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

作为加强非正式环境中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环境科学素养专业发展和学习计划来实现这一目标，该计划面向从事户外科学项目（OSP）的非正式教育工作者和青年。随着越来越多的文献和下一代科学标准（NGSS）的支持，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，目前在美国估计有300个住宅osp。不幸的是，通常负责促进这些深刻而有影响力的科学学习经验的非正式教育工作者往往缺乏强有力的正式培训，即基于证据的、适合年龄的环境科学内容知识和针对青年的教学方法。在资源不足和服务不足的项目和社区中，这一问题往往更为明显。该项目将直接解决这些领域普遍存在的挑战，不仅为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非正规领导人和教育工作者，为主要是农村地区、低收入社区和代表性不足的社区的青年服务。全国100个OSP的大约200名OSP领导人将在五个区域住宿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领导人将向其所在机构的大约1 500名OSP教育者/实地教官重新提供培训。OSP教育者/实地指导员将利用他们在专业发展中所学到的知识，促进环境科学学习计划（即课程，实地经验，资源，教学法），为超过100万名参加他们的住宅户外科学计划的青少年（3-8年级）提供帮助。此外，还将进行严格的实施研究、疗效研究和评价。实施研究将调查：(a)实施了哪些专业学习模式实践，(b)实施该模式的项目面临哪些成功和挑战。混合方法有效性研究将探讨：(a)户外科学项目是否有助于科学学习激活和环境素养的发展？(b)与科学学习激活和环境素养增加相关的这些经历的特征是什么？大约25-35名青年将从50个随机选择的地点中随机选择参加疗效研究。该项目产生的研究和评估数据和结果将有助于建立一个相对稀疏的知识和研究基础，具体涉及美国约300个现有住宅户外科学项目中近三分之一的青年功效、实施过程和实践。

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.