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 21^st 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

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_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________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

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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

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· 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

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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.