Awareness and Usage of the Tulsa Zoo Outreach Program by First and Second Grade Public School Teachers

Abstract

With the increasing demands placed on formal and free-choice education, proper analysis of the programs offered by free-choice educators being used in formal classrooms is an integral part of providing appropriate programs to students and teachers. This study attempts to ascertain the awareness and usage of the Tulsa Zoo outreach program in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A survey was sent to 199 first and second grade Broken Arrow Public School, Jenks Public School and Berryhill Public School teachers. The survey asked open- and closed-ended questions regarding awareness and usage of the outreach program. Teacher interviews were also conducted to gather more information on how the outreach program was being used and why or why it was not being used by teachers who were familiar, unfamiliar and nonusers of program. These forms of data collection were combined with information from a program request database used by the Tulsa Zoo to see what programs were most requested by teaches in the sampled school districts. The main finding was that first and second grade teachers are unaware about the program. Even if teachers are familiar with one aspect they were unaware of others. Findings also showed the sampled teachers prefer to use the Tulsa Zoo outreach program as a way to engage their students in hands-on learning while providing state testing aligned curriculum. Most teachers use in-class programs lead by zoo professionals or volunteers as a way to engage students in open communication about content the teacher presents. The main issues in need of addressing regarding the Tulsa Zoo outreach program include better marketing strategies, strong correlations between engaging lessons and testing standards and ensuring programs and materials are available to teachers throughout the year, regardless of season or events occurring at the zoo.