Education Commons^™

Standards Of Best Practices Environmental Education & Interpretation Professionals, Dan Allison, Katharine August, Allison Brody, Margie Klein, Amy Page, Michelle Riter, Athena Sparks, Dan Wegner

Education about the Environment

This document provides guidelines about the knowledge and skills needed to provide effective Environmental Education and Interpretation (EE&I) experiences in the state of Nevada. Effective experiences not only further the mission of the organization but also inspire understanding, appreciation, and stewardship of Southern Nevada’s environment.

Standards of Best Practices for Nevada Environmental Education & Interpretation (NEE&I) Professionals is a guide for providers working at public lands, nature centers, museums, zoos, aquaria, schools, and all nature and heritage-rich places. It is designed to help NEE&I providers develop and implement the highest quality experiences for all possible audiences. It is a tool …

Experiential Programs: Best Practice: Effective Programs Are Experiential, Allison Brody

Education about the Environment

“Teaching by pouring in” refers to a medieval belief that we could teach people by drilling holes in the human head and, with a funnel, pour information into the brain. We laugh at this idea, yet we still see educators and interpreters use passive instruction to “fill up” the brains of their audiences.

Think back on how you learned to ride a bicycle. You took an action, saw the consequences of that action, and chose either to continue or to take a new and different action. What allowed you to master the new skill of riding a bicycle was your …

Age-Appropriate Programs: Best Practice: Effective Programs Are Designed To Match The Developmental Stages Of The Learner, Daphne Sewing, Allison Brody

Education about the Environment

Children and adults learn in completely different ways. Too often, however, children’s programs are developed from an adult’s perspective, rather than that of a child. The best children’s environmental education programs are designed with children’s abilities, developmental needs, interests, and learning styles in mind. Different programs should be created to appropriately meet the needs of different age groups and their respective cognitive development, attention spans, coordination abilities, interests, and ways of interacting with nature.