Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The Saddle to STEM program will leverage youth interest in horses to stimulate interest in animal genetics and technologies and an understanding of genetic concepts and terminology. The overall goal is to introduce animal and agricultural science programming to a more diverse youth demographic, facilitating development of technological skills, and scientific understanding through non-formal education in genetics that utilizes existing youth equine education programs at UK and UConn. The curriculum will have two major components, 1) the youth-based genetics curriculum, and 2) development of training materials for curriculum administrators. Objectives include 1) recruitment of a new more diverse population, 2) development of community-led, user-tested curriculum, in partnership with agri-science educators, industry and extension professionals, for middle and high school students that will introduce and educate participants in STEM technologies essential to genetics, 3) creation of multi-modal activities and resources and 4) increasing science literacy. The project will develop modular in-person and online curricula, with continued assessment and refinement (expected in person participation = 300 total, expected virtual participation = 400 per year), resulting in our targeted population becoming lifelong science learners developing a more diverse scientifically literate workforce pipeline.
Animal Health Component
100%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
The Saddle to STEM program will leverage youth interest in horses and equitation to stimulate interest in animal genetics and associated technologies while generating a basic understanding of genetic concepts and terminology. Capturing the interest of young minds will provide a non-formal, community-led educational platform that fosters advanced scientific literacy with an emphasis on the creation of a workforce pipeline in current and future STEM-based agricultural careers. Creation and implementation of the Saddle to STEM program over a 3-year period will allow us to achieve our overall goal of introducing animal and agricultural science programming to a new youth demographic, facilitating development of technological skills, and understanding of science through non-formal educational opportunities in genetics that utilize existing youth equine education programs at the University of Kentucky (UK) and the University of Connecticut (UConn). The objectives of this project are to:1. Leverage interest in horses and equitation to recruit a new diverse population of middle and high school students into animal agricultural science, specifically in animal genetics.2. Develop a community-led, user-tested curriculum, in partnership with animal genetics educators, and industry and extension professionals for middle and high school students that will introduce and educate participants in STEM technologies essential to animal genetics.3. Support creation of multi-modal activities and resources (e.g., interactive online activities, podcasts, videos, and printed materials) developed cooperatively as a resource for community educators to further incorporate into their extension and outreach programming, allowing for self-directed learning opportunities for all ages on STEM technologies. 4. Increase science literacy in our targeted population allowing them to become lifelong science learners resulting long-term in a pipeline of a scientifically literate workforce.The Saddle to STEM program will leverage youth interest in horses and equitation to stimulate interest in animal genetics and associated technologies while generating a basic understanding of genetic concepts and terminology. Capturing the interest of young minds will provide a non-formal, community-led educational platform that fosters advanced scientific literacy with an emphasis on the creation of a workforce pipeline in current and future STEM-based agricultural careers. Creation and implementation of the Saddle to STEM program over a 3-year period will allow us to achieve our overall goal of introducing animal and agricultural science programming to a new youth demographic, facilitating development of technological skills, and understanding of science through non-formal educational opportunities in genetics that utilize existing youth equine education programs at the University of Kentucky (UK) and the University of Connecticut (UConn).The objectives of this project are to:Leverage interest in horses and equitation to recruit a new diverse population of middle and high school students into animal agricultural science, specifically in animal genetics.Develop a community-led, user-tested curriculum, in partnership with animal genetics educators, and industry and extension professionals for middle and high school students that will introduce and educate participants in STEM technologies essential to animal genetics.Support creation of multi-modal activities and resources (e.g., interactive online activities, podcasts, videos, and printed materials) developed cooperatively as a resource for community educators to further incorporate into their extension and outreach programming, allowing for self-directed learning opportunities for all ages on STEM technologies.Increase science literacy in our targeted population allowing them to become lifelong science learners resulting long-term in a pipeline of a scientifically literate workforce.
Project Methods
This extension driven project will allow us to leverage youth interest in horses to build and provide a curriculum that will stimulate interest, build confidence in the safety and use of agricultural technologies, and increase interest in a career in STEM and agricultural sciences in several ways.Year 1. Saddle to STEM curriculum will be developed in 1) Core Principles, and 2) Interactive Application Modules (EqGP). Core Principles modules will be designed around genetic and genomic topics to provide background information that will be used in the Interactive Application Modules. The Interactive Application Modules will be designed for students to use knowledge and resources from the Core Principles Modules to make decisions, in consultation with a facilitator, resulting in specific outcomes, allowing them to evaluate the effectiveness of their decision making. Modules will be created at the middle and high school level and will be evaluated and refined during year 1.Year 2. Session trainers/facilitators will be trained. Part of this training will be a tour of equine and related industries that utilize genetic/genomic/biotechnology resources to expose facilitators to these applications. Following this tour, facilitators will work with our team to refine the curriculum. In the second half of year 2, the first four in-person sessions will be held at UConn and UK, each accommodating 20 students. The top 20% of students will be selected for a mentorship program during year 3 in which they develop educational materials related to program content for use in marketing and as curricular resources. Assessments of these programs will be used to further refine the curriculum, which will also be translated to an online facilitated format.Year 3. An additional 8 in-person sessions will be held at UConn and UK, and the program will be rolled out in an outline format along with a list of online facilitators available for groups wishing to participate. Mentees selected in year 2 will work with mentors to develop additional learning materials that can be used as resource materials for the program. These will be presented in-person at a meeting of all mentors and mentees in the year 3 to assess all elements of the program and refine/revise curriculum where appropriate.To accomplish the objectives of this project, we will use the following staffing plan. A full-time graduate student will serve as program coordinator under the guidance of Drs. Wulster-Radcliffe and Reed. The main role of the graduate student will be development of the Core Principles and EqGP curriculum, and daily activities associated with the program. Dr. Robins will serve as the educational reference on youth curriculum development and implementation, and Ms. Wilson will serve as in-person event organization for youth activities. Dr. Coleman will plan, coordinate and administer the "Train the Trainers" program. Drs. MacLeod and Aaron will provide genetics and genetics curriculum development expertise. Drs. Zinn and Radcliffe will help coordinate survey creation, data collection, analyses, presentation, and review. Undergraduate fellows identified from UK and UConn through an application process will be used to support all pieces of the program and will serve as mentors to student participants. Additionally, individuals listed on the grant and those that complete the "Train the Trainers" program will serve as mentors for participants who opt to continue their education and develop science-based materials for dissemination. Successful management will be critical to ensure effective coordination and communication among PDs, educators, and participants. Overall project management, budget oversight, and student oversight will be the responsibility of the Co-PDs, Drs. Wulster-Radcliffe and Reed. An external independent assessment evaluator will be recruited and will be instrumental in ensuring we are collecting useful data, providing an unbiased judgement of the strengths and limitations of the program, and recommendations for changes in the structure and/or curriculum.Development of assessment tools and evaluation. Project evaluation will be an important component of the Saddle to STEM program to ensure that 1) the curriculum aligns with defined learning objectives especially on specific content and skills, 2) creation, roll out and continued use of the curriculum is successful, 3) this program creates a future base of technologically advanced agricultural workers, and 4) using interest in horses provided a hook to increase the diversity and pool of students learning about and entering agricultural technology, STEM-based pathways relative to the current levels of diversity in the animals sciences at the collegiate and work-force levels. Our approach to assessment will be multi-faceted and will include pre-program assessment of participants, formative assessment throughout the program to monitor progress and the effectiveness of the curriculum and summative assessment after the program. Our assessment plan will be dynamic such that feedback received during development and implementation can be incorporated into the design and execution.Quantitative data, program participation and product development data to be collected is outlined in the Expected Outcomes Section and includes the number of participants in each stage of the program, number of in person and virtual sessions hosted, student involvement and product creation post-program, number of individuals supported by the grant, number of individuals that benefit from the grant and/programs and or/products created through the grant, race and gender demographics, residency status (CT, KY, or other), age, year of education, and previous animal and/or equine experience, current and future interests, next steps in education and career. The most common method to collect qualitative programmatic data from extension/community driven programs is self-administered surveys. Evaluations will occur among three key cohorts: 1) educators participating in the Train the Trainers program, 2) school aged participants, and 3) educators administering the curriculum. Evaluations will be tailored to the stage of the program. All evaluations will have pre-, during-, and post-program components accessible via smart phone or tablet. Although electronic, they will be administered in-person, if possible, to insure the greatest possible response rate. For participants, evaluations will measure changes in 1) knowledge, 2) readiness to apply new knowledge, 3) interest and desire to continue learning about the topic, 4) interest and desire to pursue a STEM-related career, and 5) confidence in the safe use of technology in agriculture. For educators, evaluations will assess changes in 1) knowledge, 2) program development skills, 3) readiness to apply new knowledge, 4) interest and desire to keep learning about the topic, and 5) confidence in the safe use of technology in agriculture. If students choose to continue working on projects following the in-person events, evaluations will be conducted periodically throughout their involvement. Curriculum development and assessment data will be shared with the greater scientific community through publication of our findings in appropriate journals, presentations at national meetings, and presentations to local and regional extension education groups.