Education

 

It is no secret that people protect what they understand and love. That’s why STCB makes  education and public awareness a priority.

 

 

STCB works with local schools, providing sea turtle education for students from elementary through high-school ages. Students learn about turtle biology and conservation. Older students turn their knowledge into valuable community service by giving presentations and participating in monitoring, data collection and beach cleanups. 

STCB also shares the compelling story of sea turtle conservation on Bonaire in a variety of ways—from public presentations to informative articles via media and the Internet.

 

 

Sea turtle content inspires better grades

A pilot project using sea turtle topics to motivate students in Dutch language classes has proven so successful that in the 2011 school year the project is expanding into in thirteen Dutch language classes as part of the formal curriculum at Bonaire's public high school, SBG.

The project uses a Dutch language teacher handbook and student workbook to introduce science-based lessons on Caribbean sea turtles. The positive response of students to the pilot class convinced SGB teachers and administrators to extend the project to include as many Dutch language classes as possible.

Sea Turtle Conservation Bonaire (STCB) led this effort to bring sea turtle topics into Bonaire's high school classrooms in the spring term. STCB partnered with the Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network (WIDECAST), the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA) and SGB staff.

STCB engaged local teacher Helen Hoaen to adapt a WIDECAST science-based sea turtle educator's handbook. The result was a Dutch language teacher handbook and student workbook, all tailored to local conditions and scholastic needs.

DCNA provided essential funding for the project as well as technical assistance that included consultation, graphic design and printing of the full-color, large-format books.

Several key strategies led to the success: one was to create lesson material of such high quality that it would qualify for the high school's formal curriculum. The second strategy was to consult with local teachers to custom-fit the material for use in a required class - in this case Dutch language.

In addition, the teacher handbook and student workbook were presented in a beautiful full-color, image-rich format. The books and lesson plans were then presented to teachers in a training workshop.

By qualifying the material for inclusion in the required curriculum, project partners ensured that teachers are supported to use the lesson plans within the framework of the curriculum, rather than having to fit the material into an already over-full schedule.

During the pilot phase teacher Cynthia Sno volunteered to test the sea turtle lesson plans. She found that on the days the class used the sea turtle lesson plans, more students were in class, the students paid better attention and even received better grades!

Ms. Sno's assessment was that the students were better engaged because the material was new and the content applied to them. They enjoyed learning about the sea turtles living in Bonaire's waters. They were interested in better understanding the tremendous biodiversity of their island. They loved the color photos and modern, sleek design of the workbooks - an improvement over the dated materials used in some of their classes.

Gemma van der Linden and others in the SGB administration were impressed by the students' improved performance during the testing of the new sea turtle lesson plans. The result is that at the beginning of this new school year, Mabel Nava, Manager of STCB, and Kalli de Meyer, Executive Director of DCNA, visited SGB to deliver a new sea turtle workbook for every Dutch language student and a new teacher handbook for every Dutch language teacher.

STCB will follow up with an evaluation of this year's project. If it proves successful in continuing to motivate better participation and performance from students, the project partners will incorporate sea turtle and other nature themes into classes such as geography, biology and mathematics.

 

Helen Hoaen, center, in red, adapted the lesson plans for use at SGB. Students hold their copies of the workbooks.

Teacher Cynthia Sno, center, tested the new lessons in her Dutch language classes. On the left is Mabel Nava of STCB and on the right, Kalli DeMeyer of DCNA.

 

 

Radio is popular on Bonaire. Residents frequently tune in for news and actively participate in call-in shows. To reach that important audience, STCB recently partnered with radio stations providing a turtle awareness campaign titled, Did You Know. Izaline Calister, a renowned Antillean jazz singer, hosts the series. It is designed to increase general awareness of sea turtles. These 30-second public service announcements in Papiamentu and English were distributed in 2009 to radio stations in all five islands of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba.

 

Hear one of the STCB radio spots

Click to learn more about Izaline Calister and her music at www.izalinecalister.com.

 

 

 

Every school year, STCB and local high school students join forces in a class of learning and experience that is part of the social science curriculum. During 30 hours of classes, field work, and community service, students learn about sea turtles, their biology and life histories, and venture into the field to gain first-hand experience in sea turtle conservation. 

Izaline Calister recording STCB's radio campaign spots
Photo credit: Jan de Kruif