UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY PROJECT (SCP): ENGAGING AT-RISK YOUTH THROUGH NEAR-PEER MENTORING WEARABLE TECHNOLOGIES CURRICULUM (M-TECH NEBRASKA)

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: ACTIVE
• Funding Source: 3D GRANT
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1032840
• Grant No.: 2024-41520-43157
• Cumulative Award Amt.: $87,000.00
• Proposal No.: 2024-03413
• Project Start Date: Sep 1, 2024
• Project End Date: Aug 31, 2025
• Grant Year: 2024
• Program Code: [MC]- Youth at Risk

Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA
(N/A)
LINCOLN,NE 68583

Performing Department
(N/A)

Non Technical Summary
In alignment with CYFAR goals and priorities, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Sustainable Community Project: M-TECH Nebraska seeks to help at-risk youth demonstrate knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors necessary for leading filling and contributing lives. This project will give 4th and 5th grade youth an opportunity to participate in weekly informal science activities conducted in 4-H programming. The project will incorporate the WearTec wearable technology curriculum and align Next Generation Science Standards with STEM activities. Six high school youth per semester, recruited from Grand Island Senior High School, will aid in the teaching of the elementary students during afterschool hours. Each year, 60 youth at Howard and Dodge Elementary Schools will participate in the program with 240 participants reached during the grant. The goals of M-TECH are that youth will (1) demonstrate engagement, resilience, and life skills as measured by required CYFAR common measures; (2) strengthen science identity as measured by science interest, recognition, competence, self-concept, and reflected appraisal; and (3) increase social capital as measured through the perceived quality of connections with near-peer mentors and raise the awareness of STEM opportunities among their families, who will provide an environment that supports post-secondary education leading to STEM careers. In addition, teen mentors will increase confidence in science communication and mentoring skills, and children and their families will increase knowledge about STEM career pathways, especially in the agricultural sciences. Ultimately, M-TECH Nebraska aims to inspire and empower youth to pursue a wide range of STEM and agricultural technology degrees and careers.

Animal Health Component

(N/A)

Research Effort Categories

Basic

(N/A)

Applied

(N/A)

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
802	6020	3020	100%

Knowledge Area
802 - Human Development and Family Well-Being;

Subject Of Investigation
6020 - The family and its members;

Field Of Science
3020 - Education;

Keywords

stem

youth development

informal education

near-peer teaching

Goals / Objectives
The overall goal of M-TECH Nebraska is to immerse 4th and 5th students from two predominately Hispanic Title I elementary schools in cutting-edge afterschool STEM programming at the interface of real-world problem-solving and engineering design.Short-term goals include:Youth will: demonstrate engagement, resilience, and life skills as measured by required CYFAR common measures andstrengthen science identity as measured by science interest, recognition, competence, self-concept, and reflected appraisal.Medium-term goalsinclude:Youth will increase social capital as measured through perceived quality of connections with near-peer mentors.Teen mentors will increase confidence in science communication and mentoring skills.long-term goal includes:Children and their families will increase knowledge about STEM career pathways.

Project Methods
The project team, along with community partners from Grand Island Public Schools (GIPS) and Hall County Extension, will iteratively engage with youth and their families to co-collaborate in program development to best meet their needs.Recognizing these needs, the overall goal of M-TECH Nebraska is to immerse 4th and 5th students from two predominately Hispanic Title I elementary schools in cutting-edge afterschool STEM programming at the interface of real-world problem-solving and engineering design. Experiential learning will use the peer-reviewed WearTec 4-H curriculum authored by Dr. Brad Barker, M- TECHtechonology specialist, which is aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and incorporates engineering principles. Specifically, learning activities will include wearable technology, i.e., electronic textiles or electronic accessories that can be worn, such as watches, eyeglasses, or clothing that contain electronics and a computation device.To implement the program M-TECH will utliize the near-peer programming model. High school students will be recruited from GIPS' Career Academies - a mentored educational experience designed to position students for future degrees and careers in a wide variety of fields - to serve as near-peer mentors for elementary-age youth, alongside the site leader. Prior to the afterschool programming, Nebraska (NE) 4-H Youth Development will train high school mentors on facilitating learning in informal settings, teaching STEM content, and implementing the WearTec 4-H curriculum while engaging with the elementary-age youth. This near-peer mentoring program model will provide exceptional role models and mentors to 4-5th grade students while simultaneously equipping high school students with the leadership and communication skills needed to succeed after graduation.Youth will participate in a60-minute afterschool program twice a week for 15-weeks on location at their elementary schools.

Progress 09/01/24 to 08/31/25

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for the Nebraska M-Tech project in 2024-2025 was elementary youth attending Dodge Elementary, Grand Island, NE. Recruiting for the summer school program was done by the principal at Dodge Elementary and the summer school director. All grades were recurited to participate. Changes/Problems:In the first year of CYFAR funding, the most significant challenge the project encountered was the uncertainty of future funding. The delay of the CYFAR continuation RFA impacted hiring decisions. In the original proposal the project was to hire a project coordinator six months into the first year. The PI worked with UNL Human Resourcesto start the process of hiring that position, however, during that process federal funding freezes were put in place and there was no CYFAR continuation RFA released. The PI made the decision not to hire the project coordinator until the CYFAR continuation RFA was released. Since the continuation RFA was released a project coordinator will be hired in year two. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The UNL CYFAR leadership team provided training on the curriculum and project activities to the summer school teachers during the month of May. The summer school teachers, in turn, provided training to the high school mentors. A total of four hours training was completed in the first year of the grant project. The low number of training hours are attributed to the fact that it was the first year of the grant which is a planning year. The PI of the grant and the lead evaluator attenedthe 2025 CYFAR Professional Development event in Louisville, KY. Additionally, various members of thestate leadership team participated in CYFAR webinars throughout the year. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Feedback from the summer school teachers and the teen mentors will be shared withthe UNL CYFAR Leaderhsipteam andGrand Island school administration. This feedback with be used to shape future youth STEM programming for years two to five. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?To achieve the M-Tech stated goals, we will hire a project coordinator during year two to co-lead project implementation. The UNL leadership team (including the project coordinator) and Grand Island School Schools (GIPS) will continue to co-design the program content and determine logistics of programming. As a partnership we will recruit, enroll and start informal STEM educational learning opportunities in the after school hours at Howard and Dodge Elementary schools. We will work with Grand Island High School to recruit and train high school students to be mentors and facilitators forafter school programming at Howard and Dodge Elementary. The UNL team will continue to build the relationship with GIPS administrators to ensure that the stated goals are being metfor program success. The evaluation team will conduct formal program evaluation to measure program impacts. As a collective team we will start discussions on program sustainability beyond the funding period.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Forty-five elementary youth (grades kindergarten to 4th)participated in a four week informal STEM pilot program during the month of June. They received one hour of instruction for four weeks. Enrolled students receiveda total of four hours programming. This pilot program was used to determine future curriculum content for year two to fiveand youth interest in STEM programming specifically computer coding and the use of micro:bits. Youth kepta science notebook recording theirobservations of plant growthusing various sensors monitoring soil moisture and temperature. These activities gave young people an opportunity to build their science identify. Since the total number of youth programming hours was low,it was decided not to formally evaluate youth, however, informal class observations found that youth were excited to engage in programming, quickly grasped STEM concepts, and desired future STEM learning opportunities. Three high school youth participated in programming. Based on informal observation the elementary youth enjoyed their interactions with the high school mentor. This was evidenced by the elementary youth saying that the high school mentor was, "the best." The high school mentors indicated that they are interested in continuing serving as mentors in year two of the grant project.

Publications