2005 Education & Outreach Newsletter

Review of Salmonid Curriculum for DFG's Classroom Aquarium Education Program

by David Moore

DFG’s Classroom Aquarium Education Program (CAEP) has developed an important partnership with Humboldt State University to improve the educational content delivered with Salmonids-in-the-Classroom programs statewide. University personnel under the supervision of Dr. Carolyn Widener were engaged in this project through a successful Native Anadromous Fisheries Restoration Grant proposal originating from ONRE. These educational consultants have assembled the “best of the best” of salmonid curriculum used in western states and British Columbia. Identified learning activities have been correlated with Department of Education content standards for appropriate grade-level implementation in California schools.

Select materials are currently being reviewed by biologists to establish their scientific accuracy and also by educators / interpreters to determine best utility for classroom use. Community partners (including many fly fishing groups) that train teachers regionally are participating with the curriculum evaluation as well. Once completed, rights to reproduce a set of the high scoring lessons for grades 3 through 6 will be solicited for ongoing use as a DFG educational resource. Our Humboldt State University consultants will pilot the finished product in classroom field tests and assess student learning about the resource through pre and post testing.

The DFG curriculum will cover numerous content areas including salmon and trout life cycles, habitat needs, and threats to survival. The curriculum will also serve as a vehicle for getting DFG messages to the public – a key message being the importance of releasing fry in designated watersheds and thereby protecting the genetic diversity of California’s salmonid resources.