Progress 09/15/23 to 09/14/24
Outputs
Target Audience:The primary target audience is the community of the SMILE (Science and Math Investigative Learning Experiences) Program educators. During the reporting period: 2023-2024 school year: 72 educators across Oregon in 18 school districts (16 rural; 2 urban). There were 34 elementary school educators, 19 middle school educators, and 17 high school educators. 2024-2025 school year: 78 educators across Oregon in 18 school districts (16 rural; 2urban). There are 39 elementary school educators, 25 middle school educators, and 15 high school educators. The secondary target audience are the 4th - 12th grade students who participate in the SMILE Clubs. These students are from populations that are historically underrepresented and underserved in STEM. SMILE Clubs hold weekly, after school club meetings and annual events, including field trips and Community Nights, and college connection events. There are 1,100 students in SMILE Clubs in the current 2024-2025 school year. Student demographics for the 2023-2024 school year (942 students): Elementary School: 495 students Middle School: 262 students High School: 185 students 60% of students identify as female, 93% are from low-income families, and 30% are students who would be the first person in their family to attend college. Racial/Ethnicity self-identification: 41% white, 38% Hispanic/Latino/a, 15% multiracial, 2% Indigenous/Native American/Alaska Native, 2% Asian, 1% Black/African American, and 1% Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander. Changes/Problems:To meet our undergraduate recruitment goals for our curriculum development, we expanded the short-form video student fellowships to a broader pool of students. The application process opened earlier this year and will close on November 30, 2024. We anticipate selecting three fellows from the applicant pool. Initially, recruitment efforts targeted OSU MANNRS students and resulted in only one applicant. However, since expanding the recruitment pool to include New Media Communication Students in September 2024, we have successfully increased the number of applicants to six. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?To date we have offered three professional development workshops for teachers, with each workshop including "Adaptive Agriculture in a Climate Emergency" activities: January 2024 SMILE Teacher Workshop, held January 26-27. PD Jay Well led focus groups to determine specific adaptive agriculture focus. May 2024 SMILE Teacher Workshop, held May 16-18. PD Jay Well led focus groups on multilingual strategies for content-related lessons. August 2024 SMILE Teacher Workshop, held August 4-7. PD Jay Well delivered educator professional development sessions on the two lesson modules: The "Mythology of Corn" and "Making the Plants We Eat". During the professional development sessions ES, MS, and HS teachers received scaffolded curriculum as well as materials to pilot the lessons. The lessons will be piloted in 50 schools (51 SMILE Clubs) during the 2024-2025 school year. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The pilot curriculum is currently being tested in 50 schools (51 SMILE Clubs) across Oregon, with additional short-form video content under development. Teachers piloting the curriculum modules provide feedback through online logs and student artifacts, both during the piloting phase and at two upcoming professional development workshops in January and May 2025. This feedback, along with the student artifacts, will inform refinements to the modules. Once finalized, short-form videos will be integrated into the curriculum to enhance teacher and student engagement and serve as a tool for broader dissemination. The finalized curriculum will be shared statewide through the annual SMILE Teacher Workshops, reaching at least 78 teachers. The curriculum will also be made accessible on the SMILE website as a comprehensive resource package, including lesson plans, student guides, worksheets, short-form videos and instructional videos to support classroom implementation. In addition, it will be promoted via SMILE's social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn. To extend its reach, the curriculum will be presented at key Oregon conferences, including the Agriculture Educators Association Conference, Oregon FFA Convention, and Oregon Science Teachers Association. This multifaceted dissemination plan ensures that the curriculum will effectively reach both traditional and non-traditional educators across diverse contexts, including classroom instruction, after-school programs, and extracurricular activities. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Curriculum Development. Mr. Well continues to advance and refine the curriculum development process. By July 2025, three OSU MANNRS/New Media Communications students will have collaborated to complete short-form video content designed to engage students in grades 3-12 in the existing curriculum. Teacher feedback on the curriculum will be gathered during the January and May 2025 workshops, ensuring the content is responsive to educator needs. The finalized curriculum and short-form videos and accompanying materials will be distributed to teachers during the SMILE professional development workshops in August 2025. USDA Directors Meeting. PD Well will be attending the next directors meeting in April 2025. Content-Related Field Trips. By June 2025, at least 21 SMILE Clubs will participate in content-related field trips.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
At the January 2024 SMILE Teacher Workshop, PD Jay Well led focus groups to determine the specific adaptive agricultural focus for this program. Mr. Well developed the curriculum with a College of Agriculture undergraduate student over Spring Term 2024. This student was paid out of another funding source so it is not reflected in the grant expenses. The content developed was provided to teachers during the August 2024 workshop and is currently being delivered to 3-12 grade students in 50 schools (51 afterschool STEM Clubs) in rural communities across Oregon. The initial educational content needed to be developed before working with Oregon State University MANRRS (Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences) students on developing short-form videos that will be used to engage 3-12th grade students in the curriculum. All the curriculum modules, and video footage we developed in partnership with MANRRS students. PD Well has met with the OSU MANRRS advisors and students in early September 2024 in order to recruit students for engagement. In addition PD well is working with OSU New Media Communications to recruit additional students to work on short-form videos that will support the curriculum modules. Applications for students will close on November 30, with students hired early Winter Term 2025. Outreach has been conducted to OSU Extension offices from the seven counties in Oregon where SMILE clubs are located, to organize ag-based field trips for SMILE clubs. We now have 25 opportunities, ranging from agricultural experimental Stations like the Malheur Experiment Station to farms offering school field trips such as the Garden Program run by the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians. In September 2024, one Eastern Oregon SMILE Club has already completed their field trip to a local Apple Orchard. During the field trip the students learned about small scale farming, fruit storage and processing, as well as agritourism. Other SMILE clubs have begun planning their content-related field trips and are working with program staff to schedule the trips during the 2024-2025 school year.
Publications
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