Setting up a self-funding education program from scratch
This article was first published as ‘Establishing a Self-funding Education Program’ in ARTeFACT Journal of Museum Australia Queensland (MAQ) VO. 2 No.4. on 4 December 1997. MAQ is now known as Museums & Galleries Queensland.
Between 1994-1998 I was employed by Brisbane City Council as their first botanic gardens’ Visitor Services Coordinator. Drawing on my two decades’ experience as a high school science teacher and museum educator, we set up a self-funding education program from scratch at Brisbane Botanic Gardens - Mount Coot-tha. The lessons learnt on the way proved to be useful advice for new, small and regional museums and botanic gardens wanting to do the same.
Janelle Hatherly 2021
Introduction
Cultural institutions such as museums, art galleries, botanic gardens and zoos are popular excursion venues for school groups. They have long been recognized as external learning environments where school studies are brought to life by providing students with access to relevant artefacts and interactive experiences.
Traditionally the responsibility for assisting school groups on excursions has fallen to an Education Officer, often a seconded classroom teacher. His or her role was to develop and present educational programs and, in some instances, to direct teachers to conduct their own lessons using prepared resource material relevant to the school curriculum.
Such services have always been highly valued but seem to be less freely available in these days of rationalization of programs and human resources. Teachers seconded to cultural institutions are being returned to the classroom and the role they performed is being funded by the institutions themselves and incorporated into broader educational sections, often called Visitor Services. The latter encompasses such diverse functions as the coordination of special events, management of information services, provision of orientation and interpretive materials as well as the implementation of a broad range of educational programs for all visitors. Consequently, the opportunity to provide quality services to the school community is seriously restricted.
Provided an institution is committed to providing a service to schools and can provide the required coordination and administrative support, one way to overcome this problem is to establish a self-funding education program. By charging a small fee per student, experienced educators can be hired on a casual basis to run the sessions. Delivery of a variety of structured lessons, at any time, to any number of groups, of any size is possible.
As with all ideas it is easy to think of them but quite another matter to tum them into reality. Often the hardest part is getting started. However by starting small, any organisation can set up an education program at minimal expense. What follows is a suggested approach based on an educational program developed at Brisbane Botanic Gardens-Mt Coot-tha after the services of a seconded teacher were withdrawn.
Planning the program
Ideally one person, preferably with an education background, needs to assume responsibility for the setting-up process. First, a suite of lessons with aims and objectives needs to be devised. As few as half a dozen topics might be selected, one or two for each grade grouping of infants (Years P-3), upper primary (Years 4-7), lower secondary (Years 8-10) and senior secondary (Years II and 12). The important thing to decide is what unique experiences your institution can offer. These should not be readily available elsewhere or able to be obtained at school. This means the experiences should make use of objects in your collections and ideally involve some degree of interactivity.
The items need not necessarily be handled, they might just be used as stimulus material for role plays, storytelling etc. Also, the topics must relate to the curriculum. It is pointless offering programs that are not an integral part of school studies. With only limited excursion opportunities, the decision makers in schools quickly identify those outings which will satisfy their educational aims and will benefit the greatest number of students. Consultation with representatives from school communities and curriculum boards should be made to ensure that suitable topics are chosen. Meeting the educational requirements of schools does not preclude conveying an organisation's own very important messages.
Logistics
The next step is to work out the logistics of the program. How long should the lessons last? (Allowance needs to be made for general welcomes and any walking that will be involved. One and-a-half hours has proved to be a reasonable length of time.) What charge per student needs to be set to cover the cost of hiring casual staff for the sessions? (It is important to fully investigate rates of pay and conditions of employment for such positions. If possible, pay high wages as this will make the job appealing to good quality personnel and will encourage continuity of service.) How many students can be catered for in a single group? (Existing class sizes have 30 or less students in them so, if possible, programs should be able to accommodate such groupings.) In addition, schools often take a whole year – over 100 students – out on excursion at once, so planning needs to address this. A minimum fee for smaller groups will also need to be set.
Information to be sent to teachers then needs to be fleshed out. Enticing titles, specific aims and objectives, materials and lesson outlines as well as suggestions for pre- and post-visit activities can be listed. Simple activity sheets might also be prepared: these should be designed in such a way that they consolidate the educational experience but do not detract from the students' opportunity to interact fully with their new environment. The total package need only be a few pages long per topic. It is important to view these outlines as both the finished product and works-in-progress. They must be polished enough to be sent out to interested parties and yet able to be modified in the light of experience once they have been taught several times. A more detailed lesson plan and resource list can be produced for use by the contract staff.
Staffing the program
Finding and training a handful of first-class interpreters comes next. For a small program approximately six will need to be recruited as not all will be available at all times and the demand for lessons will vary. Decide on the qualifications and attributes they should have: appropriate knowledge, good communication and interpretive skills, and experience working with children. The part-time nature of the position will suit a variety of educators including mothers with school age children who held teaching positions prior to parenthood, university tutors and post-graduate students with flexible academic commitments, and interpretive staff in similar institutions and outdoor learning centres. To keep costs down, potential contract staff might volunteer to undertake training without pay to familarise themselves with the organisation and the program. Any props or resources needed for the lessons should be kept simple and inexpensive. More costly items can be purchased once the program generates some income.
At this stage a catchy title for the whole program needs to be created and a starting date for delivery of lessons needs to be set. This commitment will ensure that the program actually gets off the ground and allows timelines and deadlines to be developed. Ideally the program will be offered at the beginning of a school year or a new term, mindful of the fact that schools generally plan their outings well in advance.
Then advertise and market the program. A simple brochure needs to be produced and sent to schools and school support organisations. If regular contact has been maintained with the school community, mailing lists should be easy to source. If not, consult colleagues in similar organisations or the relevant government department. A brochure can be produced in-house to keep costs to a minimum using whatever facilities are available: from desk-top publishing to basic cut-and-pastes. Teachers are quite accepting of simple flyers provided they are clearly presented and contain useful, concise information. The flyer should briefly describe what lessons are offered and spell out all booking arrangements. Consider creative ways of including your flyer with other mailouts to reduce expenses.
Bookings
Initially only one person (and preferably the one with the responsibility for setting up the program) should handle all the bookings. They are the best person to describe what is on offer and to allocate lessons appropriately to contract staff. A manual booking system using a monthly planner and forms in triplicate can be established in the first instance, computerisation can come later. The school should be sent the top copy of the booking confirmation form, the information package and a covering letter giving an overview of the organisation and handy hints for a successful excursion. They should be advised to pay on the day of the lesson and that this is when they will be issued with a receipt.
The second copy of the booking confirmation form is given to the contract staff member allocated the lesson and the third copy stays in the book for record purposes. A few weeks before a school is due to arrive for an excursion one of the contract staff assigned to the group should ring the teacher-in-charge to introduce themselves, reconfirm numbers and arrange a meeting place. This is also the opportunity to link the visit to work covered at school and to find out about any special requirements.
Implementation at Brisbane Botanic Gardens
Just such a program, called Lessons in the Gardens, was implemented at Brisbane Botanic Gardens-Mt Coot-tha in 1995 after the Easter holidays. The Visitor Services Coordinator developed the program in consultation with two education consultants. Initially ten lessons were offered and five Education Officers were trained. Now the program has been expanded to twenty lessons and there are ten Education Officers available to take the lessons. The topics complement the Queensland school curriculum and cover the arts as well as the sciences. Visiting school teachers are asked to evaluate the lessons and the feedback has always been positive. The cost per student has remained at $2.50 since the program began with all accompanying adults free. There is a minimum charge of $50 per group. Initially, the Visitor Services Coordinator took all bookings but within nine months an administrative assistant was trained to take over this process. On average, during term time, five Education Officers each deliver lessons two to three times per week.
Since the program began, over 20,000 students from over 400 schools have taken part in the exciting hands-on activities. Most are from Southeast Queensland and Northern NSW but visitors have also come from places as far away as Western Australia (a remote Aboriginal community near Broome) and Japan. The program also caters for mature age students, teacher trainees and foreign language groups. It continues to grow, making Brisbane Botanic Gardens one of the best outdoor learning environments for children and adults alike.
From coffee plant to coffee cup, from the 'Plants & Places' lesson.
© Janelle Hatherly
Please credit www.janellehatherly.com if you use any information in this article.
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