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Glossary
This glossary primarily expands abbreviations and acronyms used on the NNREC website, as well as defining some terms related to environmental education and natural resource education, linked where appropriate to Wikipedia. At some locations where these abbreviations, acronyms, and terms are used, a link with the same styling as NNREC in the preceding sentence will bring you to this glossary page.
# A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
- #
- 501(c)3: 501(c)3 is a provision of the US tax code that provides exempt status, for Federal income tax purposes, for some non-profit organizations in the United States (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/501%28c%293)
- A
- assessment: A thoughtful, ongoing process that determines the current level of student (individual) performance as a way to set future goals for learning. Student involvement in important.
- B
- BLM: Bureau of Land Management (of the USDI)
- C
- D
- DRI: Desert Research Institute
- E
- EE: environmental education (EE) refers to organized efforts to teach about how natural environments function and, particularly, how human beings can manage their behavior and ecosystems in order to live sustainably. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_education)
- EFS: Education for Sustainability is learning that links knowledge, inquiry, and action to help students build a healthy future for their communities and the planet. This term is becoming more common, especially within higher education, and sometimes used as a replacement for environmental education.
- EPA: Environmental Protection Agency
- ES: Elementary School
- evaluation: A periodic look at an educational program to see how successfully it is achieving its goals.
- F
- FS: Forest Service (USDA Forest Service)
- G
- H
- L
- LTEEC: Lake Tahoe Environmental Education Coalition
- M
- MS: Middle School
- N
- NAAEE: North American Association for Environmental Education
- NDEP: Nevada Division of Environmental Protection
- NDF: Nevada Division of Forestry
- NDOW: Nevada Department of Wildlife
- NNREC: Nevada Natural Resource Education Council
- nonformal: nonformal refers to education outside of the classroom and school setting, in the natural and built environment
- nonprofit organization: A nonprofit organization (sometimes abbreviated to "not-for-profit," "non-profit","NPO" or "NGO" for non-governmental organization) is an organization whose primary objective is to support some issue or matter of private interest or public concern for non-commercial purposes. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonprofit)
- NPS: National Park Service (of the USDI); also non-point source pollution
- NRCS: Natural Resource Conservation Service (of the USDA)
- NSSTA: Nevada State Science Teachers Association
- NSTA: National Science Teachers Association
- P
- PD: professional development: training for educators (teachers and nonformal) to enhance skills and content knowledge
- PBE: place-based education: teaching about the human and built environments, which uses history, folk culture, social problems, economics, and the asthetics of the community and its environment to look at how landscape, community infrastructure, watersheds and cultural traditions all interact with each other. [Sobel]
- PBSL: place-based service-learning: Place-based service-learning (PBSL) is a teaching and learning method that uses the local community and natural environment as a context for learning. Students identify community issues and priorities, then create and implement solutions through service-learning projects which enhance the community or natural environment. Students and their schools engage with local community members and resources to meet the mutual goals of increased academic performance and civic engagement, developing and practicing the skills and knowledge necessary to become active participants in their community and society. PBSL emphasizes integration rather than separation of subject areas, leading to efficient use of school time and attainment of comprehensive literacy goals. Collaborative teaching promotes student learning while increasing motivation and fulfillment for both students and teachers. Reflection connects students and partners to the significance of their learning, as well as personal and community impact. [SWEP]
- pdf: portable document format (pdf) is a file format developed by Adobe Systems for representing two dimensional documents in a device independent and resolution independent format. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pdf)
- PLAN: Progressive Leaderships Alliance of Nevada
- PLT: Project Learning Tree
- R
- reflection: A thoughtful, serious looking back at one's experiences, individually or as a group. Reflection can become part of future planning.
- S
- service-learning: A learning stretegy that combines academic and social education goals to meet real community needs (priorities) and requires application of knowledge, skills, and systematic reflection about the experience.
- SNC: Sierra Nevada College
- SNPLMA: Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act
- T
- TMCC: Truckee Meadows Community College
- U
- V
- VISTA: Volunteers in Service to America
- W
