Natural advice: Powering up for Program Plans
When I was first informed that we were now going to be asked
to submit official program plans for our nature center education programs, I
couldn't help but cringe a little bit.
Another piece of paperwork to fill out?
I even noticed my coworker roll his eyes a bit. But when I thought about it for another
moment, I began to understand why the agency I work before was taking the
initiative to have their staff develop written plans for their education
programs.
Program plans, or program outlines, offer a summary of
what you have planned for your interpretive program, including themes,
materials, where you'll conduct the program, and other pertinent
information. A good program outline
allows someone to pick it up and know right away what the program is about and
what materials and preparation tasks are necessary to conduct the program
successfully. But what is a program plan
supposed to look like? It seems like all
of my coworkers have their own way of planning a program. I like to write detailed, verbatim outlines
that are more like a script, while the other naturalist I work with simply jots
down some bullet points on a piece of scratch paper. Another naturalist doesn't even bother to
write an outline because he already feels comfortable enough with the topic! Because it has been optional for my
organization’s staff to write program outlines, we have never really had to
worry about other people looking at them or needing them - until now.
So why go through the extra trouble of writing a program
plan? For one thing, it's important to
remember that many of us work for public service agencies, such as park
districts, nature centers and museums whose core values include accessibility
for all. Our work is not usually
copyrighted nor meant to be proprietary. Therefore as paid staff of our organizations,
we are obligated to contribute to our organization's egalitarian mission by
providing educational services to our respective constituents. Therefore we should allow our work to
complement our organization's mission and act as educational resources
ourselves. We can also contribute to the
success of our colleagues and coworkers by allowing them to “CSE” (copy and
steal everything) so that they can improve their interpretive programs (but of
course give proper and due credit to those who generated the original ideas!).
So what does an ideal program plan look like? There are many variations on program plans,
and the National Association for Interpretation (NAI) has a rigorous outline
format for planning interpretive programs as part of their Certified
Interpretive Guide (CIG) training. But
you don't necessarily need to follow their outline format completely. At a minimum, your program plan should
generally include your title, your audience, the location of your program, your
objectives or your overall theme, materials needed, your introduction, body,
and conclusion, and perhaps any special notes or remarks about your program
before or after you go through with it.
Title
You don't need to get too hung up on this part, but your
title should be catchy and reveal the program's topic. For example, a program on maple syrup could
catch people's attention with a title such as:
Maple Sugar Time!
Audience
What is the intended age group for your program? Try to be specific and avoid general
categories such as "families" or "general audience." For example, perhaps your program is best
suited for Pre-K and K or for ages 12 and up.
Location
Give the specific location or locations for where your
program will take place. Do you have an
indoor location as an alternative if there is inclement weather? And is your location accessible to persons
with disabilities or the elderly?
Include any pertinent information about your program's location in your
plan. For example, the outdoor learning circle is a better description of your
location as opposed to just saying "the nature center." Your location doesn't have to be set in stone
- but for planning purposes it is a good idea to factor in what kind of space
you will utilize for your interpretive program and where those spaces are.
Objective or Theme
One of the major criterion that NAI focuses on their CIG
training is whether or not the interpreter can demonstrate developing a sound
theme or set of objectives that captures in a single sentence what the outcomes
will be after participants have attended your program. For example, a program on deer could have a
theme statement such as "After attending my presentation on deer
populations in our park district, my audience members will have a greater
appreciation about and will show more support for managing deer populations in
urban areas." NAI's Certified
Interpretive Guide (CIG) training manual provides excellent tools for
developing interpretive program themes and objectives:
Materials Needed
List what supplies you'll need or think you'll need. For example, a preschool program on coyotes
might require a coyote pelt to see and touch or perhaps a colorful picture book
featuring coyotes. Or if you are leading
a long hike, you might want to include a first aid kit as a program item if you
are going to be a good distance from a visitor center.
Introduction, Body, and Conclusion
You can either format this part as bullets or verbatim,
whichever you are most comfortable doing.
As long whoever might pick up your outline can understand generally how
you intend to format your program, you’ll have plenty of flexibility here.
Your introduction should include what actions you will take
to get your audience situated, such as giving an overview of what they will be
doing or pointing to the location of the restrooms. Your body is the content of your program, and
this would be a good time to mention how or when you are going to use your
materials as well as stating your subthemes.
An example of a section in your program plan's body could include a
statement like "pass around coyote fur for audience members to touch and
ask them why they think coyotes have such thick fur" or "tell a story
about how maple syrup is made."
Your conclusion should wrap up your theme and you should state what type
of closing remarks or actions you might take, such as promoting an upcoming
special event or passing out program evaluations.
Special Notes and Remarks
I like to occasionally include some "heads-up"
information such as what to do if trail conditions are not conducive to your
program, or any special notes about how to address any controversial topics
that might be included in your program (e.g. global warming, slavery). You don't necessarily need a separate section
to your program plan for special notes, but they are definitely nice to include
somewhere in your program plan.
Reflection
Program plans are meant to be dynamic rather than static
documents. The forest preserve district
that I work for requests any feedback for improvements in the
"reflections" section of their program plan template. If there is something that could have been
improved, something you wish you would have included, or if there was something
that went exceptionally well, you can include your remarks in your program plan
after it is over. For example, for one
presentation I did on snakes, I wish I would have included a longer nature walk
following the presentation, since my audience really seemed to enjoy walking on
the trails with a naturalist. I would
include this remark in my reflection so that the next time I do (or somebody
else does) this program they could include a longer hike.
~
To some degree, interpretation is an art, and many
interpreters understandingly like to claim a certain level of
"ownership" over their creative work.
For example, my coworker is considered the expert on salamanders and has a very specific format for his
salamander programs. He has even
included his own photos and hand-outs that he himself produced in his program. But what if my coworker called in sick that
day and I was called on to do his program, or what if he quit and decided to
work somewhere else? I know enough about
salamanders to conduct a quality interpretive program, and being able to turn
to his program plan at the last minute would serve as a critical reference. Also, what if another naturalist in my agency
wanted to do a similar program at their nature center? They would have a fantastic in-house resource
to turn to as would other environmental education agencies with a similar
mission. Well-composed program plans
could serve as the foundation for developing and delivering quality
interpretive educational programming.
So power up for program plans! They're not just another form that you have
to fill out. They are a critical
resource for your colleagues and others that support your organization's
mission.
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