Broad Implementation of the Better Environmental Education, Teaching, Learning, and Expertise Sharing Professional Learning Model for Outdoor Science Programs

作为在非正式环境中加强学习的总体战略的一部分，推进非正式STEM学习(AISL)计划支持在非正式环境中设计和开发STEM学习的新方法和基于证据的理解。该项目将通过严格的研究和广泛实施针对非正规教育工作者和从事户外科学计划(OSP)的青年的环境科学素养专业发展和学习计划来实现这一目标。随着文献和下一代科学标准(NGSS)的支持越来越多，人们越来越关注在科学课堂之外创造和利用跨学科的科学学习机会。因此，据估计，美国目前有300个住宅OSP。不幸的是，经常负责促进这些深入和有影响的科学学习经历的非正式教育者，往往缺乏在其方案中针对青年的以证据为基础的、适合年龄的环境科学内容知识和教学方法的强有力的正式培训。这一问题在资源不足和服务不足的方案和社区中往往更为明显。该项目将直接应对实地普遍存在的这些挑战，不仅向非正规教育工作者提供急需的以科学为重点的专业发展和资源，而且还专门针对和培训主要在农村地区、低收入社区和代表性不足社区为青年服务的非正式领导人和教育工作者。全国100个OSP的约200名OSP领导人将在五个地区住宅领导学院之一参加为期一周的专业发展模式强化培训。然后，OSP领导人将在其本国机构向大约1,500名OSP教育者/现场讲师重新提供培训。然后，OSP教育者/现场讲师将利用他们通过专业发展所学到的知识来促进环境科学学习计划(即课程、实地经验、资源、教学方法)，使100多万名青年(3-8年级)注册参加他们的住宅户外科学计划。此外，还将进行严格的执行研究、效果研究和评估。实施研究将调查：(A)实施了哪些专业学习模式做法，以及(B)实施该模式的方案面临哪些成功和挑战。混合方法功效研究将探索：(A)户外科学计划是否有助于科学学习、激活和环境素养的发展？以及(B)这些经历的特点是什么与科学学习、活跃度和环境素养的提高有关。将从50个随机选择的地点中随机挑选大约25-35名青年参加疗效研究。该项目产生的研究和评估的数据和结果将有助于形成一个相对稀疏的知识和研究基础，专门针对青少年的功效以及实施过程和实践，覆盖美国估计的300个现有住宅户外科学项目的近三分之一。

As part of its overall strategy to enhance learning in informal environments, the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program supports new approaches to, and evidence-based understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments. This project will meet this goal through rigorous research and the broad implementation of an environmental science literacy professional development and learning program for informal educators and youth engaged in outdoor science programs (OSP). With growing support from the literature and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), much attention has been placed on creating and leveraging interdisciplinary science learning opportunities beyond science classrooms. As such, an estimated 300 residential OSPs currently exist in the United States. Unfortunately, the informal educators often charged with facilitating these deep and impactful science learning experiences often lack robust formal training in evidenced-based, age-appropriate environmental science content knowledge and pedagogy specific for the youth in their programs. This issue is often more pronounced in under-resourced and under-served programs and communities. This project will directly address these pervasive challenges in the field by not only providing much needed science focused professional development and resources to informal educators but also by specifically targeting and training informal leaders and educators serving youth in predominately rural areas, low-income communities, and underrepresented communities. Approximately 200 OSP leaders at 100 OSPs around the country will participate in a week-long, intensive training in the professional development model at one of five regional residential leadership institutes. OSP leaders will then redeliver the training to the approximately 1,500 OSP educators/field instructors in their home institutions. The OSP educators/field instructors will then use what they learn through the professional development to facilitate the environmental science learning program (i.e., curriculum, field experiences, resources, pedagogy) to over 1 million youth (grades 3-8) enrolled in their residential outdoor science programs. In addition, a rigorous implementation study, efficacy study and evaluation will be conducted. The implementation study will investigate: (a) Which of the professional learning model practices were implemented and (b) What successes and challenges the programs faced implementing the model. The mixed methods efficacy study will explore: (a) if outdoor science programs contribute to the development of science learning activation and environmental literacy? and (b) what are the features of these experiences that are correlated with increases in science learning activation and environmental literacy. Approximately 25-35 youth will be randomly selected from each of 50 randomly selected sites to participate in the efficacy study. The data and findings from the research and evaluation produced by this project will contribute to a relatively sparse knowledge and research base specific to youth efficacy and implementation processes and practices across nearly 1/3 of the estimated 300 existing residential outdoor science programs in the United States.