Progress 09/01/13 to 08/31/18
Outputs
Target Audience:Preschool students, educators, and caregivers Changes/Problems:It was difficult to engage preservice teachers in the program with only one, during the entire life of the program, successfully assisting with program development and delivery despite repeated attempts at recruitment and partnering with professors in the department. We have addressed this in the program design of Growth on the Go, the program which takes the lessons from PLANTERS and creates teacher trainings and a lending library to utilize the developed curriculum and curriculum boxes. In the future, we will partner with a specific college course for pre-service teachers and have interaction become part of required course activities. In the proposal for the final year's extension, McDowell County was included as a program site. However, with the drive alone requiring 6 hours round-trip and Extension staff having decreased this was not feasible while maintaining interactions in the 10 other PLANTERS classrooms while meeting the other terms of the grant. Finally, the curriculum has not been formally evaluated though it was informally evaluated by teachers. The evaluation tool is printed and available for use but the previously mentioned difficulty with staffing meant that the curriculum was not prepared for formal evaluation. However, the Little Growers camp did provide an opportunity for parent feedback on the curriculum and we are awaiting those results. We also have data from the state evaluation of classrooms that indicated classrooms interacting with PLANTERS had significantly higher increases in STEM inquiry than their non-participating counterparts as well as higher gains than those teachers' had with their classrooms in previous years. The teachers themselves have attributed these gains to the PLANTERS program. Evaluations on the curriculum will be folded into the new program for more robust analysis of the impacts of the curriculum. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Training for pre-school as well as k-5 grade teachers in Junior Master Gardener (JMG) Training was provided at the Fifth Annual Urban Agriculture Conference May, 2018. In addition, JMG training was provided to pre-school and k-5 grade teachers at the Preston County & School Gardening Training in June 2018. Additionally, to address local obesity issues, container gardening workshops covered these topics were conducted covering how to grow lettuce bowls, herbs and herbs & strawberries. The adaptations to the JMG curriculum was presented at the School Gardening at the Fifth Annual Urban Agriculture Conference May 2018 as well as at National Children and Youth Garden Symposium 2017. The PLANTERS program has also cultivated a relationship with the administration of preschool programs in Kanawha County and has been invited to include, beginning next school year, JMG trainings as part of the county's Continuing Education training days required for county educators. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Through program trainings and professional presentations program details and results have been disseminated regionally. Participating teachers have also spoken about the program at school and county preschool meetings. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1: The JMG Curriculum has been scaled and delivered to preschool audiences. STEM activities have been developed to support and extend JMG concepts and expand STEM engagement in preschool classrooms. The curriculum adaptation is being finalized and will be available to educators as a downloadable PDF. We also have data from the state evaluation of classrooms that indicated classrooms interacting with PLANTERS had significantly higher increases in STEM inquiry than their non-participating counterparts as well as higher gains than those teachers' had with their classrooms in previous years. The teachers themselves have attributed these gains to the PLANTERS program. Educators have been offered training on JMG and gardening; parents and other caregivers have been able to participate, with their families, in container gardening workshops. At two sites, programs offering participant parents education on literacy and nutrition were already in place and agents pushed in to facilitate participation or offer specific classes on container gardening. Finally, the Little Growers 2018 summer camp provided opportunities to engage preschoolers with their parents on STEM, literacy, and gardening; the camp ran for six weeks and was offered one day a week for 90 minutes. Camp topics included gardening, bugs, habitats and their intersections with growing food. Each session was focused on growing in West Virginia with only the last expanding to unfamiliar habitats such as the rainforest and deserts. The program has been informally evaluated through discussions with participating teachers and a Little Growers Survey. Objective 2: Tastings have been offered during regular class interaction as well as during event days with parent participation. Physical activity in the form of gardening has been encouraged as well as yoga for both physical and mental health. Students in-class nutrition education via my plate was supplemented through gardening and farming interactions as well as curriculum boxes with model food. Objective 3: One pre-service teacher was engaged to participate in curriculum development and program delivery. Indirectly, this program proved to be more impactful to the in-service teachers, as the pre-service teachers recruitment was difficult. As such, 25 iPads were purchased. Apps were downloaded and utilized with students on STEM topics as well as videos so students could see and hear animals in their natural habitats. In-service teachers were trained in on how to use ipads and apps for students.
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Progress 09/01/16 to 08/31/17
Outputs
Target Audience:Preschool youth, Preschool teachers, Preschool parents, pre-service teachers (teacher education students) Changes/Problems:There has been an ongoing difficulty in engaging and hiring preservice teachers to participate in curriculum development. In the upcoming year, the focus will be more on engaging them through required courses where professors are willing to collaborate and involvement in trainings with in-service professionals. Staffing issues have also caused a delay in finalization of curriculum development. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Within a month of the current program director becoming certified through JMG's train-the-trainer program, a full day JMG training was offered at the 2017 West Virginia Urban Agriculture Conference.Additionally, program staff delivered training for teachers at participating schoolson gardening and STEM. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Participating preschool teachers attend preschool county wide meetings and have shared the success of the program with their peers, resulting in more requests for PLANTERS programming in the classroom. Also, Shelley Whittington has discussed the program with the Putnam County Director of Headstart, a classroom education coordinator in Jackson County, as well as the Preschool/Title I Director for Putnam County Schools. Also, PLANTERS staff has delivered conference presentations nationally on curriculum development at the National Children and Youth Gardening Symposium 2017 as well as regionally on youth gardens at the Urban Agriculture Conference in Charleston, WV in April 2017. At the National Small Farms Conference in Virginia, September 2016 there was a poster presentation on the impact of WVSU youth gardening through JMG that including data collected for PLANTERS impacts as well as conference presentations by program staff. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Objective 1: Over the course of the next reporting period, program staff will finalize STEM curriculum and finish creating and packaging STEM curriculum boxes. They will also work collaboratively with Texas A & M's JMG program and other interested universities in completing the plant parts curriculum that will make up the core of the preschool adapted materials to be delivered on a national scale. Participating teachers will utilize assessment journals to track their impressions of curriculum and student progress. Objective 2: More teacher/adult trainings are being planned for the upcoming year including an on campus Training Fair where teachers can get training not only from Extension on JMG but also from other providers on Project Wet, Wonders of the Wetlands, Project Learning Tree, Project Wild, and more. Program staff will continue to work with the Born Learning Academy to offer parent workshops and is looking to make other workshops available to parents in program counties without Born Learning Academy funds. Objective 3: Program staff will be implementing the technology piece of the grant through ipad minis as well as the use of scientific tools such as aquascopes and microscopes. Staff will continue to try to engage preservice teachers through guest teaching in current courses, disseminating information about area wide JMG and other topical workshops as they are scheduled, and by offering free or discounted registration for the on campus Training Fair.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1: STEM activities ecompassing a variety of topics were developed and scaled to the target preschool audience. These activities have been adapted from JMG, Project Wet, and other curricula as well werecreated by program staff. Activities were introduced to students through weekly programming as well as a number of school-wide STEM days; the STEM days occurred at both Buffalo and Hometown Elementary Schools in Putnam County. Curriculum boxes have been distributed to schools with materials covering forests, dinosaurs, nutrition, space, birds, ocean, farming, nocturnal animals, fresh water habitats, and wildlife (e.g. bears, squirrels) to expand the ability of teachers to continue teaching STEM after topics are introduced through PLANTERS programming. A container gardening workshop was offered to preschool parents at Hometown Elementary School in conjunction with their Born Learning Academy; the Born Learning Academy is a parenting program free to parents of students at both Hometown and Buffalo Elementary Schools. Parent-student work days at both Dunbar Primary and Shawnee Community Center have resulted in parents working alongside students in the school gardens. Objective 2: Vegetable tastings were offered to preschool program participants. The tasting recipes came from JMG's Learn, Grow, Eat, and Go! curriculum. Teachers and students were also introduced to YoGorilla!, child oriented yoga that teachers can use when outside play is unavailable and gym availability is limited. After doing initial sessions with program staff, teachers were given a set of YoGorilla! Cards for their classrooms. All classes with onsite gardens participated in ongoing garden care learning to plantto weed, water, and harvest. Objective 3:Apreservice teacher at WVSU, worked with the program as a student worker, delivering program interactions as well as assiting with curriculum development. She has since gone on to substitute teach and in the coming year will be a full time 2nd grade teacher in Kanawha County. iPad minis were purchased before the end of the fiscal year; working with WVSU's technology department, program staff have been vetting appropriate applications such as iTrack. These applications will be utilized at the beginning of the school year.
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Progress 09/01/15 to 08/31/16
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for PLANTERS is both rural and urban underserved preschool populations in Kanawha, Putnam, and Pocahontas Counties. The site descriptions are as follows: Hometown Elementary School (1 classroom, rural, Putnam County): High special needs population with one teacher and one aide. The class never has more than ten students enrolled. Buffalo Elementary School (2 classrooms, rural, Putnam County): Both typical classrooms, one Headstart (3-4 year olds) and one preschool (4-5 year olds) classroom. Generally 15-20 participants each week; both classrooms are set up in a center rotation, and PLANTERS occurs during center time. All children participate in activities. Raglin Preschool (4 classrooms, urban, Kanawha County): All four are typical classrooms with some special needs population with 1 teacher, 1 aide, and 1-2 helpers per classroom. Generally 10-15 participants per week. Classrooms are set up in center rotations and PLANTERS occurs during center time. All children participate in activities. Linwood Community Daycare (1 classroom, rural, Pocahontas County): Typical classroom ranging in age from 2-6 years. 5-10 participants during interactions, which occur on average once per two months with WVSU staff. Classroom is set up in center rotations, however PLANTERS occurs as a special event where all students are encouraged but not mandated to participate. Poca Elementary School has been added for the 2016-2017 school year. It is a typical class with 19 students currently enrolled. All students participate in all activities. Changes/Problems:Recruitment of early childhood education pre-service teachers has be challening due to low enrollment and conflicting schedules. Due to this, students from other university departments (e.g. biology and chemistry) have been recruited to participate in the program which is providing them valuable extension/outreach experience. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Junior Master Garder training was conducted at one of the pre-K sites and continues to be offered frequently as an option for pre-K educators. Additionally, the pre-K teachers involved in this pilot implementation recieve ongoing curriculum and training as materials rea developed. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Extension agents working on the PLANTERS project have presented at regional and national conferences including the National Youth Garden Symposium in Columbia, SC and the National Small Farms Conference in Virginia Beach, Virginia. A poster presentation at the National Small Farms Conference highlighted programs West Virginia State University has adapted or largely based curriculum on JMG including the PLANTERS program; the poster related participant numbers as well as anecdotes on participant success. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Due to the approved no cost extension of this project we are increasing staffing by .75 FTE and expanding the program to 3 additional counties in WV. The Pre-K curriculum Directors in each participating county will be updated on progress of implementation of the pilot and opportunities to more widely disseminate the program information in each county will be explored. Ongoing collaboration with Texas A & M will see the development and piloting of adapted JMG curriculum. In house, agents are creating and finalizing STEM activities and curriculum that will be included in STEM boxes; these curriculum boxes are being delivered to current PLANTERS participants and will be available for teachers throughout the state. Agents on the project are cultivating potential pilot sites for both sets of curriculum and collaborating with teachers to develop appropriate evaluations. Agents on the project intend to host, at PLANTERS sites, multiple gardening workshops in the spring of 2017. These workshops will target the families of preschool participants and be open to other community members. This year's Mother's Day activity will, once again, include planters with edibles with the addition of recipe cards for utilizing the plants. Staff are also seeking existing opportunities to integrate training with county programming and will work with each preschool site to offer teacher training to better able current participating schools to continue their established gardening programs, JMG curriculum, and enhanced STEM learning after the end of the PLANTERS grant cycle. Efforts are ongoing to recruit pre-service teachers and other relevant student workers. Agents will continue to speak in education classes and provide professors with information on the opportunities available to their students. In the last month, iPads have been ordered to allow for future pre-service teachers to develop the technological component outlined within grant objectives.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1: Working with Texas A & M, the first chapter of the preschool Junior Master Gardener Adaptation, "Roots," has been formatted and is continuing to be developed; working with Texas A & M "Roots" is intended to be offered to teachers for piloting beginning in January 2017. Teacher journals for observation and assessment of both students and curriculum have been finalized; student journals are being adapted with the aid of teachers currently participating in the PLANTERS program. STEM activities have been written as well as curriculum boxes delivered to PLANTERS sites. Weekly programming at sites in both Kanawha and Putnam counties has continued, allowing for further STEM activities to be tested. These activities have included books on the topics covered that are appropriate for preschool age students, engaging them with literature and science. At the end of the 2015-2016 school year, a book give out was implemented at the William J. Raglin Community Education Center (Raglin) and Hometown Elementary participating preschools. Objective 2: PLANTERS has provided tasting opportunities to youth participants including, most recently, during a celebration attended by parents at Raglin. Fresh fruits were provided for students to taste and they were asked to make observations. It also provided a low-anxiety, casual opportunity to discuss with parents the integration of fresh fruits. For Mother's Day during the 2015-2016 school year, the students potted herbs as gifts to take home as gifts for the maternal figures in their life. Student participants do a large part of the gardening including planting, harvesting, and watering vegetables. At Raglin, the creation of a sensory garden has also encouraged physical play within the space when students are not actively gardening. They play hide-and-seek with alphabet garden stones or hop-scotch along the sensory garden path as well as pick and eat cherry tomatoes and herbs as they play. In October 2016 yoga has been introduced at the new Poca Elementary PLANTERS site to encourage physical activity during inclement weather and will be introduced at other PLANTERS sites throughout November 2016. Objective 3: One pre-service teacher has been engaged through PLANTERS. She has assisted with delivering programming and preparing activities as well as STEM boxes. She continues to assist with the program through activity development and preparation though she is now in her final semester and occupied with student teaching. However, recruiting pre-service teachers has proven to be very difficult as they have little availability during the day for field experiences due to the times required courses are offered.
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Progress 09/01/14 to 08/31/15
Outputs
Target Audience:Pre-school students and teachers. Specifically: Hometown Elementary- Rural Putnam County Preschool with 8-12 students, 1 teacher, and 1 aide; high profound special needs population; 94% free and reduced rate lunch participation Dunbar Primary School- Urban Kanawha County Preschool, 2 mainstream classrooms with 20 students, 1 teacher, and 1 aide in each room; 76% free and reduced rate lunch participation Raglin Community Education Center- Urban Kanawha County Preschool, 4 classrooms with 15 students, 1 teacher, 2 aides, and 1 nanny in each room; high population of students falling behind on milestones; high population of 3 year olds; 98% free and reduced rate lunch participation Buffalo Elementary- Rural Putnam County Preschool, 2 classrooms with 20 students, 1 teacher, and 1 aide per room; preschool and headstart represented; the most "typical" preschool classroom site; 75% free and reduced rate lunch participation Linwood Community School- VERY rural Pocahontas County Preschool, 1 classroom with 8 students, 1 teacher, and 1 aide; agrarian families; only school with high family engagement; 7/8 students attend on Mountain Heart Funding (indicator of poverty level) Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Spring 2015- Preschool teachers in Putnam County were invited to JMG based training offered by the county school board June 2015- Preschool teachers at the Linwood Community School were trained in the use of outdoor education and junior master gardener as part of the boot camp for the Fresh Market Fridays program How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? A rack card has been developed and disseminated for the general public to learn about PLANTERS Posts to the Extension Matters blog with early childhood focuses have been published Themed curriculum boxes have been developed which are available for teacher check out Participation in community activities this fall at each school to showcase the program What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Continue to work with Texas A&M in order to develop and publish plant based curriculum Continue to work with WVSU Communications Department to develop curriculum boxes for teacher use Continue to trial lessons in schools Expand to include curriculum trials with teachers as the leaders to test for clear and concise descriptions in lesson plans Offer at least 4 training opportunities for preschool teachers, early childhood pre service teachers, and parents
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1: Curriculum has been developed for both plant based (gardening) lessons and habitat lessons for preschool teachers Currently working with Texas A&M to solidify the plant based curriculum for publishing in the next 12-18 months Weekly lessons related to plants, habitats, nutrition, chemistry, engineering, and physics are being delivered at area preschools within Kanawha and Putnam County Objective 2: Nutrition components have been created specifically for use at Hometown Elementary School and Linwood Community School A monthly smoothie taste test is being used at Hometown to introduce the students to new flavors of fruits and vegetables During the summer, once a week, preschool students at Linwood took part in a hands on cooking and taste testing class in partnership with WVU Extension and WVSU Extension as part of the Fresh Market Fridays program offered by the Pocahontas County Farmers Market Physical activity games have been developed as part of the themed curriculum boxes for classrooms to use during their gross motor time Objective 3: Pre-service teachers have been allowed to utilize curriculum that is developed as needed for their field and observation experiences
Publications
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Progress 09/01/13 to 08/31/14
Outputs
Target Audience: Elementary School A is a small community based 80 student school in north eastern Putnam County. In the 2013-2014 school year, the single preschool classroom had 12 students and 1 teacher. All students were white and 100% free and reduced rate lunch eligible. Three students lived with grandparents as main caregivers. For the 2014-2015 school year the single preschool classroom in this school has 10 students, 1 teacher, and 1 aide. All preschool students are white, 50% have some form of developmental disability, and 100% are free and reduced rate lunch eligible, indication of a 100% poverty rate. Within this setting, 3 children are in a foster care situation and 2 other children are living with caregivers other than direct family but are not in the foster system. None of the parents have a college degree. Primary School B is a very large, urban PreK-2 school in western Kanawha County. For the 2013-2014 school year, Primary School B had 1 mainstream classroom and 1 classroom devoted to spectrum disorders. The typical classroom consisted of 12 students, all of which were free and reduced rate lunch eligible, 1 lead teacher, 1 aide, and 2 special needs aides. Two students in this classroom had physical and developmental disabilities. Approximately 50% of the students were African American. In the spectrum disorder classroom, all 5 students were free and reduced rate lunch eligible. This classroom had 1 lead teacher, 1 aide, and 3 additional counselor staff. All students were Caucasian. For the 2014-2015 school year, this school has 2 mainstream typical preschool classrooms and 1 preschool classroom dedicated to children with autism or other spectrum disorders. For the 2014-2015 school year the mainstream classrooms are combined at 21 students total with 2 lead teachers and 1 aide when needed; 7 students are African American, 2 are Asian, and 11 are white. Of these students, 18 fall into free and reduced lunch rate categories. In the autism and spectrum disorder classroom, there is 1 teacher, 1 lead social work/counselor, and 4 aides for 6 total children. One student is African American, 1 is Hispanic, and the other 4 are Caucasian. All students are free and reduced rate lunch eligible. Preschool C is housed in a large intergenerational community education facility in Western Kanawha County. The facility itself consists of the preschool, daycare, senior center, and drop-in education center. For the summer education component, 20 children ages 3-6 participated in a 5 week hands-on education program. This program consisted of 2 lead teachers, 4 aides, and 6 intergenerational community volunteers from the center. All twenty children were free and reduced rate lunch eligible. Of the twenty children, 7 identified as African American, 3 were Hispanic, and 10 were Caucasian. Three children were living with family members other than their parents. For the 2014-2015 school year, the preschool consists of 4 mainstream typical preschool classrooms which each have 1 lead teacher and 2 aides. Of the 67 total students, 95% are at or below the poverty level for Kanawha County, 3 reside in a foster care situation, and 12 others live with grandparents as primary caregivers. Thirty two children identify as African America, 4 are Hispanic, 28 are Caucasian, and one is unknown. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? 33 preschool teachers/aides/community based volunteers have been trained on using Junior Master Gardener in the preschool classroom or in the preschool community How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? 2 school based fall festival events were held in conjunction with the project where participants learned about PLANTERS and got to do some activities from the curriculum. 10 other community outreach events have been held in conjunction with Greater Huntington Parks and Recreation, Linwood Alive, and Charleston Parks and Recreation where event participants learned about PLANTERS and did activities associated with the curriculum. 1 outreach event was held in partnership with the Urban Agriculture Conference where 12 youth participants got to do activities from the curriculum and learn about STEM based careers. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1: Twenty-six garden-related lessons have been developed and tested at preschool sites so far. Fifty chemistry, physics, engineering, and biology based STEM lessons have been developed for the preschool audience. Objective 2: A nutrition component has been developed at Elementary School A with the introduction of taste testing smoothies once a month using fruits and vegetables. Objective 3: Nothing to report at this time.
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