Progress 07/01/03 to 06/30/05
Outputs
a. Curricula Design The goal of the GROWING Aware Agri Science Institute was to offer high school students an enrichment opportunity to study in a learning community that linked two disciplines, Principles of Biology, BIO 100 and Career and Educational Planning, CEP 101. The five week summer program provided an overview of biological structures and functions that guide students toward scientific literacy. CEP 101 developed readiness skills that focused on higher education preparation and career options. Both courses were linked to each other and investigated agricultural career options in farming, agri business, and service agencies in the WNY region, nationally and internationally. The direct impact for the students was college level instruction and earned six-credit hours. b. Faculty Preparation The college faculty who offered the Institute had attended the instructional seminars offered at Genesee Community College, GCC to learn the techniques required to develop
linked learning communities. One instructor had completed GCC EDF 211 professional development course to learn to deliver on line instruction. High School and GCC faculty participated in faculty development during a GPS workshop and Hydroponics workshops offered during the term of the grant. GPS offered curricula activities and lesson plans to use when accessing GPS kits made available in each of the four rural counties serviced by GCC. Hydroponics was a field trip to a hydroponics greenhouse and a major grocery store selling the products to discuss career options. Teachers received a CD with lessons and a virtual tour of hydroponics greenhouses. The faculty ended the field trip in a college science lab making their own hydroponics growing unit. c. Instructional Delivery Systems The Institute was held during five weeks of the summer. The students spent half of the class time in the field. They were involved in science experiments. Experts from the local community participated in
career interviews and weekly lunch bunch group sessions with the students; students learned to ask questions about the career options and educational requirements. The concluding Capstone Project activity was student designed Power Point presentation to demonstrate the learning community activities and to present student portfolios.
PRODUCTS: 1. GPS Kits and curriculum located in CCES sites throughout the four county service area and at main campus of Genesee Community College. 2. Hydroponics CD with virtual tour of regional hydroponics greenhouses, linked to instructional resources, and curriculum. Instructions and materials to make a hydroponics growing unit. 3. Buffalo Museum of Science offered a one day workshop for the students in the GROWING Aware Institute. The curriculum was redesigned as an optional course offering, advertised on their website with pictures of the students from the Institute. 4. Career and Educational Planning (CEP101) was set up as an online course. 5. Each student participant developed a student portfolio and a power point presentation based upon their experience in the Institute. 6. The biology faculties have employed concepts of agriculture in the college Biology 100 and 101 courses. For instance, DNA was always studied as finger printing in a crime scene. As a result of the
workshop the lesson does finger printing of plants. 7. The learning community has linked Intro to Biology 100 and Career and Educational Planning 101 curriculum and related field trips to local farms, agri agency sites, and experts.
OUTCOMES: Objective 1: As of May 2004, a learning community linking the Principles of Biology 100 and Career and Education Planning 101, taught in a five week summer program with field experiences and focusing on agricultural Awareness will have been developed. a. Nine students were enrolled in the Agri Science learning community linking BIO100 and CEP101 and field experiences. b. On line platforms for instructional resources and assignments in CEP101. c. Field trips and activities planned for a Research Farm, field test trials; Audubon Center aquatic plan life; Genesee County park, environmental educator discussing park management; Letchworth State park, naturalist to study plant science; a farm, milking process and a methane digester; Buffalo Museum of Science, Bergen swamp, a fish hatchery, and USDA Agricultural Research Station. d. Weekly lunch bunch sessions Q&A with local experts. Objective 2: As of May 2004, a unit of study to incorporate agriculture and careers into a high
school curriculum will have been developed. a. Developed a unit of study appropriate to middle and high school using global positioning system, GPS units. b. GPS kits located in each of the Cornell Cooperative Extension in four counties. c. GPS on Snow Shoes workshop for 38 high school teachers and two college faculty. Objective 3: As of August 2004, 90% of a maximum class of 16 students will have completed the required course work in the learning community with a passing grade of C or better. a. Nine students completed the course with a passing grade of C or better. b. All students completed a portfolio including work from BIO100, interviews of local agricultural experts, and requirements of CEP101 and a Capstone Project Objective 4: As of September 2004, a PowerPoint presentation to highlight the instructional strategies of the GROWING Aware Institute and final report program outcomes will have been developed and presented at regional or national conferences. a. Project Director
presented at the USDA conference, December 04. b. Biology presentations: 1. November 04 - National Association of Biology Teachers; 2. April 05 - NYS Community College Association. c. CCRES presentations: 1. November 04 - North East Ag in the Classroom; 2. March 05 - Farm Bureau Conference; 3. March and April 05 - local high school fairs regarding Hydroponics; 4. May 05 - ACE Conference for New York State CCES staff and educators; 5. June 05 - National Ag in the Classroom conference. Objective 5: On April 15, 2005 a maximum of 40 high school and college faculty will have received a unit of study, instructional resources, and increased understanding of hydroponics agriculture. a. Twenty two middle and high school teachers attended. b. Visited a hydroponics greenhouse to discuss the science and a grocery store to discuss agricultural careers. c. A laboratory lesson making their own hydroponics growing units. d. Received growing unit and a CD with a virtual tour of regional hydroponics
greenhouses, curriculum, and resources.
DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: The project director, Michael Stoll, was given the opportunity to do a presentation at the USDA National Conference in December 2004. The two Genesee Community College biology faculties developed a power point presentation which they gave three times. In September they presented to Genesee Community College Board of Trustees. They were joined by one student participant who volunteered to talk about the experience. In November 2004 they attended and presented at the National Association of Biology Teachers in Chicago, Ill. In April 05 the GCC biology faculty attended the NYS Community College Association meeting in Utica, NY and did a presentation. The CCRES Educational Consultant did a variety of presentations. In November 2004 she presented at the North East Ag in the Classroom meeting which was held on Long Island, NY. In March she attended and presented the Farm Bureau Conference. In May 05 the ACE Conference was held in Buffalo, NY, she did a poster
presentation. This conference is attended by Cornell Cooperative Extension Service staff and educators in New York State CCES. Finally in June 2005, she attended the National Ag in the Classroom conference in Indiana where she was able to present the GROWING Aware Institute and the products and results of the Hydroponics workshop for school teachers. In March and April 2005 as a part of the regular CCES programming in local high school science fairs, the coordinator presented posters about hydroponics and demonstrated the growing kits. As well as teaching school children about hydroponics and the career opportunities in the region, she was able to recruit teachers to participate in the workshop.
FUTURE INITIATIVES: While there are no plans set, following the GROWING Aware Institute in the summer of 2004, the biology faculties discussed offering the Institute in the summer of 2006. The greatest challenge to the success of the Institute is recruiting high school juniors and seniors. Many prefer to hold a summer job. Since the region served by Genesee Community College is very rural with many low income families who have no higher education, there is no encouragement from home. The incentive to earn 6 college credits for half the tuition is not a strong enough draw. Future initiative will include College faculties using GPS units as a part of environmental science lessons. Biology faculty will continue to incorporate more examples from agriculture. The middle and high school faculty from the region regularly access the GPS kits.
Impacts
The impact of the GROWING Aware Institute grant was most successful. 1. Nine high school girls earned 6 college credits for half the cost during an intensive five week experience. 2. The college biology faculties were exposed to the resources of the community, both in terms place to use for service learning and people with expertise. 3. Middle and high school teachers have access to GPS kits and lessons. 4. Middle and high school teachers who attended the hydroponics workshop have growing units, directions to make a unit, a curriculum, and a resource provided by a CD developed for the lesson. 5. The Buffalo Science Museum developed a curriculum which was offered to the public at large.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 09/01/03 to 08/31/04
Outputs
As a result of monthly meetings and independent work, Genesee Community College faculty and Advanced Studies staff, a high school science teacher, and the Cornell Cooperative Extension Service educational coordinator completed the planning and development for the GROWING Aware Science and Career Institute. The institute was a college-level learning community taught during a 5-week summer session. Curriculum and activities using GPS skills were designed for a high school unit of study. The learning community linked the academic disciplines of Principles of Biology (BIO 100) and Career and Educational Planning (CEP101). The curriculum focused on regional agricultural science and careers. High school juniors and seniors, two GCC faculty, CCES staff, and community members participated in the experience. Students were involved in classroom and lab lessons, weekly lunch conversations with professionals, and field experiences. At a crop research farm, they conducted an
experiment testing the effect of mulch treatments, and learned about farm trials with pesticides, herbicides, and a variety of crops. They studied native aquatic biology and plants at two local parks, an Audubon Center, a swamp, fish hatchery, and Geneve USDA Agriculture Research Station. They discussed park management with a forester. At local farms they learned about a methane digester transforming manure to electricity and saving energy costs. Land-O-Lakes described the ingredients in feed and a CCES entomologist led them in an alfalfa field bug sweep. At the Buffalo Museum of Science, the class toured the vertebrate, invertebrate, botanical, and geological collections; they investigated aspects of animal and plant diversity, classification, and evolution. In the classroom, lunch bunch sessions, and trips, the students discussed the educational requirements for careers they were investigating. As a result of the CEP lessons, they developed student portfolios which included resumes
and essays about their field trips and the educational requirements and experiences of professionals. They learned about student services offered at a college, and how to use the online course platform, Web-CT. In the biology lab students completed DNA testing and learned lab procedures used in hands-on exercises. They completed lab experiments including: determination of plant growth based on prior pressure variations of seeds; collection and analysis of water samples; and use of dichotomous keys. As concluding projects, the students developed PowerPoint presentation relating their study of biology to the field experiences and wrote a comprehensive scientific laboratory report. The GROWING Aware Institute ended with a Capstone project. Students made presentations using PowerPoint and had their portfolios and laboratory reports on display. The final ceremony was attended by faculty, parents, and many of the professionals. The Institute was a learning experience for the student
participants and faculty who shared in the activities and met the professionals. The final 12-months will include development of an instructional presentation to share the GROWING Aware Institute concepts.
PRODUCTS: As a result of the class held at the Buffalo Museum of Science, a one-day session to investigate the general aspects of animal and plant diversity, classification, and evolution is being developed. They will use the curriculum and pictures from the Institute day as a part of the Museum of Science webpage to announce the session. There is a curriculum for teaching a high school unit on the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS). This curriculum is included with GPS kits located in each CCES in the service area of the College and the GCC media center for use by high school and College faculty. The syllabi for GROWING Aware Institute for Principles of Biology and Career and Educational Planning have been developed. During the final 12 months of the project, the project staff will develop a dissemination plan. A learning kit to model GROWING Aware Camp kit may be developed.
OUTCOMES: Objective 1: As of May 2004 the Genesee Community College faculty developed syllabi to link Principles of Biology (BIO 100) and Career and Educational Planning (CEP 101). The faculty and the Cornell Cooperative Extension Service educational coordinator arranged for field experiences in the four-county service area of the College and resources in Western New York; the trips were linked to the syllabi. Professionals from the community shared their expertise and participated in lunch bunch sessions. Materials for recruiting were developed; this part of the activity was supported by both the GCC and CCES staff. An activities calendar was developed to ensure that required arrangements for travel, lunches, and admission fees to be in place in a timely manner. Objective 2: As of May 2004 the high school teacher working with the Genesee Community College faculty and Cornell Cooperative Extension Service educational coordinator developed the GPS and MapPoint unit. The unit was
presented to 40 local teachers at a workshop, entitled GPS on Snowshoes. With the availability of GPS kits in the four-county service area, funded by the USDA-SPEC GROWING Aware Camp project, GPS lessons were taught in high school classrooms. The GPS unit was taught during an Institute field trip to the County Park. Objective 3: As of August 2004, 100% of the students in CEP 101 received passing grades of C or better; eight students in BIO 100 received a C or better, one student received a D. We did not recruit 16 students to the Institute. Recruitment of students in a very rural community is challenged by the fact that juniors and seniors in high school often need to work. In addition, the five-week commitment required by the Institute curtailed the participation of 4-H youth who prepare for and attend one-week county fairs that are offered in each of the four counties during the summer. Objective 4: A meeting on September 9, 2004 is scheduled to plan dissemination.
DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: In September 2004 GROWING Aware Institute will be presented to the Genesee Community College Board of Trustees. November 2004 GROWING Aware Institute will be presented at the National Association of Biology Teachers. February 2004 a workshop for the high school curriculum and activities for GPS skills and entitled GPS on Snowshoes was presented to 40 local teachers. Plans for dissemination activities will be confirmed in September 2004 and completed during the final 12-months. Both the GCC and CCES staff will have a PowerPoint and poster presentation. In local presentations students from the Institute will be invited to participate. Student work will be a part of the dissemination as well a many photographs taken digitally during the activities.
FUTURE INITIATIVES: The GROWING Aware Institute will be managed by the Genesee Community College Advanced Studies program. The GPS kits, available in each of the four-county service area, support the continued use of the GPS and MapPoint curriculum. The Genesee Community College biology faculty will use examples from agri-science in the college classroom. Plans will be discussed in the final 12-months of the project to utilize these resources and potentially develop others; GCC and CCES staff will be involved.
Impacts
Students and faculty in the program were directly involved in the learning experience. Students experienced many areas of agri-science that they did not know were available as a career. Meeting professionals and discussing their educational and career experiences provided critical real-life lessons; one student identified GPS as a career field. Faculty experienced the support of the agricultural community and the wealth of knowledge gained. The community professionals wholeheartedly supported the Institute, giving their time to prepare and present lessons that involved the students in the learning experience and related to the curriculum The professionals were invited to the final Capstone project and many attended the presentation which was held in the evening. The project impacted the Buffalo Museum of Science. Their staff has developed a session designed for high school and undergraduate students and continuing learners. The session will allow participants to
investigate the general aspects of animal and plant diversity, classification, and evolution. This educational opportunity is the direct result of the Institute visit to the science museum.
Publications
- The Batavia Daily News, "GROWING Aware Program Makes Summertime Shine," August 18, 2004, pages 6 and 7.
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