Browsing by Subject "place based education"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
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    Perceptions of Continued Resilience Development in Nature Preschool Alumni
    (2024-12) Kroll, Melanie Rose
    This study explored the perceptions of educators, parents, and children who attended a nature-based preschool in Minnesota on how resilience continues to develop in youth as they enter middle childhood. Parents explored what attributes associated with resilience their children demonstrate, ways these are encouraged outside the nature-based school, and reflected on what role nature may play in their family. Youth participants reflected on the resources they used when faced with challenging or adverse experiences. Through thematic analysis, common traits identified by parents include confidence, leadership, empathy, self-regulation, and problem solving. Youth demonstrated a familiarity with place, reliance on self-regulation tools, and trust in their family, friends, and more-than-human companions. The Lead Guide identified programmatic features which instilled a sense of security, belonging, and independence among preschoolers and centered connections to the more-than-human world. Examined together, the perceptions of participants highlight the role of connection, safety, and independent exploration as factors which promote resilience within youth.
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    River Quest: A Programmatic Evaluation
    (2022-03-24) Munshower, Ellen
    The purpose of this evaluative study was to assess to what extent that the River Quest program in Duluth, MN achieves its mission of “enhance[ing] awareness and understanding of the St. Louis River ecosystem and interrelated commercial, industrial, and recreational activities” in participants, and supports local teacher’s curricula (About Us, n.d.). More specifically, the following learning outcomes were investigated through this study: Knowledge regarding water safety; knowledge of the interactions between the river and recreational, commercial, and industrial activities in the region; attitudes regarding water conservation. From a survey of past participants and an interview with an educator that attended in the past, findings showed that the River Quest program is successfully educating students about the subjects, and the program is viewed in an overall positive light.