Progress 11/01/23 to 10/31/24
Outputs
Target Audience:We continue to focus on the original target audience of youth in grades 8 to 11, particularly rural, Latinx, and AI/AN who are less likely to seek post-secondary education. Having refined the curriculum, we have plans to reach these target audiences in Gila County, San Carlos Indian Reservation, Pinal County, Graham County, La Paz County, and Coconino County. We have also working with the MESA program which is an enrichment program in STEM that is offered at 27 schools in Pima, Maricopa, and Santa Cruz counties. Changes/Problems:Major challenges included the time the original curriculum was intended to be implemented (16 weeks). This was a challenge because while teachers welcomed support for engaging students in their learning, they also were largely uncomfortable giving up so much time each week for implementation of the program. This led to the revision of the curriculum undertaken during this grant year. The evaluation results for the shortened curriculum were positive and similar or better than the results from the prior years results. * More students believed that youth participation in how communities are run can make communities better (18% strongly agreed before the program vs. 38% strongly agreed following the program). * Before the program, 25% strongly agreed that all communities should have youth input to make things better vs. 40% strongly agreed following the program. * Before the program, 42% strongly agreed or agreed that they felt they hada voice in what goes on in their community vs. 56% strongly agreed or agreed following the program. * 83% reported that this 4-H program helped them identify things they are good at. * 79% reported that as a result of this program they have identified one or more careers that might be a good fit for them. * 75% reported that this program allowed them to share knowledge and experiences from their family and community. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project has provided opportunity for the instructional team to research and develop interactive activities that could be completed within the 30-45 minute time frame of most classrooms. Some that were tried were not successful and therefore were eliminated. Each trial gave the team a better sense of what was possible for the age group and within the setting. In addition, teachers who have participated (and a few new teachers) expressed interest in being able to implement the curriculum without needed Extension personnel present. In those locations, the instructional team member for that county/school have conducted training for the teachers on the use of the curriculum and established a system to 'check out' the necessary supplies and equipment for loan. This has proven to be a successful model where implemented. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?There are several areas that will be explored in FFY25. They include: •Enhanced Safety Feedback: An additional follow-up question has been added to the survey to better understand why some students may not feel safe in this program. One of the main instructors noted that a classroom teacher for one of the sections used deficit-based language when speaking to and about students. Additional context would help in interpreting these situations within the data. •Increased Hands-On Activities: To address feedback for more engaging, hands-on experiences, the instructional team has identified specific enhancements for the 2025 curriculum. Planned improvements include creating enhanced versions of hands-on activities for the water conservation lesson, providing alternative activities for students during the technology in agriculture drone lesson, and developing fact sheets for the poster session that offer specific data on Arizona's needs around these issues. These updates aim to increase interactivity while accommodating classrooms that may not have access to laptops or internet, allowing for effective "unplugged" curriculum delivery. •Improved Survey Distribution: The team has re-emphasized the importance of distributing evaluation surveys to all students who complete the program, while also respecting their choice to participate in the evaluation. To improve survey distribution and response rates, the instructional team has implemented a strategy of involving the classroom teacher more directly in the evaluation process, as the 4-H facilitator is often seen as an outsider. This approach is intended to increase student investment in completing the surveys by integrating their everyday classroom teacher into the process. Additionally, the importance of consistent survey administration has been emphasized in team meetings and is a priority for the new 4-H director and co-PI, Todd Kesner. •Spanish Translation of Curriculum: Recognizing the need to make the curriculum accessible to a wider audience, the team will contract a fluent Spanish speaker to complete a Spanish translation of the curriculum in 2025. This fulfills an original grant objective and ensures broader access for Spanish-speaking students and communities.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Through the first two pilot phases, feedback was received from teachers, students, and Extension personnel concerning implementation of the program. The original curriculum was developed to engage students once a week for an entire semester. While Extension personnel were able to get some schools on board to pilot the curriculum, it proved very difficult to grow the program given the amount of time expected for implementation - this was a hardship for both the classroom teachers as well as the Extension personnel supporting the teachers throughout implementation as it was an inordinate amount of time expected. Therefore, with input from classroom teachers on a more appropriate amount of time they could set aside for this program, the curriculum was redesigned at the beginning of FFY24 (November/December 2023 for piloting starting January 2024).The original version provided several weeks for each topic to be researched and discussed in the classroom, and the redesigned curriculum retained the key topics while incorporating more interactive components to promote learning which addressed students concerns that this "special" program felt too much like their day to day classroom experience (so not special). The six sessions of the new curriculum include 1) Leadership and Youth Participatory Action; 2) Food (In)Justice; 3) Water Conservation; 4) Technology in Agriculture; 5/6) Community Iussues Brainstorm and Poster Session. Following the development of this revised curriculum, the instructional team felt a renewed sense of excitement and optimism about recruiting new classroom teachers and schools to implement the shorter version. The spring 2024 pilot of the new curriculum was introduced across various middle and high schools. Sites participating included schools on the San Carlos Indian Reservation, as well as schools in Gila, Pinal, and Maricopa Counties. In addition Dr. Jerry Lopez continues coordination of the partnership with the Arizona MESA (Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement) program, a school-based outreach initiative promoting STEM pathways and college readiness for low-income, minoritized, and/or first generation college-bound students in grades 6-12. From the beginning, when the team determined they needed to reduce the time commitment for the program, they understood that successfully doing so meant that the new curriculum would need to yield as good evaluation outcomes as the original. Indeed, a greater proportion of students reported liking science and expressed more interest in pursuing science-related careers compared to their pre-program responses. There was a noticeable shift in students' belief in the importance of youth participation in community decisions, with many agreeing that their voices could make a positive impact. The high student engagement in hands-on activities, such as drone flying and the new water conservation game, was frequently mentioned as a favorite part of the program. Teachers were pleased with the level of engagement the new curriculum and interactive activites, compared to the prior version. The response of students to the interactive activities were positive - in particular they enjoyed the drones activity and the coupon challenge in the food justice/food access lesson, where they used coupons to create a meal plan for a family of four on a $20 budget. Thisactivity led to rich discussions around food access and budgeting, which students found highly engaging. Over the course of this grant, the evaluation process has been streamlined to reduce survey fatigue and accommodate time constraints reported by instructors and students. Originally, the curriculum included individual surveys for each of the 15 modules, along with comprehensive pre- and post-surveys. However, instructors indicated that there was not enough time to complete these surveys within class schedules, and students experienced survey fatigue. In response, the instructional team advocated for a single, consolidated post-survey that could be completed in under 15 minutes. The evaluation team prioritized this feedback and worked to retain essential survey items needed to measure the grant's success, as well as key demographic questions, ensuring that critical data would still be collected.In addition to post-surveys from students, instructors and the program evaluator debriefed after each session, noting successful elements, necessary adaptations, and recommendations for the team. This approach provided continuous feedback to enhance curriculum effectiveness, with these notes reviewed and considered by the entire instructional team for ongoing curriculum improvements. Program evaluation survey responses varied by question, with a maximum response rate of 112 students. Among those who shared their race/ethnicity (n = 96), approximately one-third (30%) identified as American Indian or Alaska Native, and nearly one-third identified as Latinx/Hispanic. In terms of grade levels, most respondents were in early high school (9th and 10th grades), representing 50% of the sample, followed by upper high school students (11th and 12th grades) at 41.5%, and middle school students (8th grade) at 7.4%. Post-surveys were distributed to youth at the end of the 5- or 6-session program. Whenever possible, the program extended to six sessions to allow additional time for poster presentations, although this extension was not available in all school settings. For this reason, survey distribution could occur in either session 5 or 6.
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Progress 11/01/21 to 10/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:Target audiencesinclude individuals, groups, market segments, or communities that will be served by the project. Where appropriate, you should also identify population groups such as racial and ethnic minorities and those who are socially, economically, or educationally disadvantaged. We have conductedpilot programs (4 classrooms COMPUS; 50). Pre-survey N=27 Summit Youth Participants - curriculum review Effortsinclude acts or processes that deliver science-based knowledge to people through formal or informal educational programs. Examples include: formal classroom instruction, laboratory instruction, or practicum experiences; development of curriculum or innovative teaching methodologies; internships; workshops; experiential learning opportunities; extension and outreach. Changes/Problems:Major changes include: major problems or delays that may have a significant impact on the rate of expenditure; significant deviations from research schedule or goals; unexpected outcomes; or changes in approved protocols for the use or care of animals, human subjects, and/or biohazards encountered during the reporting period. - curriculum development took longer than expected - less pilots thanwe thought, different audiences will be needed - more diverse audience - piloting in an indiginous community in spring 2023, - advisory committee was hard to convene - turnover on the co-I team. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?In this first grant year, the team at University of Arizona Cooperative Extension has successfully produced many curriculum products, together which stand as a full draft of the full proposed Next Steps 4 Leadership program. The team is actively piloting the program with youth to further refine into a high quality, high context, nationally relevant, evidence-based program focused on food system research, problem solving and community leadership. We look forward to the refinement of this curriculum program, and the creation of student and facilitators guides and many other educational support curriculum in this next year. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The evaluation results have been shared with relevant UACE staff to show efficacy of the program and to generate interest in piloting the curriculum across Arizona. An advisory board meeting is scheduled for March 2023 that will convene representatives from several communities of interest to share initial evaluation results summary and share draft curriculum for feedback on its continued development. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will plan and implement various pilot curriculums in diverse communities across Arizona and use the evaluation data to refine the draft curriculum, with a particular focus on reaching Indigenous and Latinx communities. We will recruit new UACE staff to pilot and provide feedback on curriculum development. We will develop draft facilitator and student guides for the refined curriculum. Based upon feedback from our initial pilots, we will also create a version of the NS4L curriculum that is shorter and utilizes less technology for use in many 4-H program settings, including summer camps and club activities set in remote areas, yet still maintains the primary objectives for the curriculum program.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
This premier grant year has been focused on the development of a cohesive, evidence based, 15 module curricula with all PIs/grant partner's input. From a series of initial project lead meetings, a list of program objectives and sub-objectives was drafted and approved. These objectives led to the development of five initial problem-based learning modules focused on the use of technology in agriculture to solve systemic problems. Modules 6-10 move the focus to the YPAR (youth-led participatory action research) process which culminates in the development of a youth led research presentation and action plan to enact change on the community issue related to the food system. Modules were drafted by the associate in curriculum based upon group authored objectives, then reviewed and revised by monthly project lead meetings. As part of the main project lead meetings, specific attention was given to authoring culturally appropriate curriculum centered in the experience of Latinx and AI/AN youth by using examples and case studies drawn from experiences relevant to these groups. The culturally relevant aspects of the curriculum continue to be developed and refined as pilots of the draft curriculum are already planned for sites with high AI/AN populations in spring 2023. A separate assessment committee developed assessment instruments appropriate to measure the progress of the program to assess the grant goals related to 4-H leadership, understanding of agricultural issues/solutions, and efficacy in reaching Latinx and AI/AN youth populations. Surveys were reviewed by the committee and developed through the Qualtrics analytic system for ease of user response. A final committee was initiated to develop plans for implementing the technology necessary for delivering pilot programs, and this committee developed Google Classroom and D2L (University of Arizona's online learning platform) versions of web-based delivery for the curriculum. In addition, the technology committee developed logos and graphical design for the curriculum, as well as an array of marketing materials for use in recruiting youth to participate in the program. The final stage in this year's efforts was implementing a pilot of the curriculum at a public alternative high school in Tucson, Arizona. A successful pilot of the program was delivered to 83 youth with a high percentage of Latinx youth participating in the pilot. Feedback was captured from youth present for each module despite a high absence rate at the school site. Two curriculum revision and planning meetings took place in August and again in December to look at the feedback from the pilot programs and prepare for implementation at 3-5 additional sites in spring 2023. In addition, 34 4-H youth from across Arizona and 20 environmental educators from across North America could participate and provide feedback on draft lessons at two separate outreach events.
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