Thursdays
6:30-9:20PM @ Self Reliant House, Saturdays; Sundays (see field instructions
available before each trip)
Team
Contact: Robin Freeman M.A., 434-3840, rfreeman@peralta.edu 510-915-1452
cell Call or email Robin for office hrs
@ SRH.
Nancy
Ceridwyn, MS, MEd., 415-640-4270, nancyceridwyn@comcast.net
FIELD TIMES AND LOCATIONS MAY CHANGE - CHECK EMAIL
NOTICES OR CHECK WITH ROBIN.
This
course is an overview of nature/culture interpretation and education
including planning for age-, theme- and
place-appropriate presentations for diverse audiences and settings; survey of
park management, planning and community relations.Content will include
resources and employment opportunities in the environmental management field.
Text:
|
Beck, Larry,
and Cable, Ted
|
Interpretation
for the 21st Century: Fifteen Guiding Principles for Interpreting Nature and
Culture,
2nd edition
|
Sagamore
Books
|
2002
|
1)
Thursday
2/7. Introduction
Instructors:
Robin Freeman & Nancy Ceridwyn
Introduction
to the Course; Brief introductions of class participants and professional
interests; Discussion about grades, attendance, mini-internships, journals and
presentations either oral or written.
Trail experience: Tour of
Environmental Center and Hilton Trail
ASSIGNMENT:
Please begin a class journal and begin with one of two questions: How is the
natural world part of our community culture or is it? OR What stuck with you
about the evening walk? Text: Purchase. Handout: Syllabus. Bring flashlights,
umbrellas for next week.
2)
Thursday
2/14. Defining the Profession.
Instructors:
Robin Freeman & Nancy Ceridwyn
History
of the profession, How do we define the jobs of ranger, naturalist,
environmental educator as professions and in what arenas do each work?
Trail experience: Leona Canyon
and/or Hilton Trail.
ASSIGNMENT:
Write directions to a local park. Text Reading:
Intro, 1, 3, 4, 7,15
Begin
to think about mini-internship sites.
3)
Sunday
2/17. Elements
of Interpretation: Cultural Interpretation.
Eugene O’Neill’s Tao
House, National Park Service Historic Site.
NPS
staff with Robin Freeman and Nancy Ceridwyn
Presentation
and planning for interpretation of cultural and historic sites.
Meet
at Merritt College at 9:00 am and drive to Danville where we will board the
Park Service van as a group. Bring
lunch, water and hiking gear.
ASSIGNMENT:
Make a rough first draft of the types of mini-internship sites which interest
you. Due Thurs 2/21
4) Thursday 2/21. Engaging Environmental Education: New
Techniques for Learning
Lynn
Barakos and Ken Beals-Lawrence Hall of Science, Better Environmental Education
Teaching, Learning, Expertise and Sharing (BEETLES)
Innovative,
practical strategies for making outdoor science experience more learner-and
discussion-centered.
Way Finding-
Preparing for the Experience
Instructor:
Nancy Ceridwyn/ Robin Freeman
The
importance of thorough directions.
ASSIGNMENT:
Text: Reading:
Chapters 2, 8, 12,13 Handout: Directions
to Big Break Visitor Center DUE: Mini-Internship draft list. Begin arranging
your site. You may ask Robin or Nancy for help.
These often take time to arrange.
4)
Saturday
2/23. 10:00
- 1:00 Elements of Interpretation
Kevin
Damstra, Naturalist, East Bay Regional Park District with Robin Freeman and
Nancy Ceridwyn
Meet
at Merritt College at 9:00 am or meet the group at Big Break Visitors Center @
10:00 am.
What
is interpretation and why do we interpret? Explore the difference between
interpretation and information, techniques, styles, and methods.
Bring
lunch and outdoor clothing
Trail experience: Big Break,
Antioch
ASSIGNMENT:
Journal notes on your impressions of Big Break, developing your style of
interpretation and your thoughts on the presentation content.
6) Thursday 2/28. Organizing Volunteer Programs and First Aid
for Participants
Instructor:
Robin Freeman
Megan
Hess Lilla- Volunteerism and Friends of Sausal Creek
Kate
Freeman: Safety and First Aid
Discuss
Journal assignment
ASSIGNMENT:
Reading Text : 6
7) Thursday 3/7. Who Is the Audience? From Pre-school to Older Adults.
Instructor:
Nancy Ceridwyn Making programs
appropriate for various ages, physical and mental abilities. Matching the
program to the learning styles
ASSIGNMENT:
Reading Text: Chapters 9, 10. Journal:
What audiences do you feel most comfortable with and why?
8) Thursday 3/14. Teaching without Talking: Outdoor Activities;
and Coordinating with Large Park Organizations
Bob
Flasher, Golden Gate Park Conservancy with Robin Freeman
Interactive
outdoor games and interpretive activities make nature more accessible
supplemented with great ranger in-the-field stories.
ASSIGNMENT:
Reading Text: Chapters 11, Handout: Directions to Crab Cove
9) Thursday
3/21.Environmental Writing for Brochures and Panels
Michael
Charnofsky Naturalist, East
Bay Regional
Parks,Robin Freeman
Meet
at Crab Cove Visitors Center, Alameda 6:30.
NOTE: Brief proposal
of interpretive text and activity, or walk/talk ideas/questions/lousy first
draft due
April 4
Reminder:
Mini-internships will be due in less than a month
ASSIGNMENT:
Reading Text: Principles 14. Journal: What were your impressions of Crab Cove
Visitor Center? When has the non-personal
interpretation been most useful for you?
When is it less useful? Handout: Directions to Anthony Chabot Eagle
Campground
**Spring Break – 3/25-3/29
10) Thursday 4/4.
Park Management
Host:
Janet Gomes, Supervising Ranger, East Bay Regional Parks with Jim O’Conner,
Assistant Operations Manager EBRPD, Eric Folmer, TreeWolf Tree Service and
former EBRPD Ranger Union President and Robin Freeman
Meet
at Merritt at 6:30pm and drive to Anthony Chabot Eagle Campground
The
panel will discuss changing views of park maintenance, preservation and
community interaction.
ASSIGNMENT:
Brief proposal of interpretive
text and activity, or walk/talk ideas/questions/lousy first draft due .
Research resources
for planning an interpretive presentation; Due April 18.
11) Thursday 4/11. Experienceology and Story telling
Instructor:
Nancy Ceridwyn
Examine
8 steps to a better visitor experiences at your site. Stories to make your program come alive.
ASSIGNMENT:
Journal: What was your best and worst Park or Museum experience? Why? Handout: Directions to Sunol Regional Park
12) *Saturday 4/13. Interpretive Plans that Work
with Park Activities
Instructor:
Nancy Ceridwyn, Katie Colbert, Naturalist, East Bay Regional Wildrness
Meet
at 9:00 in the Merritt parking lot and drive to Sunol-Ohlone Regional
Wilderness near Pleasanton or at 10 am at the Sunol Green Barn Visitors Center
Interpretive
plans connect the themes of a park with park programs. Participate in two programs generated from
Sunol’s interpretive plans.
ASSIGNMENT: Prepare for April 18 Presentation
13) Thursday 4/18. Class Presentations – potluck.
Present walk/talk/brochure and comment on each
ASSIGNMENT:
Prepare interpretive activities for volunteer program on Saturday
Class
members organize the event
14)
Saturday
4/20.
Class Volunteer Coordination in Action
Instructor:
Robin Freeman
Class
members coordinate volunteers for projects and interpretation of San Leandro
Creek.
GRADES: For a letter
grade (required for Certificate/Degree), reasonable attendance, class participation,
and completion of assignments will be used by students to suggest your own
grade and evaluate the course. If the
course is taken for Credit/non credit only, participation is required for this
option.
Mini-Internships consist of
5-8 hours volunteering at a park, nature center, camp, outdoor class, volunteer
environment clean-up or other venues where interpretation, parks management/maintenance
or outdoor/environmental education takes place.
Reporting back verbally to the class or in writing include the name of your
intern site, the leader who worked with you, date and times and your
impressions if what was most useful to you and what was least useful.
Presentations may be an
interpretation, an environmental
education activity of about 10 minutes, a site management activity or plan, or
a volunteer activity (on Earthday) or designing and writing a brochure or
interpretation panel.
|
Grading Rubric
|
|||
|
80% Attendance or as agreed
|
Mini-internship: 5-8 hrs,; report back verbally or
in writing
|
Presentation: oral or written
|
A
|
|
60%
|
Internship
|
Presentation
|
B
|
|
50%
|
Internship or Presentation
|
Internship or Presentation
|
C
|
|
50%
|
---
|
---
|
D
|
|
F – suggest you withdraw
|
F
|
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Students with Disabilities: Students
with disabilities who wish to receive services and/or accommodations are asked
to submit a form from the Disability Services Program (DSP). Receiving services
and accommodations will not adversely affect your grade. This information will
be kept confidential (FERPA). Please meet with me in private as early in the
semester as possible to discuss your learning needs. If you think that you
could benefit from the services offered by DSP, please contact a counselor in
R-109, 510-436-2429, or go to our College website for more information: www.merritt.edu, click on "Student Services," and
then click on "Disability Services Program."
