In recent years, Michaela Zint, an associate professor of environmental education and communication at the University of Michigan, found herself fielding an increasing number of calls from fellow environmental educators. All expressed a similar concern: how to evaluate their programs.
Environmental educators -- whether K-12 teachers or instructors working for government agencies or nonprofit organizations, including universities -- expressed a strong need for information to assess the quality of their programs.
These evaluations have become more important for environmental education programs as budgets shrink at funding agencies and foundations. As the cuts occur, environmental educators face more pressure to prove their programs are worth the investment and making a difference. In fact, many agencies and foundations now do not fund programs unless they incorporate evaluation.
Reflecting on her colleagues' needs, Zint initiated a project to develop a Web-based tool to assist and empower environmental educators in conducting their own evaluations. The result was "My Environmental Education Evaluation Resource Assistant" or MEERA, the latest version of which was launched this month. The site's URL is www.meera.snre.umich.edu.
"Whether you are an environmental educator or just interested in the process of evaluation, this site provides guidance on all aspects of evaluating a program, including about how evaluation can help you improve your program," said Dr. Zint, who has appointments in the School of Natural Resources and Environment and School of Education at UM.
The site contains carefully selected and reviewed evaluation resources. MEERA also indicates whether the resource is most appropriate for educators with little, intermediate or advanced evaluation skills. MEERA also includes a database of sample environmental education program evaluations that offer insights from those who conducted these evaluations.
Funded by and in partnership with the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Forest Service, MEERA enables visitors to learn about different types of evaluations; helps them choose an appropriate evaluation; guides them through the evaluation process step-by-step; and offers suggestions and insights from a number of sample environmental education program evaluations.
MEERA's visitor traffic recently spiked after the EPA's Environmental Education Division asked potential applicants of their Environmental Education Grant Program to visit the site for guidance on project evaluation.
More at www.snre.umich.edu/node/5815/.
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