Evaluation of WET in the City has been an ongoing process since its inception in 1999. Feedback from program partners, WET in the City-trained educators, professional reviewers and field-test teachers from across the country has guided our refinement of both the WET in the City Curriculum and Activity Guide (and other program resources) and the WET in the City program as a whole. We look forward to continued input from all involved in the WET in the City network to ensure that WET in the City continues to be a "cutting-edge" water and environmental education program meeting the needs of municipalities, educators and other program partners nationwide.

Feedback from Participating Partners

Each year we provide our participating partners two formal opportunities to provide feedback and evaluate the effectiveness of the WET in the City program. We request that each partner return a WET in the City Annual Report Form to provide facilitator and workshop data and information on WET in the City activities in their cities. Our partners also have a voice at our WET in the City Annual Meeting where they may network, exchange ideas and strategies, learn about new WET in the City offerings and discuss challenges and successes inherent in implementing the program. Open lines of communication facilitate ongoing informal feedback and evaluation opportunities throughout the year.

Feedback from WET in the City Educators

We ask participating WET in the City educators to evaluate their participation in the WET in the City program. Each educator participating in a WET in the City training is given a workshop evaluation form to collect demographic information and to provide feedback to CEE on the quality of the workshop, the training staff, and the educational materials used in workshops. In addition, educators are requested to fill out a WET in the City Activity Use Record as they implement WET in the City activities with urban youth, both in the classroom and in informal learning centers. This simple form collects information including: activity title; date; subject area/venue in which the activity was taught; number of students reached; and additonal comments.

Professional Evaluation

CEE recently partnered with the Rice University Department of Education to conduct a follow up survey of WET in the City-trained educators to determine their use of and opinions about the WET in the City curriculum. Data collected on workshop evaluation forms was compiled and phone interviews were conducted with various user groups. CEE plans to continue this evaluation project into the new year. This vital feedback will enable us to further refine the WET in the City curriculum and workshops to continue to meet the needs of participating educators.

CEE has also developed a Student Pre-test/Post-test Evaluation Instrument for use with its Team WET Schools program. As new schools join the Team WET Schools program, the tool will be used to gauge a baseline regarding students' knowledge, attitudes and behaviors towards water and water resources before and after participating in WET in the City activities and completing water stewardship projects through the Team WET Schools program.

Give Us YOUR Feedback

If you have comments or suggestions to guide the future development of the WET in the City or Team WET Schools programs, we'd love to hear from you. Contact Us.