Adaptation and delivery of indoor air quality training for tribal officials

The Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP) at Northern Arizona University has adapted the US Environmental Protection Agency's Orientation to Indoor Air Quality course materials for delivery to tribal-oriented professionals having an interest and need for an introduction to issues and topics on indoor air quality. The objective of adapting the EPA course for delivery to tribal-oriented professionals is to facilitate its presentation in a format more relevant to the particular audience. The approach taken to achieve this objective does not change the basic indoor air quality issues and topics presented in the EPA course, but rather how they are presented. Experience with other courses and the direct input from tribal participants has indicated that the integration of course-related activities or exercises is preferred. This results in a learning environment that actively involves the participants with the course. Additionally, including a tribal instructor who is able to present actual tribal situations as well as to present a tribal perspective is of tremendous importance. This paper presents the outcome of adapting the EPA Orientation to Indoor Air Quality course for a tribal-oriented audience and summarizes the experiences from recent offerings of the course. The development of supplemental materials, consisting of modified activities and additional lecture slides having increased relevance to the tribal audience, is discussed.