For Natural & Cultural Resource Professionals

Virtual

Boost Your Skills: A 90-Minute Virtual Training on Outdoor Classroom Management

You have an incredible setting to share, but your educators struggle with students who are overly energetic, easily distracted, or even fearful of exploring a new place. Equip your frontline educators with essential skills for dynamic outdoor learning. This 90-minute virtual webinar is designed specifically for natural and cultural resource professionals. Learn to:

• Foster cooperation with clear behavior expectations.
• Design engaging lessons using inquiry-based learning.
• Guide exploration through effective boundary setting and clear instruction.
• Master positive discipline to manage behavior effectively.
• Address student fears with trauma-informed approaches.

Create impactful and positive outdoor learning environments that inspire!

Boost Your Impact: A 2-Hour Virtual Training on Applying Academic Standards in Informal Education

Classroom teachers are under constant pressure to boost test scores and academic performance. When it comes to scheduling a field trip, teachers book experiences with high quality and high value! Improving the quality and content of your center's field trips starts with a full understanding of education standards. Our 2-hour webinar is designed for natural and cultural resource professionals to understand and apply academic standards to their center’s educational programs. This session will equip participants with essential knowledge to:

• Understand Academic Standards: Learn the difference between national and state academic standards, and how they relate to district curriculum.
• Decipher NGSS: Gain skills in reading and dissecting Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), focusing on performance expectations, disciplinary core ideas, science and engineering practices, and crosscutting concepts.
• Grasp Teacher Perspectives: Discover why academic standards are crucial for teachers, influencing everything from instruction and student assessment to field trip attendance.
• Apply Standards to Your Lessons: Learn the critical steps for creating new lesson plans or updating existing lessons to align with relevant state or NGSS standards.

Enhance the relevance and effectiveness of your center’s educational offerings by connecting your content to what students must know and what schools need.

Speak Their Language: Connecting with Teachers for Field Trip Success

Reaching out to teachers and getting no response? Unsure whether you're providing what educators really want out of your field trips? This 1-hour webinar is designed for informal educators to build truly transformative partnerships with formal educators and features sage advice from a veteran park ranger and a Philadelphia 4th-grade teacher! This session will equip resource-based informal educators with the insights needed to connect effectively with busy teachers and create programs that resonate. Participants will learn:

• What Teachers Value: Discover the key elements teachers prioritize in educational field-trip programming and what makes a trip truly valuable and impactful for their students.
• Teacher Information Sources: Understand where teachers find information about external programs.
• Effective Outreach Strategies: Learn the best ways to respectfully contact teachers, acknowledging their demanding schedules, and how to effectively market your programs to highlight their value.

Improve your connections with local teachers and design programs that seamlessly integrate with classroom goals.

In-Person

Transform Your Teaching: A 3-Day Immersive Workshop for Resource-based Educators

Is your center's staff a mix of seasoned pros, well-meaning volunteers, and newbie educators? Wondering how to get everyone on the same page AND ensure a high quality experience for every field trip, no matter who leads it? Take your outdoor education programs to the next level with our intensive, 3-day in-person workshop on effective classroom management, tailored for natural and cultural resource professionals.

What You'll Experience:

• Day 1: Skill Building & Techniques: Dive deep into proven strategies for outdoor education. Learn to cultivate student buy-in with clear expectations, structure engaging inquiry-based lessons, set safe boundaries for exploration, and implement positive discipline techniques. Discover trauma-informed approaches to address student fears.
• Day 2: Real-World Application: Put your newfound skills into immediate practice! Work directly with a visiting school or student group, applying the techniques learned on Day 1 in a live outdoor setting.
• Day 3: Reflection & Strategic Planning: Engage in guided reflection on your Day 2 experiences, sharing successes and navigating challenges with peers. Benefit from peer-to-peer coaching and develop a concrete strategic plan for implementing these impactful changes at your home site.

Empower your staff with the skills to craft and lead outdoor experiences ripe for discovery and connection.