Water Outreach Self-Assessment — For review of messages, campaigns, programs, materials, events

The Self-Assessment topics below, along with the self-assessment worksheet, are designed to guide you through a quick assessment of your work. Topics are based on the Best Education Practices (BEPs) you should consider when developing or using education resources. The worksheet is not meant to substitute for a more comprehensive evaluation process. It will help you to identify planning or design steps you may have missed or permit you to congratulate yourself that you have already considered everything.

A few notes about the self-assessment questions and worksheet tool:

• “Learning experience”  is used as a generic term to mean whatever-you-are-doing that you hope will increase knowledge, skills, motivation, or awareness.
• “Achieved?”  provides a space for you to comment about what you have already done. If the category does not apply to your initiative, it’s ok to note “N/A” (not applicable).
• “Next steps”  gives you a space to identify what you still need to do. For example, you may want to do more work to on this aspect, study background information on the web site, get some training, call a friend, go back and double check, or try a different idea.

Details explaining what’s involved or instructions for how to do any of the skills listed in the self-assessment can be viewed by following the link to other sections of the Water Outreach Education web site.

SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS (from the worksheet)

1. Is the learning experience specifically designed to maximize one type of outreach or education effort?
Which one did you select?

• Information (one-way communication)
• Communication (two-way communication)
• Education (formalized learning process)
• Capacity building (enhance group or community skills)

ACHIEVED?

NEXT STEPS?

2. Did you use the Nine Steps for Planning to develop your learning experience?

1. Identify the type of outreach or education effort that you will emphasize.
2. Familiarize yourself with the “community of interest“. Link your effort to local issues and activities.
3. Assess and define the target audience(s).
4. Define clear goals and objectives, in cooperation with stakeholders and target audience.
5. Inventory resources and constraints, and adapt your initiative to capitalize on results.
6. Design your initiative with a focus on your goals, audience characteristics, and resources.
7. Pilot test and modify.
8. Implement, deliver, or disseminate.
9. Evaluate and revise.

ACHIEVED?

NEXT STEPS?

3. Is the learning experience designed to meet one or more learning goals?
Which ones?

• Knowledge — the development of intellectual skills, such as recall of data, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation
• Attitudes — the manner in which we deal with things emotionally, such as feelings, values, appreciation, enthusiasms, motivations, and ways of thinking
• Skills — physical movement, coordination, and use of motor-skill areas

ACHIEVED?

NEXT STEPS?

4. Have you made specific choices for how to address the learning needs of your audience as individuals?
For example, does the learning experience:

• Center on learner abilities, interests, needs?
• Promote active engagement?
• Build thinking and reasoning skills?
• Provide a nurturing context?

ACHIEVED?

NEXT STEPS?

5. If you will be working with a group, have you made specific choices in designing your learning experience to guarantee that each member of the group will get the most out of their involvement?
For example, does the learning experience:

• Reflect use of a planning model?
• Build on content and delivery recommendations from the target audience?
• Engage quality instructors who have been trained in effective teaching methods?
• Build environmental literacy?

ACHIEVED?

NEXT STEPS?

6. If you are preparing resources for a web site or for Web-based learning, have you adopted recommendations specific to designing successful materials for that medium?
For example, does the learning module:

• Provide clear and concise directions?
• Chunk the content into manageable bites?
• Provide a demonstration of the concept?
• Follow recommendations for meeting learning needs of the individual?

ACHIEVED?

NEXT STEPS?

7. If you working to reach members of a community, have you adopted strategies useful in building community capacity and effectiveness of community focused learning?
For example, does the learning experience:

• Evolve from work with a coalition or group?
• Build on locally existing skills and resources?
• Reflect flexibility in planning and delivery?
• Provide participants with feedback about the results of their actions?

ACHIEVED?

NEXT STEPS?

8. If you working with multiple communities or regions, does your involvement provide learning experiences that build skills and competencies at multiple levels – from the citizen to policy makers, leaders, and supervisors of natural resource professionals? Does your leadership result in effective public participation?
For example, does the learning experience:

• Build value for education?
• Facilitate learning at multiple levels of responsibility?
• Build skills for flexibility and responsiveness by policy makers and leaders?
• Offer avenues for participation that are competent, fair, and enhance involvement?

ACHIEVED?

NEXT STEPS?