Source: CENTER FOR GETTING THINGS STARTED submitted to NRP
SOAR - SCIENTIFIC OBSERVATION LEADING TO AGRICULTURAL RESPONSIBILITY
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
ACTIVE
Funding Source
AFRI COMPETITIVE GRANT
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1030540
Grant No.
2023-67037-39950
Cumulative Award Amt.
$500,000.00
Proposal No.
2022-08863
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
May 15, 2023
Project End Date
May 14, 2026
Grant Year
2023
Program Code
[A7501]- Professional Development for Agricultural Literacy
Recipient Organization
CENTER FOR GETTING THINGS STARTED
12-7106 PUNA KAI ST
PAHOA,HI 96778
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The main objective of SOAR (Scientific Observation leading to AgriculturalResponsibility) is to equip K-8 teachers with the skills, practice, and understanding of kilo (deep,sensory observation and scientific inquiry) and social-emotional learning, resulting in a sense ofbelonging. This sense of belonging can be applied systemically as responsibility in and for thefood system. The ultimate goal of the project is to provide innovative and practical learningopportunities that develop agriculturally literate and responsible students and citizens, and thatinspire Hawaii's youth to become the next generation of sustainable agriculture and food systemleaders. The secondary objective is to make the currently available place-based agricultureliteracy/food systems resources more accessible, user-friendly and interactive, more relevant andup-to-date.SOAR is a capacity building project, where teachers teach teachers. At the core of theproject are the MASTs - Master Agriculture/Science/Social Studies Teachers. The leadershipskills of the cadre of ten, K-8 teachers will be developed and honed by engaging in immersivelearning experiences in kilo, SEL, and Systems Thinking.Center for Getting Things Started (C4GTS), in partnership with University of Hawai?iManoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR), and many otherprivate-public partners, proposes SOAR to address two needs:1. Culturally relevant Professional Development in agricultural literacy leadership.2. Place-based, available, and accessible resources.Project deliverables include: a web-based searchable database categorized by standards, topic,and grade levels; two best practices manuals - conducting culturally relevant professionaldevelopment in agricultural literacy leadership and conducting culturally relevant community ofpractice.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
80660993020100%
Knowledge Area
806 - Youth Development;

Subject Of Investigation
6099 - People and communities, general/other;

Field Of Science
3020 - Education;
Goals / Objectives
The main objective ofSOAR -Scientific Observation leading to Agricultural Responsibility is totrain and equip K - 8 teachers to conductkilo(deep, sensory observation and scientific inquiry)as the basis to teach agriculture with a multi-disciplinary science and social studies lens.Goal 1: Recruit and train 10 MASTsMaster Agriculture/Science/Social Studies Teachers inLeadership Skills which includesa. Deep observational skills - kilob. Social Emotional Learning (SEL) andc. Systems ThinkingGoal 2a: MASTs apply their leadership skills and develop teacher training for 100 teachers.Goal 2b: MASTs develop best practicesmanuals for teacher training.Goal 3a: thecuration and improvement of the place-based agriculture literacy/food systems resources andGoal 3b: the development of the searchable database website.
Project Methods
SOARis a capacity building project, where teachers teach teachers.At the core of the project are theMASTs- Master Agriculture/Science/Social Studies Teachers. The leadership skills of the cadre of five-ten, K-8 teachers will be developed and honed by engaging first in immersive learning experiences inkilo, SEL, and Systems Thinking. And then, with the support of the SOAR Professional Development Team, the MASTs will co-design, co-develop, and co-implement theteacher-usersHIDOE-approved PDE3 (Professional Development: Educate, Empower, Excel) trainings.The MASTs will also lead the community of practice follow up sessions with the teachers-users supported by theProfessional Development Teamand partners.The MASTs will also work closely with the Resource Teamto curate the place-based agriculture literacy/food systems resources ensuring that they are culturally relevant,up-to-date, working systemically, and have a strong alignment to the H? and SEL frameworks.The immersive trainings arestrategically held on Oahu (small, urban island), Hawaii Island (large, rural island), and Molokai (small, rural island). Each of these islands have different agricultural systems, from small-scale urban hydroponics to large-scale ranches, thus offering different opportunities forkilo -deep, sensory observation and scientific inquiry, SEL and Systems Thinking. In between each training there will be video-conference sessions to provide continued support and to create a community of practice.Chunks of time will be committed for deeper learning experiences as co-facilitated by partners and the Core Team,dedicated to reviewing, improving and curating the place-based agriculture literacy/food systems resources, and to co-develop the teacher-users training.The teacher-users PDE3 course will be a hybrid model, with several virtual sessions, followed by one - two days of in-person field work, site visits, and then followed up again by several virtual sessions.The details will be left to the MASTs with the support of the PD circle to design and develop. Regardless of the experiences and activities co-designed by the MASTs and PD circle, the following expectationsmustapply:Teacher-users will teach two - three units/lessons they find in the searchable database (which was curated and improved by the Resource Circle and MASTs)Teacher-users will implementkilo, SEL, and Systems Thinking as adaptations ofa. (units/lessons)Teacher-users will provide reflections of the adaptations (b.) and some de-identified student samples as evidence of learning outcomesTeacher-users will be recruited through media posted on all the Hawaii Farm to School Hui partner organizations websites and newsletters, the HIDOE PDE3 Portal, HIDOE Bright Lights newsletters, social media, and word of mouth. Any K-8 teacher interested in agriculture literacy/food systems is welcomed, and teachers from Title 1 schools will be prioritized. The design is to have a minimum of 50 teacher-users per Cohort, about 5 - 10 per major island, for a minimal total of 100 over the two years.The long-term outcome from this proposal is to train and equip K - 8 teachers to conduct kilo (deep, sensory observation and scientific inquiry) as the basis to teach agriculture with a multi-disciplinary science and social studies lens. Therefore, producing teachers who are advocates as well as students who are contributors and producers within the food and agricultural sciences (Aina Aloha). The evaluation of this proposal will evaluate the two cohorts of MASTs - A and B, as well as the two teacher-user Cohorts - 1 and 2.As this project includes the HAframework and the training of the teachers to conduct kilo, it is imperative that the evaluation incorporates a culturally relevant and indigenous evaluation lens as well as a culturally relevant and equitable evaluation. Therefore, the evaluation design utilizes mixed-methods, both surveys and interviews as the primary data collection tools across the two cohorts. The use of qualitative and quantitative data collection tools allows for a more robust understanding of the impact of the curriculum on the teachers.The use of interviews, talk story provides the opportunity for the participants to share greater insight into their experience, especially for those who will continue from Cohort A to Cohort B. Within the interviews, the sharing of stories to illustrate the participants' experiences enriches the understanding of how they will be advocates as well as teachers who inspire the students to do the same. The use of the pre/post surveys will allow for the understanding of how the participants see themselves in their understanding of food security and food systems as well as to see the growth within the duration of the program. These surveys will also be able to capture how the program achieved their outcomes by the participants confidence and knowledge to further engage in the work.

Progress 05/15/24 to 05/14/25

Outputs
Target Audience:Year 2 MASTs - Master Agriculture/Sci/Social Studies Teachers - 11 Six of the MASTs returned from Year 1 and mentored fivenew MASTs. All the major inhabited islands of Hawaii were represented - Hawaii, Maui, Molokai, Oahu and Kauai. Teacher-users - 97. Early childhood educators - 19; Gardens for Resilience and Climate Education workshop - 24; Schools of the Future -workshops -18;Exploring Aina-Based Learning, SEL, and Resilience Through Native Plants -36. Students of the MASTs and teacher-users - 1,800 Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?1. MASTs professional development. Three immersive trainings were designed for Cohort B, strategically held on Maui (small, urban island), Hawaii Island (large, rural island), and Kauai (small, rural island). Each of these islands have different agricultural systems, from small-scale urban hydroponics to large-scale ranches, thus offering different opportunities for kilo - deep, sensory observation and scientific inquiry, SEL and Systems Thinking. The immersion on Maui in July 2024 was timely as the training prepared educators for the anniversary of the horrific Lahaina fires of August 2023. We implemented much of the SEL practices we developed in Year 1. Returning to Hawaii Island in the Fall of 2024 with a new mix of MASTs strengthened the sense of place and practices. During this immersion, the MASTs focused on developing several teacher trainings and the deliverable of the PD Manual. It is said that Kauai will either take you in and bless you or chew you up and spit you out. Our Kauai immersion was some of the most precious times this Cohort ever experienced. Everywhere we went from working the taro patches (kalo lo?i) which have been carbon dated to be close to 1,500 years old, to weeding at the National Tropical Botanical Gardens, and to co-creating Soil-based art as a SEL practice we were blessed with amazing weather (March is typically flood season), welcoming Kauai-based educators, practitioners, researchers, and scientists, and a true sense of belonging. By this immersion, the Cohort was so tight and so close. We no longer had to schedule tasks, everyone just jumped in and did what was needed. There was so much laughter and joy, sharing and exchanging of learning and deep, deep observations. In between each training there were bi-weekly (once every two weeks) video-conference sessions providing continued support and creating a very vibrant and strong community of practice. 2. The MASTs co-developed and implemented four workshops/teacher trainings. There were different combinations of MASTs each training based on location and interest. There were at least two MASTs involved in each workshop/training. Gardens for Resilience and Climate Education, 3-day teacher training with 7 MASTs co-leading, and 24 teacher-users, July 2024. Gardens for Growth for early childhood educators, 2 MASTs co-leading and 19 educators attending, October 2024. Exploring Aina-Based Learning, SEL, and Resilience Through Native Plants, 2 MASTs co-leading, 36 teacher-users, October 2024. Schools of the Future Conference, 2 workshops. 4 MASTs co-leading, 18 attendee, November 2024. Please note that there are three (3) more PDs/workshops designed for the summer of 2025 which we will report on the final report. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Schools of the Future Conference is the largest education conference in Hawaii with more than 2,000 attendees from all the islands. It is held annually at the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu,Oahu. In 2024, the Hawaii Department of Education hosted a Hawaii Farm to School "playground" for both days. MASTs presented about SOAR at the playground both days in addition to running two separate workshops. Unfortunately due to the drop-in nature of the playground, we did not keep track of how many folks came by to talk-story. We only kept track of the workshop attendees. In March 2024, three MASTs led a booth at Kilauea Elementary SchoolSTEM Nite, sharing information about SOAR and SEL. About 30 families attended. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?While we have actually accomplished all the goals proposed, SOAR has taken on additional outputs or deliverables of three more teacher trainings and completing the updating of the whole Hawaii School Garden Curriculum Map. We had proposed to update one theme of the four themes in the Hawaii School Garden Curriculum Map. However, we learned that in order to be able to create a new searchable website for this Map, we had to update all the themes. We found supplementary funding both from private donors and the Hawaii Dpet. of Education matching some of the USDA funding for SOAR to complete updating the whole Map. This work must be completed by September 2025, as a. We will graduate our graduate student/intern, and b. We want to present about this at the Schools of the Future Conference in October 2024. MASTs will conduct three more PDs/teacher trainings even though we have exceeded our goal of 100 teachers, having trained 161 teachers at this date. We project reaching a total 215 teachers by the end of the summer of 2025. SOAR will also return to the Schools of the Future Conference in October 2024 to disseminate more information and to share about the Garden-based PD Better Practices Manual and the completed Hawaii School Garden Curriculum Map.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Goal 1: Recruit and train 10 MASTs Master Agriculture/Science/Social Studies Teachers in Leadership Skills. Six MASTs returned from Year 1 and mentored 5 new MASTs, putting the total at 11, one more than proposed. Goal 2a: MASTs apply their leadership skills and develop teacher training for 100 teachers. The goal is 50 teacher users per year. InYear 2, 97teacher users were trained over four different trainings/workshops, ranging from agricultural literacy for early childhood educators to SEL with Native Plants. Goal 2b: MASTs develop best practices manuals for teacher training. As of today, the Garden-based Professional Development (PD) Better Practice Manual is close to being finalized. https://sites.google.com/view/gardenpd?usp=sharing Note that we opted to use the word "better" vs. "best" as this denotes continuous striving and improvement to be better and better. Goal 3a: the curation and improvement of the place-based agriculture literacy/food systems resources and Goal 3b: the development of the searchable database website. The searchable database website is up and running https://coe.hawaii.edu/stems2/farm-to-school-guide/ This website development work strengthened the partnership between Center for Getting Things Started and the University of Hawaii at Manoa, as the web creation team is at the UHM College of Education and the graduate student/Intern working on the back-end of the website is from UHM College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience supervised by Co-PD Lydi Bernal. And we are working on an additional place-based agriculture literacy/food systems resource to be ready in Year 3. This is more than we proposed.

Publications


    Progress 05/15/23 to 05/14/24

    Outputs
    Target Audience:For reporting year: MASTs - Master Agriculture/Sci/Social Studies Teachers - 6 full time, 2 honorary/part time,from all the populated Hawaiianislands except Lana'i. 5 are K- 8 Public School teachers, 1 is a junior extension agent, 1 is in aMasters in ConservationBiology program at UH Manoa and 1 is educational consultant, Teacher-users - 64from the state of Hawaii from all the populated islands. The target for the reporting year was 50 teacher-users and we are pleased to have served more. This increased impact is attributed to the MASTs conducting more than one Professional Development course. Students of the MASTs and teacher-users - 1280. This number is based on an average of 20 students reached per teacher trained. Changes/Problems:In Year 1, the SOAR core team and the 6 MASTs reviewed and analyzed all the place-based agriculture literacy/food systems resources available. After this exercise, it became apparent that 4 sets of resources needed to be further curated and improved. This is twice as many as mentioned in the SOAR proposal. The MASTs have completed curating and adapting two resources. There will be 2 more to work on in the coming reporting year. The acceptance of the above change leads to the following interconnected (positive) changes. The need for one more immersion to work on the additional 2 sets of resources The need for more support from the web-designer/web-master at UH Manoa College of Education, as now the searchable database website will have twice as many resources to sort, tag, organize etc. Larger Cohort 2. All the 6 MASTs from Cohort 1 want to return, and with the inclusion of "new-blood" of 3 - 4 new MASTs, Cohort 2 will have 9 - 10. The original design was 5 - 6. This however enables us to complete the review and improvement of the additional 2 sets of resources. Thus, the main challenge will be to find/raise supplementary funding to cover the additional costs - approximately $20,000 is needed. The Core Team is writing smaller proposals to private funders seeking the $20,000. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?1. MASTs professional development.Three immersive trainings were designed for Cohort A, strategically held on O?ahu (small, urban island), Hawai?i Island (large, rural island), and Moloka?i (small, rural island). Each of these islands have different agricultural systems, from small-scale urban hydroponics to large-scale ranches, thus offering different opportunities forkilo -deep, sensory observation and scientific inquiry, SEL and Systems Thinking. In between each training there were bi-weekly (once every two weeks)video-conference sessions providingcontinued support and creatinga very vibrant and strongcommunity of practice. 2. Aina-based Learning for Social Justice.In this workshop series, educators learn and practice techniques for delivering aina-based lessons and activities that address their students' and community's social justice concerns within the food system, while also connecting with a range of local organizations that facilitate hands-on malama aina stewardship from mauka to makai. The first workshop will serve as an introduction to theories and practices for using culturally-grounded, place-based experiences to facilitate research, discussion, and action around social justice issues that impact students and their communities. In the following three workshops, participants will visit sites around Kona to learn from and work alongside the kiai, kahu, and stewards of community-based organizations that work to restore and conserve culturally and ecologically-significant places. 3. All About Ulu. This credit-earning professional development course was offered to teachers within the Hawai'i Department of Education (HIDOE) during the spring 2024 semester. Forty three teachers from 22 PreK-12 schools on 5 islands completed the 14-week course. Learning Objectives. Participants will be able to: Recognize the benefits and cultural importance of 'ulu (breadfruit) Plant and care for 'ulu trees (mulch, fertilize, water, prune, harvest) Prepare and enjoy 'ulu as a healthy staple starch Design or adapt and instruct a lesson related to 'ulu trees in their educational spaces with the integration of Na Hopena Ao (HA) and Hawai'i Core Standards (including but not limited to English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and/or Social Studies) Increase their connection to community resources Strengthen their connection to place 4. Intern/Graduate Assistant trainings. Our intern/GA has joined us in all our gatherings and meetings, supporting us on the logistical end. He has also taken the lead on the searchable database website development, thus receiving training from the web-designers/masters at UH Manoa College of Education on website development. He is currently in a Master's Program for Public Health. His work with SOAR led him to co-create a summer gardening and food camp for children at transitional housing which he will teach this summer 2024. The MASTs have mentored him in this process as well as supported his research into garden-based education and therapy. This impact was not designed in the original proposal but is one of true uplifting. 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?Goal 1: Recruit and train 10 MASTs Master Agriculture/Science/Social Studies Teachers in Leadership Skills All six MASTs are returning, so we are adding 3 - 4 new teachers for a large cohort. The original design had five to six MASTs per cohort, Cohort 2 will have 9 - 10. The original proposal included only two immersions for Cohort 2, however upon feedback and input, we will now have three (3) immersions. This is so that we can accomplish Goal 3a since we have an additional 2 sets of resources to update. This does mean seeking supplemental funding for the additional work and immersion. The MASTS in Cohort 1 are co-leading the first immersion for Cohort 2 to be held in Maui, July 22 - 25, 2024. Immersion 2 will be on Hawai'i Island, Nov. 8 - 11, 2024, and Immersion 3 will be on Kauai Island (Date TBD). Goal 2a: MASTs apply their leadership skills and develop teacher training for 100 teachers. Cohort 2 will co-design, -develop and -implement one to two more PD (professional development courses). Goal 2b: MASTs develop best practices manuals for teacher training. This will be a large focus for Cohort 2. The Hawai'i Department of Education's (HIDOE) School Garden Specialist is now part of the Core Team, and will be co-leading this effort with the PD ensuring the best practices in the Manual align with the HIDOE standards, expectations and new strategic plan. Goal 3a: the curation and improvement of the place-based agriculture literacy/food systems resources There are two more sets of resources to improve, two more than in the original design. We will need to look for supplemental funding in order to achieve this additional element in this goal. Goal 3b: the development of the searchable database website. This work will continue right to the end of the project (May 2026) as there are now an additional two sets of resources to include. We will need to look for supplemental funding in order to achieve this additional element in this goal.

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? Goal 1: For this reporting year, we recruited and retained 6 MASTs. Goal 2a: The 6 MASTs used their kilo, SEL and Systems Thinking Skills to develop and teach two teacher professional development courses - Aina-based Learningfor Social Justice, and All about Ulu, reaching 64 teachers. More courses will be developed and taught in the coming reporting year. Goal 2b: next reporting year Goal 3a: in-progress. The SOAR core team and the 6 MASTs reviewed and analyzed allthe place-based agriculture literacy/food systems resourcesavailable.After this exercise, it became apparent that 4 sets of resources needed to be further curated and improved. This is twice as many as mentioned in the SOAR proposal. The MASTshave completed curatingand adapting two resources. There will be 2 more to work on in the coming reporting year. The SOAR Core Team is also in the process of looking for supplementary funding as there are twice as many sets of resources to curate and improve. Goal 3b: in progress.The searchable database is currently being created by partners (web-designers) at the UH Manoa College of Education. They are also working on a landing page to access all the resources.There will be more to report in the coming reporting year.

    Publications