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You are here: Home > Sustaining our environment > Communities and schools > Engaging communities > Community education project > Section 2 - Planning > Step 5: Design your methods

Step 5. Design your methods

Consider your methods

Investigate the methods, tools and techniques you could use to achieve your goal, objectives and outcomes.

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How?

• Brainstorm ideas on possible methods you could use to achieve the project's outcomes and objectives.
• Use the checklist of possible educational methods.The characteristics, strengths and weaknesses of each method are summarised.
• Keep in mind who your target group is and what is the most appropriate, effective and efficient method of achieving your objectives with this target group. If (for example) your educational objectives are concerned primarily with influencing knowledge and understanding, then informing techniques will be used. If your objectives are concerned with improving skills, demonstration methods may be most appropriate.

Tips

• People learn differently, so consider a variety of methods to increase your effectiveness
• Community education projects that use only `information giving' methods rarely have long-term effectiveness.
• Your budget will influence your decisions on which methods you can use.

Questions you can ask

• What is the best method of achieving the project's goal, objectives and outcomes
  • given the time and money available?
  • in view of what we know about the target group?
• Do these methods reflect the educational needs of our target group?
• Would it be useful to use more than one technique to achieve the objectives?
• What methods will have the most impact on the target group?
• Are there solutions to the problem and how do we reach these solutions?  

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Case Study: Shoalhaven Business

Methods

Methods comprised:

• setting up a consultative steering committee involving representatives from businesses, industries, Council, the EPA, and an opinion leader from the industrial estate
• conducting a telephone survey and focus group to monitor progress
• conducting environmental reviews to assess current practices
• issuing newsletters to involve and inform
• organising a launch to introduce, promote and set the tone for the project
  conducting media activities including organising articles for publication in the local paper and trade press
• holding a trade night: displays, demonstrations and discussions around the key issues
• preparing and issuing information sheets
• putting up on-site signs and posters.

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