How Do I Provide Workshops for Environmental Education Certification?

Criteria II and Criteria III workshops are not pre-approved by the program and are not evaluated for credit until after a program enrollee submits the EE Form documentation. As long as the workshop in in alignment with NAAEE environmental education guidelines and meets the definition of Criteria II or Criteria III, it will most likely be accepted. Criteria III is flexible and broad in scope and thus relatively easy for participants to find, but Criteria II, outdoor instructional workshops, are always in demand. Criteria I workshops do have an approval process. This should not imply a that a Criteria I has more importance or credibility than other workshops--the review is done to ensure a Criteria I is a true "train-the-trainer" workshop, meets NAAEE guidelines and the time and curriculum requirements. 

About Criteria I Instructional Workshops

Criteria I Workshops should provide educators with the basic knowledge, skills and abilities needed to deliver high-quality environmental education programs to children and adults and should be a true "train-the-trainer" workshop. These workshops are designed for the professional development of environmental educators who work in both non-formal and formal educational settings and who offer a wide range of programming for all grade levels and for adults. Criteria I workshops should go beyond the instruction of nature or science content knowledge and provide participants with teaching skills, methods and resources for educating the public in the classroom, in the outdoors and in nonformal settings such as nature centers, parks and museums.

Workshop sponsors must be affiliated with an established environmental education facility, organization or agency. Facilitators of Criteria I Workshops should model professional standards in the field of environmental education as defined by the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE). NAAEE's Guidelines for the Preparation and Professional Development of Environmental Educators will be used as a framework for evaluating workshops submitted for consideration for Criteria I status. 

The workshop should be a minimum of six contact hours. If the workshop is less than 10 hours and a 10-hour workshop is desired by participants, (to equal one CEU for teachers), then a homework component may be included to make up the difference. Criteria I workshops must be offered on a recurring basis, ie., once a month, 5 times a year, once a year, etc.

The workshop should provide resources such as lesson plans, activities guides or curriculum guides. A copy will be maintained in the Office of Enviornmental Education and Public Affairs' Environmental Literacy Center. A Criteria I workshop should go beyond gaining content knowledge and demonstrate how the knowledge gained can be applied in a classroom (teacher/student setting) through an activity or lesson.

Submitting A Criteria I Workshop for Review

Sponsors who would like their workshops or courses added to the list of North Carolina Environmental Education Certification Program Criteria I: Approved Workshops and Courses should contact the NC Office of Environmental Education and Public Affairs by emailing EEcertificationNC@lists.deq.nc.gov. 

Materials should be sent to the Environmental Education Certification Program Manager for review. The list, North Carolina Environmental Education Program, Criteria I Approved Workshops and Courses, will be updated on the Office of Environmental Education’s website.