Sometimes the media shares great examples of research and extension connecting and Extension extending…
Just in case you missed this article which focuses on the important work the Opioid PWT co-chairs Anna Steinkraus, Juliana Garcia, and Dr. Elizabeth Day have been working on for the last couple years.
Congrats to their team! We just wanted to share. Research partnership supports NYS families fighting opioids | Cornell Chronicle
2021 Summer Gathering for 5-H and Epsilon Sigma Phi
When: Tuesday, August 10, 2021
Where: Myers Landing Park – Lansing, NY
Time: 12:00 (Noon)- til
Details:
RSVP: By August 1, 2021
Looking forward to seeing everyone this summer!
Hopefully you are all doing
well and your lives are beginning to return to a somewhat more normal existence. It’s been great to gradually get out to see friends and family that we haven’t seen in person in over a year and getting all of us ESP members and 5-H’ers together this summer is on my mind. We have reserved our usual pavilion at Myers Landing Park in Lansing for Tuesday, August 10 at noon. I’ll send more details as we get closer to the date, but for now, save the date! Looking forward to a good day with good friends. (Written by Tom Dumas, Lead 5-H’er and friend to ESP)
As an extension educator with quality needed programing, I was confronted with low program participation. I question, is it the program topic or the marketing of the program?
Seth Godin is an author, entrepreneur, and a teacher. Through his renowned writing and speaking, Seth has launched one of the most popular blogs in the world.
What I respected most about this book, is it challenged me to think differently about my educational program design. Seth made me realize that my job is to create meetings and programs that encourage and support meaningful participation for every participant.
However, getting the participants in is he first step .
By: Bonnie Collins. Bonnie is Ag Program Leader for CCE Madison County and the the Professional Development Chair for the ESP Lambda Chapter.
Visit the ESP website to register for the webinars. https://espnational.org/Webinars
MAY 25, 1:00 PM ET: Innovative Methods to Evaluate Higher Learning by Youth
Presented by: Cindy Kinder, Theta Chapter, Idaho
New evaluation methods show Extension programs have impact on higher levels of learning. Presenters will explain evaluation methods of Group Mapping and TAPPS Video Methods including how to structure programs to facilitate participants ability to apply knowledge learned.
JUNE 29, 1:00 PM ET: Health Insurance Options for Farmers and Small Businesses
Presented by: Jesse Ketterman, Tau Chapter, Maryland
With high costs of health care and the negative impacts of COVID-19 with some farmers losing off-farm employment, farmers and small business owners struggle to identify reasonably cost health insurance. This workshop discusses various options and explores considerations when purchasing insurance.
JULY 27, 1:00 PM ET: Smoking and Grilling Foods
Presented by: Surine Greenway, Theta Chapter, Idaho
A cross-discipline, hands-on “Smoking and Grilling Foods” workshop was developed and implemented in Idaho. Co-taught by Family & Consumer Sciences and Agriculture Extension Educators, this two-part workshop focuses on meat science and selection, keeping food safe, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) meat quality grades, and cooking methods.
AUGUST 31, 1:00 PM ET: Impacting Food Insecurity: Extension’s ‘Grow & Give’ Modern Victory Garden work
Presented by: Katie Dunker, Zeta Chapter, Colorado
CSU’s Grow & Give project sets the tone for what tangible impact looks like through a statewide initiative. Learn how you can:
• Impact food insecurity by engaging the public and volunteers
• Improve resources & access for growing food
• Establish new partnerships that will last beyond the pandemic
SEPTEMBER 28, 1:00 PM ET: Conflict and You: How to Deal with It!
Presented by: Jamie Morris, Tau Chapter, Maryland
Conflict is natural in almost all interpersonal relationships, but the ability to manage oneself or the conflict is not. Learning how to recognize a conflict and our conflict signals as they arise can help individuals to choose constructive responses that can leads toward de-escalation and potentially a more positive outcome.
2020 was a mind-bending, challenging year for most. A colleague recently recommended Deep Work, by Cal Newport as I complained that “man, there are so many things getting in the way of my big projects this year”. I’ve been listening to this one as I walk the dog in the morning – and happy to say – I am inspired.
Newport connects research and practice in this book and shares some boots-on-the-ground suggestions for starting new habits and curbing some not-so-good ones. In this promo, he shares, “When you’re trying to be productive, are you easily distracted by wandering thoughts or urges? Do you mindlessly open up your favorite website or app, craving novelty or fearing you’re missing out? Do you wish you could focus better, spending hours more per day driving toward your most important goals? Deep Work teaches you how to develop your focus and resist distractions. Focus is like a mental muscle – you need to structure training sessions and push yourself to your mental limit to increase your focus capacity. Implement the strategies in this Deep Work summary, and you’ll be more productive than you’ve ever been.” Excellent resource, and tips.
It might make you knowingly nod to hear that researchers have proven that Zoom fatigue is a real thing. While I’m not suggesting that we don’t Zoom – frankly, Zoom saved our programs this last year – I am suggesting that we take note of known problems and solutions as we teach, learn, and connect.
Prompted by the recent boom in videoconferencing, communication Professor Jeremy Bailenson, founding director of the Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab (VHIL), examined the psychological consequences of spending hours per day on these platforms. The full article is here. A summary can be found below:
1) Excessive amounts of close-up eye contact is highly intense. Turns out that when someone’s face is that close to ours in real life, our brains interpret it as an intense situation.
Solution: Until the platforms change their interface, Bailenson recommends taking Zoom out of the full-screen option and reducing the size of the Zoom window relative to the monitor to minimize face size, and to use an external keyboard to allow an increase in the personal space bubble between oneself and the grid.
2) Seeing yourself during video chats constantly in real-time is fatiguing.
Most video platforms show a square of what you look like on camera during a chat. Studies indicate that when you see a reflection of yourself, you are more critical of yourself. Many of us are now seeing ourselves on video chats for many hours every day.
Solution: Bailenson recommends that platforms change the default practice of beaming the video to both self and others, when it only needs to be sent to others. In the meantime, users should use the “hide self-view” button, which one can access by right-clicking their own photo, once they see their face is framed properly in the video.
3) Video chats dramatically reduce our usual mobility.
In-person and audio phone conversations allow humans to walk around and move. “There’s a growing research now that says when people are moving, they’re performing better cognitively,” Bailenson said.
Solution: Bailenson recommends people think more about the room they’re videoconferencing in, where the camera is positioned and whether things like an external keyboard can help create distance or flexibility. For example, an external camera farther away from the screen will allow you to pace and doodle in virtual meetings just like we do in real ones. And of course, turning one’s video off periodically during meetings is a good ground rule to set for groups, just to give oneself a brief nonverbal rest.
4) The cognitive load is much higher in video chats.
Bailenson notes that in regular face-to-face interaction, nonverbal communication is quite natural and each of us naturally makes and interprets gestures and nonverbal cues subconsciously. But in video chats, we have to work harder to send and receive signals. For example, if you want to show someone that you are agreeing with them, you have to do an exaggerated nod or put your thumbs up. That adds cognitive load as you’re using mental calories in order to communicate.”
Solution: During long stretches of meetings, give yourself an “audio only” break. “This is not simply you turning off your camera to take a break from having to be nonverbally active, but also turning your body away from the screen,” Bailenson said, “so that for a few minutes you are not smothered with gestures that are perceptually realistic but socially meaningless.”
No surprise, research and practices are beginning to roll in about online teaching and learning. In a recent edition of CBE – Life Sciences Education (LSE) research and best practices were shared around teaching equitably in synchronous online classes (Reinholz et al., 2020). While Extension teaching is non-formal, a quick review of the article will likely affirm and may help to inspire inclusive and equitable teaching practices.
Research indicates that instructors have adopted a range of practices to promote equitable participation online. Key practices related to social presence, teaching presence, and cognitive presence include: 1) (re)-establishing norms, 2) using participant names, 3) using breakout rooms, 4) leveraging chat-based participation, 5) using polling software, 6) creating an inclusive curriculum, and 7) cutting content to maintain rigor. The article shared the research approach and results. Below are a few personal insights to the practices that relate to our collective Extension work.
Re-establishing Norms. For some in Extension this may mean establishing norms for online teaching and learning. There is comfort for participants knowing what to expect, how they will be welcomed and how they will communicate in the session. For example – do you want participants to have cameras on if they can? Should they raise their hand or use chat to converse? Will you use annotation tools? Talk about your expectations, practice them within your group, revisit your group practice…it is mostly about making others conformable and feeling welcomed.
Using Student Names. Distance education does not have to be socially distant (what a concept!). Research indicates, and I bet your human experience may feel the same…people like to be called by name. It is possible that you have not met before in person and that you may not get the pronunciation right the first time…but data suggests that trying to use names is welcoming to participants.
Use Breakout Rooms. Zoom breakout rooms are not the answer to everything, but they can provide the one on one conversation and deeper understanding that happens with small group discussions. If you are teaching a workshop online, and haven’t played with break-out rooms – try it! More and more of our Extension colleagues (and participants) are becoming comfortable with using breakout rooms.
Leveraging Chat-Based Participation. The interest is in engaging your audience and helping them be present to what you are sharing. As Reinholz shares in the article, “chat is a very flexible method for broadening participation (related to teaching presence)”. It is simple, and accessible. Why not ask a question and have dialogue in the chat? Or name co-teachers to monitor the chat and respond to the questions?
Using Polling Software. There are many options available for polling, including hosting a poll within zoom. That said, often we are hosting a meeting and are interested in creating a word cloud or other visualizations. If you are interested in polls, know that Poll Everwhere is supported by CIT https://teaching.cornell.edu/resource/poll-everywhere For full access, complete the request form found here: https://cornell.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3Qmr0bsnhijpxmR
No doubt, polls engage the audience, and the data can be useful to you moving forward.
Creating an Inclusive Curriculum. In a perfect world, creating a culture for inclusivity begins as you create curriculum, projects, and programs. Use guiding principles for inclusivity as you prepare core content, workshop announcements, etc. Consider adding information about your approach to inclusivity to your website and resources. I don’t know about you, but this is one I need to work on :).
Cutting Content to Maintain Rigor. As Reinholz et al. have shared, “Instructors noted the lack of time in moving online”. That sentiment goes for students as well. Students share that it can feel overwhelming to have to read, watch, and communicate in an online environment. Too much information is not a new challenge to Extension staff – we get excited! The practice of cutting content is intended to share the critical content for participants to help you as the instructor to meet your objectives. Good to keep this in mind and possibly sharing “recommended readings”.
Reinholz, D. L., Stone-Johnstone, A., White, I., Sianez Jr, L. M., & Shah, N. (2020). A Pandemic Crash Course: Learning to Teach Equitably in Synchronous Online Classes. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 19(4), ar60. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.20-06-0126
Hey there colleagues! A little news to share…(and feel free to pass it on!) –