Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2011GU193B

Presenting 'Guam Water Kids': Private, DoDEA School Outreach/Teacher Relations Program

Institute: Guam
Year Established: 2011 Start Date: 2011-03-01 End Date: 2012-02-29
Total Federal Funds: $7,620 Total Non-Federal Funds: Not available

Principal Investigators: Arretta Card, Arretta Card

Project Summary: Recognizing a need to familiarize teachers with the environmental educational materials for students age 9-12, "Guam Water Kids," and to demonstrate the value of incorporating them into curriculum. WERI funded six on-site presentations in Guam public schools which were conducted during the Fall 2010 semester. Some 1,150 6th grade students and 40 teachers were engaged in these presentations. The teachers who attended these sessions received a follow up survey. Preliminary results from this survey indicate that the teachers found the presentation effective, appropriate to grade level, and all indicated they are likely to use the materials on their own in future school terms. In addition, the "Guam Water Kids" presentation was also screened in fall 2010 at the UOG Conference on Sustainability, in a small group session at the International Reading Association, and at the annual Leadership Forum sponsored by the 4-H youth organization. A number of teachers in attendance requested that the presentation also be made at private schools. Additional interest was shown by members of the home school association, teachers from the gifted and talented GATE programs, and teachers of other grade levels. Based on this response, we intend to offer the Guam Water Kids presentation to 6th graders in private schools and the Department of Defense school system on Guam by making six presentations in fall 2011. Specifically, we intend to offer the presentation to private schools scheduling them on a first come, first served basis and the DoDEA school system following their guidelines to schedule presentations follow the presentations with an evaluation by educators involved in teaching subjects related to water resource issues. Pending the acquisition of requested funds, our projected work plan will proceed as follows: 1. Contact and present materials to the head administrators for approval and scheduling. 2. Conduct six team presentations of the "Guam Water Kids" program led by Ann Card and educational consultant. Leave participating teachers with a packet of the educational materials including the CD presentation, printed copies of the two related Lesson Plans and Activities, and WERI contact information as appropriate. 3. Conduct a survey of participating educators to evaluate the "Guam Water Kids" presentation and related lesson plans. Include additional questions about needs teachers may have and specifically poll interest in participating in future teacher-training courses in water resources, a critical need which has been identified by the advisory council. Contact information will be preserved in order to facilitate future communication with educators. Analyze and report survey results.