It’s IHEA-USA Conference Season, and in less than one month, we are celebrating all things Hunter Education both in-person in Boise, Idaho and online with virtual attendees from all over the world! This event represents the best way for you to hear first-hand the trends surrounding relevant topics such as volunteer management, online and in-person hunter education, the IHEA’s newest programs and partnerships, and more. Everyone is invited to register online through our website to participate online LIVE through our event app and Zoom links or in person. Active IHEA-USA volunteer members are FREE online, but you still need to register. We hope you will join us this year!
Last week was another Conference hosted by our good friends at the Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports (CAHSS). Your IHEA-USA team was in attendance in Albuquerque, New Mexico, for all the events, including R3 specialist training, a CAHSS Board Meeting, and R3 presentations covering a whole R3 gamut. The agenda highlighted some great work around the industry, including firearm training specifically for underrepresented audiences and program evaluation techniques and tools. Seeing the growth in R3 practitioners and the increase in audience for events focused on R3 principles is amazing. In addition, new positions are frequently created in agencies and nonprofits, and even occasionally within the private sector, to focus on collaboration to address national recruitment, retention, and reactivation of hunters and shooting sports participants.
Your IHEA-USA is working diligently to address one of the six identified national priorities for R3 in mentoring. We believe we have created a solution that will only work with the help and participation of educators everywhere. You have likely heard about our continued education platform, LearnHunting.org, at this point, but the benefit to educational volunteers and new graduates is so great that I wanted to ask everyone again to consider creating an account. It is free and offers online courses created by our authoritative partners for anyone interested in instructing and mentoring new hunters. We have 15 states officially working to roll out this program and are adding new organizational partners every week. That’s amazing when you consider that the program has only been fully active for six months! So check it out and let us know what you think and how we can continue to make it better.
Between the upcoming Conference and our LearnHunting.org platform, we are working to deliver to our members and partners the information they need to impact the next generation of participants this year positively. As always, your feedback is welcome, and thank you for your support!
Don't Forget to Register for the Upcoming IHEA-USA Conference!🎉
Join us live in Boise or virtually for free as an IHEA-USA Member!
We Welcome Conference Keynote Speaker Buddy Huffaker, President & Executive Director, Aldo Leopold Foundation, Baraboo, Wisconsin
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The 2023 IHEA-USA Conference promises great networking, and a variety of workshops from Administering a Shooting Range Grant Program to sessions on Meeting Modern Student Expectations to a variety of Instructor Education Sessions. Learn the latest techniques and tactics for Hunter Education and see what the IHEA-USA is up to in support of R3 efforts in the hunting community!
Conference Sessions
Opening Ceremony: IHEA Welcome
Keynote Speaker: Buddy Huffaker from the Aldo Leopold Foundation
Panel Discussion: A Hunter Education Community Poised for Growth
Have a Passion for Mentoring? Want to Expand Your Teaching Strategies? Learnhunting.org is for YOU!
Whether it's helping an adult hunter experience success for a lifetime of hunting enjoyment, or expanding your teaching ability, Learnhunting.org is your destination for education.
Easily control the time that you want to commit to mentoring
Choose from a growing library of continuing education for yourself
Take pride in knowing that you are a critical piece in the R3 movement through your commitment to continued education!
I have been an outdoor educator for over 15 years. My tenure has ensured that I have taught the same lessons over and over until I have a script in my head that could certainly be recited in my sleep. This script makes it easy just to pull the information from my brain and run on autopilot until I can check the box where the topic was covered. Certainly, this is a straightforward instructional approach, but is it effective?
The simple answer is no. It is impossible to expect that a cookie-cutter approach to education will serve as an effective learning experience for all students. After all, that is why we volunteer our time, right? We want students to learn how to hunt safely, not just check boxes for topics. Hunter education students represent a broad spectrum of individuals; this will require a range of educational approaches to ensure learning. Instead of sticking to the same path and teaching the same topic the same way, I encourage you to take a scientist's approach. A scientist is encouraged to consider a range of hypotheses, searching for reasons why they might be wrong. They test, reach conclusions, then use their new learning to inform their ideas moving forward. We can learn from this as educators.
This model of thinking allows us to step outside of the script in our minds to explore new ways of teaching subjects that may be more engaging for our students, thus creating a more effective, richer learning environment. Consider, "What do my students need from me to learn this subject?"; create your hypothesis. Perhaps your students would benefit from getting up and moving or working together to solve a problem that would grab their attention. Test your hypothesis and improve based on what you learned. To create impactful learning experiences, we need to embrace the possibility of changing our practices, not simply running with the status quo. Effective teaching is based on the students' needs rather than the planned itinerary.
This leads us to a larger educational idea called "student-centered education." When we teach with a focus on being student-centered, we are willing to adjust what we're doing for the educational benefit of our students. Yes, the topics we teach are fixed, but how we teach them can and should vary based on the students. I wish I could tell you that student-centered education is easy, that your lessons will flow well, and that you'll get it right every time. Unfortunately, that is just not the reality. Focusing your educational practices on the students requires you to be adaptive, attentive, and nimble in your approach so that you're meeting the needs of your students in the moment. This requires you to have a variety of strategies for teaching topics in your back pocket, ready to deploy at a moment's notice. What I can ensure is that it is effective at engaging students and driving learning. This is why it is important to take on the approach of a scientist; observe areas for improvement, create a plan, implement, and use your findings to improve. I encourage you to consider the topics within hunter education; how might you adapt your teaching style to present the same content in a different manner? Could you create an engaging activity to replace the lecture you would have given otherwise? Create a few teaching options for your lessons and deploy them based on your observations of your student's needs. If your lesson becomes a rousing success or an unfortunate let-down, either way, you will learn from your experiment and improve moving forward.
Jae Ellison
Director of Education
jellison@ihea-usa.org
Instructor Discount Corner
Because You Work Hard for No Money😁
Check out the latest Instructor Discounts from these brands that care about YOU!👇
Did you know Leupold has a VIP discount program for IHEA-USA Instructor members? They care deeply about you and want to gear you up for your next adventure as a thank you for your sacrifice!
Ruger is honored to honor YOU by offering discounts on their popular firearms and accessories. Gear up for your next classroom or shooting experience with gear from this leading firearms manufacturer.
Now, IHEA-USA Instructors can enjoy 25% off Tactacam Reveal Cellular Game Cameras:and 35% off Tactacam Action Cameras. Check out the links to these discounts in the Instructor Discount Section today!
Need a durable pack? Check out the best on the market from Kifaru. Now, Kifaru is offering IHEA-USA Instructors discounts on all products on their site except Hilleberg, shelters, tipis, sleds, stoves, and YETI.
To take advantage of these and other valuable offers to instructors, login, and shop the IHEA Instructor Discount Page today!
Have You Heard of the Hunting Incident Investigation Academy?
Did you know that IHEA-USA not only works wholeheartedly with the states and territories to promote hunting and shooting sports education, but IHEA also trains wildlife officers to investigate hunting incidents? The IHEA has conducted the Hunting Incident Investigation Academy (HIIA) for wildlife officers since 1993. The Academy has been held in ten different states and has trained over 1400 officers nationwide. Instructed by Specialist Wildlife Officers who collectively have decades of experience in specific hunting investigation techniques, student officers of the Academy receive hands-on training while investigating scenarios built from actual cases. It's important to note that the IHEA-USA HIIA Academy is the only Academy of its kind in the country.
In 2021, the states reported over 300 hunting incidents. Although we see a downward trend each year due to our safety efforts, this data shows the critical need for hunting incident investigations. The officers who instruct the Academy are from various states, and several are retired officers that donate their time to this cause. IHEA is truly grateful for their dedication and for being able to offer this critical training.
This year the HIIA is being held in partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Volunteers from MO, FL, IA, NC, and GA are all coming together to put on this year's training event.
Megan Fedrick
Director of Partnerships and Development
mfedrick@ihea-usa.org
FROM THE DESK OF KEVIN LOCKWOOD
IHEA-USA Instructor Advisory Committee Chair
Next Stop, Boise!
I did some business travel in the Pacific Northwest last week. Driving "The I-5" included a stop for a caffeine fix from Dutch Brothers Coffee (ok, twice.) Those in the PNW know just how important and completely reasonable this was. Seeing mountains again was good for my soul. My beloved home state of Indiana is bereft of mountains after glaciers moved all of ours to Kentucky and Tennessee some time ago.
All of this served to whet my appetite for the upcoming IHEA-USA conference in Boise, Idaho. I mentioned getting a "paycheck" in the last newsletter. If you are an instructor that maybe needs some encouragement like that, is looking for inspiration to renew and refresh your classes, or perhaps learn about new trends in hunting education, this investment of your time will pay many dividends. For $20, the price of a few coffees from Dutch Bros or maybe just two from that green siren logo place, you can attend the conference online. If live session times do not fit your schedule, I've got great news. Conference sessions will be recorded and available to watch at your convenience afterward. As a bonus, you get a one-year membership in IHEA-USA and access to all the instructor resources at no additional cost.
Our current contest has just ended, and I'm happy to say it has been successful. Many teaching idea entries were received from so many of you. Instructors that uploaded winning submissions will receive an amazing prize package and have their idea featured in the brand-new instructor toolbox pages of LearnHunting.org. Sharing teaching ideas with other instructors is the most frequently requested resource the Instructor Advisory Committee hears as we talk to instructors from around the country and the world. Admittedly, it has been a long time coming with a few bumps along the way. However, on behalf of the IAC, thank you to all those that participated in this pivotal step toward our vision and goal.
**Spoiler Alert** - Pending a minor miracle, we hope to have some of your ideas ready for a website preview tour at the conference. Stay tuned!!!
For the latest information and action of the 2023 IHEA-USA Conference, download Whova from your app store. Then, look me up and message me in the app. I'm truly looking forward to meeting you in person or virtually in a couple of weeks!
Wild turkey is one of our favorite types of game to cook, because it’s can replace just about any chicken recipe, including wild turkey salad. Check out this delicious recipe from our friends at Savage Arms, and change up your next lunch sandwich!
Check out the latest Hunters Connect Content for your classroom today!
Get the latest news and contest information by following the IHEA-USA on social media!
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, donations to IHEA-USA qualify as tax-deductible. If you are interested in contributing to our organization, we have a couple options for you.
Send us a check payable to “IHEA-USA” at our new address: PO Box 1320, Lolo, MT 59847.
