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Project Learning Tree: Celebrating 30 Years By Vanessa Bullwinkle and Paula Tarnapol-Whitacre
How should the Council make this tough decision? But wait a second--where is Morrisville, anyway? Morrisville exists only in the pages of Project Learning Tree’s (PLT) flagship curriculum resource—the PreK–8 Environmental Education Activity Guide—that was revised and updated, and re-published earlier this year in celebration of PLT’s 30th anniversary. What to do with Morrisville’s woods reflects the kinds of problem-solving situations that PLT introduces to PreK–high school students through dozens of lesson plans and activities. “We don’t know what today’s students will face when they are adults,” said Jim Stark, Environmental Education Director of the Weyerhaeuser Company and chair of the PLT Education Operating Committee. “We can’t give them the answers, because we don’t even know what the questions will be. That’s why the important thing that PLT can do is teach critical thinking.” From Seed to Success Thirty years ago, PLT pioneered the concept of providing teachers with supplementary environmental education curriculum materials that can be integrated into lesson plans for all grades and subject areas. The goal of the program was to encourage students to explore the world around them, their place within it, and their responsibility for it by learning outdoors as well as in the classroom. The idea of a program that would use the forest as a “window on the world” for teaching students the complex issues surrounding both the natural and built environment began as a seed in the minds of many. That seed has grown to become a model multi-disciplinary environmental education program. At the core of PLT today is the PreK–8 Environmental Education Activity Guide, filled with lessons that can fit into science, language arts, social studies, and other parts of the school curriculum. Individual modules on such topics as Forest Ecology, Places We Live, Risk Assessment, and Solid Waste are tailored for high school students. Two other modules, Forests of the World and Biodiversity are in development. Each activity provides background on the topic being studied, hands-on ways to learn about it, and a way for teachers to assess student learning. All PLT materials address national and state academic standards.
“PLT has taken the initiative to stay with the times,” observed Sally Wall, a teacher and department chair at Seabrook Intermediate School in Houston, Texas, who was named a PLT Outstanding Educator in 2002. “Differentiated instruction is made easier with the new guides. The technology connections make PLT a leader in all the new trends in education. This is very forward-thinking.” Structure and Scale PLT was developed in the early 1970s by two organizations: the Western Regional Environmental Council (now the Council on Environmental Education) and the American Forest Institute (now the American Forest Foundation). PLT began in 13 Western states and has since grown to all 50 states and 11 other countries (Canada, Sweden, Finland, Japan, Chile, China, Brazil, Mexico, Jordan, Philippines, and Slovakia). PLT curriculum has been translated into seven languages. For ten years now, Peace Corps volunteers worldwide have received training in PLT. Today, PLT is nationally administered by the American Forest Foundation. In each of the 50 states, PLT is implemented by sponsoring organizations through steering committees with representatives from state education, resource, and environmental agencies; business groups; universities; other non-profits; and preK-12 schools. In other countries, PLT partners with a non-governmental organization or government agency that shares PLT’s mission, goals, and instructional strategies. International partners adapt, translate, and deliver a version of PLT for use in their country. At the national level, PLT’s partners include Federal agencies (ranging from BLM, to EPA, to NOAA, to the USDA Forest Service), industry, environmental organizations, educators, and academics. Making a Good Thing Better First published in 1976, PLT curriculum materials stay on the leading edge of educational quality through continuous review, revision, and evaluation. All curriculum materials are painstakingly developed by teams of education, technical, and resource management experts; tested by teachers in classrooms; and assessed by independent evaluators for impact on student learning. “PLT is unique because it represents the work of education and resource management professionals working together to do something important for kids,” said Rudy Schafer, former environmental education staff specialist for the California Department of Education and one of PLT’s creators. He emphasized the rigorous process through which materials were researched, written, and field-tested in classrooms. “We were able to say from the start that we had a quality program that would work at the 9 o’clock Monday morning level,” he said, referring to PLT’s easy usability in classrooms. ”Working closely with on-the-job professionals helped us gain widespread interest in the program.” PLT was one of the first environmental education programs in the U.S. to establish a protocol of professional development as part of its methodology. “Not only has PLT created a series of quality curriculum materials, but also a comprehensive system of delivering these materials to educators that ensures their effective use with students,” said Donna Rogler, Indiana PLT State Coordinator with the Indiana Division of Forestry. Educators participate in workshops to learn how to use the materials and make them locally relevant. Facilitator workshops train individuals to lead the educator workshops. “The developers of PLT recognized the importance of professional development 30 years ago, and that’s a standard we’ve maintained,” said McGlauflin. “But we’ve also incorporated changes into the workshops to address the challenges that teachers face in their classrooms today.” In 1976, just over 3,000 educators attended PLT workshops. That number has grown to about 25,000 annually, or more than 500,000 adults trained in how to use PLT since the program’s inception. The overwhelming majority who attend a workshop use the materials with students. 30 Years and Beyond Through innovative partnerships, PLT continues to expand the reach of environmental education to formal and nonformal educators, inservice and preservice teachers (college and university students now learning to be teachers), parents, and community leaders. These educators work directly with youth from preschool through grade 12, and in nature centers, science museums, scouting, and youth organizations. A number of special initiatives strengthen teaching tools, explore specific topics in depth, and provide training opportunities to diverse communities. For example: • PLT’s service-learning component to its curricula is GreenWorks!, a community-action program that provides grants to educators and their students for environmental neighborhood improvement projects. It encourages participants to form partnerships with groups, businesses, or organizations within their communities. For the last 14 years, PLT has provided more than $500,000 in GreenWorks! grants to schools across the country. • PLT has been a partner in the Environmental Education Training Partnership (EETAP) since its beginning in 1995 and is helping to coordinate many professional development activities. For example, PLT supports the development and dissemination of state correlations to environmental education curriculum and the integration of environmental education into preservice classes. In 2005, 8,500 preservice students received PLT training and materials in preparation for when they have their own classrooms. • Since 2001, PLT and the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) have partnered to provide joint educator workshops in wildland fire education. To date, nearly 10,000 educators from 25 participating states have received training. • PLT has teamed with Earth & Sky to bring current scientific research and environmental content into the classroom through radio and the internet. Hundreds of Earth & Sky’s daily radio shows have been correlated to PLT activities. This initiative is funded in part through the USDA Forest Service and EPA. Preparing Students for the Real World Lou Iozzi, professor emeritus at Rutgers University and past-chair of the PLT Education Operating Committee, noted that an evaluation of PLT, conducted in the 1990s, was the first in-depth national evaluation of an environmental education program. “We showed that we could justifiably make the claim that PLT brought tremendous value to students,” he said. As for the future, McGlauflin says she would like to see PLT at the forefront of changing environmental issues and education reform. “Important and engaging environmental themes such as climate change and biodiversity can breathe life into academics,” said McGlauflin. “Schools across the country are embracing the environment as a focus of study and many are using PLT to get their students outside and create ways to address both state and national standards. Test score results show that real-world experiences boost student learning.” |
