Authors
Aubrie Rose Vannasse, Patrick Edward Thomas, Kathleen S. Bowe, Jose Manuel Andrade
Sponsor
Zoos Victoria
Advisors
Dominic Golding, Andrea Bunting
Term
October – December 2013
Abstract
To assist Zoos Victoria in their goal of creating a new educational program that promotes learning throughout the day, we evaluated the three educational programs currently offered to school groups at the Melbourne Zoo. Through observations, interviews, and surveys we evaluated how well the three models engaged students and encouraged student connections with nature. We determined that the New Model proposed by the zoo effectively engages students, but the older Educator-led Model also engages students and is preferred by teachers and zoo educators. This reticence may reflect in part a lack of familiarity with the New Model and we suggest several recommendations to improve each of these programs in the future.
Final Report