Source: NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY submitted to NRP
REACHING OUT TO ADVANCE DIVERSITY IN SCIENCE (ROADS): CONSTRUCTING RURAL AND UNDERSERVED PATHWAYS TO CAREERS IN FOOD, AGRICULTURE, CONSUMERISM TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCES (FACTS)
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1028878
Grant No.
2022-38414-37916
Cumulative Award Amt.
$53,117.00
Proposal No.
2022-04324
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Sep 1, 2022
Project End Date
Aug 31, 2024
Grant Year
2022
Program Code
[SPECA]- Secondary Challenge Program
Recipient Organization
NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY
1425 W LINCOLN HWY
DE KALB,IL 601152828
Performing Department
School of Health Studies
Non Technical Summary
Reaching out to Advance Diversity in Science (ROADS) careers in Food and Agricultural Consumerism, Technology and Science (FACTS) is a new project addressing the clear need for increasing diversity in the FACTS workforce. By using comprehensive, multi-institutional proven practices, this project will build a career pathway for underrepresented high school rising juniors and seniors to support them on their ROAD to a 4-year FACTS major at Northern Illinois University (NIU). This proposal begins with a year-round online FACTS community for 11th grade underrepresented students to build Essential Employability Skills (EE), or "soft skills". Next, a one-week residential research-focused FACTS summer experience with NIU facultydeepens participants FACTS knowledge so they can complete a FACTS local research project during their 12th grade year. This project will also reduce barriers at NIU for admission and enrollment and connect participants to personal and academic support centers in place to promote higher education student success. ROADS to FACTS evaluation will include a comparison group to ensure programmatic metrics like participant satisfaction, attitudes, and sense of belonging, and outcome metrics like confidence for degree completion and enrollment and in FACTS majors are due to the project. Given NIU's history of excellence in recruiting and serving underrepresented and first-generation college students, the institution is perfectly positioned for educational programming and research aimed at advancing underrepresented populations in FACTS. This newly developed program will be sustained beyond the project period through additional grants, state and local scholarships for underrepresent students, and donations through our NIU Foundation.
Animal Health Component
50%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
50%
Developmental
50%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
90361103020100%
Knowledge Area
903 - Communication, Education, and Information Delivery;

Subject Of Investigation
6110 - Economy of the United States and sectors thereof;

Field Of Science
3020 - Education;
Goals / Objectives
The goal of this proposal is to request funds to support the development of a one-week residentialFood and Agriculture Consumerism, Technology, and Sciences(FACTS) professionssummer program (Need Area 1c - Hands on learning experiences to solve problems in the context of real-world situations) with a continuing year-round on-line FACTS community (Need Area 1d - targeted summer programs providing bridge to 4-year institutions for underrepresented high school students). In addition to developing the program structure, the funds requested will also be utilized to reduce barriers at NIU for admission/enrollment. Participants will also be connected to support systems at NIU to assist with navigating financial systems and other barriers to higher education student success (Needs Area 1e - Higher education academic counseling). These goals will improve the quality of FACTS education through the following objectives: Obj 1) Develop and deliver an engaging, hands-on, inquiry- based one-week residential researchfocused FACTS summer program with a continuing year-round on-line FACTS community that will build a pathway into a FACTS or related major for underrepresented and first-generation students. Obj 2) Advise and guide students through the resources available at NIU that reduce personal and academic barriers to success for underrepresented and first-generation students. Obj 3) Evaluate participants' knowledge of research and employability skills, confidence in enrolling, persisting and attaining a FACTS degree, and belonging/connectedness to learning community.It is anticipated that the completed project objectives will yield data to inform project impacts on underrepresented and first-generation participants' enrolling in 4-year institutions, confidence in decisions about program of study, selection of FACTS and related majors, and university recruitment and retention in FACTS and related majors.
Project Methods
Methodology:Our team's program mission is to address the long-standing lack of authentic, real-world science education opportunities and exposure to Food and Agriculture Consumerism, Technology, and Sciences(FACTS)careers for youth. The vision is to create a residential summer program with a year-round learning community that provides engaging science learning opportunities, explores the wide array of career opportunities in FACTS, and allows students to experience university campus life. Funding of this project by USDA NIFA Secondary Education, Two-Year Postsecondary Education, and Agriculture in the K-12 Classroom Challenge Grants program (SPECA) will create a robust and sustainable student FACTS summer learning experience that promotes complementary and synergistic linkages among secondary and higher education programs for Northern Illinois youth.Henna Muzaffar, PhD, RDN, will PI the project providing leadership, administration, curriculum development, and instruction. She will receive assistance from Kelly Furr, MAEd who is a STEM program instructor for the P-20 and is completing her MS in Nutrition and Dietetics and Registered Dietitian credential by 2023. Kelly Furr is an excellent example of the NIU P-20 dedication to Food and Agriculture Consumerism, Technology, and Sciences(FACTS) professions. She was hired full-time with intent to expand the P-20's STEM program offerings in FACTS. Management of the project will be completed by the Center for P-20 Engagement which has a portfolio of more than $3 million/year in grant-funded and fee-for-service P-20 (preschool through life-long learning) educational initiatives. ROADS to FACTS will have proper and efficient administration utilizing NIU operational, financial, technical and grant systems. Key personnel, Debbie Kerman is the Assistant Director within the P-20 Center and coordinates more than 20 summer residential experiences for almost 500 students every summer. ROADS to FACTS summer experience will be delivered by a center well-versed in summer experience planning, recruiting, delivery and evaluation.Melani Duffrin, PhD, RDN will serve as the external evaluator to this project. While Dr. Duffrin is a Registered Dietitian, her academic home is in NIU's Department of Health Science. She will not be affiliated with project development to minimize bias in evaluation. Project design will take place as a collaborative effort between Henna Muzaffar in the Department of Nutrition and the NIU P-20 Center. Dr. Duffrin was selected as the external evaluator to the project because of her extensive research background with Foods and STEM education. Dr. Duffrin will design the evaluation tools, observe programming, collect data, and produce evaluation reports. Observation of the summer and virtual program experience along with curricular review will be conducted during the project period. Once project reports are concluded, Dr. Duffrin will work with Dr. Muzaffar to present and publish data in appropriate venues.TimelineSemesterObjective 1 - Program DeliveryObjective 2 - Advising/Guidance to NIU supportsObjective 3 - EvaluationFall 2022 - Start UpRecruit 11th grade students (2 sets of 20 students) who identified FACTS career but have low CCRMeet with NIU Center for Student Assistance and Academic Support Center for more information about students supports availableComplete needs assessment and pre-assessments on knowledge of research and employability skillsSpring 2023Deliver Essential Employability (EE) Skills (soft skills) online training and plan summer experienceCoordinate with high school career pathway staff ensuring collaboration with NIU FACTS programsComplete post assessment on knowledge of Essential Employability SkillsSummer 2023Convene week-long residential experience (2 weeks, 20 students each) with FACTS research faculty on FACTS research project and activities for related majorsParticipants experience NIU campus, courses and learn about NIU student support centers.Complete survey on perceptions of barriers to degree attainment, Conduct focus group on student personal and academic supports availFall 2023Research local/community FACTS issues and problemsParticipants work with NIU admissions and financial aid/FAFSA completionComplete post assessment of knowledge of research skills/processSpring 2024 - DisseminationComplete the spring showcase summarizing the local community FACTS researchParticipants register for orientation and meet with advisors (if attending NIU)Complete dissemination and recommendations for replicationSummer 2024 - CloseoutStudents graduate from high school and enroll in NIUStudents enroll in NIU FACTS majorsFinal performance reports

Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/24

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for this project from 9-1-22 to 8-31-24were 11th and 12th grade underrepresented and first-generation high school students. These students were recruited by the Northern Illinois University (NIU) P-20 Center. The P-20 Center is an operation maintained on NIU's campus to bring together partners from NIU and across the region in mutually beneficial relationships to increase educational success. To recruit rising 11th and 12th grade underrepresented and first-generation college students, the NIU P-20 accessed their Illinois P-20 Network. This network improvement community, established in 2014, now includes 118 organizations, 597 schools, 48,175 educators, who represent 816,980 students. The P-20 Network regularly communicates with their partners through every other Friday newsletter along with various work groups and workshops which are free to network members. This keeps network partners up to date on events and services the P-20 offers the community. Network members can access event information, news, resources, and staff members anytime from the P-20 website. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project has provided professional development opportunities for students participating in the camp. Additionally, it has provided professional development opportnuties for undergraduate and graduate students at Northern Illinois University, who helped with curriculum develpment, implementation of the program, and collection of data. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Dissemination of this information and acknowledgement of the USDA NIFA Secondary Education,Two-Year Postsecondary Education, and Agriculture in the K-12Classroom Challenge Grants program (SPECA) took place at the American Society for Nutrition in 2024. Researchers in the team are working on preparing a manuscript for more detailed dissemination of the program and its results. Poster presentation citation: Muzaffar H, Duffrin, M, Furr K, Brynteson K, Clemens AJ, Oerkfitz Z. (2024). Reaching Out to Advance Diversity in Science (ROADS) by Constructing Underserved Pathways to Careers in Food, Agriculture, Consumerism Technology, and Sciences (FACTS). American Society for Nutrition Conference. Chicago, IL. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Key findings ROADS to FACTS camp brought together high schoolstudents that are passionate and wanted to learn more about food STEMprograms. The camp allowed students to participate in engaging activities,learn about new careers, and make new connections. Some studentsenjoyed the program more than others, but moststudents enjoyedtheir experience at the camp. The constructive feedback about the campbased on participants' experience can be used to improve the program forfuture implementation. Education space Most campers agreed that classroom furniture was comfortable (97%), food and water were easily accessible (90%), felt free to move around (83%), and temperature was adequate (69%). Areas for improvement would be allowing campers more freedom to move around and ensuring classroom temperatures are comfortable. Relevance Students found the experience relevant reporting that they will use what they learned (90%), will share what they learned (90%), and continue to build on the skills (86%). Satisfaction Overall, campers had a high level of satisfaction with the experience. The overall camp second session survey indicated 100% satisfaction in comparison to other camps and the ROADS to FACTS survey indicated 86% satisfaction across both camps. Engagement with this experience was reported at 93% in agreement. Confidence Campers were confident in completing the course work (93%). This is ideal for campers building efficiency to pursue careers in FACTS. Belongingness Campers reported feeling welcome, safe, and part of a group of learners. Many were less comfortable interacting with program faculty and did not always feel acknowledged (62%). In future camp offerings, faculty might consider aiming to build more comfortable relationships with the campers. Careers in FACTS and college attendance Most of the campers expressed interestin pursuing nutrition and health related majors in college and are planningto seek admission in in-state universities with NIU being the most popularchoice (50% campers). Year-round community of practice The academic year community of practice presented challenges with participation. Only two campers completed the Essential Employability Skills and post camp activity. Competing senior year activities likely impacted the follow-up. Greater investments in direct relationship building with campers and schools is needed. Research regarding motivators and drivers for community of practice campus connections for seniors in high school is warranted. Comparison to other camps Of the 13 camps offered on campus in summer of 2023, our camp had the highest number of extremely satisfied and satisfied participants with no indications of dissatisfaction from any participants. Recommendations Implement strategies that facilitate collaborative learning with faculty and improve student autonomy. Invest more time in relationship building with school and campers placing greater emphasis on those most likely to attend NIU and pursue food and nutrition careers.

Publications

  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: " Dissemination of this information and acknowledgement of the USDA NIFA Secondary Education, Two-Year Postsecondary Education, and Agriculture in the K-12 Classroom Challenge Grants program (SPECA) took place at the American Society for Nutrition in 2024. " Poster presentation citation: Muzaffar H, Duffrin, M, Furr K, Brynteson K, Clemens AJ, Oerkfitz Z. (2024). Reaching Out to Advance Diversity in Science (ROADS) by Constructing Underserved Pathways to Careers in Food, Agriculture, Consumerism Technology, and Sciences (FACTS). American Society for Nutrition Conference. Chicago, IL.


Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/23

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for this project from 9-1-22 to 8-31-23 were11th and 12th grade underrepresented and first-generation high schoolstudents. These students wererecruited by the Northern Illinois University (NIU) P-20 Center. The P-20 Center is an operation maintained on NIU's campus to bring together partners from NIU and across the region in mutually beneficial relationships to increase educational success. To recruit rising 11th and 12th grade underrepresented and first-generation collegestudents, the NIU P-20accessed their Illinois P-20 Network. This network improvement community, established in 2014, now includes 118 organizations, 597 schools, 48,175 educators, who represent 816,980 students. The P-20 Network regularly communicates with their partners through every other Friday newsletter along with various work groups and workshops which are free to network members. This keeps network partners up to date on events and services the P-20 offers the community. Network members can access event information, news, resources, and staff members anytime from the P-20 website. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project comprising of the 1-week summer residential camp offered the high school students the opportunity to learn about professional development and research skills, and make connections and learn about all the resources/supports Northern Illinois University offers to high school students for enrolling in a 4-year college and selecting a major related to Food, Agriculture, Consumerism, and Technology (FACTS). How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We plan to present the results from this project at the American Society for Nutrition's annual conference in June 2024. We will also write up a manuscript for this project and submit it for publication to a suitable scientific journal. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period, the 37 high school students who participated in the one-week summer residential camp will complete the online essential employability skills training in November-December 2023. The students will also participate in a food challenge research contest between January - April 2024, and then present their research challenge results at an online symposia at the end of April 2024. Lastly, the students will complete a final evaluation survey in May 2024, which will conclude their participation in the program. The research team will then work on the dissemination of the results from this project from June to August 2024.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The following goals were accomplished for this reporting period: 1. Wedeveloped the curriculum for the one-week residential Food and Agriculture Consumerism, Technology, and Sciences (FACTS) professions summer program from September 2022 - March 2023. 2. We recruited 37 high school students for the one-week camp during April and May 2023. 3. The camp was implemented in July 2023; 20 students participated in the campthe week of July 10th, and 17students participated in the camp the week of July 17th. 4. We developed the essential employability skills training online curriculum, comprising of 3 modules, in August 2023. This online training will be implemented in November-December 2023. 5. The evaluation tool assessing knowledge of research and employability skills, confidence in enrolling, persisting and attaining a FACTS degree, and belonging/connectedness to learning community was developed in April 2023. The campers completed the evaluation tool in July 2023. The data is currently being analyzed. We plan to present the results at the American Society for Nutrition's annual conference in June 2024.

Publications