8.5. Educating Volunteers Here are some tips for teaching your group about the material in this manual. Adults in Nova Scotia have varied degrees of reading and writing ability. They generally learn best when: - They are physically comfortable. A little thing like not letting the room get too hot is important. Coffee, tea, or juice is important to many people at a meeting setting. - They don't feel threatened. Adults do not like to feel "inferior" to the presenter. The best learning takes place when the "teacher" and the adults are learning from each other. Adults need to feel respected. - They get a chance to discuss things. Adults do not learn well if simply "lectured at", especially at night after a long day of work. Adults have a tremendous amount of experience and like to learn from each other. Make sure you give people the opportunity to do so. Educating your group about some of the basic concepts in this manual will make your work easier. We don't expect everyone to become experts in water and fish ecology but learning a few of the basic concepts is important. They have a need to learn. If you have decided to work on a lake, adults are not going to be as interested in learning about coastal salt marshes. Adults learn best when the learning has a direct relevance and can be used right away. Learning should always have a purpose that relates to what you're doing in the project. Here are some simple learning activities that most adults enjoy True and False Quizzes When most people think of quizzes they think of school classrooms and nervousness. Learning does not have to be that way. For example, take some of the true and false quizzes at the end of the sections and divide your group into smaller groups. Have each group try and come up with the correct answers to the quizzes. You will find that there will be lively discussion. This is a good method because not everyone in the group has to be able to read. One person can read the questions and then there can be debate about the answers. Many people with lower levels of reading and writing ability have managed to accumulate an astonishing amount of knowledge from practical experience. The quizzes will help to reinforce important concepts and most adults have fun if the groups compete against each other in a friendly fashion. The key to this method's success is that there is no pressure on the individual to do well. If your group is highly literate, you can let everyone complete their own test. This method has been used successfully with many different kinds of people in our province from pulp cutters to senior industry officials. Slides and Videos Slides and videos can be a very effective way of teaching adults. Slide shows, films, and videos related to the material in this manual are listed in the section on Resource Materials. Some biologists and naturalists in your area may also have a private collection of slides that can be presented. Tell them exactly what you need. Small Discussion Groups or Study Circles When adults sit down together and try to solve a problem, they are usually more successful than if they tried to solve it individually. Adults learn a lot from talking to each other. You can use small discussion groups to help plan your work, and to learn material in this manual. Avoid "big group" sessions as much as possible. In big groups, usually only the most brave and vocal people get a chance to express their opinion. In small groups, everyone gets a chance to say something. SLIDE PRESENTATIONS Make sure everyone can see clearly and that the room is dark enough. Don't show too many slides. Most people try to pack in too many at one time. A dark, warm room promotes sleepiness. Most of us have been to presentations where we have "nodded" off. Don't make more than one point per slide and reinforce your points often. Allow time for questions and discussion. Small "kitchen study circles" can be a very effective way of learning. Adults can get together to go over a section of the manual and then talk about it. You may want to appoint one person to sum up the material. Use the quizzes at the end of each section to help you in these study circles. For more information about Teaching Adults see the section Resource Materials. Teaching Children Although much of the material in this manual can be used in a classroom or indoors, try to involve children in actual outside work. Field trips that complement indoor study are best. Children learn best about natural systems by out-of-door observation and research Children will be eager to learn if they know they will have a chance to apply their knowledge. Young people also respond well to situations where they are researchers or "detectives". Use the checklists and survey forms in this manual. Let children know they are collecting valuable information about natural systems in their community, information that will benefit everyone. What follows are some extra activities that may supplement the material in this book. - Have an older member of your community come in and talk to the children about changes in the watercourses in your community. - Visit places in your community that have to do with "fish" (hatcheries, docks, wharves, fish plants, university labs, grocery stores, fishing clubs). Young children can often learn a great deal just by visiting the fish department in a grocery store and hearing where the fish come from. - Have habitat professionals talk to the children about sections in this manual. They might be able to bring equipment to demonstrate study methods. Better still have a habitat professional come on a field trip and teach children how to do research. - Set up an aquarium, for fish collected by the children from a local pond or lake. For information see the section Resource Materials. - Use activities in the Aquatic part of Project Wild or The Atlantic Salmon Federation's Fish Friends. See the section Resource Materials. Or at http://www.wildeducation.org/programs/project_wild/prog_wld.asp Or fish Friends at http://www.asf.ca/fishfriends/ Now that you have completed the early stages of the project (Research and Preparation) you are ready for the actual enhancement work on site. All projects should now refer to the next Section: Restoring the Watercourse.