Programming to Recruit, Retain, and Reactivate
What is it?
Programs can guide and encourage a participant along their lifetime journey through hunting and/or shooting sports. Hunting and target shooting are complicated activities that may be daunting for new participants. Programs can give them the guidance and education they need to become safe, ethical, and confident hunters and shooting sports participants. Many may need extra support or other needs met before stepping into a course, onto the range, or into the field. Once people try these activities, programs to advance their skills can help retain them. Programs can also encourage lapsed participants to reactivate into hunting and shooting sports activities by providing new knowledge and skills or by offering mentorship opportunities where avid participants can help support novices.
Organizations have been doing education and outreach for outdoor recreation for many years. This field benefits from years of research and the work of teaching pioneers from across the nation. Drawing on this wealth of information is crucial to developing compelling programming that meets the needs of today’s R3 community. This chapter offers guidelines, templates, trainings, and other materials for developing impactful R3 education and outreach programs.
Why is it important?
Hunting and shooting sports are complex activities guided by laws, ethics, skills, best practices, and community norms that often are hard to navigate, especially for new participants. R3-vested organizations can help overcome these challenges by delivering programs that target specific needs. Programs alone can’t solve all R3 challenges, but they are very important tools for addressing the specific needs of your target audiences. For most organizations, programs are the building blocks of R3.
How Can Your Organization Help Its Practitioners?
- Provide funds, FTEs, and/or partnerships to develop and deliver education and outreach programs.
- Provide access to the right people (inside or outside the organization) to create the content.
- Allocate non-education staff to assist with content development.
- Marketing, photography, video
- Subject matter experts
- Help your team define what “success” looks like.
- Share lessons/templates already being used.
- Ensure all curricula align with other organizational goals and efforts.
- Support delivery of R3 information/efforts across the state (and who will do it).
- Remove restrictions on using other organizations’ content.
- Support/encourage stakeholder engagement (both internal and external).
- Work toward implementing a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system (or at least collaboration among the various departments that impact customers).
How To Market Educational Programs
Understanding marketing for any R3 effort is so important that a chapter is dedicated to it in this Practitioner’s Guide: (link) Marketing to Recruit, Retain and Reactivate Participants.
Program Mapping
An essential step in program development is understanding what R3 work your organization is currently involved in. You can skip this step if you are building an R3 program from scratch. However, most organizations are already doing something, even if some of it is not officially designated as R3. While it might be a minor task for some organizations, this will be significant for some. One of the keys to successful R3 efforts is to provide interventions for hunters and shooting sports participants at every stage of the Outdoor Recreation Adoption Model (see Foundations & Definitions if you’re unfamiliar with the ORAM). Most R3 efforts are aimed at the Recruitment stage of the ORAM, and those are vitally important, to be sure. But if all we do is get people to their first trial of the activity and never impact their journey again (which is, arguably, what we’ve been doing for a couple of decades), our efforts will not, on average, create the lifelong hunters and shooting sports participants we are trying to create. This program mapping exercise will help you understand what stage(s) of the ORAM you are currently addressing and where there may be holes you (or your partners) may need to fill.
Program mapping helps logically visualize and condense an organization’s program offerings. A program mapping worksheet is available for review in the table of resources.
Program mapping is a simple tool to identify strengths and gaps in your R3 programming. To use the chart, let’s look at the blank sections of the program mapping template.
Section one includes a pillar column and a tactic column:
The pillar column lets us know what subject we target with this row. In this case, the first row targets shooting R3, and the second row targets hunting R3.
The tactic column includes examples of existing R3 efforts. Firearm education classes are an example of a programming area, while WMA parking lots are a relevant example of addressing access.
Next, let’s look at these tactics concerning their role in R3 with the recruitment, retention, and reactivation columns. As we advance, we will focus only on our programming example.
As you can see, we place an X within the boxes that the tactic addresses. Firearms Education Classes can address aspects of all three R’s related to R3 efforts. This is a strong example of why programming for R3 is so essential and will be addressed later in our programming section.
When you use this program mapping chart, fill the chart with as many of your current programs as possible. This will help you develop an accurate picture of your programming efforts. Then, you can use this chart to identify strengths and gaps in your programming.
Strengths in your programming efforts are the columns where there are many Xs. Gaps in your programming initiatives are columns with fewer Xs.
There are a few other issues to consider when analyzing your program offering:
Available Resources
If you have available resources, add new R3 efforts to address gaps. If you are short on resources, you may have to cancel one program to free up resources to add another.
Public Interest
Public interest in hunting and shooting sports varies over time. If you offer programs that aren’t attracting many participants, it may be time to look for more popular topics.
Barriers – What is preventing new participants from coming to the activity? Could you address this issue in a program and enable more people to participate?
Motivations
What motivates a person to consider the activity? Consider offering programs designed specifically for potential participants with each of those motivations.
Target Audience
Offer programs for a specific target audience (women, teens, seniors, etc.)
Locations
Offer your programs in more than one city so that different people have the potential to attend. Ideally, offer the programs where you know there is a demand for that particular program.
Partners
Work with partners to offer programs they feel are important or that they are particularly well suited to deliver.
A webinar with complete instructions for the program mapping exercise can be seen here:
Mapping R3 Efforts on the Outdoor Recreation Adoption Model
An overview of how to use the ORAM to map R3 efforts. Helps visualize and evaluate your R3 programming.
Program Mapping Worksheet
The program mapping worksheet is a method of visualizing and identifying strengths and gaps in agency programming.
How to use events to recruit participants
The same program can often be used to recruit new participants, retain existing participants, and reactivate lapsed participants. Whether you are a brand-new hunter or looking to expand your skills, field-dressing a deer, rabbit hunting, and duck recipes are all the same. The key to positioning a program to recruit new hunters is in how the program is framed via marketing. Here are some examples to show how programming can be used to recruit new participants.
EXAMPLE: Hunter Education Programs – Hunter Education (HE) is often an individual’s first meaningful experience in the hunting community. This creates considerable importance for HE programs and their role in recruiting new hunters. We know that roughly 1/3 of HE graduates do not persist in purchasing a license within the seven years after graduation1. Leverage the HE experience as a tool for recruitment. While teaching the safety requirements, include material that will better prepare new hunters. This could include species-specific hunting strategies and butchering wild game.
EXAMPLE: Hunting Programs: Squirrel Hunting – To recruit new hunters, squirrel hunting programs should be marketed as entry-level courses that help a new hunter gain familiarity, comfort, and understanding regarding squirrel hunting. The message should be about learning to squirrel hunt in a low-pressure environment.
EXAMPLE: Shooting programs: Long Range Rifle Target Shooting – To recruit new shooting sports programs, long-range rifle target shooting programs should be marketed as beginner courses that provide new long-range rifle shooters with a foundational understanding of this discipline. These courses can help new participants build a knowledge base that makes them more comfortable and proficient at the range.
EXAMPLE: Skills programs: Wild Game Butchering – To recruit new hunters, wild game butchering programs should be marketed to help new hunters understand wild game butchering fundamentals. New hunters often have concerns about properly butchering wild game, which may prevent them from hunting. These programs should help them develop the skills to feel confident in the field.
EXAMPLE: Regular and recurring programs: Weekly Women’s Night at the Range – To recruit new shooting sports participants, repetitive programs like weekly women’s range nights help establish an environment welcoming new female shooting sports participants. Some women may feel more comfortable spending time with and learning from other women. Thus, these programs are more welcoming to new shooting sports participants.
EXAMPLE: Mentor Programs – Mentor programs are a great way to recruit new hunters and shooting sports participants. Both activities are complex and intimidating. Where better to have someone show you the ropes? By offering a new or prospective participant an opportunity to be mentored, you can relieve much of their anxiety and actively welcome them to the activity.
In every case, thinking about how a new hunter or shooting sports participant would look at and experience these programs is the key to offering programming for the recruitment stage of R3. Most importantly, programs to recruit participants should address a specific audience’s unique motivations. These programs are targeted towards new and prospective hunters and shooting sports participants.
Best Practices Workbook for Hunting and Shooting Recruitment and Retention
One of the earliest comprehensive tools for hunting and shooting recruitment and retention (R&R). Helps identify programmatic priorities and concepts for Recruitment.
Effectiveness of Hunter Education Delivery Methods
This study investigated the impacts of hunter-education (HE) delivery methods. Provides insight for recruiting participants.
Missouri Persona Journey Map PPT – Education and Comms Version PDF
National 4 Personas WMI Volume 1 – Effectively Targeting New Adults Hunters
National 4 Personas WMI Volume 2 – Background and Supporting Materials
Personas and map the journeys for Missouri’s new adult hunters and anglers. Provides insight for recruiting participants.
How To Use Events To Retain Participants
Programs help retain participants in one of two ways. Either they help participants improve on what they are already doing or offer a new, additional experience. Retention helps people stay engaged by addressing their unique motivations.
The same program can often be used to recruit new participants, retain existing participants, and reactivate lapsed participants. Following a blood trail, duck hunting, and turkey calling are all the same whether you have hunted for years or started yesterday. The same is true for sight picture and trigger control for shooting sports participants. The key to positioning a program is in how the program is framed via marketing. Suppose you already know a particular individual is a dove hunter. To help retain them, you can offer opportunities to improve their dove hunting experience. Or, if you know they don’t hunt quail, you can offer them quail hunting activities to broaden their outdoor experiences. For shooting sports participants, you can offer programs to enhance their existing skills or encourage them to discover a new discipline.
Here are some examples of how programming can retain existing participants.
EXAMPLE: Hunting Programs: Squirrel Hunting – To retain participants, squirrel hunting programs should create new opportunities for existing hunters and build the skills of those who already hunt. For example, you could offer a lifetime deer hunter a squirrel hunting class to expand the time they can spend in the woods hunting each year. That same program could be offered to a small game hunter as a refresher course to catch up on the latest squirrel hunting gear and techniques.
EXAMPLE: Shooting programs: Long Range Rifle Target Shooting – To retain shooting sports participants, you could offer a long-range rifle target shooting program to a clay-target enthusiast to increase their time on the range and try something new. You could provide that same program to current long-distance shooters to brush up on their skills, extend their range, try new cartridges, etc.
EXAMPLE: Skills programs: Wild Game Butchering – Many hunters worry about wasting the meat if they process their game poorly. A butchering or processing class is a great way to retain/involve existing hunters. Position the class as a refresher for hunters who already butcher and a new skill for those currently paying a processor.
EXAMPLE: Regular and recurring programs: Weekly Women’s Range Night – A recurring event can target both the recruitment and retention stages. It is recruitment when offered to new participants and retention when offered to existing participants.
By offering a lady’s day at the range to women with current range passes, you give them an opportunity to get out and shoot in a female-friendly environment. Offering them the space through a recurring weekly program will help them continue coming to the range.
EXAMPLE: Mentor Programs – Mentor programs are traditionally targeted at new hunters. However, they could also be offered to experienced hunters to move into a new realm of hunting or shooting sports. You could email a long-time small game hunter offering to match them up with an elk hunting mentor. Or offer a cowboy action shooter the opportunity to be mentored for sporting clays. The trick is acknowledging their current experience and offering them a mentor in an area they have never pursued.
Another opportunity is to encourage an experienced participant the opportunity to mentor others. Mentorship allows an experienced participant to broaden their journey in a whole new way.
In short, market your programs in scenarios where the program will increase participation, provide additional opportunities, or expand participant skillsets. Such courses can offer audiences support if they are early on their path and increased engagement if they are already independent participants.
In every case, thinking about how an existing hunter or shooting sports participant would look at and experience these programs is the key to programming for the retainment stage of R3.
Best Practices Workbook for Hunting and Shooting Recruitment and Retention
One of the earliest comprehensive tools for hunting and shooting recruitment and retention (R&R). Helps identify programmatic priorities and concepts for Retainment.
How To Use Events To Reactivate Participants
The key to using programming to reactivate lapsed hunters and shooting sports participants is offering the lapsed participant the thing that is most likely to lure them back. Use a Contact Management System (CRM) to develop a profile of a participant’s motivations and barriers and then offer them programs that address those issues. This could be as simple as identifying a list of lapsed turkey hunters and telling them about a turkey calling class or video.
The key is to target your programming to a specific individual’s unique needs. Reactivation is about understanding why somebody lapsed and addressing those issues. The same event can often be used to recruit new participants, retain existing participants, and reactivate lapsed participants. The trick is marketing the program as a way for them to get back into an activity they once enjoyed.
Here are some examples of how programming can reactivate lapsed participants.
EXAMPLE: Hunting Programs: Squirrel Hunting Example – To reactive participants, squirrel hunting programs should be marketed to small game hunters who have not purchased a hunting license for at least a year. A squirrel hunting program offered to a lapsed hunter may reignite their hunting interest. The offer is greatly enhanced if you have any information on why your target audience lapsed. Feature any such information front and center in your communication.
EXAMPLE: Shooting programs: Long Range Rifle Target Shooting – To reactive ex-shooting sports participants, target shooting programs may be offered to individuals who have not renewed their range permit or signed in at a range for at least a year. Knowing about new classes, range locations, or amenities may be enough to bring them back to the range. A lapsed target shooter may just need a reminder that an activity they once enjoyed is still available or a new shooting discipline they are interested in trying is available. Or you could offer special promotions or dedicated range times for specific audiences.
EXAMPLE: Skills programs: Wild Game Butchering – Wild game butchering programs could renew hunter interest if butchering was a barrier to participation. Collect information from hunters whenever possible. Survey responses and past program attendance are good places to start. Offering a wild game tasting with a processing class might get a lapsed hunter off the bench and back out in the woods.
EXAMPLE: Regular and recurring programs: Weekly Women’s Range Night – Women who have not renewed their range permit or signed in at a range recently are ideal prospects for Women’s Night at the Range. They may have lapsed due to discomfort over the number of men at the range or for another gender-related reason. Having an established event to build comfort level may help them rediscover an activity they once enjoyed.
EXAMPLE: Mentor Programs – Mentor programs are traditionally targeted at new hunters. That said, mentor programs could be offered to lapsed hunters in two different ways. If records indicate a hunter briefly tried a particular type of hunting and then quit, you could offer them a mentor to give it another try. On the other hand, if records show that a lapsed hunter has a fair amount of experience (say over ten years), you could reach out to them about becoming a mentor. Maybe the reason they lapsed would still allow them to be a mentor. Or if they lapsed due to the lack of someone to hunt with, mentoring could be a win/win solution for both mentor and mentee.
In every case, thinking about how an existing hunter or shooting sports participant who has lapsed would look at and experience these efforts is the key to effective programming for the reactivation stage of R3.
Best Practices Workbook for Hunting and Shooting Recruitment and Retention
One of the earliest comprehensive tools for hunting and shooting recruitment and retention (R&R). Helps identify programmatic priorities and concepts for Retainment.
Best Practices for Recruiting Effective Volunteers
If volunteers play an important role in your R3 efforts, then you need to put effort and attention into recruiting them. If someone outside your R3 team does the recruiting, make sure they understand the role you need the volunteers to play and the type of individual best suited for it. Do not leave this to chance.
So, how do you know if a prospective volunteer has the qualities you’re looking for? Here are some ways to help determine if they will be a good fit:
- Discuss their interest in and experience with hunting and shooting sports.
- Look for volunteers who have pertinent teaching and field experience.
- Look for volunteers who know hunting and shooting techniques, safety procedures, and conservation ethics.
- Use partnership networks to find candidates (conservation organizations, shooting leagues and organizations, diversity organizations, etc.).
- Host recruitment events, like open houses or seminars, where potential volunteers can learn more about the roles and meet current volunteers and staff. These events can provide a personal touch and foster a sense of community.
- Do a background check on all volunteers.
- Ensure that potential mentors understand the ethical considerations of the mentorship role, the importance of setting and respecting boundaries, and being a welcoming ambassador for the hunting and shooting sports culture.
- If your volunteers are spread out geographically, ask staff members from their area to meet with them and provide feedback.
- When recruiting instructors, consider the three core competencies that make up an effective educator:
- Human – their ability to relate, communicate, and connect with others.
- Outdoor – tangible outdoor skills.
- Educational – their ability to convey new information to students that results in long-term, transferrable knowledge retention.
It is the combination of these three competencies that makes an effective educator. If an individual has strong outdoor skills but cannot relate to students, their efficacy as an educator will be diminished. Likewise, if an educator communicates well and has sound educational practices but lacks outdoor skills, their ability to help students reach educational objectives will be limited.
- Go on a “practice” guided hunt or session at the range. Observe their knowledge of the habitat and landscape features, how they anticipate and navigate various target shooting and hunting scenarios, how they instill confidence in participants, and how they creatively navigate physically and mentally challenging situations in the company of others.
2021 WMI Mentor Guide
This 16 page report details the best practices for hunting and shooting mentorship programs.
Best Practices in Readiness, Recruitment, and Retention
Short webpage that provides a roadmap to building an inclusive organization.
CAHSS Basics of R3 Training: 2. What is R3?
This video discusses the importance of R3 and the importance of organizational buy-in. Excellent training material.
Hunting Mentor Communications Toolkit
This 36 page toolkit offers strategies and message templates for recruiting both students and mentors into mentor programs. the examples are specifically for LearnHunting.org but are generalizable.
Nebraska Game and Parks “Take ’em Hunting” Challenge
Example of a program designed to get hunters to take someone else hunting.
PFQF Blog – A Two Way Path
Short article about how to be a have a good Hunting Mentor/Mentee Handbooks relationship.
PFQF Blog – How to be an Effective Mentor
Blog post from PFQF about how to be an effective mentor.
PFQF Film “Ripples”
14 min. film about becoming part of the uplands hunting community.
Recruitment, Retention, and Reactivation
This is an example of information to educate volunteers and mentors about R3 best practices.
Importance Of Diverse Educators & Mentors
Studies show that new and existing hunters are most comfortable, most motivated, and most interested in content when it features or is presented by an individual with similar demographic characteristics.2 The importance and impact of diverse educators and mentors cannot be overstated.
Especially in states with large populations of under-represented communities, consider how a foundation of diverse educators and mentors could help new and existing participants feel welcomed and comfortable in hunting and shooting sports programs.
Whether in marketing materials, educator roles, or mentor roles, make sure to develop programs with the diversity of your audience in mind.
The Marketing to Diverse Audiences section will help you identify populations that may benefit from diverse educators and mentors.
2021 WMI Mentor Guide
This 16-page report details the best practices for hunting and shooting mentorship programs.
Hunting Mentor Communications Toolkit
This 36-page toolkit offers strategies and message templates for recruiting both students and mentors into mentor programs. the examples are specifically for LearnHunting.org but are generalizable.
Locavore.guide: Being Locavore Friendly
Locavore.guide: Strategies for making locavore-friendly programs. This section includes how to make existing programs Locavore-Friendly without alienating other audiences.
Locavore.guide: Locavore Learning Styles
Locavore.guide: Strategies for making locavore-friendly programs. This section includes Locavore Learning Styles.
MAFWA Small Game Diversity and Inclusion Marketing Toolkit
A diversity and inclusion marketing toolkit for women and POC in small game hunting.
Multicultural Fishing Research Fishing Participation Opportunities
Focused efforts on DEI make studies understanding multicultural audiences invaluable for the R3 community. This report includes key takeaways for Hispanics, African-Americans, and Asian-Americans.
Small Game Hunting-Encouraging Diversity
A diversity and inclusion marketing focus group report for women and POC in small game hunting. Excellent material alongside the toolkit.
Women’s Outdoor Groups
This interactive social systems map provides a visual of the available women’s outdoor groups within the Mountain-Prairie Region.
How to Retain Volunteer Mentors and Educators
Effective communication and volunteer management technology can be beneficial in retaining volunteers. Clear, consistent communication fosters a sense of community and belonging among volunteers. It makes them feel valued and connected to the organization’s mission. It enables timely dissemination of information, recognition of their contributions, and provides a platform for feedback and support. All of these things are vital for volunteer satisfaction and engagement. Meanwhile, volunteer management technology streamlines the administrative aspects of volunteer engagement, from scheduling to tracking participation and impact.
Recommended support for volunteers:
- Create online message boards and volunteer support groups through social media platforms.
- Schedule follow-up hunts, shooting events, or other activities with volunteers. Share insights and observations.
- Schedule off-season social events or training events for volunteers.
- Connect mentors with conservation organizations and include diverse perspectives.
- Encourage mentors to invite new hunters and shooting sports participants into the field. Set a goal to invite x number of new participants each year.
- Provide incentives or recognition for various levels of participation.
- Get in the practice of providing heartfelt thanks.
- Connect seasoned volunteers with newcomers. This peer mentorship can ease newcomers into their roles and responsibilities.
- Continuous Learning: Highlight the personal and professional development opportunities that come with volunteering.
2021 WMI Mentor Guide
This 16 page report details the best practices for hunting and shooting mentorship programs.
Cultivating Inclusivity and Community Through LTH Programs with Mentors and Mentees
Short article on a LTH program facilitated in partnership with diverse groups.
Hunting Mentor Communications Toolki
This 36 page toolkit offers strategies and message templates for recruiting both students and mentors into mentor programs. the examples are specifically for LearnHunting.org but are generalizable.
Training Effective Educators & Mentors
Hunting and shooting sports educators and mentors can make or break a new or potential participant’s early experiences. You need to ensure your volunteers are well-trained to provide an informative, fun, and consistent experience for students being mentored or taking classes at different times in different places.
First, you will have to provide your instructors and mentors with the same up-to-date resources.
You should provide:
- Lesson plans
- PowerPoint slides & videos
- Handouts
- Checklists
- Field/How-to exercises
- Evaluation templates
- Standard operating procedures and risk management practices
Once the resources are developed, train your volunteers to be effective educators. This is critical as educational practice is just as important as educational topics. If content is not presented in a manner that students can understand and retain, then the efficacy of the training is lost, regardless of how good the content is. Provide periodic, train-the-trainer lessons for all volunteers. Conduct this training face to face if possible. Since new educators and mentors join at various times, you could use video or interactive lessons on demand to onboard them. You could also use video lessons to teach existing instructors about new lessons as they are developed.
Train-the-trainer efforts should include:
Subject Knowledge
Educators and mentors must understand the fundamentals of the topic they teach. Specific facts or concepts can be covered during the lesson plan walk-through, but you must ensure they understand the subject. If necessary, teach them anything they don’t already know.
Presentation Skills
Educators (and to a lesser degree mentors) must know how to speak and present in a professional, acceptable way. Teach them how your presentation technology works, not just to read slides, and how to connect with the audience.
Education Strategies
Equip instructors with strategies for delivering the content in their courses. This could include specific methods for teaching topics that engage students and encourage retention. Train instructors to be flexible in their approach to education and adjust their strategies to the needs of the students.
Classroom Management
Many volunteer educators are not teachers by background. They will need to know how to run a classroom. They may also need to know that you manage a room full of adults differently than a room full of junior high students.
Student Interaction
The people considering becoming hunters and target shooters today come in all races, genders, and abilities. And they didn’t all grow up around hunting, shooting sports, and the outdoors. Your instructors and mentors need to understand what it takes to create a welcoming, inclusive, and safe atmosphere for people they may not interact with in their everyday lives.
Define Objectives and Vision for Educational Courses
Prepare direct learning objectives for all programs to help instructors work toward a common goal. This ensures consistency between programs and enables instructors to better understand the desired objectives for each efforts.
Lesson Plan Walk-throughs for Specific Lessons – Instructors and mentors need to understand each program they are assigned to teach.
- What are the effort’s objectives?
- Who is likely to take it?
- Is there any new, unique, or special content?
- How will the effort be evaluated?
Since you’re unlikely to be able to onboard every new instructor or mentor individually, we recommend these lesson briefings be created in an on-demand video or interactive lesson format. They don’t need to be cinematic masterpieces. You could record yourself in a Zoom or Teams meeting, walking through the lesson plan and critical slides.
2021 WMI Mentor Guide
This 16 page report details the best practices for hunting and shooting mentorship programs.
ATA Hunting Mentor Guide
This 62 page, ATA, hunting mentor guide explains the why and how of being a good mentor.
Hunting Mentor Communications Toolkit
This 36 page toolkit offers strategies and message templates for recruiting both students and mentors into mentor programs. the examples are specifically for LearnHunting.org but are generalizable.
Learn To Hunt Teacher’s Guide
This mentored hunts teacher’s guide helps train educators as mentors. It is based on a resource from the MNDNR.
Locavore.guide: Being Locavore Friendly
Locavore.guide: Strategies for making locavore-friendly programs. This section includes how to make existing programs Locavore-Friendly without alienating other audiences.
Locavore.guide: Locavore Learning Styles
Locavore.guide: Strategies for making locavore-friendly programs. This section includes Locavore Learning Styles.
NWTF Instructor Training
PPT from the NWTF’s instructor workshop. It offers thoughts on instructor roles, responsibilities, and best practices.
Take a New Shooter to the Range in 6 Steps
Short article on taking a new shooter to the range. Focused on women but applies to all new shooters.
Teaching Strategies for Hunter Education
Requires free LearnHunting.org educator account. This course equips hunter educators with strategies and techniques to improve practices in the classroom.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept. Hunter Ed Instructor Manual
Instructor manual from the Texas Parks and Wildlife hunting education instructors. May be widely applicable in many other states.
Train the Trainer Course – A Complete Design Guide (With Examples)
This in-depth course design guide walks you through how to create a train-the-trainer style course.
Iowa DNR Hunter Education Program Instructor Update Guide
This document includes the Training Materials for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Hunter Education Program.
How to Evaluate and Refine Your Education and Outreach Initiatives
Periodically evaluating your education and outreach initiatives will help identify gaps, improve implementation, and increase program effectiveness.
Evaluation is how we prove and improve program methodology. Periodic evaluation of your programs will help identify strengths and weaknesses. They can be consistently improved upon using both short- and long-term changes. When your evaluation methods are consistent, logical, and goal-oriented, they bring great power and leverage to refining your education and outreach initiatives.
Using a program mapping worksheet (See How to Identify Program Needs), you can identify the gaps in our programming.
However, we also need to understand if the programs that we are running are having an impact.
In the short term, evaluating specific programs starts with establishing good objectives. It includes pre-, post-, and follow-up assessments for each program. Then, we can measure our progress against our objectives to evaluate their success. Suppose our objective for a squirrel hunting class is to have class members buy a small game hunting license. In that case, we can set up assessment stages that tell us how well we met that objective.
Pre-assessment:
A pre-assessment gives us a baseline. The pre-assessment stage can occur before a program is offered to help us better understand our audience. Suppose our pre-assessment reveals that folks in our squirrel hunting class have never been hunting. In that case, we know that the course should focus on knowledge and skills gaps that are common for new hunters.
Post-assessment:
In the post-assessment stage, we can poll the class participants about how confident and prepared they feel about participating in small game hunting. This lets us know how the program is doing and whether adjustments are needed to increase participants’ likelihood of actually going hunting after the program.
Follow-up assessment:
Finally, our follow-up assessment can identify the folks who took the class and whether or not they purchased a small game license to hunt squirrels. This lets us know if we met our overall objective. Utilize the follow-up assessment to identify effective programs or strategies to inform future educational practices.
The things we most often evaluate in R3 programming are the demand for a specific program, what participants learned from a program, whether participants did the activity immediately following the program, and whether they subsequently purchased a license to continue the activity on their own.
Regarding hunting, this could look like:
- An assessment of interest in a deer hunting program (and current knowledge of deer hunting).
- An assessment of what participants learned in the deer hunting program.
- An assessment of participants who went on a mentored deer hunt after the program.
- Checking the license database to see if participants purchased a deer tag and went deer hunting in the following year(s).
Regarding shooting sports, this could look like:
- An assessment of interest in a target shooting program (and current knowledge of shooting).
- An assessment of what participants learned in the target shooting program.
- An assessment of participants who went target shooting as part of the program or immediately following it.
- A follow-up assessment of participants to see how many regularly go target shooting six months or a year after the program.
Every stage of the evaluation process allows us to make changes and improve the R3 effort so more people take the class, more specific barriers and needs are met, and more R3-specific behaviors are encouraged. For much more specific information on effective evaluation, see the chapter on Evaluating Outputs and Outcomes.
2015 MN DNR Adult Learn to Hunt Firearms Deer Pre-Program Survey
This resource is a sample pre-assessment survey for an Adult Learn to Firearms Deer Hunt program from the MN DNR.
Georgia Hunt and Learn Program Satisfaction Survey
This resource is a sample post-assessment post-program satisfaction survey from the Georgia DNR.
Learn to Hunt Turkey 2016 Pre-program Survey
This resource is a sample pre-program pre-assessment for a Learn to Hunt Turkey program.
Locavore.guide: Locavore Program Evaluation
This lesson lays out the basics of evaluation for a hunter/angler training program.
Pre-Event Questionnaire Template
This resource is a generic pre-event questionnaire that can used for many different types of programs.
There are many ready-made resources for lessons, lesson plans, and programs. Instead of starting from scratch, use these proven guides to save time and help jumpstart your R3 initiatives. If you are delivering programming already, use this collection of resources to fill holes or improve existing material.
Instead of placing hundreds of potential video links into this Practitioner’s Guide, we have linked to “how-to” style video collections that the R3 community can use for their classes, send to their audiences, or share with interested parties.
We have organized this material into R3 Clearinghouse collections by species and topic to make it easier for you to find what you are after.
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R3 PRACTITIONER’S GUIDE