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Inventory and Assessment of K-12 and Professional Teacher Development Programs in the National Estuarine Research Reserve System

F. RECOMMENDATIONS

The following recommendations arise from the analysis of the online surveys, the phone interviews and the site visits with the ECs and the other NERRS staff members.

This project is designed to inventory the current status of K-12 and PTD programs within NERRS and to provide baseline data and trends data for system-wide consideration of a possible niche or signature program potential for NERRS in this arena, as well as recommendations for improvements of current programs. All those surveyed and interviewed, including RMs, RCs, SCs, and other staff recognize the value of K-12 and PTD and support current programming efforts. However, there are unequal levels of commitment and resources at the Reserves for K-12 and PTD; some ECs are fighting to maintain K-12 and PTD programs while others are well supported. If K-12 and PTD programs are important to NERRS at a system-wide or national level, they should not continue to be unevenly supported and act as semi-autonomous units accountable only to their state partners and RMs. There should be more support and coordination on a system-wide level. NERRS is a unique organization with many strengths. NERRS’ mission, structure, and diversity give it the potential to be a leader in estuarine education on a national level.


Reserve Level Recommendations

Recommendation 1:
Develop an EC Position Description
ECs have a complex and unique job based on their multiple roles and responsibilities. It is important to develop a description of EC qualifications and duties that could be used as a guide for future hiring, specifically at proposed Reserves to create consistency across the system. This description should have some broad qualifications and duties that could be integrated with Reserve-specific qualifications and responsibilities.

ECs play the role of liaison between the researchers at the Reserve and the teachers in the community. Therefore, their level of science knowledge will be key to help them interpret scientific material for their target audience. ECs should be “science educators,” meaning they must be able to take the scientific information from the research and stewardship programs and synthesize it into a format that is understandable for K-12 and PTD audiences. This includes strong knowledge in both science and education. This is different from the term “science teacher” because ECs fulfill a different role than a classroom teacher. They act as a science resource or “expert” providing information to teachers on estuarine topics, but at the same time they must know current education initiatives so that they can talk the same language and provide a service to teachers that is of value. There should be specific training each year to help ECs keep current with the changes in education.

Recommendation 2:
Provide Training for ECs
The in-depth interviews revealed that some ECs do not make time for professional development, and it is evident that ECs do not always have allotted resources (both time and money) set aside for professional development in science education methods, constructivism, and science topics and skills including evaluation, correlating programs with standards, and grant writing.

The creation of an annual development plan for each EC that builds on their key strengths and identifies areas for further development would help each EC to increase their expertise in both estuarine science and education. ECs should also participate in the plan’s creation by determining specific professional development opportunities for themselves and present a proposal to their RM so that they may expand their professional capabilities.

Annual EC national and regional meetings provide a perfect opportunity for both education and estuarine science training opportunities. Adding an extra day or half-day training to the meeting agenda to provide specific training would be beneficial to ECs. ECs also indicate that at these meetings they would like time to share their successes and failures with educational programming. Some time might be allotted to discuss specific topics for programming at each meeting, such as evaluation, teacher recruitment, and program development. Specific topics could be determined beforehand and ECs could prepare their materials ahead of time to make efficient use of allotted meeting time.

 Recommendation 3:
Increase Paid Education Staff
As reported in the program inventory section, most Reserves have a very limited education staff. The education staff has many program responsibilities including the Coastal Training Program, Coastal Decision Makers Workshops, and public programs. In addition, ECs have administrative and overall operations responsibilities that take over half of their time. In some cases, ECs are asked to be acting Reserve Managers or Assistant Reserve Managers. It is increasingly difficult for ECs to teach, create, update, and evaluate their K-12 and PTD offerings without additional support. During the telephone interviews, ECs were asked, “How would funding for more paid educational staff improve your educational programs?” ECs said more staff would allow them to run safer programs and increase program attendance: they also need staff to create a wider variety of programs to target other grade levels or to develop new curriculum. Some ECs are consumed with the marketing aspects of their programs and indicated that a part-time administrative assistant or a marketing specialist would help them increase visibility for the Reserve, while freeing them to focus on education-related tasks.

In some cases it is difficult for the national office to help with staffing issues because there are specific guidelines for hiring in each state. It is important to identify the Reserves that need staff and determine if it can be pursued on a federal level or state level. In addition, if priorities are shifted through the market/needs assessment (See Recommendation 7), or if the system-wide program planning (See Recommendation 10) causes some Reserves to be more focused, the need for additional staff may be reduced.

 Recommendation 4:
Secure Outside Funding for K-12 and PTD Programs
Over 84% of all K-12 and PTD programs are funded by internal budgets. ECs indicate that they are interested in finding outside funding to increase or improve Reserve programs. At the state level, Reserves can look for grants from private foundations such as the Ocean Fund, or regional foundations that support specific regions or issues. There are many resources listing foundations that can provide assistance, including the Directory of Environmental Grantmaking. The public library system has resources to facilitate a search for grant support. In addition, Reserves should continue to explore opportunities to partner with other organizations, companies, and agencies in their community for funding sources.