Conducted Activities

The on-line course for this competency describes the components of successful conducted activities and explores techniques to effectively present directed experiences. The course also models a process you can follow to craft conducted activities that allow for discovery of the relevance and significance of the site. A basic certificate of completion may be earned by successfully completing the objective assessment at the end of the course. Go to the course listing at www.interptraining.org for details.

Recommended Pre-requisites:

Foundations of Interpretation On-line Course

Interpretive Talk On-line Course

An advanced certificate of completion in the on-line course for this competency may be earned by successfully completing the course activities under the guidance of a local registered coach. Go to the course listing at www.interptraining.org for details.

Pre-requisite:

A basic certificate in this on-line course

Peer Review Assessment:

Requires the submitter to be able to plan, prepare and present a guided interpretive walk or tour that meets the standards and requirements described below.

Assessment Rubric:

In order to demonstrate successful performance in this benchmark competency, the submitted program must:

• provide opportunities for audience members to form their own intellectual and emotional connections with resource meanings through directed experiences that engage them with the site’s tangible resource(s)
   
• cohesively develop a relevant idea(s) through purposeful sequencing of directed experiences.

Certifiers will compare submissions to the standard above to determine whether a product “demonstrates certification” or is “approaching certification” for this competency.

Note to Submitters:

Submission Guidelines

What To Submit

Three video copies of a conducted activity (walk or tour in which the audience moves between several stops or place-based activities).

All three tapes or disks must have discernable audio and video. If at all possible, use a lapel microphone.

DVD’s must play in Windows Media Player (please check all three copies).

Omit warm-up orientation or question/answer portions of a program unless pertinent to your interpretive focus.

Key Submission Points:

• An effective conducted activity provides visitors with a series of experiences in and with the resource (resource immersion), rather than just using the resource as a "backdrop" for an interpretive talk. A key to success is when you are able to make the physical resources at each stop the center of focus for audience attention, rather than yourself.
• An effective conducted activity will involve physical movement and/or activity that facilitates resource immersion and access to resource meanings.
• An effective conducted activity will use sequencing of opportunities and transitions to provide continuity of thought and build cohesive development toward an overarching relevant idea or ideas.
• Preferable program length is between fifteen and sixty minutes in length. When filming, please omit long periods of movement between stops on the conducted activity. Omit warm-up orientation or question/answer portions of a program unless pertinent to your interpretive focus.
• Peer review evaluates only the interpretive elements for a specific competency. Elements such as delivery mechanics, accuracy, appropriateness of the topic, etc., are not evaluated in the peer review process. Those elements remain the responsibility of supervisors.
• There is no minimum or maximum time limit for the overall length of the program you submit – however, consider the attention span and interest of your audience. Long stops where visitors are standing while you talk may not be appropriate for most audiences. Longer is not necessarily better – consider whether shorter, more active and more meaningful stops may be more effective for your audience.

How to submit:

When your three video copies are ready, log on to the IDP On-line Review System (ORS) to register your submission and download a mailing form. http://ors.eppley.org/

Label all products with your name and park name and program length.

Keep a copy of your submission for your records.

Send three copies of VHS or DVD along with one copy of the mailing form to the address on the form. (You can request a "delivery confirmation" from the post office.)

Via your ORS account, you can track the progress of your review and will receive an automatic email when your review is complete.