The Development and Implementation of a Water Education Inservice with Project WET in the Eau Claire, Wisconsin Area Public Schools

Abstract

The purpose of this project was to expose teachers in the Eau Claire Area Public School District to water education by using Project WET and existing community resources: Wisconsin DNR- Buzz Sorge, UW-Extension Water Specialist - Ron Struss, CESA 10 Science and Technology Coordinator - Kathy Tulman, City of Eau Claire - Ken Van Es, and Project WET State Coordinator/Adopt-A-Lake - Libby McCann. The inservice's main goal was to unite Eau Claire Area Public School District teachers in addressing water issues and serve as a starting point for the infusion of water education in the Eau Claire Public School District's curriculum. Before the inservice was given, three schools had initiated projects that would study Half Moon Lake. All K-12 teachers in the Eau Claire Area Public School District were invited to participate in the inservice during two early release staff development days. In the summer of 1996, a two half-day inservice with Eau Claire Area Public School Staff Development Coordinator, Mr. Dick Fields was organized. Teachers were given a pre-test to evaluate prior attitudes towards the need for environmental education. A post-test was administered to evaluate the effectiveness of instruction and activities. Both half-day inservices consisted of experts in the field and two Project WET activities. Teachers were also instructed to use the Project WET curriculum during the nine week break and report back on their experiences with one activity and share it with a group. In addition to the Project WET curriculum, a grant proposal was submitted and accepted by the school district to fund a storm drain stenciling project. It gave workshop participants the opportunity to take an active role in having the students work to educate the public on how to prevent non-point source pollution and develop the students' roles as positive members of the community. Eau Claire has relied on water as a resource, and the community and students need to understand how we must protect and conserve it.