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Building Capacity for Quality SET Programs

New York State 4-H Foundation Grant Proposal 2010

I. Cover Sheet

  • Application date: November 1, 2009
  • Title of Program: Building Capacity for Quality SET Programs
  • Applicant organization name and contact information (address, telephone, fax):
  • Applicant: CCE 4-H Youth Development Statewide SET PWT
  • Lead authors: Co-Chairs – Kelly Radzik, CCE Columbia County; Susan Hoskins, Cornell Crop & Soil Sciences; Past Chair – Charlotte Coffman, Cornell Fiber Science & Apparel Design; State 4-H Office SET Liaison – Celeste Carmichael
  • Department Submitting: CCE Administration, State 4-H Youth Development

340 Roberts Hall

Ithaca, NY 14853

607-255-0896

Fax 607-255-0788

  • Contact person’s name, title and contact information including email
  • Celeste Carmichael, State 4-H Program Specialist

CCE Administration, State 4-H Youth Development

340 Roberts Hall

Ithaca, NY 14853

607-255-4799

Fax 607-255-0788

  • Dollar amount of funding request: $9,850
  • Total program budget:$19,050
  • Period this funding request will cover: January 1, 2010 – December 31, 2010
  • Purpose of funding request including program goals, target population, number of individuals and geographic area that will benefit from program:
  • Program Goals: Increase the capacity of CCE 4-H Educators to present quality SET Programs in order to increase the number of SET programs offered in NYS 4-H Programs, and thus increase the number of youth participating in SET projects.
  • Objectives:
  • Enhance the 4-H Science Toolkit curriculum, and make it accessible as intended – as an easy to access, out of school time hands-on science curriculum that inspires staff, volunteers and youth to choose SET as a topic area.
  • Train Educators to use the 4-H Science Toolkit with both on-line training components and face to face trainings.
  • Instruct Educators in how to prepare successful SET programs, and how to reach out to underserved audiences with SET.
  • Target Population: The primary audience for this proposal is CCE Educators. Our goal is to better prepare staff so that they more actively and intentionally reach out to youth participating in 4-H SET projects through a variety of delivery methods including: club, after school, events/activities, and camp.
  • Signatures and titles of contact person, supervisor and Executive Director or Department Chair

Contact Person:

Celeste Carmichael, State 4-H Program Specialist

Supervisor:

Barb Schirmer, State 4-H Program Leader

II. Narrative:

Need: Now, more than ever, we must ensure that our nation’s youth develop the necessary SET competencies and abilities for the US to remain competitive in the 21st century. Out-of-School-time (OST) programs in SET are an outstanding(and underutilized) complement to the formal instruction and education young people receive in these disciplines during school hours. OST programs have a proven capacity to deepen a young person’s connection to SET and can foster the kinds of high-tech as well as high-touch skills that are attractive to employers in the sector. These programs can also expand SET experiences to underrepresented audiences, potentially improving the diversity of America’s talent pipeline. The collaborative approach, which is a hallmark of OST programs, leverages the resources of both private and public sector partners in new and creative ways (Kress, 2008).

4-H Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) combines the strengths of 4-H programming and non-formal, experiential-based delivery modes with strong youth-adult partnerships to address content as defined by the National Education Science Standards in order to prepare youth to compete in the 21st century workplace. The National Academies (2006) found that a particular barrier to engaging young people in SET is that they are often confronted with adults who have a “disdain for science and mathematics.” A well-trained cadre of caring youth development professionals and adult volunteers will mean the 4-H Science, Engineering and Technology Program is well positioned as one solution to this challenge.

The 4-H Science Toolkit was specifically designed in an easily-implemented format for six-hour OST 4-H programs (afterschool, camp, etc.). Yet CCE educators are requesting training in the general methods associated with the Toolkit: fostering inquiry, facilitating experiential learning, and general science concepts. To truly make this curriculum effective, additional content and training are required. Only then will this project contribute to the state and national goals for the SET Mission Mandate by increasing the comfort level and capacity of CCE educators to implement all types of SET programs.

In January of 2009 the State 4-H Office designed a SET Reporting tool to evaluate the instance of SET programming, program focal point, audiences and delivery methods. The reports turned in to date indicate that while counties are offering SET experiences to youth, few are meeting key criteria for program effectiveness like the minimum number of instructional hours (six) or use of research-based SET curricula.

This project will support the core mission of the SET Program Work Team as they continue to cultivate relationships with established partners (including the following Cornell Departments: Animal Science, FSAD, Entomology, Crop and Soil Sciences, Space Research, and PRI), and establish new ones. It will also dovetail well with the Evaluation Partnership Program (EPP) administered by CORE, which is currently conducting research on the 4-H SET program and teaching the core components of program evaluation to participating counties.

Measurable program goals/outcomes: Building Capacity for Quality SET Programs meets the SET mission mandate, SET statewide program plan and national program priority. This project sets out to:

  • Complete writing, editing, and learning standard correlation of seven units of the Science Toolkit
  • Train 50 CCE educators in the use of the curriculum and application of appropriate science education methods
  • Make a full 8 Science Toolkit units and related training resources available through the web and promote at regional, state and national 4-H trainings.

Implementation plan including any collaborative efforts/partners; staff and volunteer involvement; program content and activities; timeframe

The SET PWT will be focused on two distinct action plans: completing the curriculum and providing supporting SET profession development to CCE Educators.

Completion of the Curriculum: The Work Team will support the unit writing teams by making funds available for conference calls and providing an education specialist to align the activities to NYS Learning Standards. A Web Manager will be provided to transform the activities into downloadable pdfs, post them on the State 4-H Office website, and collect and manage data associated with the use of the web materials.The State 4-H Office will also be providing editorial support for content.

Professional Development: The Work Team will survey CCE 4-H Educators about their priorities for SET training on the various Toolkit units, and formats for in-depth six-hour trainings offered at the District Level. All trainings will include an introductory module which focuses on best practices of non-formal SET programming and the SET abilities (as defined by the National SET Mission Mandate) as well as a module on attracting and working with diverse audiences. These two modules will be made available in a PowerPoint Format for educators to use with their program staff and volunteers and provide an emphasis on being intentional in our efforts to increase the SET abilities of our participants. Current training opportunities within the 4-H Science Toolkit include: Geospatial Science, Astronomy, Lost Ladybugs, Climate in Your Backyard, Animal Science, Flight, and Entomology.

Timeline:

Jan 10 to April 10:Writing teams will complete units.

Learning Standards will be correlated.

Final lessons will be added to the web page.

PWT members will survey Districts on their training needs/interests.

May 10 to Oct 10 District Trainings will be offered by the “Toolkit Core Team,”

who will coordinate with the appropriate campus and county staff

to provide in-depth training. The expanded curriculum will be

premiered at the NYS 4-H Conference. Website will be populated

with expanded resources.

Oct 10 to Dec 10Districts will be surveyed with follow-up evaluation to determine

program effectiveness, impact and further training needs.

Staff and collaborative efforts/partners: SET PWT co-chairs and liaison, and authors are considered to be the Core members of this project, SET PWT members are partners in recruitment and communication, and the Cornell K-12 STEM Outreach team serves as an extended collaborative team members.

Integration: This project will become integrated into the statewide 4-H SET Plan, the State 4-H Office Plan of Work, and into the evaluation partnership plan focused on 4-H SET.

Plans to sustain the program beyond the funding period:Both the curriculum writing project and the professional development modules will serve as models for future projects. As we evaluate and define the effectiveness of the "Toolkit" units, the PWT will be able to make decisions about using this method as a viable way to provide up-to-date science content in an easy-to-access, time-sensitive format. Our methodology in providing District-level, six-hour trainings will also be evaluated for effectiveness and will be modified based on participant and presenter feedback. Designated PWT funding could possibly support the continuation of either of these projects.

Evaluation plan including how achievement of outcomes will be measured, who will conduct evaluation, timeframe: The comprehensive assessment plan includes both formative and summative evaluations. Although the existing activities have been pilot tested, they will continue to be updated as more participants use them and provide feedback via an online system. The new activities will be evaluated using the same forms that were employed earlier with the existing activities.

The workshops will be evaluated immediately with a paper and pencil instrument to make certain that all participants respond, that their responses are fresh, and that the workshop leaders have timely access in order to use the suggestions from the early workshops to improve the ones that follow.

A separate pre- and post-test will be administered at the workshops to evaluate participants’ understanding of the basic SET and diversity modules. Attention will focus on how SET activities currently are selected and taught compared to the participants’ plans for future SET activities. Workshop participants will be trained to use a “SET-by-intention” tool that assists educators in purposefully integrating SET competencies into their youth programs.

Six months after the workshops, an outside evaluator will follow up with youth development educators via email and telephone. Educators will be asked which SET activities they are using, what changes they have made in implementing SET at the county level, whether the “SET-by-intention” tool was useful, their impressions of the youth involvement, and their suggestions for implementing the basic SET and diversity modules and the Science Toolkit.

Plan for reporting program outcomes, both internally and externally:

Building Capacity for Quality SET Programs is intended to help educators to learn to be more intentional about program planning, specifically around SET program planning. Based on reported needs and the SET reporting tool – there is significant need and interest in this topic.

Results from this project will be promoted to NYS 4-H Educators through a variety of means including: the Youth Educator List Serve, the NYS 4-H Website, the NYS4-HE Newsletter – News & Views, a workshop at the 2010 NYS4-HE conference.

III. Budget

Building Capacity for Quality SET Programs

Duration of Program: January 1, 2010 – December 31, 2010

*NYS 4-H Foundation funds cannot be used to provide stipends, replacement or supplemental salaries of exempt, salaried Extension staff.

4-H
Foundation
Funds / Other
Funds / In-Kind
Contributions
Income / $9,850 / $9,200
Authors & Workshop Leaders: Assuming $20/staff hour, standard for “teacher” level
In-progress 14 activities: In-progress 14 activities X 8 hrs X $20 =
New 12 activitiesProposed new 12 activities X 16 hrs X $20 =
Basic SET and diversity modules
Workshop leaders
16 hours X 2 leaders X 6 workshops X $20/hr = / $ 2,000
$ 4,000
$ 2,000
$1,200
Expenses
Salaries
Website Manager, student working with the State 4-H Office Staff - (format, post and maintain activities on the NYS 4-H website)
Consultant/Professional Fees
Education Specialist (align NYS Learning Standards with activities)
Evaluator / $ 1,200
$ 1,200
$ 3,000
Operations
Travel
Six district workshops. Two trainers/workshop.
Assuming one night lodging ($50) + 4 meals ($50) + gasoline for 200-mile RT @ 55¢/mile ($110) = $220 X 2 trainers = $440 X 6 workshops = $2640 + tolls and misc = $2800
Equipment
Teaching materials
Workshop and pilot testing supplies such as glue, paper, chemicals, straws, milk, balls, ziplock bags, foods, bowls, scissors, markers, yarn, magnifying lens, gloves, etc. for leading experiential activities
Workshop supplies such as references, manipulatives, and CDs for teaching SET abilities and Learning Standards modules
Assuming 25 participants per workshop
Office supplies
Printing and Copying
Pilot testing handouts – includes activity instructions, evaluation forms, and SET abilities materials for pilot testing, and evaluation.
Posters and bookmarks for conference presentations
Communication
Teleconferences for developing new activities
Telephone charges for evaluation / $ 2,800
None
$ 700
$ 150
None
$ 400
$ 150
$ 150
$ 100 / Computers, printers, cameras, etc. provided by PWT member’s unit.
Basic office supplies provided by
PWT members’ units.

Other Sources of Funds: Staff time from authors, collaborators and the CCE Administration 4-H Youth Development staff.

Minimum Acceptable Request

In the event that full funding is not available, could this program be conducted in a modified form?

Minimum acceptable request: $6,850

Describe impact of reduced funding: The number of district workshops would be reduced from 6 to 3. Although we would encourage two districts to co-sponsor a workshop, such an arrangement would reduce the number of participants due to increased driving time and increased time away from the office. It would also limit the ability of a district to offer units requested by their staff/volunteers because the unit selection would be a compromise between sponsoring districts. Additionally, the two proposed new units would not be developed.

Assuming these reductions – Website Manager (-$400); Education Specialist (-$400); Evaluator (-$200); Travel (-$1400); Teaching Materials (-$300); Printing (-$200); Teleconferences (-$150). $9850 - $3050 = $6,800.

4-H SET PWT Proposal to NYS 4-H Foundation

Building Capacity for Quality SET Programs