1	An Evaluative Study of the K-8 “Wilderness & Land Ethic” Curriculum Kari Gunderson, Ph.D. Leo H. McAvoy, Ph.D. University of Minnesota
2	Research Project Supporters University of Minnesota Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center
3	Study Rationale Many scientists and managers consider education as key to solving recreation use problems. Education is a light-handed strategy to reduce impacts and conflict in wilderness while helping to retain visitor freedom of choice. During the past decade Wilderness managers have increasingly turned to school-based programs. Many Wilderness education programs have not been tested for their effectiveness in changing levels of knowledge about desired behavior, or changing behavior.
4	Purpose of the Study To determine the effectiveness of the U.S. Forest Service “Wilderness & Land Ethic” curriculum to influence students’ knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about Wilderness. The specific Wilderness education format evaluated in this study is the “Wilderness & Land Ethic” curriculum and teacher workshops.
5	Research Questions 1. How does the “Wilderness and Land Ethic” curriculum influence students' knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about Wilderness?
6	Research Questions … cont. 2. How can the “Wilderness and Land Ethic” curriculum and teacher workshops be improved to better address knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about Wilderness?
7	Research Questions … cont. 3. Applying the Model of Responsible Environmental Behavior, what conclusions can be drawn regarding the influence of the "Wilderness & Land Ethic" curriculum on knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about Wilderness?
8	What is the “Wilderness & Land Ethic” Curriculum? Curriculum and box of resources for K-8 students. A teaching resource to teach the value of Wilderness. Designed to provide teachers, land managers, and outdoor educators with an interactive resource to promote awareness of cultural, environmental, and experiential values of Wilderness. Activities are tied to a collection of educational resources, including skulls, skins, puppets, maps, books, and videos known as the “Wilderness Box”.
9	Wilderness & Land Ethic Curriculum Teacher Workshops … are “a vehicle for implementing the "Wilderness & Land Ethic" curriculum; and … are designed to educate teachers about Wilderness and to familiarize them with the box and curriculum.
10	Research Methods The research design used multiple data collection methods. The evaluation methods include both qualitative and quantitative methodology. Evaluation of the “Wilderness and Land Ethic” curriculum used: interviews with teachers; mail-back survey of teachers; and testing of students.
11	Description of Participants STUDENTS Fourth and seventh grade students from selected public schools in Colorado, Minnesota, and Montana. Student participants consisted of 670 students in 11 schools. TEACHERS Have participated in a teacher workshop and have used the curriculum.
12	Student Study Participants Students were selected from four community size areas: rural/small town (<2,500 to <25,000); large town/mid-size city (> 25,000 to <400,000); suburban (fringes of mid-size city & large city); and big city (>400,000).
13	School Study Sites Montana schools represented the rural and large town/mid-size city category. Choteau, Swan River, Polson = rural sample. Billings = large town/mid-size city.
14	School Study Sites … cont. Colorado schools represented suburban and large city categories. Manitou Springs = suburban sample. Denver = large city. Minnesota schools represented the suburban category. Roseville = suburban sample.
15	Research Methods 1. Focus of interviews with teachers was done to determine: how teachers believe the curriculum influences students' knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about Wilderness; the patterns of curriculum use, characteristics of teachers, and factors influencing implementation; and results of the interviews were used to develop a mail-back survey to evaluate the curriculum with an expanded set of educators.
16	Research Methods … cont. 2. Mail-Back Teacher Survey Using results from telephone interviews, a mail-back survey was developed and administered to a sample of teachers (224). Results helped identify patterns of curriculum use, teachers’ perceptions of how the curriculum influences students, factors influencing implementation, and how characteristics of teachers influence the effectiveness of the curriculum. Teachers were asked to give recommendations on how the curriculum can be improved. The return rate was approximately 52%.
17	Research Methods … cont. 3. Evaluation of Students’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Beliefs about Wilderness. During the 1999/2000 and 2000/2001 school years, a lesson from the “Wilderness & Land Ethic” curriculum was tested with 4^th and 7^th grade students. Students in the treatment groups participated in an introductory lesson taught by a teacher who had attended a "Wilderness & Land Ethic" curriculum workshop. Students in the control groups did NOT participate in the lesson. A pre and post-test was administered to students in the treatment groups and the control groups. Comparisons were made between treatment and control groups, between grade levels, by state, gender, and school community sizes.
18	Research Methods … cont. 4. Influence of a Teacher Workshop Teacher training workshop sites representing different community size areas were selected. Individual telephone interviews were conducted with 24 teachers within six months after teachers participated in a training workshop to: determine if there was a relationship between workshop attendance and curriculum use; determine if teachers were receiving adequate information on best practices for current state and national educational standards; develop guidelines for an optimal training workshop model or delivery mechanism to meet curriculum goals and objectives; and to make comparisons between information gathered from teacher surveys and interviews with teachers who attended training workshops.
19	Data Analysis Content Analysis = Telephone interviews with teachers Descriptive & Inferential Statistical Methods = Teacher Survey and Student pre/post tests Means & Standard Deviations Frequency Distributions Percentile Rankings Independent T-tests Chi-squares One-way ANOVA’s
20	Results - Student Testing There were more significant differences from pre to post test scores for students in both grade levels from treatment groups than from control groups. The curriculum is more effective with 7^th grade students than for 4^th grade students and it is more effective for large city 7^th graders. Community size and gender were NOT major influences. Variables that appear to be most influential in motivating individuals to take responsible environmental action are "Knowledge about Wilderness" and "Environmental Sensitivity". There was an increase in students' knowledge about naturally occurring fires in Wilderness.
21	Environmental Sensitivity I would like to take a hike in a Wilderness area. I would like to spend more time in a Wilderness area. I should help take care of the Wilderness. I think it is important to keep Wilderness for my children and grandchildren to use and enjoy.
22	Knowledge About Wilderness Wilderness represents different habitats. Forest fires caused by lightning should be allowed to burn in Wilderness. Wilderness is a place where you can find clean air and water. Wilderness is an outdoor classroom where you can learn about nature. Wilderness is a place to find adventure, challenge, and risk.
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28	Results - Teacher Survey 80% of the teachers have used the curriculum in their classrooms and tend to use it as individual, supplementary lessons. Teachers who used the curriculum tended (significantly) to use the curriculum to fulfill educational standards (82%). Teachers who used the curriculum had more teaching experience. There was NO significant difference in responses according to where they grew up or the size of the school where they teach.
29	Results - Teacher Survey … cont. Teachers (80%) who live close to a designated Wilderness (within 100 miles) are more likely to be curriculum users. Teachers want: more age-appropriate and grade-level relevant lessons; and more training opportunities and longer workshops.
30	Teacher Survey: Curriculum Design A 5-Point Scale: 1=Strongly Disagree; 2=Disagree; 3=Neutral; 4=Agree; 5=Strongly Agree N=93 In general, the curriculum Mean Has a clear focus on Wilderness concepts 4.39 Helps students understand benefits of Wilderness 4.32 Responds to different learning activities 4.27 Presents information & ideas relevant to Wilderness 4.24 Challenges students to use critical thinking skills 4.23 Improves students’ ability to address Wilderness issues 4.22 Is well designed 4.22 Easy to use 4.13 Provides adequate background information 4.11 Meets curriculum standards 4.02 Offers adequate resource materials in the box 4.01 Gives teachers confidence to teach something previously taught by guest speakers 3.81 Has everything needed to teach the lessons 3.76
31	Results - Telephone Interviews with Teachers 70% used it to supplement their science program. The greatest strengths of the teacher workshops indicated by participating teachers were: the workshop format allowed participants to teach and actively participate in lessons from the curriculum; the teaching resources were available to them; the ability to teach, and the in-depth knowledge, of the instructors to provide relevant background information on Wilderness and Wilderness management; and the importance of offering workshops for academic credit (92%) and renewal credits (88%).
32	Results - Telephone Interviews with Teachers … cont. Make a Wilderness education course available on the web, using distance learning so teachers in remote areas can learn and integrate the Wilderness curriculum into their existing curriculum. Offer a course for a college term. More outdoor experiences modeling “Leave No Trace” camping techniques.
33	Guidelines for Development of Future Wilderness Education Curriculum to Educate the Wilderness Visitor on Appropriate Wilderness Behavior Investigate the relationship between the "environmental sensitivity" variable and direct experiences in designated Wilderness for K-8 students to better understand if a "Wilderness experience" is a precursor to responsible Wilderness behavior.
34	Guidelines for Development … cont. Further investigation is needed to determine if other lessons in the "Wilderness & Land Ethic" curriculum can produce increases in pre to post test scores for the other variables in the Model of Responsible Environmental Behavior.
35	Guidelines for Development … cont. If an outcome goal of environmental education is the development of environmentally responsible and active citizens, then further investigation needs to be done to: identify lessons in the "Wilderness & Land Ethic" curriculum that promote "knowledge and skills in using action strategies" and "locus of control," and what influence these lessons have on students' environmental behavior; and examine age-appropriateness for advocacy- based community service projects that would promote these variables.
36	Guidelines for Development … cont. Through a constructivist approach, sequence lessons from the "Wilderness & Land Ethic” curriculum to build a level of background knowledge on the subject of Wilderness in order to broaden the understanding of Wilderness.
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38	Guidelines for Development … cont. Offer college level courses at colleges and universities, school sites, nature centers, and on-line for academic credit to teach pre-service teachers and in-service teachers how to use the "Wilderness & Land Ethic" curriculum.
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40	Guidelines for Development … cont. Incorporate Leave No Trace (LNT) principles into teacher workshops and schedule an outdoor session for teachers to participate in the LNT Skills Trail.
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