Improve your program's visibility

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From the Field:

Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory
Nate Meyer, Regional Extension Educator, Environmental Science Education, University of Minnesota Extension
Applying evaluation results to increase awareness of program

The program:
The Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory offers hands-on field trip programs for local schools, including pre- and post-visit activities.
The evaluation:
The evaluation was initially conducted because groups arriving at the Conservatory seemed unprepared, and there was additional concern that pre- and post-visit activities were not working.  Local district teachers and administrators were surveyed.  One key result revealed that teachers and administrators lacked awareness of Conservatory program offerings.
The changes:
Presentations about the Conservatory and its programs were provided for school district meetings, at which principals and other administrators were present.  Pre-visit orientation videos were provided to teachers for classroom use, as well as given to each of the school district libraries.  These changes, amongst others, resulted in smoother field trip experiences, garnered administrative support for the programs, and overall fostered a positive reaction to the Conservatory’s offerings.

Improve how your program is delivered or implemented

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From the Field:

Denver Zoo’s W.I.N.-W.I.N program
Chasta Beals, W.I.N.-W.I.N. Logistics Specialist
Making program changes based on evaluation results

The program:
Wonders In Nature - Wonders In Neighborhoods (W.I.N.-W.I.N.) program, developed by the Denver Zoo and the Colorado Division of Wildlife, is a functioning partnership between organizations, foundations, and people.  The partnership creates opportunities for hands-on environmental education for urban students in the Denver metro area – field site visits, classroom visits, post-visit classroom activities, and family days.
The evaluation: 
In 2000-2001 W.I.N.-W.I.N. was reviewed by external evaluators.  They found that while the program was successful overall, participants and partner sites expressed frustration with the registration process and logistics.
The changes:
Initially, all registration was done on paper.  Based on the evaluation results, a program registration database was developed.  This streamlined the logistical elements of registration: a simplified process for participants, automatically produced confirmation pages (sent to partner field sites and teachers), and associated forms for the bus company.  Overall, communication was significantly improved, and registration errors and scheduling conflicts reduced.
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Improve the content of your program

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From the Field:

Environmental Learning Center
Heather Stapleton, Education Coordinator
Applying results to improve future programs

The Environmental Learning Center in Florida teaches themed lessons to 1st, 3rd, and 4th graders.  The 4th grade program, “Lagoon Days,” involves 120 children on a single day, and receives a significant allocation of programming resources.
The evaluation:
The Lagoon Days program is evaluated with a pre-/post- questionnaire for the students, a teacher survey, and a volunteer survey.  The most in-depth evaluations are focused here because of the resource commitment, and because so many volunteers serve as teachers for this program.
The changes:
Pre-/post- student results are used to improve program content (revising curriculum), emphasizing knowledge gains on key benchmarks.  Results are further used to refine volunteer training.  Efforts focus on increasing volunteers’ understanding of the concepts and creating key concept teaching aids (referred to as “cheat-sheets”) for volunteer use.  The largest change to the curriculum based on evaluations was the addition of post-trip visits by ELC staff to classrooms.
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Inform future evaluations

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From the Field:

SEWEE Earth Stewards and EUGENE
Karen Beshears, Executive Director, SEWEE Association
Pilot testing instruments for future use

Earth Stewards is an eight week, 5th grade cross-curriculum program focused on freshwater wetlands.  It consists of a combination of multiple in-school and field site lessons involving constant interactions between program staff, teachers, and students.
The evaluation:
EUGENE, a series of eight ecological principles that EE programs may cover, stands for “Ecological Understanding as a Guideline for Evaluating Nonformal Education.”  An evaluation instrument with statements related to these principles is being developed and piloted with the Earth Stewards program.  The instrument is applied through pre- and post-tests with the program participants to determine their understanding of the principles, age-appropriateness, question validity, etc.
The changes:
After initial piloting, several changes were made to the instrument.  Cultural biases were eliminated, and issues related to the reading level addressed (for instance, students may have statements read aloud to foster understanding).  Further piloting and refinement of the instrument is ongoing.  Eventually, the EUGENE instrument will be more widely applied, and tried with single programs in addition to serial programs such as Earth Stewards.