Continuing formative and summative evaluations of implemented projects addressed the efficacy of using the front-end data to promote effective approaches to engaging the public on the issue of climate change.
Leiserowitz, A., Maibach, E., and Roser-Renouf, C. (2009). Global warming's six Americas: An audience segmentation analysis. Yale Project on Climate Change and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Research.
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