Evaluation of One- and Two-Day Forestry Field Programs for Elementary School Children

Abstract

The methods and findings from a program evaluation of a forestry field visit for second grade students are detailed in this article. A pretest, posttest methodology was used to determine changes in students' (n = 133) attitudes and knowledge before and after the field experience(s). Interviews and surveys were conducted with students, teachers (n = 7), and staff (n = 13) to provide context for the test data. The most revealing finding was that socioeconomic factors outweighed the visit-length, with the largest gains for both knowledge and attitudes made by students who participated for only one day but hailed from communities with less access to forestry settings at home and school. Recommendations for program development are provided.

Notes

1 The follow up to this interim report portrayed promising correlations between improved student achievement and behavior and the use of the environment as an integrating context for learning (Lieberman and Hoody, 1998).

2 Three other questions were addressed in this research but are not reported in this article: (1) Was there a change in free–time preferences after the field visit? (2) Was there a change in how students would treat a forest creature? (3) Were students more inquisitive about the forest immediately after the field visit?

3 This class is also referred to as a “one–visit class” because only a modified evaluation procedure was conducted following the Spring visit.

4 It is Shelburne Farms' assumption, based on educational research, that field visits are more effective when students are immersed in a more comprehensive study unit. The professional development staff has initiated workshops to better prepare teachers to use field visits as just one component of a larger study.

5 Information about socioeconomic conditions in each of the communities was attained from the University of Vermont's Center for Rural Studies' web page http://crs.uvm.edu/databank.htm