Performing Department
Innovative Media Res. & Exten.
Non Technical Summary
This research-based project will develop online, interactive virtual labs that help students from marginalized communities see themselves in agricultural careers, while building conceptual understanding of agricultural science topics. The team will first investigate student experiences of belonging or not belonging in agricultural science or production. For example, when do students feel welcome or unwelcome in agricultural spaces? What assumptions do they hold about who does agricultural science or agricultural production? Based on findings, they will develop interactive labs which highlight contributions from historical innovators from underrepresented communities, and videos or animations which connect that work to similar work today. Completed labs will be distributed through college courses to expose students in multiple majors to ag-related careers, and promoted for distribution nationwide in middle and high school classes.Integrating culturally responsive teaching can make the agricultural field more appealing to youth and young people from communities of color (LaVergne et al., 2012; Vincent et al., 2012). Well-designed online interactive labs are impactful and effective educational tools, allowing students and gatekeepers to use them in informal or formal learning situations. Student learning and engagement will grow through the process of learning about the work of these agricultural innovators. Virtual labs also have a capacity to reach a much larger base of people than conventional on-campus educational activities (Ray et al., 2012). The educational digital tools designed for this proposal will transcend this project and be available to a wide range of stakeholders even after the research has been completed.
Animal Health Component
40%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
0%
Applied
40%
Developmental
60%
Goals / Objectives
Long term goals: Undergraduate students will expand their identity as someone with a potential careerin agriculture and may increase their interest in pursuing a career in agriculture.Activities for Proposed ApproachConduct formative research to identify biases students have held or experienced in others regarding traditionally held biases.Produce learning tools to be used at high school and undergraduate levels which engage learners with engaging activities which:Provide interactive learning experiences within multiple disciplines and careers.Showcase traditionally marginalized agriculturalists from the history of agriculture and in modern day work.Use culturally appropriate learning methods and are accessible to large groups of learners.Engage specialists from an advisory committee to ensure developed materials are usable, of interest to educators, and convey the right messaging.Share intervention with college classrooms through introductory classes in Plant and Environmental Sciences and Viewing a Wider World courses at a land-grant university. Explore sharing with broader audiences such as high school classes, extra-curricular programs, and community organizations.Measure the impact and outcomes of the learning tools on students' interest in agricultural careers, and their sense of belonging.
Project Methods
Plan of Operation and MethodologyActivity 1: Formative Research Informing DevelopmentIn Year 1 of the project, the team will conduct formative research on biases experienced by undergraduate students, including views they have about agricultural careers or biases they experience from others. Using a participatory action model in Fall, 2021, Anna Nelson will conduct at least three focus groups to 1) Identify biases and other factors impacting student choices to pursue agricultural careers; and 2) Craft programmatic recommendations to address these biases during implementation.Subjects: At least 30 students will be recruited using convenience sampling from Plant and Environmental classes as well as from Viewing the Wider World classes--elective, entry level courses with students from various majors not limited to the College of Agriculture, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences. Students will receive small cash stipends for their participation, and all research will be approved by the NMSU Institutional Review Board, with proper consent of participants.Methods and Analysis: Focus group sessions will be recorded, with notes and recordings transcribed. Data will then be reviewed using an iterative coding framework to analyze focus group transcripts and researcher notes. First cycle coding will identify themes addressing cultural, linguistic, gender-based and other biases and factors impacting student choices to pursue agricultural careers. Second-cycle focused coding and direct quotations will frame recommendations for addressing biases during program implementation. A member check will be used to validate data by sharing some findings with participants to ensure the findings accurately reflect what was discussed.Findings and Recommendations: A final report will then be shared with the project coordinator, advisory group and design team. The researcher will also share findings with teaching faculty.Activity 2: Produce Learning ToolsThe NMSU Learning Games Lab will lead the instructional design process and development of the interactive labs and videos. The design studio maintains an interactive design process where it carefully tests designs throughout all stages of development. Based on the Transformational Design Process (Chamberlin, Schell, 2018), the team identifies the desired change in the learner (such as knowledge, action, belief, etc.), and what kinds of activities result in that change (such as questioning what is known, being surprised by new information, or understanding content in a new context). Through a design summit with content specialists, the design team considers research, and previous experiences to draft initial designs of products, establish a design document, and work through initial scripting and storyboarding. The next step in the process involves a wireframe (most basic working) prototype for the entire grant team to review and critique, and for initial formative user testing. Once approved, the team moves into full production and cycles through testing, approvals and finalizing. Through out design and development the team is tasked with maximum consideration of accessibility standards and provides a variety of alternatives for users with different needs. The last stage is delivery and distribution. The team has had well established and highly productive methods via the web and national partners. During development, the team will engage in extensive formative testing of digital tools and progressive learning spaces. NMSU's Learning Games Lab is a user-testing research space, an exploratory environment for playing, evaluating games, and educational tools. Faculty researchers, project managers, designers and programmers conduct focus groups, engage in expert review and observe pilot testing. A team member will observe 1-2 users during testing, during which time the researchers are also observed. Detailed notes are recorded on the entire engagementprocess.This project depends on the successful translation of key content areas into impactful digital learning tools. Dr. Ivette Guzman will serve as subject matter expert to help guide development of learning tools. She and Anna Nelson will serve on the design team to provide consultation with animators, programmers and instructional designers throughout the project. An advisory committee will be convened annually to provide iterative support to the project in guiding research, design of modules, and dissemination of project at completion. Letters of collaboration from all additional advisory committee personnel are included. The advisory committee will be coordinated by the SOAR Center, with findings summarized for the project team and project reports by Dr. Rachel Boren. The Advisory Committee will include:Don Edgar, PhD, is a professor in Agricultural and Extension Education, College of Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, New Mexico State University. Dr. Edgar's professional interests include methods of teaching, learner-centered instructional design, and delivery strategies. Rachel Gioannini, APLD, is an Assistant Professor, Horticulture, in Plant and Environmental Sciences, College of Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, New Mexico State University.Shelby Herrera is the Recruitment and Retention Program Coordinator for NMSU College of ACES. Working consistently with NMSU Admissions, the Departments within the College of ACES, and advising the ACES Ambassador program, she is able to recruit students from across the country and serve current NMSU students. Stephanie Hofacket is the Associate Director of Teaching and Learning, K-12 Science, Challenger Learning Center of Las Cruces Public Schools.Four student representatives will be named after funding (and recruited by Co-PD Ivette Guzman and Project Director Martinez) and will advise on general appeal and other considerations.Activity 3: Share InterventionLearning tools designed and developed through NMSU's Learning Games Lab will be freely available on a project website and demonstrated at national professional conferences, the annual HSI Project Directors Conference and the NMSU teaching academy. Project leaders will share the learning tools through introductory classes in Plant and Environmental Sciences, Viewing a Wider World classes, and programs such as the La Semilla Edible Education and learning gardens program in Las Cruces, Gadsden, and El Paso school districts. Advisory committee members who have contact with New Mexico schools will be encouraged to distribute them during recruiting events and in high school ag science programs. In addition, they will be widely distributed online (see Dissemination Plans). Past online educational tools produced by the team have been accessed more than 110 million times since 2011.Activity 4: Measure ImpactAt the end of each year and then at the end of the entire grant period, the evaluator will review the data collected to provide funders and project leadership with key statistics and other information to quantify participation and impact at each of those time points according to the outcomes of interest. This includes survey data that will be used to assess impact in year 4 with ~200 college students. This will take the form of a pre- and post- test after using the intervention (per our objectives), which will also be tallied and presented in these summative reports. All of these summative data will be compiled so that we can also assess if, and to what extent, perceptual changes occurred in students viewing and engaging with the learning tools and videos. These summative reports will primarily serve the purpose of describing the extent to which the desired outcomes were achieved by the end of the project, and will also examine if there are relationships between the interactive labs and student outcomes, differences according to student demographics, and changes in the baseline enrollment data reported elsewhere in this report.