presentation given by Milton Chen & Julia Washburn to the National Park Foundation, February, 2013, Washington DC

1. LEARNING IN THE 21ST
CENTURY
EDUCATION IN AMERICA AND THE
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

2. NPS ADVISORY BOARD
EDUCATION COMMITTEE
• 28 Members
• Leading Academics, Practitioners, National
Association Directors
• Formal and Informal Education
• Learning: Dr. John Falk, Oregon State &
Dr. Ana Houseal, U. Wyoming (chairs)
• Technology: Dr. Allison Druin, U. Maryland &
Keith Krueger, Consortium for School
Networking (chairs)

3. NPS ADVISORY BOARD
EDUCATION COMMITTEE
• Partnerships: Deb Yandala, Cuyahoga Valley;
Lois Adams-Rodgers, CCSSO
• Research: Martin Storksdieck, National Academy of
Sciences; Jessica Thompson, Colorado State U.
• Professional Development: Carol Stapp, George
Washington U.

4. THE CHANGING WORLD OF EDUCATION
• Higher Bar: College-
& Career-ready
• Global Competition
• Changing
Demographics
• Technology &
Internet

5. SCIENTIFIC & CIVIC ILLITERACY
• 28% of American adults
qualify as scientifically
literate.*
• 83% of American adults
failed a basic test on the
Nation’s founding.**
* Jon Miller, University of Michigan
** American Revolution Center

6. 21ST CENTURY LEARNERS
• Personalized
Learning
• Digital Learning
Anytime,
Anywhere
• Connections
with Peers,
Experts
• Authentic,
Place-Based
Experiences

7. OUT OF SCHOOL TIME:
THE 95% SOLUTION
• Americans spend
less than 5% of
time in classrooms
• “40 years of research:
out-of-school
opportunities are
major predictors of
children’s
educational
achievement.”
Falk, John and Lynn Dierking. “The 95 Percent Solution.” American
Scientist, Volume 98. Nov-Dec (2010): 486-493.

8. 21ST CENTURY SKILLS:
COLLEGE & CAREER
• Information
Literacy &
Communication
• Problem-Solving,
Systems Thinking
• Collaboration,
Teamwork
• Self-Direction,
motivation
• Creativity

9. NEW ECOSYSTEM OF LEARNING
• Blended:
Face-to-face
& Online
• Information
“always on”
• Schools
• Home
• Museums
• Libraries
• National Parks

10. NATIONAL PARKS: CRITICAL ROLE IN
REDESIGN OF AMERICAN EDUCATION
• Authentic science and
history
• Create programs with
audiences
• Deliver with many partners
• Learning in and through
Parks using technologies
• Civic engagement skills:
service learning

11. REACH OF THE NATIONAL PARKS
• 280,000,000
visitors
• 57,062 school
programs
• 2,929,310
students reached
(on site); 7 million
with partners
• 75% of NPS Sites
Within 50 Miles of
Students
*based on FY2012 data

12. PLACE-BASED EDUCATION
• Place-Based
Education Evaluation
Collaborative (PEEC)
• Project-focused
• Relevant to communities
• Effective for all students
• Provides foundation for all
subjects
• Increases engagement and
enthusiasm about learning

13. OPERATION EXPLORE NEW YORK
• New York City’s largest
environmental
education program
• Gateway National
Recreation Area and
Park Partner lands
• Students explore and
document
interrelationships
between farm, forest,
and marine ecosystems

14. GOLDEN GATE NATIONAL PARKS
• 65,000 youth served
annually
• Crissy Field Center
• I-YEL Environmental
Youth Leadership
• Urban watershed HS
program
• Rob Hill
campground
• Next: Presidio Youth
Collaborative

15. BIOBLITZ
• 24-hour species
Inventory
• 1st – 12th grade
students work
alongside
scientists
• For many, 1st
experience in a
National Park

16. RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS
• More than 40 National Parks in partnership with local
non-profit organizations
• Two-day overnight to multi-day programs

17. FEDERAL COLLABORATION
U. S. Department of Smithsonian
Education
• 2012 Memorandum of • New Partnership
Understanding: with Smithsonian
DOI and ED
• Resource Sharing • Water
• Professional • Civil War to Civil
Development Rights
• Co-Host Informal • Migration and
Education Summit Immigration

18. NATIONAL COLLABORATION
• Department of State

24. WHAT IF?
We gave small grants to our best
science and history teachers and
National Park education staff to curate
Gooru collections of online resources
using National Park and other sources
on key themes?

25. WHAT IF?
We asked our best scientists and
historians to teach massive online
courses (MOOCs) using these resources?

26. OPPORTUNITIES
1. Document models & best practices:
Learning in the National Parks book/website
2. Digital strategy: Map, curate, tag & promote online
lessons, experiences
3. Deepen in-person, place-based programs: Residential
programs, youth campuses, environmental
camps/schools
4. Teacher professional development: NPS-based courses,
expand Teacher-Ranger-Teacher
5. Research on longer-term impact of intensive NPS
experiences
6. Business planning to map opportunities, priorities,
schedule, costs, fundraising