EE21: Cross-cu-ng outcomes for Evalua7ng Environmental Educa7on in the 21 st Century Robert B. Powell, Professor, Clemson University Marc J. Stern, Professor, Virginia Tech Troy Frensley, Asst. Prof., UNC-Wilmington Tori Kleinbort, Ph.D. Candidate, Clemson University
Is there a consistent set of outcomes to which all EE programs for youth should aspire? If so, what are they?
Environmental Literacy • Knowledge • Disposi7ons • Skills • Behaviors * Influenced by Tbilisi Declara7on, Hungerford, Volk, McBeth, NELA, and many others
Educa7onal Standards Next Genera7on Common Core State Standards
21 st Century Skills Literacies: • Environmental • Scien7fic • Civic • Cultural • Historical • Health
Youth/Character Development • Emo7onal/Social Intelligence • 5 C’s (Competence, confidence, connec7on, character, caring, contribu7on) • 12 Student Strengths- – Mind (Curiosity, Self- control, Zest) – Heart (Purpose, Social/ emo7onal Intelligence, Gra7tude) – Will (Grit, Growth, Op7mism)
Crosscu-ng Outcomes for EE: The poten7al to be transforma7onal
What leads to be,er outcomes in environmental educa4on? Marc J. Stern, Professor, Virginia Tech Robert B. Powell, Professor, Clemson University
Best Prac7ces
Big Challenges 1. Defining “Success” (Outcomes) 2. Measuring Outcomes: • Lack of variability and sensi7vity • Posi7vely skewed • Social Desirability Bias
Challenge: Defining and Measuring “Success” Develop outcomes that are: • Relevant • Sensi7ve • Cross-cu-ng • Aaributable • Aspira7onal So we can identify which program characteristics lead to better outcomes!
Defining Success: Literature Review
Defining “Success” • NPS Advisory Board Educa7on Commiaee • NAAEE Advisory Group • Clark, Heimlich, Ardoin, & Braus Delphi Study • Na7onal Park Founda7on Learning Alliance • ANCA: Assoc of Nature Center Administrators
What are the cross-cu-ng outcomes? Enjoyment/ Self Efficacy Sa4sfac4on Interest in 21 st Century Skills Learning Env. AItudes Learning Ac4on-Orienta4on Inten7ons Connec4on/Place Ac4ons: A,achment Stewardship Meaning/Iden4ty Collabora7on Academic
Defining Success: Crosscu-ng Outcomes • Enjoyment/Sa4sfac4on: Posi7ve emo7ons and favorable assessments of the quality of the program. • Interest/mo4va4on to learn: Enhanced curiosity and interest in learning more about science, the environment, civic engagement, or other subjects relevant to the program. • Learning: An awareness of the interconnectedness and interdependence between human and environmental systems.
Defining Success: Crosscu-ng Outcomes • Connec4on/Place A,achment: The development of cogni7ve and/or emo7onal connec7ons to the site or other natural environments. • Meaning: Personal relevance and development and refinement of individual purpose.
Crosscu-ng Outcomes • Self-efficacy: A belief in one’s ability to solve problems, make a difference in one’s community, and address environmental issues. • 21 st century skills: Enhanced skills in cri7cal thinking and problem-solving; communica7on; collabora7on; and crea7vity and innova7on. • Environmental aItudes: Enhanced sensi7vity, concern, and disposi7on towards the environment.
Crosscu-ng Outcomes • Inten4ons/Ac4on orienta4on: Inten7on to perform a specific posi7ve behavior • Ac4ons : – Environmental : Posi7ve ac7ons including enhancing communi7es, protec7ng environments. – Academic : School behaviors that improve individual academic achievement – CooperaJon/CollaboraJon : Working with classmates and others, etc.
Measuring Outcomes: Developing a Pilot Survey
Overcoming Measurement Challenges: Survey Development • Peer and Stakeholder Review • Pre-post vs. Retrospec7ve-post only design. • Adapta7on of exis7ng scales where possible • Stems wriaen to reduce posi7ve skew and elicit assessment of influence of program • Likert Scales—11 point scales to enhance sensi7vity • Anchors: Not at all--A fair amount--A huge amount
Pilot Survey • Focused on 5-9 th grades • 68 items, 4-7 items per construct • 15+ minutes to complete • Pre-post and Post only retrospec7ve versions
Pilot Studies Great Smoky Mtns Everglades NP NC Natural Science USFS River Snorkeling Glen Helen, OH NorthBay, MD Cuyahoga NP OR Outdoor Schls
Results: Environmental Educa7on Outcomes for the 21 st Century (EE21) • Pre/Post: problems with administra7on • CFA: Consistent 10 factor model for each sample (34 items) • Measurement Invariance: Configural and Metric • Moderate skew (M=6-7) on 11 point scales!
Environmental Educa7on Outcomes for the 21 st Century (EE21) 21 st Century Skills Interest in Learning • Solving problems. Science. Using science to answer a question. How to research things I am curious about. Listening to other people’s points of view. Learning new subjects in school. Knowing how to do research. Environmental AItudes Learning/Knowledge • I feel it is important to take good care of the environment. How different parts of the environment interact with each other. Humans are a part of nature, not separate from it. How people can change the environment. I have the power to protect the environment. How changes in the environment can impact my life. Ac4ons-Environmental Behaviors How my ac7ons affect the environment. Help protect the environment. Connec4on/ Place A,achment • Spend more 7me outside. Make a posi7ve difference in my community. Knowing this place exists makes me feel good. Ac4ons-School Behaviors I want to visit this place again. Work harder in school. I care about this place. Pay more aaen7on in class. Meaning • Ac4ons-Coopera4on/Collabora4on Taught me something that will be useful to me in my future. Listen more to other people’s point of view. Cooperate with my classmates. Really made me think. Work together with other people to solve problems. Made me realize something I never imagined before. Enjoyment: Made me think differently about the choices I make in my life. How would you rate this field trip on a scale from 0 to 10? Made me curious about something. Overall Learning Self-Efficacy • How much do you feel you learned from this field trip, on a I believe in myself. scale from 0 to 10? I feel confident that I can achieve my goals. Behavioral Inten4on I can make a difference in my community. As a result of this field trip, do you intend to do anything differently in your life?
Is there a consistent set of outcomes to which all EE programs for youth should aspire? EE21 • Reflect roots of our field and future direc7ons • Supports aspira7ons of field--All programs can achieve these outcomes • Can be used for Programma7c and Collec7ve Evalua7on
EE21: Conclusions and what’s next?
Collec7ve Evalua7on EE21: Oregon Outdoor Schools
4pm Friday! What leads to be,er outcomes in environmental educa4on? Marc J. Stern, Professor, Virginia Tech Robert B. Powell, Professor, Clemson University
EE21: Available for your use • Retrospec7ve for shorter programs • Pre-Post for longer programs
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