Resource Review: Project Learning Tree PreK-8 Environmental Education Activity Guide

Given growing environmental concerns such as climate change, identifying high-quality environmental education materials that can be used by youth development professionals to meet their educational goals is critical. The Project Learning Tree (PLT) PreK-8 Environmental Education Activity Guide is designed for individuals to develop the knowledge and skills needed to make informed decisions and take action on environmental issues. The curriculum has activities that youth development professionals can use to teach a wide variety of environmental topics ranging from air quality to food chains, habitats, recycling, and watersheds, to name a few. In addition, as a high-quality environmental education curriculum, the guide assists those who desire to develop skills in youth such as critical thinking, communication, and civic engagement. This review of the PLT PreK-8 Environmental Education Activity Guide provides an overview of the curriculum and how the activities are structured and outlines considerations for its use by youth development professionals.

Improving Inservice Teacher Workshops in Florida

To increase their usefulness to educators, workshop facilitators should be familiar with terms and concepts now used to describe Florida's professional development. These terms should be incorporated into inservice programs. This fact sheet defines the terms that are most helpful and provides suggestions for planning, advertising, delivering, and evaluating workshops to meet the needs of our teachers. Project Learning Tree (PLT) workshops are used as an example of how nonformal education facilitators could adapt their workshops to better address the new professional development system. This document is FOR 109, one of a series of the School of Forest Resources and Conservation Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Original publication date February 2005.

Celebrating 20 Years of Outdoor Environmental Education for Preservice Teachers at Stephen F. Austin State University

Preservice teachers at Stephen F. Austin State University have been involved in a 20-year environmental education initiative as a part of the teacher education program. Since 1998, teacher educators and community stakeholders have collaborated with Texas Project Learning Tree to train preservice teachers in environmental education activities to be implemented in the yearly outdoor science education event, Bugs, Bees, Butterflies, and Blossoms. Held on the Stephen F. Austin State University campus, area elementary school students participate in learning stations designed to facilitate investigative inquiry led by preservice teachers. A mixed methods study was implemented to evaluate the overall effectiveness. Data were collected from pre- and post-tests from traditional face-to-face and online preservice teachers. Results showed significant gains in science content knowledge and science teaching efficacy. Open-ended responses submitted by participants in the study addressed self-reflection about personal teacher identity and the overall impact of the initiative.

Exploring Environmental Issues: Places We Live

The Project Learning Tree curriculum Exploring Environmental Issues: Places We Live was evaluated using a quasi-experimental research design that consisted of pre/post inter vention assessments measuring differences in self-assessed content knowledge, researcher assessed content knowledge, and attitudes. Treatment groups consisted of two randomly assigned groups, one group completed 3-lessons and the other group completed 6-lessons. Analysis indicated the 6-lesson treatment group demonstrated significant gains in all three categories, while the 3-lesson group exhibited significant gains in self-assessed content knowledge. The results suggest that the curriculum is valuable in delivering placebased educational content.

Addressing Sunshine State Standards in Elementary School Teacher Professional Development Workshops

FOR-220, a 6-page illustrated fact sheet by Jennifer A. Seitz, Martha C. Monroe, and Kimberly O. Thurman, use Project Learning Tree (PLT) workshops as an example of how anyone conducting professional development workshops can improve attendance and enhance program use by public school teachers by identifying and advertising the Sunshine State Standards (SSS) that the workshops address. Published by the UF School of Forest Resources and Conservation, May 2009.

Improving Inservice Teacher Workshops in Florida

Revised! FOR-109, a 5-page fact sheet by Martha C. Monroe, Jenny Seitz, Shruti Agrawal, Sheda Morshed, Elizabeth Swiman, Michelle Aldridge, and Vicki Crisp, defines the terms that are most helpful for Florida environmental education workshop facilitators and provides suggestions for planning, advertising, delivering, and evaluating workshops to better meet the needs of our teachers. Project Learning Tree (PLT) workshops are used as an example of how nonformal education facilitators could adapt their workshops to better address the new professional development system. Published by the UF School of Forest Resources and Conservation, May 2008.