Progress 09/01/14 to 05/31/15
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for this reporting period of the project was undergraduate students enrolled in colleges of agriculture and life sciences at the University of Florida, Texas A&M University, and NC State University. A secondary audience was undergraduate students enrolled at any university, as all reusable learning objects developed are open-access and freely available through the Global Education Lab site and project videos are publicly hosted on YouTube. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The new case studies were posted to the Global Education Lab web site with the other RLOs generated during hte grant. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Students at the University of Florida and Texas A&M Universityreceived instruction withsix additional case study RLOs focused on food security.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Roberts, T. G., Stedman, N. L. P., Harder, A., Raulerson, B., & Albert, B. (2015, June). Using case study reusable learning
objects (RLOs) to facilitate critical thinking in food, agriculture, and natural resources. Proceedings of the Annual
Conference of the North American College Teachers of Agriculture.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Harder, A., Moore, A., Roberts, T. G., & Stedman, N. (2015, February). Developing faculty capacity for multidisciplinary
collaborations [Abstract]. Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Southern Region Conference of the American
Association for Agricultural Education, 66.
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Progress 09/01/11 to 05/31/15
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for the project was undergraduate students enrolled in colleges of agriculture and life sciences at the University of Florida, Texas A&M University, and NC State University. At least one RLO was implemented in an undergraduate course by each faculty/graduate student partnership. Over 130 students are known to have received instruction with RLOs at UF, 175studentsat TAMU, and 300 students at NCSU. A secondary audience was undergraduate students enrolled at any university, as all reusable learning objects developed are open-access and freely available through the Global Education Lab site and project videos are publicly hosted on YouTube. The RLOs were accessed 2,260 times on the Global Education Lab site, which provides some indication of audience reached. The YouTube videos embedded within the RLOs and hosted on the Global Education Lab YouTube channel were viewed 5,485 times. Changes/Problems:Two problems were encountered. The first problem was a change in the security sitution in Honduras, one of the original locations planned for the international component. NC State had to change their plans to visit Costa Rica instead. The second problem was the departure of the external evaluator and her replacement. This caused the external evaluation to be primarily conducted by a doctoral student at Oklahoma State University, which may account for the failure of the evaluation to address some of the project objectives. The project team conducted its own internal summative evaluation. This report is available, along with appendices, upon request. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The external evaluation team found all participants gained greater knowledge of Latin American and Caribbean culture, government, and agriculture. Participants stated positive attitudes toward integrating global aspects into their teaching and toward working as part of multi-disciplinary, issues-based teams. Further, the evaluation team found UF participants were taught about instructional design pre-trip and during the trip, and demonstrated competency in using Articulate Software. The project team envisioned creating learning communities with the cohort participants that would lead to relationships spanning beyond the boundaries of the three-year grant. Towards that end, UF faculty participants were asked in March 2015 to describe any collaborations they had with other cohort members they met as a result of the project. Collaborations reported include: Successfully developing an interdisciplinary education proposal funded by the UF Catalyst Fund Leading a multidisciplinary study abroad to Cuba Successfully developing a mini-grant proposal for a Web app on invasive species, funded by UF/IFAS Guest lectures How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Journal articles, conference papers, and conference presentations have been the primary methods for communicating scholarship. The Global Education Lab site is the primary method for disseminating the RLOs to a broader audience, though it should be noted that the most accessed portion of the RLOs is actually the YouTube video embedded into the RLO. Therefore, it would be a recommendation to focus on creating high-quality, short video segments suitable for dissemination on YouTubein order to reach the broadest audience. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The primary products for this project were culturally-rich reusable learning objects (RLOs) focused on academic disciplines within agricultural and life sciences and the NIFA priority areas of Climate Change, Global Food Security and Hunger, and Childhood Obesity as applied in Latin America and the Caribbean. The secondary products were reusable learning objects focused on opportunities to pursue advanced degrees and careers in their respective academic disciplines and linked to the NIFA priority areas of Climate Change, Global Food Security and Hunger, and Childhood Obesity. The RLOs are hosted in an open-access, online repository at: www.globaleducationlab.org. The RLOs and YouTube videos have been access thousands of times, based on Google Analytics, with the most interest generated in RLOs focused on Fisheries Science Careers, Careers in Plant Science, and Careers in Health Education. At UF, at least 130 students received directed instruction with the RLOs during the 2013-2104 academic year, the time frame during which these numbers were tracked. Over 90% of undergraduates surveyedtaught with theRLOs reportedknowledge about international agriculture is important for all agriculture students. All UF faculty participants implemented at least one RLO into one or more undergraduate courses. The external evaluation team did not complete an assessment of the final three outcomes. The departure of the original evaluator and her replacement to different institutions is likely the reason the external evaluation did not fully examine all outcomes. The project would not have been possible without cooperation from international host institutions. The University of Florida was hosted by the University of Belize (Belmopan and Central Farm) faculty and staff for a portion of its trip. North Carolina State University was hosted by EARTH University for a portion of its trip. Texas A&M University was hosted by The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, as well as The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill. A strong relationship was reported by a UF faculty member who has been working with a University of Belize faculty member over the past two years. Notably, the highest number and strongest relationships of this project to date have been formed between UF, TAMU, and UWI faculty and graduate students. As a result, at the summative project meeting held March 15-19, 2015, the project team invested time into interviewing faculty and graduate students at UWI, St. Augustine. UWI was a host for this project but also for this project's predecessor. As a result, the project team felt it was critical to understand outcomes of project participation from the perspective of UWI. Analysis of the interviews resulted in identification of a few consistent themes: (a) increased appreciation for the value of external collaboration, (b) increased scholarly productivity as a result of new collaborations, (c) increased pride in home institution and country, as a result of introducing UWI and Trinidad to international visitors, and (d) enthusiasm for continuing to nurture relationships that have developed throughout the life of both grants. A recommendation for U.S. faculty considering conducting similar work is to invest time into developing a project which is mutually beneficial.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Harder, A., Moore, A., Roberts, T. G., & Stedman, N. (2015, February). Developing faculty capacity for multidisciplinary collaborations [Abstract]. Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Southern Region Conference of the American Association for Agricultural Education, 66.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Roberts, T. G., Stedman, N. L. P., Harder, A., Raulerson, B., & Albert, B. (2015, June). Using case study reusable learning objects (RLOs) to facilitate critical thinking in food, agriculture, and natural resources. Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the North American College Teachers of Agriculture.
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Progress 09/01/13 to 08/31/14
Outputs
Target Audience: The target audience for the third year of the project was undergraduate students enrolled in colleges of agriculture and life sciences at the University of Florida, Texas A&M University, and NC State University. A secondary audience was undergraduate students enrolled at any university, as all reusable learning objects developed are open-access and freely available through the Global Education Lab site and project videos are publicly hosted on YouTube.A conservative estimate of thenumbers of students who were taught using RLOs during the 2013/2014 academic year at the partner universities were as follows: University of Florida - 134 students; Texas A&M University - 320 students; NC State University - 434 students. The actual number is likely to be higher, as the UF numbers were based on on students submitting evaluation forms but not all students opted to complete the forms although they were in attendance. Secondary audiences have been reached by hosting open access materials on the Global Education Lab Web site and Global Education Lab YouTube channel. Google Analytics has been used to track page views within the Global Education Lab site. Themost accessed RLOs are: (a) Careers in Agricultural Leadership (79); (b) Careers in Plant Science (59), (c) Careers in Fisheries Science (52), (d) Careers in Natural Resource Conservation (51),(e) Belize Overview (46), (f) Careers that Combine Climate Change and Evaluation (41), and (g) Global Food Security (39). The videos embedded within the RLOs are hosted on the Global Education Lab's YouTube channel. The most viewed videos are: (a) Careers in Plant Science (649), (b) Careers in Health Education (300), (c) Careers in Ecology (243), (d) Trinidad and Tobago: Fish Market (170), (e) Fisheries Science Careers: Working Towards Sustainable Fisheries (151), (f) Belizean Farming System Resiliency to Climate Change - Albert Reimer (135), (g) Tilapia Aquaculture in Belize (100), and (h) Food Access Issues in Veron, Dominican Republic (83). Changes/Problems: Permission was sought and obtained from the USDA HEC Program Leader to use funds remaining in 2014 inthe Texas A&M Univeristy and University of Florida partner budgets to plan and implement an additional international experience. Four doctoral students from TAMU and six doctoral students from UF were recruited to participate in the add-on experience, which tested a new format for creating RLOs, and while simultaneously providing professional development in curriculum development andinterpersonal competencies for these students. The new format focused on creating in-depth case studies focused on food security in Trinidad, with the intention that a case study approach would provide a stronger format for undergraduate students to practice critical thinking skills using educational materials designed to elicit the use of those skills. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? From our external evaluation team: Faculty and graduate assistants that participated in the project were able to gain new knowledge and experience in developing RLOs and curriculum development. They also formed useful connections and partnerships for continued professional development. Project leaders have seen increased enthusiasm for internationalizing undergraduate curriculum. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? From our external evaluation team: Information was shared through the Global Education Lab website and through numerous publications in scientific journals related to education and presentations at educational conferences. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? A9 month no costextension was requested and granted. The time will be used tofinalize the six additional (beyond the original number of RLO deliverables promised) food security case study RLOs, test their effectiveness with undergraduate students as compared to the initial RLOs, and complete the summative projectevaluation activities.The Texas A&M and University of Florida partners who led the development of the RLOs recently received a $2,000 APLU Innovation in Teaching awardthat will help financially support the evaluation of the case study RLOs.Additionally, the third project partner (NC State) indicated they will be collecting additional data on the use of RLOs during the fall semester based on feedback from instructors who indicated intent to integrate the RLOs into their courses.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
From our external evaluation team: The evaluation team concludes that the TLEG2 project has successfully achieved their stated goals and objectives. The TLEG2 project leaders were able to equip their faculty and graduate student participants in preparation for their international experience and then follow through with the trip experience. UF, TAMU, and NCSU leadership teams were able to guide their teams through successful RLO completion and integration into the course curriculum according to their assigned USDA-NIFA priority areas. The stated goal of developing faculty learning communities among each cohort has been successful. Lead by the example of UF all three cohorts have been intentional in developing faculty learning communities. These learning communities have encouraged close partnership between faculty members across disciplines and have forged positive mentoring relationships between faculty and graduate students. The goal of incorporating RLOs into undergraduate courses being taught by cohort participants is 100 % complete. Year three is the final year of the project and project outcomes have met the targets set in the grant. The RLOs are being used at UF, TAMU, and NCSU but these RLOs are readily available for use by other educators on the http://Globaleducationlab.org website. In addition to meeting the RLO goal the project participants have also begun developing additional RLOs and case studies above and beyond the project requirements. Participants’ have seen undergraduates broaden their world view because of their exposure to new knowledge about Latin American and Caribbean culture. Participants’ have developed a positive attitude toward the use of RLOs in their curriculum as a way to increase student awareness and enthusiasm for the topics at hand. All three cohorts report additional collaborations occurring due to the project activities that would not have been possible if the project had not occurred. These interactions include faculty to faculty interactions across institutions and between faculty from the U.S. and institutions in the trip countries. The evidence from the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI v. 2) shows that project participants have improved their intercultural sensitivity, their understanding of cultural issues, and the connection to global competency. Participant involvement in the IDI instrument was not as high as desirable. Therefore we recommend that project leaders decide upon an intercultural measurement tool that is appropriate for their institutions. In summary, the project leaders have completed the project agenda. The goals for year three have been reached by each of the three cohorts. In addition the project leaders have produced additional outcomes above the requirements of the project.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Bushey, G. & Bruce, J. (2014, June). A multinational comparison of experiential learning theory in practice. North American Colleges & Teachers of Agriculture Conference, Bozeman, Montana.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Bushey, G. & Bruce, J. (2014, June). Creating Reusable Learning Objects: What the authors think. North American Colleges & Teachers of Agriculture Conference, Bozeman, Montana.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Bruce, J., Bushey, G., & Barnes, J. (2014, May). Seeing a Country through the Eyes of First-Time Travelers: A Photo Exploration of Costa Rica. International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry. Urbana-Champaign. Illinois.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Bushey, G. & Bruce, J. (2014, May). Pura Vida ~ Cultural Immersion in Costa Rica: A Visual Transformation of an American Cohort. International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry. Urbana-Champaign.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Conner, N., Roberts, T. G., & Harder, A. (accepted). Exploring faculty cultural adaptation on a short-term international professional development experience. NACTA Journal.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Gouldthorpe, J., & Harder, A. (accepted). Evaluating change in undergraduate attitudes: Capturing impacts of faculty travel abroad experiences shared through RLO implementation. Journal of Southern Agricultural Education Research.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Lamm, A. J., Roberts, T. G., Harder, A., Stedman, N., & Hartmann, M, (2013). Identifying best practices for engaging faculty in international agricultural education experiences. Journal of Human Sciences and Extension, 1(2), 1631.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Moore, A., Harder, A., Roberts, T. G., & Stedman, N. (2014, February). Using a multidisciplinary international field experience to develop faculty and graduate students. Proceedings of the Southern Region Conference of the American Association for Agricultural Education, 64.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Moore, A., Rodriguez, M., Harder, A., & Roberts, T. G. (2013). Exploring attitudes and beliefs of current and future agricultural teaching faculty prior to an international professional development experience. Journal of the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture, 57(3a), 59-68.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Roberts, T. G., Conner, N. W., & Jones, B. L. (2013). An experiential learning framework for engaging learners during study abroad experiences. NACTA Journal, 57(3a), 2835.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Roberts, T. G., Rodriguez, M. T., Harder, A., Stedman, N., & Gouldthorpe, J. (2014, February). Determining medium-term outcomes from an international faculty development. Proceedings of the Southern Region Conference of the American Association for Agricultural Education, 64.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Stedman, N. L. P., Rodriguez, M.T., Harder, A., & Adams-Pope, B. (2014, May). Critical Thinking Evidenced During a Ten-Day Graduate Study Abroad Experience. Paper presented at the 2014 Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education Conference, Miami, Florida.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Stedman, N., Andenoro, A., Harder, A., and Roberts, T.G. (2013, October). Teaching locally, engaging globally: Using international experience to frame undergraduate leadership education. Proceedings of the 15th Annual Global ILA Conference, Montreal, Canada.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Sandlin, M. R., & Walker, T. J. (2014). Development of systems thinking in students: Reflections of a transdisciplinary team during an international experience. Poster presented at the 2014 Southern Region of the American Association for Agricultural Education Conference, Dallas, TX.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Bruce, J., Bushey, G., & Agle, M. (2014, July). Community Leadership: Many Voices, One Message. Association of Leadership Educators Conference. San Antonio, TX
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Sandlin, M. R., Murphrey, T. P., Lindner, J. R., & Dooley, K. E. (2013). An examination of the use of reusable learning objects to alter agricultural students attitudes and opinions regarding international settings. NACTA Journal.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Sandlin, M. R., Murphrey, T. P., Lindner, J. R., & Dooley, K. E. (2013). Impacts of a faculty abroad experience on teaching style and technology use in a College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Journal of Agricultural Education, 54(3), pp. 186-197. doi: 10.5032/jae.2013.03186.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Bushey, G., Bruce, J., & Agle, M. (2014, July). I Am Their Leader, Where Do I Start? Association of Leadership Educators Conference. San Antonio, TX
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Progress 09/01/12 to 08/31/13
Outputs
Target Audience: Agricultural and life sciences faculty and doctoral students at the University of Florida, Florida A&M University, NC State University, North Carolina A&T University, Texas A&M University, and Prairie View A&M University were eligible to apply for participation in the three year professional development experience. No applications were received from faculty at the 1890 land-grants, despite repeated efforts to communicate information about the opportunity. Ultimately, 19 faculty and 19 doctoral students were selected to participate in three cohorts, one at each 1862 university. Changes/Problems: The NC State University team had planned to study food security in Honduras, and completed a planning trip prior to the anticipated cohort trip. In the interim between the two trips, the US issued a travel warning for Honduras due to deteriorating conditions. The NC State leadership determined it would be most appropriate to select a new country and so NC State traveled to Costa Rica instead. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Opportunities for Training and Professional Development Faculty and graduate assistants that participated in the project were able to gain new knowledge and experience in developing RLOs and curriculum development. They also developed professionally by learning together with faculty and graduate assistants from other disciplines. This multi-discipline approach of focusing on one common issue resulted in more awareness of how collaboration between scientists can lead to more effective research and teaching. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Dissemination of results to communities of interest Information was shared through the global education lab website and through one submission to the Journal of the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA). Papers have also been presented at the Southern Regional Conference of the American Association for Agricultural Educators (AAAE). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? The major goals left to accomplish are the implementation of the RLOs in undergraduate courses and the evaluation of student learning outcomes as a result of RLO exposure. All three university leadership teams are working with cohort members to schedule and evaluate the use of RLOs in undergraduate courses. At UF, cohort members have already begun using RLOs in their classroom. It is anticipated that the targets will be met by the conclusion of the spring semester at all three partner universities.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
From the second year report submitted by the Oklahoma State University external evaluation team: The evaluation team concludes that the TLEG2 project is on target to achieve their stated goals and objectives. The TLEG2 project was faced with a significant setback with the instability in Honduras and the resulting travel warning from the United States State Department. This meant that the NCSU leadership team was forced to change the venue for the guided international experience. This change was handled well by the NCSU cohort and the TLEG2 project leadership at University of Florida. The stated goal of developing faculty learning communities among each cohort has been successful. UF has been most intentional in developing faculty learning communities. UF has done this by having post trip meetings that have encouraged continued learning and trip processing. . TAMU and NCSU also show signs of having developed faculty learning communities. However, output of these interactions have not yet been demonstrated through readily available RLOs. The goal of making all RLOs available for use by faculty at all institutions has not yet been reached by the end of year two. Year two is important for developing and completing RLOs. The data from project leader interviews indicates project RLOs are complete. The only confirmation of whether RLOs are complete is the availability of the career and culturally RLOs on the http://Globaleducationlab.org website. On that basis only UF is nearing completion of their assigned number of RLOs. NCSU has partially completed their assigned RLOs. There is no indication of TAMU RLOs on the website. [Project director note: At the end of the second year, 25/38 RLOs were available on the Global Education Lab site, including RLOs from TAMU. Several more have since been posted.] Participants’ continue to gain new knowledge about Latin American and Caribbean culture. Participants’ attitude change continues to be positive toward globalization of the curriculum. Positive synergy has been developed between cohort participants and faculty at institutions in the experience trip countries. In summary, the project leaders have advanced the project agenda. Although the availability of RLOs is behind schedule, previous actions of project leadership indicate that this will soon be completed in time for meeting third year goals. Project Accomplishments - Project leadership was intentional about accomplishing project goals in a timely manner. Each cohort conducted at least three learning community meetings that focused upon trip processing and reflection and instructional designs. Three international trips were taken with the following breakdown; University of Florida to Belize, Texas A&M to Trinidad and Barbados, and North Carolina State University to Costa Rica. Each institution conducted debriefing sessions and RLO development workshops.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Moore, A., Rodriguez, M., Harder, A., & Roberts, T. G. (2013). Exploring attitudes and beliefs of current and future agricultural teaching faculty prior to an
international professional development experience. NACTA Journal, 57(3a), 59-68.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Gouldthorpe, J. L., & Harder, A. (2013, February). Evaluating change in undergraduate attitudes: Capturing impacts of faculty travel abroad experiences shared through RLO implementation. Proceedings of the Southern Region Conference of the American Association for Agricultural Education, 63.
|
Progress 09/01/11 to 08/31/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The primary products for the grant will be 18 culturally-rich reusable learning objects (RLOs) focused on academic disciplines within agricultural and life sciences and the NIFA priority areas of Climate Change, Global Food Security and Hunger, and Childhood Obesity as applied in Latin America and the Caribbean The secondary product will be reusable learning objects focused on opportunities to pursue advanced degrees and careers in their respective academic disciplines and linked to the NIFA priority areas of Climate Change, Global Food Security and Hunger, and Childhood Obesity. Both types of RLOs are scheduled to be created in the second phase (year two) of the project, however significant progress was made towards completing the secondary products at two of three partner universities prior to the end of the first project year. It is anticipated that the secondary products will be published on and disseminated through the Global Education Lab Web site by January 2013, ahead of schedule. Other outputs to date have included the creation of Web-based resources hosted by the Global Education Lab (www.globaleducationlab.org) for participants to use when creating their RLOs, including fact sheets entitled "Developing Learning Objectives," "Elements of Culture," and "Steps in Creating a RLO." Two templates have been created for participants to use when creating the primary and secondary products. Examples using the RLOs on Technical Concepts are currently available in the Educational Materials section of the Global Education Lab Web site, including "The Agricultural Extension System in Timor Leste," "Agrofuturo: An Example of Experiential Learning in Ecuador," and "The Role of Nationality in Food Security Access within the Punta Cana Community of Veron." PARTICIPANTS: The University of Florida project team consists of Dr. Amy Harder, PI, and Drs. Grady Roberts, Nicole Stedman, and Kathryn Sieving, Co-PIs. Dr. Harder provides leadership for the overall project.Dr. Roberts provides leadership for the development of reusable learning objects. Dr. Stedman has actively supported the activities of the team in Phase 1. Dr. Sieving provided assistance during the recruitment phase of the project and will continue to help facilitate dialogues to help social and bench sciences better understand the work done in each respective area. Two doctoral level students, Austen Moore and Mary Rodriguez, help with the creation of RLOs and data analysis. UF hired two travel planners to assist with the cohort experience in Belize; Kristi Drexler of EcoAdventures, Inc. and Rhondine Petrof of Toucan Education Programs. The Texas A&M University project team consists of Drs. James Lindner (PI), Kim Dooley (co-PI), Robert Strong (co-PI), and Lisako McKyer (collaborator). Dr. Lindner provides leadership for the project at TAMU. Dr. Dooley has actively supported the activities of the team in Phase 1. Dr. Strong provides leadership for the internal evaluation of the project and participant accountability at TAMU. Dr. McKyer led the recruitment of participants for the cohort. Tegan Walker, a Master's student, took over for Cassidy Peake, also a Master's student, to help with RLO creation. The North Carolina State University project team consists of Dr. Jacklyn Bruce, PI, and Drs. Wendy Warner, Elizabeth Wilson, and David Jones, co-PIs. In March, Dr. David Jones was added to the team due to the unexpected circumstances affecting two of the three original team members. Dr. Bruce provides leadership for the project at NCSU. Drs. Warner, Wilson, and Jones have provided leadership for planning the cohort trip to Honduras and played active roles in recruiting cohort participants. A Master's student, Ginger Wilson, helps with RLO creation. The external evaluation is being led by Dr. Kathleen Kelsey at Oklahoma State University, with support from her doctoral student, Joshua Ringer. Dr. Lupita Fabregas, a colleage of Dr. Kelsey's, has led the collection and analysis of Intercultural Development Inventory data as a part of the evaluation process. UF is collaborating with the University of Belize, the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre, the Belizean Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Forest and Marine Reserves Association of Caye Caulker (FAMRACC), and Ocean Academy. TAMU is collaborating with the St. Augustine and Cave Hill branches of the University of the West Indies, while NCSU is collaborating with the Universidad Nacional de Agricultura in Honduras. The project teams traveled to the Dominican Republic to participate in a strategic planning session in December 2011 to establish common goals, procedures, and best practices across all three universities; receive training on best practices for RLO development and establishing cohort cohesiveness, and to explore food security, community health, and climate change issues in the Veron area for the purposes of creating a sample RLO to be used with the cohorts. TARGET AUDIENCES: Agricultural and life sciences faculty and doctoral students at the University of Florida, Florida A&M University, NC State University, North Carolina A&T University, Texas A&M University, and Prairie View A&M University were eligible to apply for participation in the three year professional development experience. No applications were received from faculty at the 1890 land-grants, despite repeated efforts to communicate information about the opportunity. Ultimately, 19 faculty and 19 doctoral students were selected to participate in three cohorts, one at each 1862 university. By the end of the first project year, participants at each university had attended several cohort meetings to learn about the project, the destination for the trip, and how to create reusable learning objects. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
The objectives for the first phase of the project were for participants to: (a) gain greater knowledge of Latin American and Caribbean culture, government and agriculture, (b) develop more positive attitudes about integrating global aspects into teaching, and (c)develop more positive attitudes about participating in multi-disciplinary, issues-based teams. Progress towards achieving these objectives was independently evaluated by Dr. Kathleen Kelsey and her team at Oklahoma State University. Members of the Texas A&M University (TAMU) cohort failed to complete the evaluation survey, so the following conclusions exclude that group. The evaluation report concluded that knowledge of Latin American and Caribbean culture, government and agriculture was gained by participants. Participants' attitudes about integrating global aspects into their teaching as a result of the project were perceived as open to change. Finally, no attitude change was evident with regard to developing more positive attitudes about participating in multi-disciplinary, issues-based teams, but the evaluation team noted that all participants already held positive attitudes about participation in multi-disciplinary, issues-based teams.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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