The California Bay Watershed Education and Training Program (B-WET) defines “meaningful” as experiences in the local watershed that:
- make a direct connection to the marine or estuarine environment
- are an integral part of the instructional program
- are project-oriented, hands-on, and investigative
- are part of a sustained activity
- reflect an integrated approach to learning
- involve external sharing and communication.
Tool: “Meaningful” Checklist for Students (K to college)
To assess how well your proposed project meets the definition of “meaningful” we’ve developed this checklist based on a review of “best practices” in the research literature. The sources for each item on the checklist are provided in parentheses and you can view the literature review by clicking here.
"Meaningful" Checklist for Students
Tool: “Meaningful” Checklist for Teachers (Pre-Service & In-Service)
To assess how well your proposed project meets the definition of “meaningful” we’ve developed this checklist based on a review of “best practices” in the research literature. The sources for each item on the checklist are provided in parentheses and you can view the literature review by clicking here.
"Meaningful" Checklist for Teachers
Success Criteria: Literature Review
Based on a review of the current published research literature, this summary lists “best practices” for activities and outcomes for “meaningful watershed experiences” as defined by B-WET. This summary and the attached literature review are provided to help California B-WET grant applicants and recipients plan, implement and evaluate successful B-WET projects.
Project Activities/Features for Students (K to college)
Based on a review of the published research literature, students are more likely to learn and change from outdoor experiences that include many of the following features:
- project-based activities, especially addressing local environmental issues
- inquiry-based learning, especially when the questions come from the students
- skills development related to issue investigation
- conservation action practice, such as planting trees, restoring habitats, etc.
- learning basic concepts and principles that underlie projects, inquiry or skills
- service-learning focus, that is, providing a community service/helping the community
- repeated exposure through multiple visits to the same site.
Project Activities/Features for Teachers (Pre-Service & In-Service)
Based on a review of the published research literature, here are the most common characteristics of effective professional development:
- a specific definition of the target audience (not just teachers’ grade level, but also phase of professional career and content/skill prerequisites)
- clearly stated outcomes (what teachers are to gain from the training and supposed to do back at school)
- content based on state education standards or local reform initiatives (so teachers will be supported by administrators and districts)
- an understanding of and building on teachers' prior knowledge
- activities/experiences that develop teachers' content knowledge and pedagogy, as well as special skills (if needed to teach the content) and student assessment skills
- modeling of exemplary pedagogy based on current research (teachers should experience the content in the same ways their students should experience it)
- time to reflect, practice and plan what to do in the classroom with their new knowledge and experiences
- time to address teachers' concerns/worries about changes in themselves, their teaching, their school and students as a result of the training.
- B-WET Literature Review