Source: PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY, THE submitted to
GLOBALLY AWARE AND CULTURALLY FLUENT FUTURE EDUCATORS IN FOOD SECURITY EDUCATION: CHANGING THE WORLD TOGETHER
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
ACTIVE
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1029586
Grant No.
2023-70003-38776
Cumulative Award Amt.
$750,000.00
Proposal No.
2022-06620
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Jul 1, 2023
Project End Date
Jun 30, 2026
Grant Year
2023
Program Code
[ER]- Higher Ed Challenge
Recipient Organization
PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY, THE
500 UNIVERSITY DR C1607
HERSHEY,PA 17033
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The overall goal of this project is to provide the quality of education needed to produce diverse, culturally competent teachers who can strenthen the global food and agricultural workforce. Our objectives are to:1: Develop pathways in education and outreach-oriented careers within AFNR fields for undergraduate students to develop global competency, with priority given to participants from minority, underrepresented and/or low SES backgrounds.?2: Provide opportunities for undergraduate students to experience the intersection between education, agriculture, and culture in diverse settings.3: Advance the awareness of AFNR implications of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for secondary agricultural science students.We will involve 18 students per year (6 from UIdaho, 6 from Penn State, and 6 from across the nineteen 1890s institutions) who have an interest in a career related to education/outreach that is agriculturally related. Accepted students will:• Participate in Pre-Immersion Webinars• Attend the Borlaug Dialogues in October at the World Food Prize and receive professional development on global learning related topics, and training on teaching strategies.• Develop lessons and materials related to global food security in virtual teams (a member from each institutional group).• Teach in triad groups for a full week (with representation from each institution) in domestic communities - focused on traditionally underrepresented populations.• Participate in a10-day Global Immersion as a cohort, focused on a service-project related to extending global perspectives and cultural fluency of program participants.
Animal Health Component
50%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
50%
Developmental
50%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
9036050302050%
9036099302050%
Knowledge Area
903 - Communication, Education, and Information Delivery;

Subject Of Investigation
6099 - People and communities, general/other; 6050 - Communities, areas, and regions;

Field Of Science
3020 - Education;
Goals / Objectives
Objective 1: Recruit AFNR undergraduates suited for education and outreach-oriented careers and place them in diverse teams with priority given to participants from minority, underrepresented and/or low SES backgrounds. Data to be collected includes student demographic data in addition to participant exit interviews that focus on retention and future career intentions. Interviews with representatives from the participating institutions will assess their recruitment and participant selection activities, with a specific focus on outreach to under-represented populations as well as post-project guidance in obtaining support for further education and/or job placement.Objective 2: Provide opportunities for participants to enhance their global and intercultural competence and demonstrate their ability to integrate global perspectives into curriculum developed in their multi-institutional triads. The Global Perspective Inventory (GPI), a web-based assessment of the development of a global perspective that emphasizes cognitive, intrapersonal, and interpersonal dimensions, will be used to assess overall global learning and development. The Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) or the Inventory of Cross-Cultural Sensitivity (ICCS) will be employed to assess individual growth in terms of intercultural competence and how participant perceptions may have changed because of both the intercultural curricular inputs and their practical experiences of working in their culturally diverse teams. Both assessments will be used in a pre/post format at the start of each year and at the completion of each year-long project. Lesson plans developed by the teaching partners, along with video recordings of their actual teaching, will be analyzed for their integration of global and intercultural content.Objective 3: Motivate participants to articulate connections between the UN SDGs, Food Security Education, and U.S. agricultural education mission and aims, as well as show evidence of those connections through curriculum design and delivery. Focus-group discussions involving each triad will focus on outcomes, strengths of the project and possible areas for improvement. An end-of-project written assessment will determine the degree to which participants can articulate the UN SDGs, the goals of Food Security Education and the mission and aims of the U. S. agricultural education. Lesson plans will be analyzed by grant personnel for their inclusion of these critical elements.Two weeks prior to each project stage, PIs will meet to discuss assessment data and potential modifications to the project or project components based on data and evaluator recommendations. Modifications to the project in subsequent years will be made based on data obtained in Year 1. Dissemination Plans. The work completed through this project is only effective if it can be shared with others in education and global food security networks. The outputs of this project include curriculum resources, scholarly investigation, and best practices for curriculum delivery. We plan to maximize dissemination of all project components and resources through multiple platforms including the following figure.?Partnerships and Collaborative Efforts. UIdaho, Penn State and the 1890 institutions have proven track records as institutions which provide innovative high-impact experiences for undergraduate students. While the partners are strong individually, previous partnerships between co-PIs have resulted in completion of service to secondary students, exploration of production agriculture, and expansion of high-impact experiences at both institutions. This project will allow each PI to focus on what they do best for the benefit of the project. Dr. Smith and Dr. Falk successfully lead immersion experiences and curate instructional design and curriculum development projects in Idaho, while Dr. Foster and Dr. Miller-Foster lead several high-impact international agriculture opportunities for agricultural educators across the globe and work closely with the CEGFSD, which itself has supported fifteen (15) 1890 institutions in providing immersion experiences to over 30 students within the past year alone. Collaborating with the CEGFSD is a unique opportunity to provide access to global food security education and outreach programming to all nineteen (19) of the 1890 LGIs. Dr. Tubene has expertise in connecting underrepresented students to international initiatives and can leverage his network to reach a broad spectrum of students who are currently without a direct undergraduate path to education and outreach careers in agriculture and food security.Another collaborator in this project is the Wood Food Prize Foundation (WFPF). This organization is the singular entity on the planet where scientists, producers, policymakers, educators, industry, and consumers come together to work on challenges related to ensuring access for all people to a safe and nutritious food supply. Their work on this project ensures participants are learning the most pressing items related to global food security and gives participants real-world information to share with secondary students. In addition to our partners on the proposal, there are many groups and organizations who support both the intent and implementation of the project, many of whom have contributed letters of support to supplement this narrative.
Project Methods
Plan of Operation and Methodology. There are seven main stages within each cohort year of the project: application, onboarding, and pre-immersion (OPI), global agriculture and cultural immersion (GACI), curriculum development and review (CDR), domestic cultural learning exchange (DCLE), international cultural learning exchange (ICLE) and project reflection. Stage One: Application. Participants will be selected through an online application process hosted by each institution. Rising juniors and seniors interested in education and/or outreach careers are eligible to apply. Details of the application process are shown in Figure 1. Selected applicants will be notified of their acceptance and given five days to accept or decline the invitation to the project. A signed contract of commitment will serve as official acceptance of participation in the project. Should a successful applicant decline the invitation to join the project or for some reason be unable to complete the project, the next highest ranked applicant from the partner will be asked to fill their place if deemed advantageous by the instructional teams in meeting shared educational goals. Once the cohort roster is complete, PIs will meet and randomly assign students to triad partnerships. Stage one details are shown in Table 1.Stage Two: Onboarding Meeting & Pre-Immersion (OPI). In September of each cohort year, a virtual welcome meeting will take place. Details of this stage are shown in Table 2.Stage Three: Global Agriculture and Cultural Immersion (GACI). Participants will come together for a comprehensive curriculum design and global competency workshop held in conjunction with the World Food Prize Foundation's Norman E. Borlaug International Symposium, which is a 3-day symposium that brings together international experts, policy leaders, business executives and agricultural producers to address cutting-edge issues in global food security and nutrition. The event, which takes place in Des Moines, Iowa, and regularly attracts over 1,000 participants from more than 50 countries, has been referred to as "the premier conference in the world on global agriculture." Details of the GACI stage are shown in Table 3.Stage Four: Curriculum Development & Review (CDR) Meeting. Between the end of the Borlaug Dialogue and the end of November each cohort year, participants will work in their triads to complete the global agriculture lesson plans assigned during the GACI stage. Lessons will include all components of a lesson learned in the GACI teaching workshop. In December of each cohort year, participants will come together virtually to share their triad-created lessons, as outlined below. As an extension of the CDR stage, participants will participate the Global Learning in Agriculture (GLAG) community, launched annually in February and comprised of over 1,100 educators from more than 45 nations and all 50 US states discussing global food, fiber and natural resources issues, and discuss their curriculum development process with their secondary teacher mentor.Stage Five: Domestic Cultural Learning Exchange (DCLE). Participants will spend 1-week teaching at a secondary school selected as a culturally unique location. Potential sites are further defined in the appendix through letters of support. Cohort members will travel and complete their DCLE in their triads in mid-May each year, following the end of the semester. The details of the DCLE are shown in Table 5.Stage Six: International Cultural Learning Exchange. In late May or early June each cohort year, participants will travel as a group under the guidance of PI Miller-Foster to Belize for a 1-week immersion focused on agriculture, culture, and education. The purpose of the travel to Belize is threefold: practice global competencies, engage in global food security in Belize, and teach students in an intercultural setting. Details of the ICLE are shown in Table 6.Stage Seven: Project Reflection Meeting. Following the return from the ICLE each cohort year, participants will join in a virtual meeting to debrief the DCLE and ICLE along with entire project as detailed in Table 7.

Progress 07/01/23 to 06/30/24

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for this program includes future teachers of school-based agricultural education enrolled a The Pennsylvania State University, the University of Idaho or any of the nineteen 1890s Landgrant Universities. Changes/Problems:Two specific concerns have come about in the delivery of this program in year one. State of Agricultural Teacher Education Programs in 1890s Land-Grant Institutes. While some was known, the extent was not on the lack of supporrt/identification of clear faculty champions and/or programs at 1890 LandGrant Institutes for preparing future school-based agricultural educators. This program has helped start many productive converstations around capacity building and support. Participants Homogenous Communities and Majority Cultural Backgrounds - Advancing Intercultural Communication Skills.Our experience from year one coupled with insights from our external evaluator helped us realize that increased emphasis in the curriculum on intercultural communication skills as well as conflict resolution was needed. In addition, timing of forming the diverse traid teams was revisited to allow more time for skill development in these content areas. As a team, we also identified the need for a representative 1890s agricultural teacher educator with high school agricultural teaching experience to be on the instructional team and in the delivery of the content. Our orginial 1890s faculty partners did not have the background/experience to pull from in conversation regarding teaching in high school-settings, however, they were extremely helpful in identifying at Alcorn State a great partner to allow us to meet this need in moment. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? October 2023- six day custom experience in Des Moines, IA as part of the World Food Prize Foundation Borlaug Dialogue Fall 20233-credit course exploring these issues delivered via Zoom. November 2023 - Host Site Teacher Online Training in Effective Mentoring Spring 2024 3-credit course via zoom refining perspectives. March 2024 - 5-days of Global Food Security Instruction to secondary students inthe following unique communities with school-based agricultural eduction programs: Wayne County, Utah San Luis Obispo, California Redland Middle School, Florida Davis High School, Texas American Falls High School, Idaho Nelson County School District, Kentucky April 2024 - Post-Immersion Host Teacher Training on Reflective Practice via Zoom May 2024 - Created and delivered a custom 7-day international experience for US studentsexploring Indigenious Knowledge in Agricultural and Extension Education in Belize, May 2024 - Seminar on Sustainable Agriculture for students from Independence High School and Indepenence Junior College in Belize How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The impact of year 1 has been shared primarily in three venues: Online Community of Practice- GTAN: Participants have engaged and shared in the Global Teach Ag Network (GTAN) Community about their experiences and lessons learned. This community has over 1700 educators from 48 states and 55 countries as members. Link:https://globalteachagnetwork.psu.edu/homepage/glag/ On-Campus Presentations: Students and faculty have shared various presentations at the department, college and university level at Penn State, Idaho and within the 1890s community. Academic Presentations and Posters: As a team, we shared our work at the North American Colleges of Teachers & Agriculture (NACTA), and at both regional and National conferences of the American Association for Agricultural Education (AAAE)? Academic Presentations Sullivan, M., Foster, D. D., Miller Foster, M. J., Smith, K., Cushner, K., & Rice, L. (2024, October). Exploring Global Competence: A Preliminary Analysis of a Pre-Service Teacher Candidates Belizean Immersive Agricultural Education Experience. North Central Region of American Association of Agricultural Education, Tulsa, Oklahoma. Sullivan, M., Smith, K., Foster, D. D., Miller Foster, M., & Falk, J.(2024, June). Global Citizenship: Change in Undergraduates from a High Impact Experience. North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture, Wooster, Ohio. Sullivan, M., Smith, K., Foster, D. D., Miller Foster, M. J., & Falk, J. (2024, May). Global Citizenship: Change in Agricultural Teacher Candidates from a High Impact Experience.American Association for Agricultural Education, Manhattan, KS. Academic Posters Sullivan, M., Smith, K., Foster, D. D., & McCubbins, O.(2024, June). Show Me: Student agency in learning evaluation of immersion experiences utilizing Goosechase. A poster presentation for the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture, Wooster, OH. Sullivan, M., Foster, D. D., Smith, A., Lawver, B. Spiess, M., & Rogers, A. (2024, May).Representation matters: The 1890 land grant institution's role in school-based agricultural education supply and demand.American Association of Agricultural Educators, Manhattan, KS. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will conduct a mid-point project team meeting face-to-face in Wooster, Ohio upon the completion of the NACTA annual conference to revise/refine the prgoram for the final two cohorts. We will continue to collect data on program impact and advance scholarly work to peer review journal publications as well as continue to document and share in academic conferences.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1: Recruit AFNR undergraduates suited for education and outreach-oriented careers and place them in diverse teams with priority given to participants from minority, underrepresented and/or low SES backgrounds In Year 1 of this three year project, we successfully developed the protocol for recruitment, review, and selection of participants. We engaged the Council of Deans forthe 1890s Land-Grant Institutions through our grant partners of Dr. Stephen Tubene, UMES and Dr. Olga Bolden Tiller, Tuskegee We had participants apply from the following 1890s institutions: North Carolina A&T Kentucky State University Tuskegee University of Maryland-Eastern Shore Participants were selected and completed the program from Kentucky State, Tuskegee, and UMES. Objective 2:Provide opportunities for participants to enhance their global and intercultural competence and demonstrate their ability to integrate global perspectives into curriculum developed in their multi-institutional triads Accomplishment include leading high impact learning experiences including: October 2023- six day custom experience in Des Moines, IA as part of the World Food Prize Foundation Borlaug Dialogue Fall 3-credit course exploring these issues delivered via Zoom. Spring 3-credit course via zoom refining perspectives. Placement of six triad teams to teach in the following unique communities in school-based agricultural eduction programs: Wayne County, Utah San Luis Obispo, California Redland Middle School, Florida Davis High School, Texas American Falls High School, Idaho Nelson County School District, Kentucky Created and delivered a custom 7-day international experience exploring Indigenious Knowledge in Agricultural and Extension Education in Belize, conducting a shared seminar with Independence Junior College. Objective 3: Motivate participants to articulate connections between the UN SDGs, Food Security Education, and U.S. agricultural education mission and aims, as well as show evidence of those connections through curriculum design and delivery. Our external evaluator, Ken Cushner, provided this report: I have solicited feedback from project participants in the following ways: Pre and post assessments using the GPI (Global Perspectives Inventory) and GCI (Global Citizenship Inventory) for Cohort 3, and based on feedback from Cohort 3, added the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) to assess changes in intercultural competence for Cohort 4. Reflection questions emailed to all students in each cohort after the first 4 weeks of the program to assess their immediate reaction to program components, what is working, and where attention needs to be given. Reflection questions emailed to all students immediately after immersion 1 - Iowa experience. Small (3-member) focus groups were interviewed in Cohort 3. Post-teaching immersion reflection conduced with Cohort 3 (Cohort 4 will be assessed in March/April 2025). Post-Belize immersion written feedback collected on the experience along with post-tests using the GPI and GCI (addition of the IDI with Cohort 4). Feedback from students document their overall satisfaction with the program and benefits accrued. Some examples follow: Many report that the program provides firsthand impactful experiences which have influenced their perspectives on cultural diversity. Most participants who come from relatively homogeneous communities and majority-culture backgrounds found the interpersonal interaction with those from the 1890 schools as well as teaching in different communities from their own to be a very positive experience that reshaped their understanding of diversity. They appreciated the opportunity to engage with diverse groups and learn from different opinions while recognizing the role they can play as teachers in fostering productivity, understanding, and respect of others. Additionally, a few recognized the important role that agricultural education programs can have in urban areas with diverse populations. Many reflect new insights into global issues and perspectives - specifically food security, sustainability, access to education, and the importance of a supportive community, with some stating that teaching others about global citizenship strengthened their own identity as global citizens and knowledge about global issues. Additionally, some expressed a sense of empowerment and the belief that teaching can make a difference in promoting global citizenship and addressing global concerns. I continue to be impressed with both the program delivery as well as the responsiveness with which the entire instructional team takes in response to student feedback. A few examples of the instructional team's response to feedback follow: Although feedback regarding diversity was for the most part positive, this was not always the case, especially early in Cohort 3's program when some students encountered tense intercultural interactions reporting instances of bias, lack of cultural exposure, and the need to create safe cross-cultural spaces. Some students suggested enhancing the intercultural component of the program, both in terms of domestic diversity and for the experience in Belize. In response, the instructional team developed a more intentional and focused curriculum around issues of diversity that were revisited throughout Cohort 4's program, providing repeated opportunities for reflection and dialogue. Additionally, attempts are being made to integrate a virtual connection with Belizean students prior to the immersion experience. The first couple of months are carried out entirely in a virtual context, thus making it difficult to build community and develop deep, interpersonal relationships. In response, teaching triads were established before the Iowa immersion for Cohort 4 so students could connect with their teaching teammates before their firsthand encounter. This proved very successful with Cohort 4. The posttest GPI results for Cohort 3 indicated gains on 7 of 12 subscales; the GCI results were inconclusive. An additional assessment instrument, the Intercultural development Inventory (IDI) was added for Cohort 4 providing both a valid measure of intercultural competence as well as a framework to guide curriculum development. All in all, I continue to be impressed by the professional approach, enthusiasm and seriousness with which the instructional team, especially Drs. Foster and Miller Foster, approach the GOALS projects. Kenneth Cushner November 23, 2024

Publications