Progress 02/15/16 to 02/14/21
Outputs
Target Audience: Our target audiences reached by our efforts during the project were undergraduate and graduate students interested in international agricultural development, education, and extension, prospective graduate students with interests in those areas, and faculty members in agriculture, food, natural resources and human sciences who have experience, expertise, and interest in international agricultural development. Further, we targeted graduate students from the George Bush School of Public Service, a part of Texas A&M University, graduate students and faculty in the human sciences at Sam Houston State University, graduate students and faculty in agricultural sciences, rural sociology and education at Auburn University.Many of those whom we targetedhad interests in international development policy, environmental sustainability, and international relations. The mix of students and faculty involved in the project provided much diversity of thought, of experience, and of methods of problem-solving. We believe this diversity was necessary in helping to solve wicked problems--problems that are infinitely too large to be solved by those in any one discipline, college, university, state, etc. Faculty were targeted to lead efforts in supervising and mentoring graduate students who were chosen to go to Haiti to collect information, conduct interview, take pictures, and ultimately put together in a mosaic the Experiential Learning Modules (ELMs) we were attempting to create. The graduate students we targeted were those who had wide interests in the intersection of agriculture, food, nutrition, health, economic viability, and political philosophy. Graduate and undergraduate we targeted to participate in our pilot testing of the modules were sought from a wide variety of disciplines, experiences, and interests. We believe we were successful in hitting our targets of graduate students to travel to Haiti to collect information and develop the ELMs and of graduate and undergraduate students to pilot test the ELMs. We were LESS successful in recruiting faculty members to accompany students and mentor them. Frankly, Haiti was not seen as a location that faculty members desired to work in. Changes/Problems:We requested extensions to work primarily on recruitment of underrepresented U.S. populations for our graduate programs. Specifically due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been restricted from travel for more than a year. It is difficult to recruit people of color (POC) to an institution such as Texas A&M University with a small population/enrollment of POCs. We consider that lack of ability to recruit as the major problem of this project. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The production, field-testing, and dissemination of the ELMs were all valuable learning experiences for those graduate students involved in producing them, the graduate and undergraduate students who field-tested them, and, we believe, for those who have experienced them by accessing them on the website. Qualitative research conducted by our external evaluator confirmed the overall value of the ELMs by numerous individuals. An important target audience were those who attended the Professional Agricultural Workers Conference in Tuskegee, Alabama. This audience was a diverse group ethnically, with most participants being people of color. One of our staff presented at the conference and recruited prospective graduate students diligently. Both faculty members and graduates students involved directly in the project provided numerous opportunities for others to learn from our lessons learned. We provided access and encouragement to delve into the ELMs and provide us with feedback. This effort, alone, has seen nearly 600 individuals engage with the ELMs. Similarly, the seminars and brown bag discussion sessions have been good training for those interested in learning more about international agricultural development. Perhaps equally important has been the professional development of those graduate students who most often led these seminar sessions. They increased their skills and levels of confidence as teachers and trainers related to international agricultural development. One of our staff members/graduate students has been sought out in Haiti because of his expertise in Black Sigatoka disease in plantains (the subject of an ELM he developed) to provide training on disease recognition and control in northern Haiti--far beyond sites at which we worked to develop the ELM. He conducted a training course in collaboration with USAID. This was done in the the Cap Hatian region. Stakeholders/attendees were farmers, extension agents, agri-input retailers, teachers/instructors from farmers' schools, and student from Cap Haitian University (enrolled in an agronomy class). Another graduate student who traveled to Haiti was hired in Haiti by an NGO as their director of engagement. She spent three years in Haiti in that role before returning stateside. During her time in Haiti, she provided training to numerous groups who traveled to Haiti to work in child development, nutrition and food provision, healthy sanitation practices, and social skills--particularly in treatment of women. She has been employed now by another NGO but, unfortunately, because of the unrest in Haiti, has been unable to return to the country to continue her work. Formal presentations, posters, abstracts, and papers were used to disseminate information related to our project to several national and international societies and groups. Among those are the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education (AIAEE), the American Association for Agricultural Education (AAAE), the Professional Agricultural Workers (PAW), and the Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences (MANRRS) groups. We have provided professional development at the Conference on the Universality of Global Education Issues at Sam Houston State University. When conferences went virtual and were conducted via Zoom, we were able to participate with more graduate students and more papers, but the round-table, informal discussions that result in rich dialogue and development of new ideas and friendships were more difficult to develop virtually/at a distance. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Formal presentations, posters, abstracts, and papers were used to disseminate information related to our project to several national and international societies and groups. Among those are the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education (AIAEE), the American Association for Agricultural Education (AAAE), the Professional Agricultural Workers (PAW), and the Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences (MANRRS) groups. We have provided professional development at the Conference on the Universality of Global Education Issues at Sam Houston State University. When conferences went virtual and were conducted via Zoom, we were able to participate with more graduate students and more papers, but the round-table, informal discussions that result in rich dialogue and development of new ideas and friendships were more difficult to develop virtually/at a distance. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Major revisions in the curriculum for ALEC 644, The Agricultural Advisor in Developing Nations, was accomplished. Additional attention to gender issues as they (gender issues) have been found to be critical (and generally under-emphasized) as critical in international agricultural development. Similarly, food insecurity has been given additional attention. Minor revisions were made to the curriculum in ALEC 645, Initiating, Managing and Monitoring Projects of International Agricultural Development, as another course in international agricultural development. Changes in the two courses listed above have, no doubt, improved understanding of graduate students about these interrelationships. Because the project involved students directly (and their faculty advisors more vicariously) from the Bush School of Public Government, we infused multi-disciplinary activities in courses and other learning experiences related to international development and policy-including the concepts of conflict, corruption, and female inequity as deterrents to food security. The ELM on the control of Black Sigatoka was used as a case study in teaching students in an international agricultural development course at Auburn University. We used a tool on how to access the ELM and to teach the ELM to students in rural sociology, agricultural development, pre-medicine, and political science. The total number of students taught was 48. There was a preflection, study using the ELM, class discussion, post/reflections, and a learning assessment. This is an example of how one of the 23 ELMs was used to teach students. The project sensitized graduate faculty in the departments and the colleges involved to issues related to conflict, corruption, and female inequity. Results from related research studies indicate that all are detrimental to food security. The graduate students who traveled to Haiti conducted seminars and "brown bag" discussion sessions where these issues were discussed extensively among students and graduate faculty members. This resulted in a heightened interest and activity in international and trans-national research by faculty members related to social dimensions of food insecurity. Little progress was made in increasing the number of graduate students from underrepresented U.S. populations in our courses at the graduate level. Admissions requirements were increased, and our total numbers of graduate students haveplateaued and dipped in one of our institutions in the project. Undergraduate numbers of underrepresented groups increased slightly, but at about the same rate as our total student populations have risen. The COVID-19 pandemic curtailed our travel to conferences to recruit students from underrepresented groups. These students respond best to in-person, face-to-face recruitment activities. Our inability to recruit is definitely one of the disappointments we encountered in the project. Our extensions were requested to address specifically the goal of increasing the number of graduate students from underrepresented U.S. populations. Our success has been in increasing the numbers of females enrolled in graduate programs. We have enrolled one Hispanic female and one African-Americanfemale in our doctoral program and one Hispanic female in a master's program in the department. This last student has done an internship/graduate assistantship with the Norman E. Borlaug Insitute for International Agriculture at TAMU; this is a significant step/accomplishment, we believe. One White femalerecruited hasdone international research (from the U.S,) in Latin America; another recruited female is conducting a feasibility study and conducting research on the provision of a Halal abattoir and meat market for the Somalian Muslim population in Minnesota. Finally, we recruited a doctoral student--another female--who had been the U.S.executive serving the Haitian NGO with which we were most heavily involved. She brings lots of experience in working in a developing country setting, but she herslef is not a person of color. In addition to the accomplishments related to the five goals, we have successfully secured a grant to create gender-lensed curricula for international development work. This was a direct outgrowth of the current project. There are 14 modules under development, with some in the design phase, others in the writing phase, and one in the testing phase. Our graduate courses in agricultural development will be improved with those modules as supplemental materials for the graduate curricula in the department. A website/URL was created to disseminate the ELMs to interested universities and students. All 23 ELMs are available for viewing/engaging. In the table below are the titles and authors of the 23 ELMs: Table 1.Title of EachExperiential Learning Module, Its Author, and the Author's University Affiliation Advanced Agricultural Education in Haiti Katlin D. Keppler, Master's Student Texas A&M University Sustainable Management Practices Of Plantain In Haiti With Emphasis on The Control of the Disease Black Sigatoka Abhimanyu Gopaul, Master's Student Auburn University Improving Food Security Programs and Decreasing Human Suffering by Building Relationships with Children in Haiti Elizabeth J. Wofford (Webb), PhD Student Sam Houston State University Screwworm in Livestock and Humans? Case in Haiti Glenn Brodbeck, Master's Student Texas A&M University A Systems Approach to Improving Agricultural Production in a Development Setting Taya Brown, PhD Student Texas A&M University Career Aspirations of Haitian Secondary Students Katlin D. Keppler, Master's Student Texas A&M University Composting to Increase Food Production Paul B. Bowers, Master's Student Texas A&M University Haiti: Water Resource Management Kathryn Jasper, Master's Student Texas A&M University The Potential and Role of an Extension Service in the Provision of Sustainable Farming Practices in Gressier: Challenges and Scope Abhimanyu Gopaul, Master's Student Auburn University Developing the Goat Industry in Haiti Mekenzie Hargaden Master's Student Auburn University Goat Chili: A School Lunch Program to Feed a Community in Haiti Elizabeth Wofford PhD Student Sam Houston State University Use of Comparative Education to Increase Cultural Identity Development with Children in Haiti Elizabeth Wofford PhD Student Sam Houston State University Relieving Human Suffering through a Child Sponsorship Program in Haiti: A Case Study Elizabeth Wofford PhD Student Sam Houston State University Relieving Human Suffering through a Children's Home Internship in Haiti Elizabeth Wofford PhD Student Sam Houston State University International Development Work Model: Case Study of Christianville Foundation Elizabeth Wofford PhD Student Sam Houston State University Corn Production in Haiti Abby Heidenreich Master's Student Auburn University An Exploration of Haitian Vocational Education Nicole Dietzel PhD Student Texas A&M University Post-Harvest Loss in Haiti Kelsey Barnes Master's Student Texas A&M University Biosecurity at an NGO Site Shannon Seelye Master's Student Texas A&M University International Agricultural Development: Selecting a Research Topic Kristen Berger Master's Student Texas A&M University Evaluation of Rabbit Production Project Kristen Berger Master's Student Texas A&M University Aquaponics for the Developing World Learning Assessment Taya Brown PhD Student Texas A&M University Moringa: The Tree of Life Learning Assessment Kerry Kennedy Master's Student Texas A&M University ______________________________________
Publications
- Type:
Websites
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Pina, M., & Briers, G. E. (Ed.) 2020. Experiential learning in Haiti. https://alec.tamu.edu/impact/agricultural-education-in-haiti/
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Cherry, Audie L., Briers, Gary, & Pi�a, Manuel, Jr. (2017). What program coordinators want: A competencies framework for graduate students in international agricultural development programs such as Texas A&M AgriLife-Haiti. Paper and presentation. Universality of Global Education Issues Conference. The Woodlands, Texas.
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Progress 02/15/18 to 02/14/19
Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audiences reached by our efforts during this reporting period were undergraduate and graduate students interested in international agricultural development, education, and extension, prospective graduate students with interests in those areas, and faculty members in agriculture, food, natural resources and human sciences who have experience, expertise, and interest in international agricultural development. Further, we identified and involved two graduate students from the George Bush School of Public Service, a part of Texas A&M University, in our most recent trip to Haiti. They had interests in international development policy, environmental sustainability, and international relations. Stateside, we reached literally scores of students who viewed the ELMs and helped us to evaluate them. One of our graduate students who was new to international agricultural development but who had expertise in media development did a thorough content analysis of the ELMs in terms of their messaging and ease of use. Prospective graduate students were given the opportunity to view the ELMs as examples of the kinds of international agricultural development projects in which we are currently involved and in which they might subsequently become involved if they joined our program. Finally, an important target audience were those who attended the Professional Agricultural Workers Conference in Tuskegee, Alabama. This audience was a diverse group ethnically, with most participants being people of color. One of our staff presented at the conference and recruited prospective graduate students diligently. Changes/Problems:The only major change has been a request (granted!) for a one-year, no-cost extension to the project. We will continue to work on the goals of the project. This caused/allowed us to make another progress report (this one) rather than this being a Final Report (which will be submitted next year.) What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Both faculty members and graduates students involved directly in the project have provided numerous opportunities to learn from our lessons learned. We have provided access and encouragement to delve into the ELMS and provide us with feedback. This effort, alone, has seen nearly 400 individuals engage with the ELMs. Similarly, the seminars and brown bag discussion sessions have been good training for those interested in learning more about international agricultural development. Perhaps equally important has been the professional development of those graduate students who have most often led these seminar sessions. They have increased their skills and levels of confidence as teachers and trainers related to international agricultural development. One of our staff members/graduate students has been sought out in Haiti because of his expertise in Black Sigatoka disease in plantains (the subject of an ELM he developed) to provide training on disease recognition and control in northern Haiti--far beyond sites at which we worked to develop the ELM. He conducted a training course in collaboration with USAID from January to March 2018. This was done in the the Cap Hatian region. Stakeholders/attendees were farmers, extension agents, agri-input retailers, teachers/instructors from farmers' schools, and student from Cap Haitian University (enrolled in an agronomy class). How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Formal presentations, posters, abstracts, and papers have been used to disseminate information related to our project to several national and international societies and groups. Among those are the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education (AIAEE), the American Association for Agricultural Education (AAAE), the Professional Agricultural Workers (PAW), and the Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences (MANRRS) groups. We have provided professional development at the Conference on the Universality of Global Education Issues at Sam Houston State University. A website/URL was created to disseminate the ELMs to interested universities and students. All 23 ELMs are available for viewing/engaging. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Continued efforts to attract graduate students from underrepresented groups is a need. We hope to engage the three universities involved in the project in a concerted/joint effort to identify and attract those graduate students to our programs. One graduate student is completing his dissertation on international development issues in agricutlure. Three papers related to ELMs will be published after the completion of his students by the end of summer 2019. He will also present a conference paper on how to use ELMs and assess their impact at a conference of the Rural Sociological Society (RSS) in August 2019. Assessing the experiential learning of students who made a trip to Haiti is an on-going survey currently. Additional courses will be revised to infuse the lessons learned into our curricula in international agricutural development. We will continue to evaluate the ELMs to determine their efficacy.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Goal 1. Improve international agricultural development graduate curricula. Major revisions in the curriculum for ALEC 644,The Agricultural Advisor in Developing Nations,was accomplished. Additional attention to gender issues as they (gender issues) have been found to be critical (and generally under-emphasized) as critical in international agricultural development. Similarly, food insecurity has been given additional attention. Minor revisions were made to the curriculum in ALEC 645,Initiating, Managing and Monitoring Projects of International Agricultural Development, as another course international agricultural development. Goal 2.Improve understanding amonggraduate studentsabout the interrelationship of food insecurity and human suffering in developing nations and food, agriculture, natural resources, and general security in the U.S. Changes in the two courses listed above have, no doubt, improved understanding of graduate students about these interrelationships. Because the project involved students directly (and their faculty advisors more vicariously) from the Bush School of Public Government, we infused multi-disciplinary activities in courses and other learning experiences related to international development and policy--including the concepts of conflict, corruption, and female inequity as deterrents to food security. The ELM on the control of Black Sigatoka was used as a case study in teaching students in an international agricultural development course (Fall 2018) at Auburn University. We used a tool on how to access the ELM and to teach the ELM to students in rural sociology, agricutural development, pre-medicine, and political science. The total number of students taught was 48. There was a pre-flection, study using the ELM, class discussio, post/reflections, and a learning assessment. This is an example of how one of the 23 ELMs was used to teach students. Goal 3.Improve understanding amonggraduate facultyabout the interrelationship of food insecurity and human suffering in developing nations, and food, agriculture, natural resources, and general security in the U.S. The project has sensitized graduate faculty in the departments and the colleges involved to issues related to conflict, corruption, and female inequity. Preliminary results from related research studies indicate that all are detrimental to food security. The graduates students who have traveled to Haiti have conducted seminars and "brown bag" discussion sessions where these issues have been discussed among students and graduate faculty members. There is a heightened interest and activity in international and trans-national research by faculty membersrelated to social dimensions of food insecurity.? Goal4. Improve the number of graduate students from underrepresented U.S. populations in international agricultural/rural development courses. Little progress has been made in increasing number of graduate students from underrepresented U.S. populations in our courses at the graduate level. Admissions requirements have been increased, and our total numbers of graduate students has plateaued and dipped in one of our institutions in the project. Undergraduate numbers of underrepresented groups have increased slightly, but at about the same rate as our total student populations have risen.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Philpot, D., Briers, G., Pina, Manuel, Jr., & Robles-Pina, R. (2019). Effect of high impact international experiences on graduate students' academic career directions.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Coleman, L. R., Briers, G., & Pi�a, M., Jr. (2018). Mutual benefits of international development partnerships: A case study in Haiti. Paper and presentation to the Professional Agricultural Workers Conference, Tuskegee, Alabama.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Gopaul, A. (2019). the potential and role of an extension service in the provision of sustainable farming practices in Gressier region of Haiti for alleviating hunger and poverty. Poster presentation. Conference of the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education, Port of Spain, Trinidad.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Gopaul, A. (2018). Experiential learning modules for teaching international agricultural development: How to use these tools and assess their impact. Paper and Presentation at the Professional Agricultural Workers Conference, Tuskegee, Alabama.
- Type:
Websites
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Experiential Learning in Haiti. https://alec.tamu.edu/impact/agricultural-education-in-haiti/
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Baker, C., Coleman, L., & Briers, G. (2019). A content analysis of international agriculture experiential learning modules. Paper and presentation at the Annual Conference of the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education. Port-of-Spain, Trinidad.
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Progress 02/15/17 to 02/14/18
Outputs
Target Audience:Target audiences are graduate and undergraduate students with interest and expertise in agriculture and international development who were identified andrecruited to assist in our development, use, and evaluation of experiential learning modules. Similarly targeted were faculty members with similar interests and expertise. Graduate students were easily attracted to traveling to and working in Haiti to develop instructional modules and experience agricultural development in a difficult environment--one very different from those in which most of them and us had lived and worked.. Students with expertise in horticulture/vegetable production, animal science, secondary and post-secondary vocational and technical agricultural education, extension education and rural development, environmental protection and use of agricultural land, watershed management, plant production and integrated agro-ecology, issues of rural women and children and livestock and crop production were targeted, identified, reached and recruited to travel to Haiti. Eleven graduate students and fivefaculty members experienced Haitian agriculturral and rural development, land use,educational methods, and socio-psychological understanding through direct llearning opportunities in Haiti . Students were provided classroom and laboratory instruction in processes/techniques for developing experiential learning modules, with increased attention this year to needs assessment in agricultural development. Twenty-three experiential learning modules (ELMs) have been finalized and placed for general use on the website athttps://alec.tamu.edu/impact/agricultural-education-in-haiti/ Also targeted were undergraduate students with interest and aptitute for graduate work in international agricultural development. We recruited graduate students from our home institutions (Texas A&M University, Sam Houston State University, and Auburn University) and from other institutions, especially those with large minority populations. We presented our research at the annual meeting of the Professional Agriculture Workers' conference at Tuskegee University and at Prairie View A&M University, Tarleton State University, Texas Tech University, Fort Valley State University, and Clemson University. Also, we presented and recruited at the national meeting of the American Association for Agricultural Education and the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education. Fruits of our recruiting efforts are coming--we believe--this fall. Changes/Problems:No major changes or problems have been encountered in the past year. Adjustments in our approaches and challenges to our progress as reported last year have been addressed. One major addition to our plans is a subsequent trip to Haiti to engage our partners in a professional development activity for them; we will develop an additional ELM as a result of this trip--an ELM on how to develop ELMs. But the "twist" on this activity will be that we will engage students in Haiti at the Christianville Vocational-Technical School in professional development, augmenting and adding to their skills and abilities in agricultural sciences. This training will be on methods of agricultural extension education so that they may, in turn, share more effectively their knowledge and skills with agriculturists, home gardeners, and households in Haiti. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The 21graduate students who have traveled to Haiti have all received direct and purposeful professional development in the areas of land/site preparation, tillage methods, crop production, harvesting, food preservation, food preparation, sanitation, resource management, lack of technology and other resources of the "developed" agriculture of the U.S. Because the graduate students and faculty members who have traveled to Haiti to develop ELMs came with a variety of areas germane to food security and human issues, with much breadth of experience and expertise, participants provided professional development and training for each other as the teams reflected each evening on the day's experiences. Graduate students and faculty journaled and took still pictures and videos, some with audio, and collected artifacts and samples. Upon returning to their U.S. universities, (Auburn University, Sam Houston State University, or Texas A&M University), team members conducted formal and informal seminars to share their experiences and knowledge gained. Those graduate students and faculty members who have traveled to and worked in Haiti have, in turn, provided professional development for undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty in the U.S. through formal and informal seminars, workshops, and conferences. We have provided professional development at the Universality of Global Education Issues conference at The Woodlands, Texas, at the American Association for Agricultural Education national conference, at the international conference of the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education, and at the Professional Agricultural Workers Conference in Tuskegee, Alabama. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have disseminated resultsat the Universality of Global Education Issues conference at The Woodlands, Texas, at the American Association for Agricultural Education national conference, at the international conference of the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education, and at the Professional Agricultural Workers Conference in Tuskegee, Alabama. Strategies employedhave been formal presentations, panels, and, perhaps most successful, round table discussion sessions. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Goal One Complete one more ELM based on the interaction with the CVET students Infuse ELMs into specific graduate courses as formal assignments and as supplementary matierals and activities for students. Goal Two Continue to engage former student participants in sharing their experiences in classes and workshops Continue to use the ELMs as points for discussion in classes and workshops Continue to share lessons learned with other graduate students in national conferences Goal Three Engage more faculty in discussions and potential projects with Christianville and other possible partners in Haiti Continue connection with possible programmatic and funding supporters for collaborative work in Haiti Submit proposals for internal funding to enable participation of more faculty and students Goal Four Share the background, trajectory, and outcomes of this project with minority-serving institutions to promote students from underserved populations to engage in food insecurity efforts of this type, e.g., Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Hispanic-Serving Institutions in Texas. Present the experiences gained and lessons learned in such minority-serving national student organizations as Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences (MANRRS) and the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS).
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Twenty-three ELMs have been produced and are now on the website of the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communications at Texas A&M University https://alec.tamu.edu/impact/agricultural-education-in-haiti/.One ELM is pending completion. The ELMs have been used in one undergraduate course and two graduate courses related to international development at Texas A&M University and a graduate course at Auburn University. Completed ELMS will be evaluated by the number of "hits" to the website, collection of data on evaluation tests using Qualtrics, and analyzing the data for maintaining the website. Goal two--Improve understanding among graduate students about the interrelationship of food insecurity and human suffering in developing nations and food, agriculture, natural resources, and general security in the US - To date, 21 graduate students have participated in four week-long high impact experiences at the Christianville Foundation at Gressier in Haiti (http://www.christianvillehaiti.com/). Students were from Texas A&M University (15), Auburn University (5), and Sam Houston State University (1) and were accompanied by five faculty from Texas A&M University (2), Auburn University (2), and Sam Houston State University (1). To capture the improvement in understanding related to this goal this goal preflection and reflection exercises were conducted before and after each high impact experience, respectively. The students provide over 60 responses to open-ended questions about their (a) expectations of Haiti and the people(b) descriptions to family members; (c) feelings, attitudes, and behaviors; and, (d) description of ELMS before and after each experience. The responses were content analyzed by three independent judges and using the Prochaska and Norcross Change Model the following key changes emerged. Initially, students were in the Precontemplative Stage as plans about ELMs and Haitian people were vague and abstract and they were quite dependent on faculty for coaching and knowledge. During the Contemplation stage faculty used the Socratic Method of learning to help students understand what they were observing. At the Preparation Stage, students had drafts of the ELMS and were more inclined to ask questions of Haitians, spoke some Haitian Creole, and reached out to Haitian students and faculty. During the Action Stage, students had identified a topic (e.g., preparing goat chili from slaughter to preparation, to serving to school children) and conducting research on the internet. Lessons learned included: (a) moving from focusing on the poverty of the country to understanding the Haitian people as hard-working, motivated, resilient, and having the same desire for their families as US persons; (b) understanding that the ELMS which were the initial focus became a by-product of getting to understand another group of people; and (c) feelings of fear and anxiety moved to compassion and caring. A key activity that will be reflected in the pending ELM is an exercise where the U.S. students engaged with Haitian students enrolled in an Agricultural Technical School (CVET) to develop culturally and linguistically appropriate training materials about topics important to their farmers. This required extended interaction with the Haitian students to ascertain topics and appropriate teaching media for farmers who only speak Creole and may be illiterate and live in communities that are hard to reach and where there is no electricity. Anticipated supplies were purchased ahead of time and for a week, US e students and CVET students worked on developing "Haitian ELMs," e.g., (8x11 portable laminated portfolios which depicted graphic (hand drawn pictures) step-by-step directions in Haitian Creole about specific topics, such as seed spacing , soil preparation, and water conservation. Lessons learned by CVET and US students included: (a) understanding how difficult it is to take a scientific concept with advanced technical language and to simplify it for teaching to illiterate populations, (b) understanding how lecture methods of teaching are quite inferior to demonstrations, and (c) understanding that it takes much time, reflection, and discussion in order to work with groups to develop ELMs. Goal three- Improve understanding among graduate faculty about the interrelationship of food insecurity and human suffering in developing nations, and food, agriculture, natural resources, and general security in the US To demonstrate making good progress toward achieving this goal two "networking workshops" with potential partners for community level impact have been conducted at Christianville. Following office visits in Port-au-Prince with international aid organizations and national universities a first networking workshop was held. This was followed by a second broader networking workshop. To date, over 30 representatives from USAID (including the Country Director), FAO, two NGOs, two agricultural universities, teachers from four schools, and pastors from eight churches have participated in these workshops. The workshops focus on creating a better understanding of the various programs related to food insecurity that exist and exploring ways for collaboration to maximize resources. These workshops reflect the improved understanding among faculty that is emerging as evinced by how faculty are convening potential partners and promoting discussions for unified action. Goal four-- Improve the number of graduate students from underrepresented U.S. populations in international agricultural/rural development courses - To date, four participating graduate students have been from underrepresented populations: two Hispanic, one from Mauritius, and one from South Africa. Of note, of the 21 students that have participated to date, only three have been male.
Publications
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Keppler, Katlyn D. (2017). Examining the aspirations of expectations of Haitian Eighth Grade Students. Master's thesis. College Station: Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communications, Texas A&M University. Available from http://oaktrust.library.tamu.edu/handle/1969.1/166026
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Progress 02/15/16 to 02/14/17
Outputs
Target Audience:Target audiences included graduate students with interest and expertise in agriculture and international development whowere recruited to assist in ourdevelopment of experiential learning modules. Similarly targeted were faculty members with similar interests and expertise. Graduate students were much more easily attracted to traveling to and working in Haiti to develop instructional modules. Students with expertise in animal science, secondary and post-secondary vocational and technical agricultural education, extension education and rural development, environmental protection and use of agricultural land, watershed management, plant production and integrated agro-ecology, issues of rural women and children and livestock and crop production were reached and recruited to travel to Haiti. Seven graduate students and four faculty members were provided experiential learning opportunities in Haiti. They were also provided classroom and laboratory instruction in processes/techniques for developing experiential learning modules. Changes/Problems:There have been adjustments in our approaches and challenges to our progress; some have prompted what qualify as major changes while others may not: Our timetable for initiation of project activities was delayed from our intended/hoped-for start date as the project initiation date was accomplished on Feb 15, 2016. Then, our university did not allow us to commit funds/expend monetary resources until April 2016. Thus, the 2015-2016 academic year had almost expired. This presented a bit of a problem in recruiting students and in getting reasonable rates on tickets because they were bought rather late/close to travel dates. Similarly, because many faculty are 9-month employees (as one detriment), it was difficult to entice faculty members to travel to Haiti during their summer research/vacation/teaching break. More importantly, however, we have found that faculty members in major research universities are reluctant to travel to a country as poor as Haiti even to improve their professional knowledge/expertise. Some have told us that there are LOTS of developing countries with needs for food security and improved health, etc, that are NOT as poor and as primitive in services as is Haiti. (Data would suggest that they are correct: that Haiti is the POOREST of the poor here in the western hemisphere.) So, this has made us rethink our approaches where we identify a faculty-graduate student pair, with the graduate student doing the traveling to Haiti and the faculty member serving as a guide and resource and then "experiencing" Haiti through the ELMS developed by his or her graduate student. We have had little trouble recruiting graduate students willing to travel to Haiti!In a sense, this development--graduate students traveling to Haiti with a faculty technical advisor remaining stateside but engaged in the development of the ELMs--has allowed us to do a pilot test of many of the ELMs--with the first "student"/recipient of the ELM being the faculty member/mentor of his/her graduate student who is developing the ELM(s). Another major development was Sam Houston State University's prohibition of taking their graduate students to a country with an existingtravel warning. (TAMU has a similar ban on our taking undergraduate students, but no limitation of our taking graduate students.) We have overcome that obstacle by TAMU's ability to contract the graduate students from SHSU as independent contractors so that we can pay their travel expenses. That has resulted in the need for TAMU to de-obligate (with SHSU's full approval) some of the funding that was originally subcontracted to SHSU. Logistics for travel can be/has been a problem. Out partner sites in Haiti cannot always accommodate us on dates that are convenient to us. For example, the very same dates that are most appropriate and advantageous for us to travel internationally with students--summer break, winter break (mid Dec to mid Jan) and spring break (mid March)--are the busiest times of the year for our partners. Thus, to date, we have not been able to schedule a site visit/ELM development trip to LiveBeyond, our partner in Thomazeau Region. So, rather than Cohorts I and II as planned in our original proposal, we have had and plan to have smaller, more action-oriented and focused teams to travel to, observe in, and experience Haiti and translate those direct experiences into ELMs--all done to provide vicarious experiences for graduate students and faculty in the U.S. to teach them to tackle and solve issues of food insecurity and human suffering globally. Thus, none of the problems and changes impinge upon or negateour progress. We are on track to achieve themeasurable outcomes, products, results, and impacts anticipated/planned for this project. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The seven graduate students who have traveled to Haiti have all received direct and purposeful professional development in the areas of land/site preparation, tillage methods, cropproduction, harvesting, food preservation, food preparation, sanitation, resource management, lack of technology and other resources of the "developed" agriculture of the U.S. Because the graduate students and faculty members who have traveled to Haiti to develop ELMs came with a variety of areas germane to food security and human issues, with much breadth of experience and expertise, participants provided professional development and training for each otheras the teams reflected each evening on the day's experiences. Graduate students and faculty journaled and took still pictures and videos, some with audio, and collected artifacts and samples. Upon returning to their U.S. universities, (Auburn, Sam Houston State University, or Texas A&M University), team members conducted formal and informal seminars to share their experiences and knowledge gained. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results have been disseminated in departmental seminars, graduate student organizations, and research team meetings. Four ELMs have been posted on the Global Education Lab website and are being downloaded/viewed/used by students, faculty members, and the general public who may have interest in agricultural and human development globally. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Eight additional ELMs are in various stages of development. Their completion and subsequent posting on the website of the Global Education Lab and on a project website (under construction) will provide additional basis for the further development of graduate curricula. A "critical mass" of related materials (these 12 ELMS) plus similar materials on thewebsite will provide enough instruction to determine an effect size of exposing graduate students to the ELMs. This will further our efforts in revamping and improving our curricula. Project team members and graduate students will share findings from our work to date at the Universality of Global Education Issues annual conference, a multi-state, multi-disciplinaryregional conference hosted by sub-contractor Sam Houston State University. Past experience suggests that the attendees at this conference have particular interest in curricular issues and professional development opportunities/experiences in human development and in improvinglives of people in developing countries. An additional 12 ELMs will be developedduring the next reporting period (to complete the repertoireof 24 ELMs). Graduate students and faculty with additional expertise/different expertise are being recruited. Students who have traveled to Haiti are serving as some of our best recruiters and ambassadors of the project but also of agricultural development, solving issues of food insecurity and human suffering, and generally improving the lot in life for people in developing countries like Haiti. Development of and improvement in graduate course curricula will take primary stage/effort as we work to incorporate the appropriate ELMs into courses. To increase participation by underrepresented students (and faculty), we plan to reach out to faculty and graduate students from sister institutions in the Texas A&M University System, specifically the 1890 land grant/HBU Prairie View A&M University.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Goal one--to improve international agricultural development graduate curricula--has been addressed minimally as we work on developing the 24 ELMs that will serve as a primary source of improved curricular materials. Goal two--to improveunderstanding among graduate students about food security and human suffering, etc--has been addressed extensively by those students and faculty members who have traveled to Haiti to observe issues with food security, seen the devastating effects of food insecurity on human growth and development, and authored instructional materials for use worldwide to display those effects. We believe and have evidence that participants have had a remarkable increase in not only their understanding of the problems with lack of food but also their appreciations for increased access to food, their determination to improve access to food in developing countries, and their resolve to educate their peers and colleagues of the need for agricultural development and for educational/extension efforts to improve the lives of people suffering in Haiti, particularly. Goal three--to improve understanding among graduate faculty of those same problems--has been more difficult to achieve initially. So, rather than they themselves travel to developing countries, faculty members are guiding and supporting technically their graduate students who are in turn having direct experiences in Haiti. Graduate faculty who advise graduate student participants/travelers on technical content are learning through vicarious experiences as their graduate students return with learning materials germane to the faculty members' expertise and subject matter content. As graduate faculty members then assist the graduate students with accuracy in technical information, graduate students are educating faculty members about the sights and sounds and observations and direct experiences in the developing nation of Haiti. Goal four--to improve the number of graduate students from underrepresented U.S. populations in international development courses--is an on-going effort. First, unless we recruit new graduate students from those populations, we are limited to those who are already enrolled as graduate students. Then, we must recruitthem into those classes--at the same time that they are being recruited into many OTHER courses and experiences. Sequentially/chronologically, all post-award requirements were completed by May 2016. Team leaders' orientation and planning meetings were conducted prior to our first in-country site visit in May 2016. The ELM template is complete. It served as the foundation and guide very successfully to the completion of the first four ELMs. Two trips have been made to Haiti with graduate students to collect information, make observations, and prepare materials for the ELMs.
Publications
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