Using the Significant Life Experience Framework to Inform Program Evaluation: The Nature Conservancy's Wings & Water Wetlands Education Program

Abstract

Significant life experience research suggests that outdoor experiences foster proenvironmental outcomes. Time spent outdoors is more frequently identified as the source of proenvironmental behavior than is education, suggesting that cognition may be less important than affect. Yet, environmental education field programs are often evaluated on cognitive outcomes alone. The authors piloted a mixed-methods evaluation, measuring both cognitive and affective responses to a field education program. Quantitative responses suggest that field-based participants demonstrated greater cognitive understanding than classroom-based participants. Qualitative responses suggest that field programs foster different affective reactions than do classroom programs. These results have critical implications for field-based programming, classroom instruction, and evaluation.

Keywords:

• environmental education
• evaluation methods
• experiential learning
• mixed methods
• outdoor education
• significant life experience