Professional Development Needs of Formal, Informal, and Nonformal Educators—A National Study

1. Professional Development Needs of Formal, Informal, and Nonformal Educators—A National Study Dr. M. Lynette Fleming Research, Evaluation and Development Services Dr. Gus Medina EETAP Project Manager University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Welcome

2. Need for the Study Purpose: Identify priorities, gaps, and work needed to advance EE and conservation education in the next 5 years Results: Shared with EE community to guide professional development efforts, promote partnerships and prevent duplication Ensure EETAP’s work addresses current needs of the EE field

3. The Study Design Planning and literature review Individual interviews of 24 EE leaders 10 focus groups with 50 EE practitioners Online questionnaire with 325 respondents Sample size = 1000 37% response rate

4. Individual Interview and Focus Group Analyses 89 professional development topics 6 themes: Process of Environmental Education Evaluation Audiences and Partners Business of EE Content Knowledge EE Profession

5. Questionnaire Analyses Content analyses of qualitative data Descriptive statistics—frequencies, means, percentages and ranks Inferential statistics

6. Data Analysis Overall Formal educators and informal/nonformal educators Analyzed by: Region Type of organization or agency Size of audience served annually Years in the profession

7. FORMAL EDUCATORS

8. Teachers’ Needs:Professional Development Priorities 128 Pre-K–college educators in formal education systems Typical profile: Non-Hispanic white 11-20 years experience Teaches through a university or college Reaches 100–199 participants annually

9. Delivery Preferences Specific topic Workshop setting One day Summer Experiential or hands-on methods

10. Delivery Preferences

11. Delivery Preferences

12. Delivery Preferences

13. Recommendations Based on Teachers’ Priorities Create opportunities for renewal and reflection Build relationships Improve skills Transform knowledge into practice

14. Create Opportunities for Renewal and Reflection Top Need: Professional development that allows educators to share models of what works

15. Helpful Practices for Providers Include sharing models of what works and networking with others for support in professional development offerings Recognize teachers’ expertise and let them share what they know Focus more on contemplative learning

16. Build Relationships Top Need: Professional development that enables educators to involve everyone in local communities in EE

17. Helpful Practices for Providers Plan with the teachers, administrators, and community members who care about EE Study EETAP’s Lessons Learned from the Inclusiveness Initiative Replace random pre-packaged events with programs that engage teachers in planning for ongoing professional development organized around school/community goals

18. Improve Skills Top Need: Professional development that helps teachers integrate EE into K–12 curricula

19. Helpful Practices for Providers Model the teaching methods you are trying to promote Check in periodically to assess additional professional development needs Allow time for in-depth analysis of the best examples of integrated curricula

20. Transform Knowledge into Practice Top Need: Professional development for basic environmental education training

21. Helpful Practices for Providers Plan a strategy of continuous professional development to accommodate new teachers Consider participants’ range of interests and prior knowledge Present diverse experiences that center around the critical activities of environmental teaching

22. INFORMAL AND NONFORMAL EDUCATORS

23. Practitioners’ Needs:Professional Development Priorities 158 educators in informal and nonformal settings Typical profile: Non-Hispanic white 11-20 years experience Reaches 1,000–9,999 participants annually

24. Delivery Preferences Specific topic Workshop setting One day Winter Experiential or hands-on methods

25. Delivery Preferences

26. Delivery Preferences

27. Delivery Preferences

28. Recommendations Based on Practitioners’ Priorities Build relationships with audiences and communities Inspire healthy environmental stewards Create opportunities for renewal, networking, and reflection Translate knowledge of EE foundations to practice

29. Build Relationships with Audiences & Communities Top Overall Need: Professional development that enables practitioners to involve everyone in local communities in EE Top Personal Need: Needs assessment, using evaluation to design or develop EE programs/services to meet audience needs

30. Helpful Practices for Providers Learn to assess needs and build top priority needs into professional development and community action projects Start small and develop reasonable expectations Foster collaboration by building relationships and planning with practitioners and community members who care about EE

31. Inspire Healthy Environmental Stewards Top Need: Professional development to help practitioners comprehend key concepts and teach stewardship

32. Helpful Practices for Providers Present diverse experiences that center around environmental teaching and learning rather than generalities Develop stewardship experiences that involve experiential learning, practice and debriefings Learn more about the movement to reconnect children and families with nature (Children and Nature Network)

33. Create Opportunities for Renewal, Networking, and Reflection Top Need: Professional development that allows practitioners to share models of what works

34. Helpful Practices for Providers Deliver opportunities to share models of what works, work together on common causes, and network with others for support Help create peer learning groups Share online resources regarding informal and nonformal learning from field-based research, evaluation, and psychological and anthropological studies

35. Translate Knowledge of EE Foundations to Practice Top Needs: Professional development for basic EE training Guidelines for Excellence training about EE standards

36. Helpful Practices for Providers Plan continuous professional development to accommodate the needs of new practitioners Incorporate the Guidelines for Excellence into professional development offerings Share current work on environmental literacy

37. Top Professional Development Priorities

38. Implications • Some efforts exist already and can be adapted and adopted on a larger scale • Need partnerships to address gaps and prevent duplication of efforts

39. Implications • Several priorities point to the importance of involving experts in other professions in EE professional development • For example, many of the topics are about audiences and their needs, and involve marketing experts

40. Report Availability • Posted on EETAP website (www.eetap.org)

41. Credits • These reports are part of several professional development activities undertaken by EETAP and funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Education through a Cooperative Agreement with the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point.

42. Credits • Support for the original study, on which these reports are based, was also provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Conservation Training Center.

43. Credits Evaluation Team members: Dr. Annelise Carlton-Hug Dr. Janice Easton Dr. William Hug Dr. Tom Marcinkowski Dr. Marcella Wells

44. Thank You!