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Defining Environmental Technology

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Defining Environmental Technology

A Project Funded by: The National Science Foundation

All-Grantee Meeting: August 21, 2024

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Defining Environmental Technology

Goal of the Forum

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  • Validate, revise/update the 2014 Defining Environmental Technology Report

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Defining Environmental Technology

The Need for a Defining Environmental Technology Forum

  • The last Defining Environmental Technology report was in 2014.
  • The 2014 report had seen a 67% increase in downloads in the last year (2022).
  • Continued technological advances.
  • Increased role of Environmental Technology in national security issues and threats.
  • Changes in national and regional regulatory compliance requirements.
  • A retiring workforce.

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Defining Environmental Technology

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The audience for this report includes:

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  • Students, technicians, career changers, and employers of technicians (e.g., companies, government agencies);

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  • Counselors, advisors, faculty, and administrators of academic institutions at all levels but particularly in two-year colleges and high schools;

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  • Leaders of professional societies; and

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  • Federal, state, and local government officials responsible for the quality and quantity of the nation’s technical workforce.

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Project Questions

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  • Should the Forum be held Face to Face or Virtual?

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  • Should the process be a facilitated brainstorming activity like a DACUM?

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  • Who should facilitate the forum?

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  • What is a DACUM?

DACUM = Developing A CurriculUM

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A DACUM is a method of occupational (or task) analysis. Led by a trained facilitator, expert practitioners in an occupation come together in a two-day workshop to provide input on the specific tasks, knowledge, and skills required to perform their job. During the workshop, the expert workers develop a DACUM chart, which is a graphical representation of their input.

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  • DACUM ASSUMPTIONS

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  • Expert workers are the best source for a task analysis.

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  • Any occupation can be effectively described in terms of TASKS.

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  • All tasks imply knowledge, skills, and abilities.

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  • DACUM = Developing A CurriculUM

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The DACUM chart can be used by educators, curriculum developers, or business and industry professionals to:

  • Identify instructional needs.
  • Plan an instructional/training program.
  • Design and develop curriculum.
  • Design and develop instructional materials.
  • Create and revise job descriptions
  • Recruit employees.
  • Provide career guidance.

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Defining Environmental Technology

An Example of a DACUM

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Defining Environmental Technology

An Example of a DACUM

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Defining Environmental Technology

The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill 1989

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SPILL RESPONSE/ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANUP TECHNICIAN

July 18 & 19, 1995

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DACUM LOCATION: Prince William Sound Community College, Valdez, AK

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DACUM FACILITATOR/RECORDER: Steven Fenton, Associate Director, Hazardous Materials Training and Research Institute (HMTRI), Bettendorf, IA

Cindy Lake, Instructional Designer, Advanced Technology Environmental Education Center (ATEEC), Bettendorf, IA

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DACUM COORDINATOR: Vince Kelly, Coordinator, Vocational Education & Training, Prince William Sound Community College, Valdez, AK

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SPONSORS: The Advanced Technology Environmental Education Center, which is funded by the National Science Foundation, comprises the Hazardous Materials Training and Research Institute (a partnership between the Eastern Iowa Community College District and Kirkwood Community College), the University of Northern Iowa, and the Partnership for Environmental Technology Education.

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SPILL RESPONSE/ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANUP TECHNICIAN

July 18 & 19, 1995

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DACUM PANELISTS:

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  • Jack Coffman, Laborer III, SERVS/TCC, Valdez, Alaska
  • C. Agneta Dahl, Chief, Port Operations Department, U.S. Coast Guard, Valdez, Alaska
  • Harold Trygve Enger, Manager, Marine Spill Response, Foss Environmental Services, Seattle, WA
  • Rich J. Helinski, Senior Specialist, Environmental Response, ARCO Alaska, Inc., Anchorage, AK
  • Stanley W. Jepson, Technical Trainer, SERVS, Valdez, AK
  • Alan Rayner, Assistant Area Coordinator - Olympic Peninsula, Clean Sound Cooperative Inc., Port Angeles, WA
  • John D. Schreiber, Field Superintendent, CCI, Soblotna, AK
  • Geoff Snyder, Marine Response Specialist III, Clean Bay Incorporated, Concord, CA
  • Vince Volpe, Environmental Technician, Alaska Clean Seas, Prudhoe Bay, AK

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SERVS = Ship Escort Response Vessel System

TCC = Tatitlek Corporation, Chenega Corporation, and Chugach Alaska Corporation form TCC. 

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Environmental and Natural Resources Technology (EARTH)

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SPILL RESPONSE/ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANUP TECHNICIAN

July 18 & 19, 1995

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The Spill Response/Environmental Cleanup Technician prepares for, responds to, and mediates spills and wastes to ensure public safety, environmental protection, and regulatory compliance.

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  • General Areas of Competence
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  • Ensuring Regulatory Compliance
  • Operating and Maintaining Equipment
  • Training
  • Conducting Initial Site Assessment
  • Controlling Sources
  • Controlling/Containing Spill
  • Recovering/Removing Spill
  • Monitoring Wildlife Impact
  • Setting Up/Managing Staging Area(s)
  • Decontaminating Personnel and Equipment
  • Managing/Handling Hazardous Materials
  • Conducting Site Remediation

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Postscript

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Prince William Sound College still offers spill response classes for the fishing fleets in:

  • Valdez
  • Cordova
  • Seward
  • Kodiak
  • Homer
  • Whittier

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In 2021-2022, they trained 1,475 students.

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Defining Environmental Technology: A 50,000 Foot View

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Characteristics of a Modified DACUM

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  • Planning process is similar with few exceptions

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  • Requires one day rather than two days of participation

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  • The panel reacts more than creates

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  • Must have a current and appropriate DACUM chart

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  • NOTE: You can even use this process with a larger number of participants – like a forum.

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Ground Rules

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  • Members should share all ideas whether practical or not.
  • All members contribute equally.
  • Observers cannot participate.
  • All statements are accepted initially. Criticism is withheld until after the listed period.
  • Statements should begin with action verbs.
  • Ideas that are redundant, undesirable, or not useful should be eliminated.
  • Do not rely on the internet or books, this is a brainstorming process.

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DEFINING ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY FORUM

Forum Participants

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  • Twenty-seven subject matter experts from fifteen states and the District of Columbia and the Island of Puerto Rico participated in this event. States represented included:

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  • Alaska Arkansas Michigan California Iowa
  • North Carolina Georgia Illinois Wisconsin Maine
  • New York Kansas New Mexico Florida Wyoming
  • Plus: Washington DC & Puerto Rico

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DEFINING ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY FORUM

Forum Participants

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Rick Hillenga, Simmons Foods (AR)

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Dale Wreidt, Deere & Company (IL)

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*Deborah Bayer, Workforce Intelligence Network (MI)

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Eric Shanks, Cypress Mandela Training Center (CA)

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Mileidy Soto, PathStone Corporation (PR)

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Janet Kerley, Santa Fe Community College (NM)

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Lynn Zender, PhD., Zender Environmental Health and Safety Group (AK)

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Cole Dutton, Cybersecurity Specialist, Water Infrastructure and Cyber Resilience Division (EPA)

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Jim Remington, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) (NC)

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DEFINING ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY FORUM

Forum Participants

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Jennifer Wittenburg, Iowa Waste Reduction Center at UNI (IA)

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*Julie Plummer, Iowa Waste Exchange (IA)

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*Margaret Doss, Columbia County Water Utility (GA)

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Gilles St. Pierre, Northern Maine Community College (ME)

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Sarah Marston, Bayer US Crop Science (IA)

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Brad Freidhof, Johnson County Conservation Board (IA)

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Clare Lindahl, Soil and Water Conservation Society (IA)

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Dawn Temple, Soil and Water Conservation Board (IL)

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Sharyl Majorski, Ed.D., Saginaw Chippewa Tribal College & Central Michigan University (MI)

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DEFINING ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY FORUM

Forum Participants

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Bob Armantrout, SCS Global (NC)

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Sabrina Pittillo, SO Compliant LLC (NC)

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Lindsay Holmes, Barton Community College (KS)

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James Baxter, Terracon (IA)

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Ryan Carlson, Mid-American Energy (IA)

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Kenneth Walls, Ph.D., Madison Area Technical College & PI of CREATE (WI)

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Richard Lawrence, Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) (NY)

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Nick Rotindo, National Electric Vehicle Consortium, Indian River State College (FL)

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Michael Schmidt, First Global Gear Services (WY)

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  • Content Validation Team

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  • Jeff Bates, Ph.D., CHMM Nolan Curtis
  • Professor and Program Coordinator Former Department of Energy (DOE) Contractor
  • Columbus State Community College Aiken, SC
  • Columbus, OH
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  • Pat Berntsen Michael Senew
  • Co-PI PETE Technical Assistance Consultant
  • Community College Consortium for KSU JT-TAB
  • Health and Safety Training (CCCHST) Raleigh, NC
  • Marion, IA
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  • James Henderson
  • Instructor of Hazardous Waste Worker Training
  • Barton Community College
  • Junction City, KS
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Defining Environmental Technology

DEFINING ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY FORUM

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Goals Addressed:

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  • Defined the Environmental Technology Career Field
  • Defined Environmental Technology Technician
  • Reviewed/Revised Occupational Categories
  • Reviewed/Revised Broad Job Functions
  • Identified Cross-Cutting Skills
  • Identified Emerging Issues and Future Trends

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DEFINING ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY REPORT

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- The Results -

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Environmental and Natural Resources Technology (EARTH)

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These resources are available at:

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Defining Environmental Technology Report

https://drive.google.com/file/d/16aeWYlY48u_DxeWTRRtXPjgApsbFvpzr/view?usp=drive_link

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Defining Environmental Technology Chart

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JGjfjC86_HQpEZ3TCKBUoZozMrP0KTdE/view?usp=drive_link�

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  • https://earthcntr.org

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Learn More about DACUMs…

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The Center on Education and Training for Employment – The Ohio State University. DACUM International Training Center - CETE (osu.edu)

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Thank You!

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Steven Fenton, M.S. Ed.

Fenton & Associates

Phone: (253) 261-1010

Email: sfenton103@aol.com

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