________________________________

From: Matiasek, Jennifer 
Sent: Monday, November 22, 2010 4:22 PM
To: Matiasek, Jennifer
Subject: RFP for Chicago Zoological Society

 

The Chicago Zoological Society (CZS) is soliciting proposals for an
individual or organization to provide the qualitative portion of a
formative evaluation. The focus of the evaluation is a set of three
professional development curriculum units being developed for informal
educators on the topic of early childhood nature play. The qualitative
element requires conducting classroom observations during pilot testing
of the curriculum units. Development and implementation of the
curriculum units is being funded by IMLS through a 21st Century Museum
Professionals Grant.

 

Please see the  RPF below for more information. 

 

Please contact me if you have questions or need any clarification. 

Thank you

 

____________________________ 

  

Jennifer Matiasek

Research Program Coordinator 

Audience Research

Chicago Zoological Society/Brookfield Zoo 

3300 Golf Road 

Brookfield, IL 60513 

(708) 688-8838 

(708) 688-7838 Direct Fax 

(708) 485-6048 Main Fax 

[log in to unmask] 

____________________________ 

  

Chicago Zoological Society Main Lines: 

Business (708) 688-8400 

Guest Info (708) 688-8000

 

P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail

 

________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________Request for Proposals

November 1, 2010

Formative evaluation of professional

development curriculum units: Early

childhood nature play

Request for Proposals. November 1, 2010

2

Formative evaluation of professional development curriculum units

Project Description

The Chicago Zoological Society (CZS) is soliciting proposals for an
individual or organization to

provide the qualitative portion of a formative evaluation. The focus of
the evaluation is a set of three

professional development curriculum units being developed for informal
educators on the topic of

early childhood nature play. The qualitative element requires conducting
classroom observations

during pilot testing of the curriculum units.

Anticipated project duration

Approximately 2 years, February 1, 2011 through December 31, 2012

Organization and Project Overview

Brookfield Zoo is located in Chicago's western suburbs and is managed by
CZS, a private, non-forprofit

corporation, which was founded in 1921. The mission of CZS is to inspire
conservation

leadership by connecting people with wildlife and nature. Since the
opening of Brookfield Zoo in

1934, CZS has had an international reputation for taking a cutting-edge
role in animal care and

conservation of the natural world.

CZS has put significant resources into children and family programming
throughout its history and is a

leader in this area within the zoo community. In 2001, CZS opened the
Hamill Family Play Zoo,

featuring developmentally appropriate nature education programs for
children ages birth through eight

and their families. Each year, more than 300,000 visitors explore live
animals, plants, and nature

through child-directed play and learning programs at the Hamill Family
Play Zoo, which is home to

approximately 300 individual animals, featuring 58 species, including
lemurs, laughing kookaburras,

finches, parakeets, cockatiels, nine-banded armadillos, turtles, snakes,
frogs, bearded dragons, golden

tegus, fish, dogs, cats, rabbits, and a variety of invertebrates.

For children, time spent playing in nature is especially important, as
it helps them to develop caring

attitudes toward the natural world, and to learn to protect it. Research
has shown that many adults who

care about the environment spent time playing and exploring in nature as
children and that they shared

their love of nature with an enthusiastic adult, most often a family
member. To help children make the

most of their visit, CZS provides a professional nature-play staff to
facilitate play activities. Our staff

members are trained to inspire caring connections between children and
nature; to assist with

interactions between children and our zookeepers, artists, naturalists,
horticulturalists, veterinarians,

and animal nutritionists; and to work with parents, caregivers and
educators to help them become

enthusiastic collaborators in their children's learning experience.

Over the past five years, the need for skilled nature-play educators in
the Chicago area and beyond has

grown substantially. Community participation in our early childhood
nature play programs has

increased by more than 30%, requiring additional staff, volunteers and
training. At the same time,

early childhood educators from throughout the Chicago area are asking us
for professional

development and training that will allow them to integrate nature play
and exploration experiences into

their own classroom learning environments. Finally, the number of nature
centers and museums

offering programs to young children and families has grown substantially
throughout Chicagoland and

requests for our input on staff development and programming have
increased.

Request for Proposals. November 1, 2010

3

In response to this growing need for professional training that
specializes in early childhood nature

education, CZS has received grant funding to implement NatureStart, a
2.5 year project to establish an

early childhood training center at the Hamill Family Play Zoo. The goal
of this project is to facilitate

children's exploration in nature by training adults to provide engaging
nature-play opportunities in

their classrooms, programs, and backyards.

Specifically, funding supports the development of a formalized training
curriculum and framework

designed for informal educators in museums, zoos, and nature centers to
develop the knowledge and

skills to facilitate nature play experiences for children and families.
The curriculum and framework

will begin with foundation training (1 day) in which informal educators
strengthen their understanding

of child development, and develop the communication skills necessary to
support family nature play in

their programs. The second level training (2 day) will build upon this
foundation and will provide skill

development specific to facilitating the play programming exemplified by
the Hamill Family Play Zoo.

The final level of training (2 day) will be a training-for-trainers
module which will prepare participants

to provide this training to others.

This document requests proposals from qualified individuals and
organizations who are interested in

assisting with the design, development, conduct, and reporting of
classroom observations during pilot

testing of the curriculum units. The selected individual will work with
CZS educators and evaluators as

well as outside collaborators to ensure that that the qualitative
evaluation is coordinated with the three

curriculum units and the quantitative portions of the formative
evaluation.

Required Project Deliverables

The following describes the deliverables that will be required from the
selected individual or

organization.

Three training observation protocols

1.Design and develop three comprehensive written protocols to guide and
document classroom

observation for each level of professional development training.

Level 1 training will focus on foundational information about nature
play with young children and

will provide opportunities for participants to practice the skills
required to facilitate nature play.

Level 2 training will delve into the ways nature play contributes to
child development and how

participants can plan for nature play opportunities, experiences, and
environments.

Level 3 training will continue the discussion of theoretical issues
related to nature play and introduce

the knowledge and skills required to train and assesses others as nature
play facilitators.

The observation protocol should:

* be based on the curriculum units/lesson plans that are developed for
each of the three levels

of training,

* include timing to assess how well instructors are able to adhere to
the proposed elements

within the curriculum units,

* provide rubrics for the observational protocols that are consistent
with participants' end of

session evaluation ratings, and

Request for Proposals. November 1, 2010

4

* allow opportunities for the observer to comment on and critique
implementation of the

curriculum units.

Conduct classroom observation

The selected individual or organization will be responsible for
conducting classroom observation using

the developed protocols for each of the three levels of training.

Report on the observation findings

For each training session that is observed, the selected individual or
organization will be responsible

for submitting a completed copy of the observation protocol and any
additional notes that will help

CZS improve the training curricula and determine its overall
effectiveness.

Data Files

Upon completion of the project, the selected individual or organization
will provide CZS with the

following data files:

* All files containing original observation data

* An electronic copy of the final report on the observation findings

* A CD ROM containing all data, the final report, and any presentation
files (Microsoft Office Suite)

Required Proposal Format

The proposal must contain a (1) technical section, (2) a time-cost
section, (3) a description of

experience, and (4) any additional documentation.

1. Technical Proposal

The technical section should include a narrative description of the
proposed approach to completing

the project and producing the required deliverables.

2. Time-Cost Proposal

The proposal must include a detailed description of the time and costs
that will be required to complete

the project. This includes a time line of when project deliverables can
be completed.

Please provide an annual cost that can be included in the budget of a
grant submission if you are

selected. This will serve as a fixed, guaranteed total price. The cost
should be provided by year for a

total of 2 years.

3. Description of Experience

The description of experience should include a detailed curriculum vitae
and any other information that

describes relevant experience that will be drawn on to produce the
project deliverables. Areas that

should be described include:

* Knowledge of qualitative evaluation techniques

* Familiarity with curriculum development, formative evaluation,
curriculum assessment, and

instructional design

* Experience conducting classroom observations, preferably with adult
learners

* Creative problem-solving and good interpersonal skills

* Ability to effectively contribute to the work of a cross-disciplinary
team, which includes CZS

internal evaluation staff

Request for Proposals. November 1, 2010

5

4. Additional Documentation (optional)

Please provide any relevant documentation, including work samples,
references, recommendations.

Assumptions and Agreements

The following describes the assumptions and agreements that will be
required for this project.

* Prior to project initiation, the selected individual/authorized
individual (for company/organization)

must sign an independent contractor agreement provided by CZS and submit
a W-9 form for tax

purposes.

* The project must be completed by December 31, 2012.

* All raw data will be provided by CZS, and must be returned to CZS upon
project completion.

* At the conclusion of the project, all materials developed by the
project team will become the

exclusive property of CZS.

* All data analysis and reporting will be completed using Microsoft
Office Suite.

* CZS will not supply the purchase or upgrade of any software or
hardware.

* CZS will select one person, with decision making authority, to serve
as a project manager. CZS will

provide appropriate support documentation for the successful completion
of the project.

* Staff responsible for evaluation activities within CZS will be
available for communication to ensure

that all evaluation efforts are effectively coordinated.

* The evaluator shall warrant that on delivery, all data, output and
report files are free of material faults

and processing errors.

* Billing for services and products completed must be submitted monthly
between February 1, 2011

and December 31, 2012.

For Additional Information or to Submit Proposal:

Jennifer Matiasek

Audience Research

Chicago Zoological Society/Brookfield Zoo

3300 Golf Road

Brookfield, IL 60513

Email: [log in to unmask]

Phone: (708) 688-8838

Direct fax: (708) 688-7838

Submission Deadline

Friday December 17, 2010

Basis for Award of Contract

CZS will select a proposal based on: cost, qualification to produce
required deliverables, quality and

reputation, terms of proposed agreement, and time frames.

Contract period

February 1, 2011 through December 31, 2012.

 

 


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