Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Thisproject willrecruit and engage educators and professional staff in Philadelphia to increase urban educators' awareness of, and resources to promote,opportunities for students in food and agriculture careers.The project will recruit 3 cohorts of 23 educators and counselors over three summers to attend immersive, experiential learning opportunities in 1) Food science, 2) Nutrition and Dietetics, 3) Urban Agriculture, and 4) Food preparation via a four-week summer program. Participants will receive a stipend of $3,500 for their participation. Experiential learning modules will be developed and overseen by faculty with expertise in these areas at Drexel University. Learning modules will include interactive experiences, introduction to professional organizations, career opportunities, online resources and, with the expertise of the CoPD, will culminate in development of an age/grade appropriate curriculum for the participants to utilize in their classroom or counseling work.The project will also continue to engage educators and encourage dissemination of information gained after their participation. This will be through newsletters and online resources that will be sent to educators throughout the project and for a minimum of two years after the third cohort of participants has completed the program. These communications will also be used to survey educators about their use and application of the resources gained through their experience in the program. Ultimately, the goal of the proposed work will be the engagement of more minority students in careers in food, nutrition, and agriculture through exposure to opportunities via their educators and counselors.
Animal Health Component
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Research Effort Categories
Basic
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Applied
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Developmental
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Goals / Objectives
Thisproposed project willeducate K-12 urban educators and counselors to increase their understanding of career options in food and agriculture.The project will provide participants in the program with experiential learning opportunities in Food Science, Nutrition, Urban Agriculture and Food Preparation. Additionally, it willidentify online learning resources around these topics, and assist participants in the development of curriculum to translate food and agriculture career opportunities to middle and high school students.The project will recruit three cohorts of 23 educators each over three summers to attend immersive, experiential learning opportunities in Food Science, Nutrition, Urban Agriculture, and Food Preparation via a four-week summer program. Participants will be compensated $3,500 for their participation. Experiential learning modules will be developed and overseen by Drexel University faculty with expertise in these areas. Learning modules will include interactive experiences in the topic area, introduction to professional organizations, career opportunities, online resources and will culminate in development of an age/grade appropriate curriculum for the participants to utilize in their classroom or counseling work. This will be accomplished through the following Objectives.Development of Immersive Educational Experience. A four-week Immersive Educational Experience will be developed by Drexel University faculty with expertise in food science, nutrition, urban agriculture, and food preparation in the first three months of the first year of the project. Appropriateness of content will be overseen by the Co-PD with expertise in Education.Recruitment of threecohorts of educators and implementation of Education Modules. In each year of the project a cohort of 23 educators and professional staff from Philadelphia, PA and the surrounding area will be recruited to participate in the Educational Experience. Therefore over the course of the project, a total of 69 educators will be included in the project.Educators will be provided a $3,500 stipend for their participation in the four-week program.Continued refinement/revision of Education Modules based on Participant Feedback. Each time the Educational Experience is offered, participants will be surveyed for feedback and recommendations for improvement, such that the modules and experiences will continue to be optimized through an iterative process.Continued outreach to participants through monthly newsletters highlighting available online resources. After participation, educators will continue to be engaged through monthly newsletters that highlight career opportunities as well as online interactive modules and resources around seasonal and timely issues and topics.Continued outreach to participants and maintenance and support of website with links to education resources. To continue to engage participants and encourage dissemination of information gained, newsletters and online resources will be sent to educators for a minimum of two years after the third cohort of participants has completed the program. These communications will also be used to survey educators about their use and application of the resources gained through their experience in the program.
Project Methods
Development of Immersive Educational Experience. A four-week Immersive Educational Experience will be developed by Drexel University faculty. Appropriateness of content will be overseen by the Co-PD with expertise in Education.Educationmodules will be designed to be 4-5 days each and will be run in sequential weeks. The final modules will be designed and overseen byfaculty with expertise in these areas and would be taught with the assistance of Nutrition Educators who have extensive experience working with teachers and professional staff in Philadelphia. Final modules to be developed will be reviewed by the Co-PD for appropriateness of content for the anticipated audience.Module 1: Food Science Module- Future of FoodFood Science represents an applied science that many people are not aware of. The module developed will introduce the participants to the food science curriculum, applications of food science as a profession, and professional organizations associated with this field.Module 2: Nutrition and Dietetics ModuleOverview of Dietetics and Nutrition Professional Opportunities in Human NutritionProfessional Opportunities in Animal Nutrition and Veterinary MedicineBasics of Human Nutrition Assessment?Human Nutrition Research TechniquesField Trip - Putting it All TogetherModule 3. Urban Agriculture Module - Urban Agriculture, Kitchen Gardening and Food Sustainability.Introductions/teachers' share their gardening wish list.Overview of Kitchen Garden course curriculum, and how to use it as a model for teaching: how and why it is important to 'know and grow' the food we eat. Physical and mental health benefits, Environmental benefits, Social benefits, Educational benefits ("knowledge is power")Garden workshop: Training in the physical garden, managing weeds; and weeding techniques. Direct Sowing = Sowing seeds outdoors: Spot-sowing, Broadcasting, Irrigation methods, Benefits of drip irrigation, Harvesting and removing field heat.Preparing the harvest: Harvesting, transporting, trimming, cleaning, storing garden produce. Quick preparations with the day's harvest: Steamed green beans and potatoes with garlic and olive oil, Refrigerator pickles.Field trip to pioneers of organic agriculture research and educationCulinary Arts Module - Beyond Culinary Schools and Fine Dining RestaurantsChefs are involved in sourcing, food product development, sustainable food systems, and gastronomy. This module will combine hands-on culinary work with real-world case studies on sustainability and will end with consideration of tertiary programs that teach cooking beyond the technical.Recruitment of educators and implementation of Education Modules.Recruitment of middle school and high school teachers and counselors to take part in the program will be through direct emails to teachers and counselors in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Recruitment will be from public, private and charter schools. Recruitment and enrollment in the program will be purposive to assure that a majority of the spots available in the program are reserved for teachers and counselors that work at middle and high schools which predominantly serve low income and minority racial/ethnic students. Recruitment will also be purposive to achieve a ratio of approximately 2:1 of teachers to counselors. Recruitment will take place in the spring of each year ofthe project for participants to take part in the project that summer. Participants will be compensated $3,500 each for their time and to offset any travel or childcare costs associated with their participation in the project. Drexel University is located in University City and Center City Philadelphia. All facilities to be used are easily accessed by public transportation and/or public parking. Any field trips associated with the program will include transportation of participants to and from the off-site facilities.Continued refinement/revision of Education Modules based on Participant Feedback. Each time the Education Experience is offered, participants will be surveyed for feedback and recommendations for improvement, such that the modules and experience will continue to be optimized through an iterative process. Assessment of the efficacy of the education modules will be via a pre/post-test design. The first morning of the program the participants will be given a survey regarding their knowledge about the college majors and careers to be highlighted in the program as well as their current behavior and likelihood/willingness to promote certain college majors to the students they teach or counsel. At the end of the program they will be given the same survey to determine the effectiveness of the program to change their knowledge and attitudes. Additionally, participants will be asked for qualitative feedback on their experience in the program and areas they would like to see included that may not have been. The overall experience and individual education modules will be modified as appropriate based on participant's feedback each year.Continued outreach to participants through monthly newsletters highlighting available online resources. In each year of the project, a part-time M.S. student will be recruited to assist with recruitment of participants and continued monthly outreach to participants via monthly newsletter emails. Monthly newsletter emails will provide timely/seasonal basic education and resources on topics around food, nutrition and agriculture. They will also highlight appropriate education resources and highlight a "career of the month" related to food, nutrition and agriculture. Efforts will be made to encourage incorporation of pre-existing science based modules around these topics, particularly, but not limited to, those developed and available through New Mexico University's Innovative Media Research and Extension (https://innovativemedia.nmsu.edu/). These represent high quality interactive modules which have been produced with previous federal funding.Continued outreach to participants and maintenance and support of website with links to education resources. In order to continue to engage participants and encourage dissemination of information gained, newsletters and online resources will be sent to educators for a minimum of two years after the third cohort of participants has completed the program. These communications will also be used to survey educators about their use and application of the resources gained through their experience in the program.