Evaluating Natureness: How to use the Nature-based Education Rating Scale (NABERS) webinar

Nature-based pedagogy is a rapidly growing approach in early childhood. Yet not all nature-based programs are the same. Some programs integrate some nature into the teachers where other programs center nature in the curriculum. This has left many educators wondering how we can identify the quality and level of “natureness” in PreK and K-3 programs. Enter the NAture-Based Education Rating Scale (NABERS; pronounced “neighbors”)! 

NABERS is for teachers, administrators, curriculum coaches, and quality rating improvement assessors who want to determine what level of nature is currently being implemented in a classroom. Those results can then be used to identify opportunities to shift the teaching to include even more nature. 

The webinar will address how to use the tool for ongoing self-assessment or as a coaching tool and how to prepare for those observations. Then we will explore each of the sections of the NABERS tool including: Program Goals & Curriculum Practice, Staffing, Environment, Community Partnerships, and Family Engagement. The series will wrap up discussing how to score the observation and what to do with that observation results.  

NABERS is a tool to help identify the level of “natureness” for those PreK and K-3 programs and reveal the opportunities to improve the quality of instruction. More broadly, NABERS can also also help educators:

• Establish credibility within the early childhood community as well as potential families

• Advocate for inclusion of nature-based approaches & supports in early childhood regulations (e.g., quality rating improvement systems)

• Leverage funding resources by identifying a clear plan for ongoing improvement

• Attract more “right-fit” families 

At the end of the two sessions, participants will leave with a framework to…

…more deeply reflect on your nature-based teaching practices

…establish a shared language and pedagogical goals among team members 

…identify tangible actions to move your work forward, whether you are a newcomer to nature-based early childhood education or a seasoned professional

…determine clear action steps to improve how children learn with nature in order to live rich, full lives 

Between sessions you’ll be asked to use the tool in the classroom so you ask any questions that may have emerged, but there is no official homework or assignments between sessions. 

This webinar will be held via Zoom. (Yes, we’ll send you the recording if you can’t attend live!) And whether you attend live or view the recording, we’ll send you a certificate for 3 hours of attendance.* 

Though not required, we strongly recommend participants have a copy of the book Evaluating Natureness: Measuring the Quality of Nature-based Classrooms in Pre-K Through 3rd Grade. The NABERS tools for both PreK and K-3 are found inside this book. Purchase of the webinar + Evaluating Natureness book includes free shipping. 

Who is this class for?

This is for anyone curious how “nature-y” a class is and what opportunities exist to improve the quality of the nature-based teaching. This might include:

• Individual teachers or teaching teams wanting to reflect on their classroom practices

• Administrators wanting to identify individual or team professional learning goals 

• Curriculum coaches and support specialists wanting to support programs interested in the nature-based approach

• State-level quality rating improvement system assessors looking for a tool to support nature-based programs in their state

In other words, it’s for anyone who would like to begin integrating nature or move to the “next level” in their nature-based practices.

Please note, this is not an interrater reliability training. However, if your team is looking to establish interrater reliability, this series will lay a strong foundation with a shared understanding of terms and concepts. 

About the NAture-Based Education Rating Scale (NABERS) inside the Evaluating Natureness book

While other measures of quality exist in early childhood education (e.g., ECERS, CLASS) this is the first tool to specifically address the features of nature-based education. Nature-based early childhood education is the blending of early childhood and environmental education and the NAture-Based Education Rating Scale (NABERS) tool focuses specifically on the overlap between these two disciplines. As such, NABERS does not address measures of quality related to early childhood in general, but rather those practices specific to the nature-based approach. For example, family engagement is important whether a program is nature-based or not. Thus, NABERS addresses family engagement that relates to nature such as nature-based family events, education related to the benefits of nature-based learning, etc.

NABERS was developed by Drs. Patti Bailie, Arianna Pikus, and Rachel Larimore as a tool to compare different preschool and K-3 settings when looking at the influence of nature on child learning outcomes. The hope, however, is this tool will be useful to anyone looking to integrate nature into the early childhood classroom. It will also be useful for those who support programs that are already implementing nature-based approaches or are looking to shift their practice to include more nature-based teaching and learning.