In 2000, Project WILD completed a comprehensive evaluation of all programs. In the first phase, a Clarification Focus Group--comprised of representatives from natural resources agencies, universities, departments of education, funding organizations, and Project WILD staff and Coordinators--addressed the theoretical underpinnings of the program. The Group concluded that the activities should be organized into mini-units that target specific learning standards and concepts. Doing so would facilitate more thorough issue development. The Focus Group also indicated that the conceptual framework should be revised to include processing skills important to the academic community as well as current topics of importance to the natural resource agencies. Such topics include land-use issues, habitat loss and fragmentation, biodiversity, invasive species, sustainability, and human management concerns.

In a second phase, findings from a survey to more than 2,200 educators randomly selected across the country also indicated that the core materials needed to be updated. To meet learning requirements, educators recommended that the materials should more directly tie to subject area standards in all major disciplines. Cross-reference lists in the Appendix should be simplified, and secondary school activities should be strengthened. However, the interactive, inquiry-based nature of the activities--the strength of the program--must be maintained.

The findings from the first two phases of our comprehensive evaluation indicated a need to revise the basic theoretical structure of the core materials. The revised structure should specify functional relationships among 1) the conceptual elements of the program, 2) academic skill requirements, and 3) the design of the activities. These three elements should be organized into a comprehensive "Learning Framework." Creating a learning framework would require five major steps:

Part 1. Foundational to Project WILD activities is the Conceptual Framework, a series of statements that express the underlying concepts of the program. Each of the activities in the core materials is designed to teach these points. These concepts should be updated to reflect the current concerns of the natural resource community.

Parts 2 and 4. Because educators must justify their use of classroom materials, the Learning Framework should indicate those concepts and standards that each activity addresses, and the connections should be direct (i.e., obvious). (Although all Project WILD activities are supportive of wide range of concepts and standards, "direct" correlations are more useful because they are easily identifiable.)

Part 3. Included in the Learning Framework should be academic standards related to skills important for wildlife conservation and education. Because Project WILD is distributed across the country, these standards should also be applicable nationally.

Part 5. All of the components would be placed on the Project WILD web site in a linked matrix that would allow easy access to the information.

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Part 1: Creating a Learning Framework

Creating a Learning Framework first required the revision of the original Project WILD Conceptual Framework. This revision began with an accuracy review of the original concept statements by two teams of biologists. These updated concepts were then grouped into topics. Determination of potential topics was accomplished with an analysis of national and state curricula and environmental education research.

After all concepts were temporarily distributed among these topics, teams of State Coordinators and facilitators worked on each topic unit to ensure the proper distribution and organization of the statements within and among the topics.

When the revision of the concept statements and topic units was completed, a team of school administrators determined the appropriate grade level for each statement. (This step was important to establish the grade level for each activity that would instruct these concepts.)

Finally, the new Conceptual Framework was posted on a web site for another review by the entire Project WILD network.

Part 2: Correlation of Concepts and Topics to Activities

Each activity was next assigned, or correlated, to the topic it best develops. To determine where each activity belonged, the activities were correlated to the concepts that support each topic. Groups of State Coordinators analyzed every activity to identify the topic concepts from the new Conceptual Framework that each activity develops directly (i.e., the connection is obvious). To determine the distribution, two committees of Coordinators interpreted the findings from this analysis.

To determine the order of the activities within each topic unit, a scoring system was set up that combined 1) the average Bloom’s taxonomy level, 2) the average grade level for the concept statements, and 3) the average grade level for the learning standards (i.e., subject area skills) for each activity. The activities were placed in order according to the score. That is, activities with lower scores were listed first, and the more advanced activities for older students were listed at the end of the topic unit.

Once the activities were organized within their assigned topic units, the list was posted on a Web site for review by the Project WILD network.

New Activity Development

To develop complete units for each topic, all concepts had to be fully addressed by the activities assigned to it. * However, many concepts were not adequately covered by the activities in their topic units. Consequently, new activities had to be developed to meet this need.

To create new activities, the previous activity-concept correlations were analyzed further. Concepts that were not addressed by activities within each unit were identified. These concepts were grouped by theme and given to a writing committee made up of Project WILD staff, a State Coordinator, natural resource personnel, and facilitators from three states.

Activities created by the writing committee were then sent to teachers for classroom testing and to educators and biologists for expert review. A few activities created by a contracted curriculum writer and suitable activities submitted by State Coordinators were also sent out for testing and review.

While new activities were being tested, all original activities were also updated by the Project WILD staff according to suggestions submitted by the State Coordinators and other reviewers.

All activities were then reviewed by the network of Project WILD Coordinators, staff, and Board Members.

* This goal was not possible for the Aquatic Guide because the smaller book does not have enough activities in each topic unit to allow complete concept development. Between the K-12 and Aquatic Guides, however, all concepts are covered within each unit.

Part 3: Creation of Subject Area Skill Standards

Subject area standards are simply statements describing skills related to major subject areas that Project WILD activities address. Although they were developed using national learning standards from major academic disciplines, they are adjusted for and limited to the areas of concern for Project WILD (e.g., science standards related to DNA, math standards related to quadratic equations, and history standards related to the causes of the Civil War, etc. are not included).

Development of the Project WILD subject area skill standards began with consultations with department of education and university representatives. Various published standards for major subject areas at the national and state level were reviewed. Selected skill standards were then adapted to be applicable to the needs of wildlife conservation and education, and these adapted standards were reviewed for accuracy and completeness by a team of school administrators.

Part 4: Correlation of Subject Area Skill Standards to Activities

The administrative team also identified the grade level for each skill and correlated all Project WILD activities to these standards (i.e, they identified the subject area skills each activity develops).

Part 5: Web Site Placement

When all four parts required for the Learning Framework were completed, they were compiled into a matrix that could display the relationships among these components. This learning framework was then placed on a draft web site for review by our network. . The entire structure for the Learning Framework is now available.

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The Project WILD curriculum have been organized into three sections:

1) Ecological Knowledge, 2) Social and Political Knowledge, and 3) Sustaining Fish and Wildlife Resources. The three major sections highlight reflect a developmental structure in that the activities in the Ecological Knowledge Section frequently correlate to elementary school curriculum requirements, the Social and Political Knowledge section often correlates to middle school needs, and activities in the Sustaining Fish and Wildlife Resources section are more likely to be appropriate for high school students. Each of these sections is then further divided into topic areas that correspond directly to the conceptual framework found in the back of the guide. The activities within each topic are ordered by complexity, moving the student from basic conceptual understanding to application. Therefore, educators may find the activities in the beginning of a topic section more applicable to elementary classrooms, while those at the end may be more suited for high school students. The result is an overall spiraling pattern of development as educators move through the various sections and topic areas.

Section One: Ecological Knowledge

Activities found in this section are generally introductory lessons that focus on awareness. They are designed to establish a foundation for most of the activities that follow, developing a basis of understanding for the characteristics of environments and how they function. There are five areas of study: 1) wildlife populations, addressing characteristics and population dynamics, 2) habitats, ecosystems, and niches, addressing distribution and importance, 3) interdependence, addressing commonalties and interactions among living things, 4) changes and adaptations, addressing environmental changes and organism adaptations, and 5) biodiversity , addressing types of biodiversity, human influence, and the importance of habitat.

Section Two: Social and Political Knowledge

This section builds on awareness and moves the students towards understanding. Students examine the way human cultures, economics and politics have affected people's attitudes toward natural resources. There are four areas of study: 1) cultural perspectives, addressing cultural development, expression, and appreciation of wildlife and natural resources, 2) economic, commercial, and recreational considerations , 3) historical and geographic development , addressing the development of society and commerce as related to natural resources, and 4) political and legislative frameworks both domestic and international.

Section Three: Sustaining Fish and Wildlife Populations

Activities found in this final section of the book are generally higher-level lessons that take the students from understanding to action. The activities are designed to help students recognize, evaluate, and make responsible choices in their own lives regarding natural resources, while reflecting on the knowledge and skills they have acquired in earlier activities. There are five areas of study: 1) attitudes and awareness, including human perspectives and values, 2) human impacts, both positive and negative, 3) issues and trends in global perspectives, land use, consumptive and non-consumptive uses of wildlife, and wildlife populations, 4) wildlife management, addressing basic concepts related to management considerations and practices, and 5) responsible action and service , focusing on how students and others can take action on behalf of wildlife and the environment.

Additionally, an important feature of this outline is that the topics related to science are grouped together, those related to Social Studies are grouped together, and those pertaining to the interests of natural resource agencies are grouped together. These divisions are intended to highlight the applicability of Project WILD activities to each of these arenas.

Activities

Each activity includes a statement of the instructional objective; a brief description of the instructional method employed; a list of materials; teacher background; step-by-step procedures; extensions; and several evaluation ideas. In a small box at the bottom of the first page of the activity, educators will find a brief summary of the suggested appropriateness based on the grade level, duration, group size and location (indoors or outdoors). It is important to note that the grade-level reference is based on a correlation to national subject standards, not to the ability of students to perform the activity. Activities may be adjusted by educators for use with broader age ranges, as appropriate. This reference box also includes key terms, appendices to note, and a list of subject skills and concepts taught from the conceptual framework.

Appendices

The Appendices include a glossary of terms; a metric-conversion chart; and a list of agencies and organizations that are referred to in one or more Project WILD activities. Other useful appendices include a brief guide to the concept of ecosystems; tips for using the outdoors as a classroom; a guide to keeping an aquarium in the classroom; guidelines for study of live animals in the classroom; and tables that cross-reference skills and topics to the activities. Also listed in the Appendices is the conceptual framework in outline form. The conceptual framework is part of an overall "learning framework," a matrix that organizes all Project WILD concepts and major subject area learning standards for each activity. This matrix also cross-references all Project WILD activities by topic and grade level. A brief summary of each activity is presented, and literature books appropriate for each activity are suggested. Links to additional background information and state correlations to educational standards will soon be provided as well.

Many state Project WILD programs have already correlated the Project WILD K-12 Curriculum and Activity Guide and the Project WIld Aquatic K-12 Curriculum and Activity Guide to their state standards. These states include Alaska, Colorado, Florida, New Hampshire, New Jersey, South Carolina, Virginia, and Washington. Links to online correlations can be found by clicking the "Correlations" link to the left of the page.