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The Greenprint: Nevada’S Environmental Literacy Plan, Part 1, Education About The Environment

Education about the Environment

President Obama’s “Blueprint for Reform” includes environmental education in part because research has demonstrated significant benefits from environmental education, including impacting student test scores in science, reading, math, and social studies. Additionally, studies have shown that environmental education can reduce discipline problems, increase attendance, and develop leadership and other social skills. Other important benefits include increased engagement, motivation, and enthusiasm for learning. The National Science Board of the National Science Foundation recognizes the importance of environmental education to student learning in their 2000 report, Environmental Science and Engineering for the 21st Century.

The need for environmental literacy arises from the …

Southern Nevada Agency Partnership Conservation Education And Interpretation Strategy, Allison Brody

Education about the Environment

Four federal agencies manage seven million acres of federal lands in Southern Nevada. Increasing demands for use of these public lands has created the need for those agencies to form a unique interagency partnership and to work cooperatively in support of agency missions, protection of natural resources, and public service.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Las Vegas Field Office, National Park Service (NPS) Lake Mead National Recreation Area, the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Desert National Wildlife Refuge Complex, and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Spring Mountains National Recreation Area formed the Southern Nevada Agency Partnership (SNAP) in 1997 …

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 …

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.

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 …

Understanding Multiple Intelligences: Best Practice: Effective Programs Meet The Needs Of People With Diverse Intelligences, Sky Mcclain, Allison Brody

Education about the Environment

Have you ever wondered why someone who is very smart has trouble using a map? Why one person can follow a map, but is confused by written instructions? Howard Gardner devised an explanation with the theory of multiple intelligences, presented in his 1983 book Frames of Mind.

Gardner questioned the idea that intelligence is a single entity and that it can be measured simply using IQ tests. Rather, he argued that each of us perceives and processes information in multiple ways. And our learning styles reflect these multiple intelligences, with some of us learning more easily by seeing, others by …

Clark County School District Attitudes, Perceptions, Barriers, And Desires For Field Trip Experiences, Allison Brody

Education about the Environment

Field trip opportunities are plentiful throughout Clark County, Nevada, including museums, parks, and designated locations within the nearly seven million acres of public lands surrounding the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The majority of these field trip destinations, which this paper will refer to as Informal Education (IE) sites, have education teams that can create and deliver programs and/or tours for classes. Many also offer professional development opportunities for teachers. Although the IE sites are rich in natural and cultural resources and provide abundant opportunities for authentic learning experiences, teachers may not think of some of the sites as prime destinations …

Explorations In Off-Higway Vehicle (Ohv) Recreation: A High School Driver Education Extension, Allison Brody, Jennell M. Miller, Sky Mcclain, Katharine August

Education about the Environment

The lessons within this curriculum have been designed to meet the following goals:

● To increase knowledge about the natural world OHV recreationists will encounter in their exploration of Southern Nevada;

● To increase knowledge of responsible use of OHVs and principles of Tread Lightly! and Leave No Trace (both are nonprofit organizations dedicated to increasing awareness about how to minimize impacts while enjoying public and private lands);

● To increase awareness, knowledge, and understanding of land ethics;

● To allow youth to analyze personal values regarding recreational experiences, including OHV use.

Developing Assessment Plans For Education In The Environment Programs, Gregory Schraw, Lori Olafson

Education about the Environment

• Developing a comprehensive evaluation plan
• Developing good evaluation questions
• Planning an intervention
• Choosing appropriate assessments
• Data analysis
• Results and discussion
• Writing a report