How did TIDES come about?

The TIDES MWEE Environmental Education Hub website evolved from the VATIDES project that provided PD for pre-service teachers on how to conduct meaningful field experiences. At the same time, VATIDES aimed to build a network of university faculty with various stages of environmental education expertise, resulting in increased faculty and student self-efficacy. Through that project, we developed MWEE-related educational materials, conducted professional development, and created a regional educator network to promote and facilitate teaching of MWEEs (meaningful watershed educational experiences) to pre-service teachers. To sustain the project and expand the reach of it beyond Virginia, we created TIDES where instructors in teacher preparation programs anywhere can select the elements, approaches, and resources that work best with their own self-efficacy and expertise with MWEEs. Those that are more comfortable with environmental education may need fewer resources, and will benefit from the resources being located in one place. Those that are less comfortable teaching their pre-service teachers about MWEEs can use as many of the resources as needed, as they integrate these resources into their curriculum, a form of self-training to increase their self-efficacy. 

The TIDES MWEE Environmental Education Hub is divided into three sections:

1. Background Information for Faculty – Faculty of teacher prep programs need evidence for the inclusion of environmental education and its natural connection with their current curricula. TIDES provides an extensive reference list for faculty on the importance of environmental education integration in these types of programs, providing examples of successful integration as well as common challenges. This section is key for the faculty member that may not be as familiar with environmental education and/or MWEEs, and will provide the necessary background to showcase where pre-service teacher preparation and environmental education can connect.
2. Resources for Faculty – Here, university faculty can obtain resources to directly use in the education courses. Resources include extended presentations, sample environmental literacy models (ELMs), videos from in-service teacher partners, and sample course modules.
3. K-12 Teaching Resources – This section is intended for pre- and in-service teachers to access MWEE and environmental education resources for use in their K-12 classrooms. It includes links to K-12 classroom curricular resources, environmental education providers, and online resources such as data visualizations and citizen science project ideas.

tides Creators

The TIDES project was developed by educators at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), specifically from the Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Virginia (CBNERR-VA) and the VIMS Marine Advisory Program (MAP).

The project is funded by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Chesapeake Bay-Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) Program.