PROSPER Ministry of Education Lessons Learned Workshop for the Development of the Primary School Environmental Education Curriculum

The goal of the five-year People, Rules and Organizations for the Protection of Ecosystem Resources (PROSPER) program is to “introduce, operationalize, and refine appropriate models for the community management of forest resources for local self-governance and enterprise development in targeted areas.”

In cooperation with curriculum development specialists identified by the Ministry of Education, PROSPER developed seventy-two lesson plans for grades 1 through 6, covering the four main subject areas – Science, Social Studies, English and Mathematics. The lesson plans include detailed lesson descriptions, lists of resources, learning objectives, key concepts and methodologies for evaluating students’ understanding thereof.

The process to develop the environmental education curriculum involved multiple stakeholders including the MoE, EPA, FDA, and civil society organizations. On June 7, 2016, the MoE and PROSPER, with the assistance of a local facilitator, held a Lessons Learned Workshop to reflect on skills and experiences and to document best practices from this process. The workshop gathered relevant stakeholders to review best practices in curriculum development, examine the process used by the MoE in partnership with PROSPER to develop the lesson plans and distill from this examination a list of best practices and lessons learned. The participants were fully engaged throughout the day and accomplished the workshop outcomes.