Best Education Practice: Individual RSS Feed

See below for: research findings about outreach with an individual.

For the Individual, the learning experience:

  • Provides opportunities for extended effort and practice.
  • Promotes active engagement and real world problem solving.
  • Enables the learner to link new knowledge to their existing knowledge in meaningful ways.
  • Presents a new behavior or skill by • Demonstrating its similarity to a current behavior or skill. • Relating the new behavior to current social practices. • Demonstrating ease of adoption in terms of time, effort and money.
  • Builds thinking and reasoning skills – analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and problem solving – that learners can use to construct and apply their knowledge.
  • Provides a nurturing context for learning, with attention to • Cultural or group background and influences • The physical environment • The use of tools or practices appropriate to learner skills and abilities.
  • Relates to personal interests and provides for personal choice and control. (the learning experience is “learner centered”)
  • Has a clear purpose with tightly focused outcomes and objectives
  • Allows a learner to interact and collaborate with others on instructional tasks.
  • Can be adapted to individual differences in learning strategies and approaches.
  • Encourages the learner to set meaningful learning goals and to take personal responsibility for their own learning.
  •  Relates to the individual’s level of physical, intellectual, emotional, and social development.
  • Builds on positive emotions, curiosity, enjoyment, and interest.
  • Assesses the learner in order to set appropriately high and challengings standards.

Findings Navigation: Browse by Audience; Browse by Theme; Browse by Best Education Practice; Browse by multiple topics

Larson, S., Smith, K., Lewis, D., Harper, J., & George, M. (2005) Finding 2

Industry initiated voluntary pollution control programs, supported by education, can result in implementation of BMPs when course work involves participants developing a water quality management plan for their ranch that includes
ranch description, ranch goals, ranch maps, basin water quality status, nonpoint source self-assessments, existing and planned BMPs, and monitoring procedures. Continue reading →

Maurel, P., Craps, M., Cemesson, F., Raymond, R., Valkering, P., & Ferrand, N. (2007) Finding 2

Social learning refers to the growing capacity of a social network to develop and perform collective actions. In promoting social learning in watershed management, use technical information in a way that supports local actors to explore and clarify their own understanding of the river basin. Beware of information or communication tools that are either poorly designed or used inadequately, for example with too much technical content. Those can act as a barrier by overwhelming actors with technical information which is not relevant or understandable for them. Continue reading →

Hartley, T. W. (2006) Finding 1

To increase US public acceptance of water reuse, such as high awareness of treatment technology, trust in local government; and of the challenges and opportunities of water reuse in the US:

  • Manage diverse types of information in order to serve the interests of all stakeholders, and ensure equal access of information, in order to promote learning and communication, and to build mutual understanding among all stakeholders.
  • Nurture multiple motives for the public to engage, demonstrate genuine commitment to hear the public’s voice.
  • Promote communication and public dialog in multiple forms and venues in all stages of decision making.
  • Ensure decisions made are fair, sound, and reasonable.
  • Build and maintain trust among decision makers and the general public.

Continue reading →

Fielding, K. S., Terry, D. J., Masser, B. M., Bordia, P., & Hogg, M. A. (2005) Finding 2

To promote riparian zone management: clearly and convincingly demonstrate the benefits of riparian zone management; promote a supportive normative climate by getting groups or important individuals within the community to strongly endorse the practice; solicit endorsements from other rural landholders; devise strategies for overcoming the barriers (real or perceived) associated with riparian zone management or provide alternatives; and engage landowners in riparian management behaviors to increase familiarity with options. Continue reading →

Garner, L. C., & Gallo, M. A. (2005) Finding 1

When deciding between a physical or a virtual field trip for undergraduate college students, if both situations take students through a series of interactive experiences designed and controlled to maximize learning, consider:

  • Either choice results in similar achievement scores;
  • No significant differences are identified relative to learning styles;
  • A field trip experience does not significantly impact non-science majors’ attitudes towards science, which means teachers might have to apply other more interesting classroom activities to engage the non-science major students other than having them devote time to a fieldtrip not directly related to their major.

Continue reading →

Dufort, N. (2005) Finding 1

An effective stormwater public education program focuses on building an understanding of wet weather flow issues and garnering support for all facets of the implementation, particularly on-site source controls using targeted communication tactics that promote action and commitment to the implementation of various controls. On-site controls messages can address reduction of pesticide and fertilizer use, promoting source controls such as downspout disconnection, reducing impervious surfaces, importance of stoop and scoop of pet waste, vehicle maintenance, and the connection between roadside catch basins and lake water quality. Continue reading →