Recruiting Teachers and Sharing Your Resources

Recruiting Teachers for Reviewing Materials, Piloting Materials, or Participating In Your Project

Engaging teachers at every stage of materials development is worthwhile, but reaching teachers is never simple. We recommend the following:

• Share your project and/or resources at conferences for teachers frequently. Conferences such as the National Science Teaching Association, the North American Association for Environmental Education, or local educator conferences will allow you to share your project opportunities with many teachers quickly and easily. 
• Contact your local/state school districts. Many have newsletters or ways to distribute information to teachers in their area and may be willing to help you with recruitment.
• Contact school principals or STEM coordinators. They will pass on the information to those who may want to participate. This is a labor-intensive option as you’ll need to find contact information for each person you reach out to, but it can have a high return on investment.
• Talk to teachers you know and ask if they have suggestions for who to contact. Word of mouth works wonders!
• Share opportunities through relevant listservs, such as the citizen science listserv or an educator listserv in your area.
• Partner with organizations that work with teachers, such as relevant field trip destinations, museums, environmental education centers, etc. They may be willing to help spread the word!

Sharing Your Completed Materials with Educators

Once you have your materials created, it’s time to share them with teachers. In addition to all of the above, we recommend the following:

• Make your resources easily available online. Create an area on your project website where teachers can easily find your classroom materials.
• Advertise your project as offering “classroom materials” on SciStarter. Teachers can search for projects that have educational materials on SciStarter, so it’s a great way to advertise!
• Offer a webinar through the Association for the Advancement of Participatory Sciences, SciStarter, or organizations like the North American Association for Environmental Education. These organizations have broad reach and can help you spread the word.
• Offer a professional development opportunity for teachers in your local area. Invite teachers and engage them with your project materials using a hands-on approach.
• K-12 teachers often trust things created by other teachers. The Teachers Pay Teachers website allows teachers to share their materials with other teachers for a fee. Offering your materials as a free resource on Teacher Pay Teachers can help many teachers find them!