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Bioregional Outdoor Education Project

Bioregional Outdoor Education Project. A Program of the Four Corners School of Outdoor Education www.boep.org. BOEP Mission:. “Teachers and Students studying their roles in the natural and cultural heritage of the Colorado Plateau”. BOEP CO and UT Teachers 2007.

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Bioregional Outdoor Education Project

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  1. Bioregional Outdoor Education Project A Program of the Four Corners School of Outdoor Education www.boep.org

  2. BOEP Mission: “Teachers and Students studying their roles in the natural and cultural heritage of the Colorado Plateau”

  3. BOEP CO and UT Teachers 2007

  4. Four Corners School Achievements • Served some 27,000 participants • Provided over 37,000 hours of youth and adult service on public lands • 87,000 hours of student/youth education • 196,000 hours of adult education • 30,000 hours of teacher training • Awarded 200 teacher scholarships • Repaired or rehabilitated hundreds of miles of roads and trails • Worked to protect over 20 archaeological sites

  5. BOEP Awards • 2001 Governor of Utah’s Medal for Science and Technology • 2001 NAAEE award for Outstanding Service to Environmental Education at a Regional Level • 2001 NPR E-Town E-Chievement Award • 2002 Olympics Committee Spirit of the Land Environmental Education Award • 2003 Utah Environmental Educator of the Year • 2005 Utah Environmental Education Program of the Year and Educator of the Year

  6. Bioregional Outdoor Education Project (BOEP) Mission: To promote understanding and appreciation of the Colorado Plateau through core-based, interdisciplinary, experiential curricula in grades K-8 through a Roving Teacher Education and Mentoring delivery system.

  7. BOEP is not designed to be MORE work for teachers. It is designed to educate teachers how to teach the core curriculum in a hands-on, inquiry-based way, using the outdoors as a classroom. Engaging, Not Time Consuming

  8. Deliverables of BOEP The Bioregional Outdoor Education Project delivers a two-year program of teacher mentoring and support activities, including training by Four Corners School staff in outdoor classroom management and teaching techniques.

  9. Specific BOEP Deliverables Over each two year period • 2 teachers per year (four per school) attend a six-day Summer Institute that allows teachers to explore the resources of the Colorado Plateau firsthand, a one-day weekend winter workshop, and a three-day river trip in June or July of the following year. (They are paid $75/person/day stipend for all these trainings) ; • 3-10 Graduate credits available from the Colorado School of Mines/Teacher Enhancement Program; • 2 in-services per school each year; • 2 regional workshops per year (open to all teachers on Colorado Plateau/ like Project WILD); • Bi-monthly Regional Coordinator meetings/ mentorings/ trainings for each school during the school year.

  10. Deliverables Con’t • A Bioregional Outdoor Educator Certification Program, which they earn a $1,000 stipend for completing, plus credit; • A $2,000/year for each school for Resource Center materials; • A Colorado Plateau Lesson Book for each Summer Institute teacher and a searchable on-line lesson database; • The development of each school’s curriculum and materials in partnership with teaching peers and BOEP staff;

  11. Deliverables Con’t • Three newsletters/year, a website, and one regional conference/year; • A formal yearly evaluation of the program; • Ongoing mentoring and follow-up after each two-year cycle.

  12. Eight Year BOEP Program 1999- 2007 Has served these districts: - Montrose School District; Montrose, CO - Ganado Public Schools; Ganado, AZ - Shiprock Bureau of Indian Affairs; Shiprock, NM - South Sanpete School District; Manti, UT - Grand Junction School District; Grand Junction, CO - Washington County School District; St. George, UT - Kayenta Public Schools; Kayenta, AZ - Tuba City BIA Schools; Tuba City, AZ - Eastern Navajo Agency BIA; CrownPoint, NM - Emery County School District, Huntington, UT - Chinle Public and BIA Schools, Chinle AZ -Durango Public Schools, Durango, CO

  13. BOEP Program Schools Con’t • Mancos School District, Mancos, CO • Cortez School District, Cortez, CO • Grand County School District, Moab, UT • Piute County School District, Junction, UT • Garfield County School District, Panguitch, UT • Western Navajo BIA, Tuba City, AZ

  14. Outcomes on Teachers of EIC In a national study, Using the Environment as an Integrating Concept (EIC). (Lieberman & Hoody, 1998)it was proven that theTeacher Retention Benefits of EIC are that it: 1. Increases engagement in enthusiasm; 2. Improves interactions with students and colleagues; 3. Expands opportunities for professional development and personal growth; 4. Creates greater willingness to use innovative instructional strategies and; 5. Improves administrative support.

  15. Navajo Winter String Games

  16. Year-end Survey • I feel renewed energy toward teaching because of participation in this program. 4.3 • I feel more confident about teaching about the Colorado Plateau because of this program. 4.3 • The program staff has been informative. 4.7

  17. Mentor Teachers Post In-service Survey • I think that the participating teachers will seek my help and support. 4.4 • The sense of community in our school is strong. 4.3 • I believe that a collaborative learning and a learning community is being built in our school around BOEP concepts. 4.3 • The overall program was successful for me. 4.

  18. Observing the Natural World…

  19. Student Outcomes of EIC Student learning benefits of the Environment as an Integrating Concept (Lieberman & Hoody, 1998) Because Elementary classrooms are multi-subject, across-the-curriculum approaches to learning have been found to be highly effective in raising competency in learning.

  20. EIC Student Outcomes Con’t It has been reported that the integration of an outdoor education program accomplishes: 1. Better performance on standardized measures of academic achievement in reading, writing, math, science and social studies; 2. Reduce discipline and classroom management problems; 3. Increased engagement and enthusiasm for learning; and 4. Greater pride and ownership in accomplishments.

  21. Students Outcomes From 4 Years of BOEP Pilot Program Results from surveys of the participating teachers: 1. 60% of students have been much more engaged with the learning process through this integrated approach to learning and critical thinking. 2. 60% of students demonstrated increased understanding of scientific topics as a result of this project as evidenced by better grades and increased motivation/participation. 3. 85% of students have demonstrated increased participation in learning activities and are engaged in the lessons they are taught.

  22. The Strengths of BOEP • A collaborative endeavor – teachers and administrators work together in planning and implementation. • A long term commitment to the schools with many opportunities for continued staff training. • Training’s are mainly School-based. • Many training’s are accredited to allow teachers to earn pay raises. • Tied to state core curriculums and district goals. • Mentoring helps improve teacher retention, improve attitudes and instructional strategies, and improves teaching skills.

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