The Interpreter's Guidebook by Regnier et al. Signs, Trails and Wayside Exhibits by Trapp et al. This course is about people, communication and natural resource management. It is based on the premise that stewardship of public and private lands is easier and more effective when managers work in concert with an enlightened public. As such, the overriding focus of RRT 387 will be on the theoretical underpinnings and application of communication methods appropriate for natural resource settings and topics.
Most interpretation takes place in nonacademic settings.
Such settings may include forests, parks, campgrounds, museums, aquaria, botanical gardens, science centers, nurseries, laboratories, research and demonstration sites, and a host of other places lay audiences may visit voluntarily. Consequently, interpretive audiences tend to be noncaptive. This places special demands on interpreters since conventional instructional methods will usually seem incompatible with the informal, relaxed atmosphere such audiences expect. The same constraints operate when natural resource managers communicate with remote audiences via print and broadcast media. For these reasons, this course places heavy emphasis on distinctions between voluntary and involuntary audiences, and on techniques of communicating technical information to lay publics .