Sunship Earth Evaluation Report

Executive Summary of the Report on Evaluation of the Teaching Responsible Earth Education's Sunship Earth Program

Prepared by the Earth Education Research and Evaluation Team, University of Arizona, July 2005

Introduction

An evaluation of the Sunship Earth program offered by Teaching Responsible Earth Education (T.R.E.E.) was conducted from September 2004 through May 2005 by the Earth Education Research and Evaluation Team at the University of Arizona. The evaluation consisted of pre- and post- tests and questionnaires completed by participating students, teachers and parents; in-person and phone interviews with classroom teachers and T.R.E.E. staff; observations while programs were being conducted and in classrooms afterwards; and document analysis. This summary highlights the main findings.

During the 2004-05 school year. T.R.E.E. offered the Sunship Earth program 11 times with 323 5th grade students from 7 schools. All participating schools are public elementary schools in the Orleans Parish district. Many of the students at these schools live in high poverty areas; rates of students who qualify for free and reduced lunch at these schools range from a high of 99% to a low of 24%.

The evaluation resulted in five conclusions; each is described in the full report and summarized here.

T.R.E.E.'s Sunship Earth program fits well into participating schools' curriculum.

Analysis of the Louisiana state standards documents, teacher surveys, and interviews with teachers provided substantial evidence that the Sunship Earth program meshes well with state standards and helped students accomplish many important curriculum objectives. Both teachers and students have even commented that concepts learned during their camp experience were included on the LEAP test. Teacher comments included:

Sunship Earth covers so many of the state benchmarks that we can't let the kids who don't go miss that information… The Sunship Earth materials absolutely help us to meet the state Grade Level Expectations (GLE's) because we could check off an entire section of the earth science, physical science in the 5 days we were there.

The content from the program is already a part of the curriculum since it is linked to the life science and science, and the environment standards.

The children learned so much, not just science but social studies, math, language arts, poems, journals. The children…are still talking about it.

Students' understandings of ecological concepts increase as a result of participation in T.R.E.E.'s Sunship Earth program.

The Sunship Earth program helps students learn fundamental ecological concepts, based on what is known about good learning. The ecological concepts are abstract ideas and are difficult for students to truly understand. The programs use experiential learning to make the abstract concepts concrete using the I-A-A (Inform-Assimilate-Apply) Learning Model. All of the activities take place outdoors in a natural setting, providing students with a real world context and with plenty of opportunities for further examples and reinforcement. The ecological understandings of students were assessed using the Ecological Concept Questionnaire (ECQ). The ECQ-SSE was administered as both a pre-test at school before students participated in the Sunship Earth program and as a post-test back at school afterwards. Overall scores increased by 28% from pre-test to post-test. Scores also increased substantially for each of the seven concepts taught in the program, from an average increase of 29% for the concept of Interrelationships to an increase of 43% for Change.

Students' environmental perceptions change as a result of participation in T.R.E.E. programs.

Feelings are a major component of the Sunship Earth program. The program takes place in natural areas where students have opportunities to experience nature first hand. Specific activities help students learn to appreciate nature. The goal is to help change environmental perceptions. Students' perceptions were measured by The Environment Questionnaire (TEQ), which was administered both as a pre-test before and as a post-test after the program. Results are broken down into two main components – Preservation and Utilization. A high score in Preservation and a low score in Utilization are indicative of a pro-environmental perspective. Overall, there were statistically significant changes toward more pro-environmental perceptions for students after participating in the Sunship Earth program; students scored higher on Preservation and lower on Utilization. In addition, students were more likely to voice their intent to support environmental causes and to conserve resources and enjoy nature. They were also were less likely to approve of altering nature and were less in support of the view that humans should have dominance over the natural world.

Students' personal environmental actions change as a result of participation in T.R.E.E.'s Sunship Earth program.

We asked students about their personal environmental actions both before and after participating in Sunship Earth. We also asked parents and teachers about changes they saw in the actions students were taking. After participating in Sunship Earth, most students reported that in the winter they regularly make sure the heat in their room is not on too high (70%), turn off the light when they do not need it any more (92%), and save water by taking shorter showers or by turning off the water when brushing their teeth (75%). All teachers (100%) reported that their students have lessened their impact on the environment since participating in the Sunship Earth program.

There's a huge improvement. They're much more aware and not just aware but active in making a difference. They recycle, remind me to turn off the classroom lights. In the cafeteria even if they think they don't like something they'll try it because that's less wasteful. I've seen them compete to have less waste and estimate the waste in grams.

In written surveys, most parents (81%) said they had seen changes in their children since the program.

She has shared with our family conservation lessons she learned at Sunship Earth. I see a new awareness of the earth and her place in it as a custodian of its preservation. Thank you.

Students, teachers, and parents are highly satisfied with T.R.E.E.'s Sunship Earth program.

One hundred ninety seven (197) students from five schools completed satisfaction surveys for Sunship Earth. These responses represent a cross-section of demographics that T.R.E.E. typically serves (low and middle income urban children and families). Over 90% of participating students reported that they enjoyed their Sunship Earth experience. Similarly, 180 (91%) of the students would like to do more outdoor activities like these and all students (100%) would like to return to do another program like Sunship Earth.

I like how you make learning fun. I like how I wake up and look forward to going to school.

Somehow SSE changed what I thought of the outdoor world.

I loved Sunship Earth. It was so fun!!! It couldn't be better if I imagined it myself.

Teachers also felt the program was valuable. When asked to explain, teachers mentioned the amount of content covered; the hands-on, engaging nature of the activities; the excitement of the students, and the high level of organization.

It's what I would like to do every day in my classroom.

Actually exceeded my expectations. The learning and understanding packed into the four days was incredible.

Such a different way of learning, so many are kinesthetic learners and they really benefit from seeing, experiencing. Afterwards I saw the amount of information they could retain and the array of abstract concepts of science that kids can put their hands on in a different way. Excellent program.

It's a wonderful way to teach. They hold onto it, are excited about it. It's a way for them to grasp the concepts and learn without the textbook.

I was AMAZED to hear how much they had learned. Students were able to recall many details and all 7 principles of life.

All 117 (100%) of parents who completed post-program satisfaction surveys reported that their children enjoyed the Sunship Earth program and would recommend that their child's school continue to participate. The two most common reasons given, listed by most of those responding, dealt with how much their child had learned and how much their child enjoyed the program. Several parents mentioned the nurturing educational experience, the exposure to important environmental knowledge, and the enthusiasm of the children.

Overall Conclusion

T.R.E.E.'s Sunship Earth program provides unique opportunities for city children to experience the natural world. The program is exciting, adventurous, and magical. The students are fully engaged in active learning in ways that cannot be duplicated in the classroom. Data gathered from pre- and post-tests; observations; interviews with students, parents, and teachers; and questionnaires provide evidence that students learned important ecological concepts, were exposed to new environmental perceptions, and changed their own environmental actions. It is clear that all of this took place not only because of powerful, integrated, and complete educational program but also due to the talent and hard work of T.R.E.E. staff, classroom teachers, and parents.