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Full-Text Articles in Education

Preventing Graduate Student Heroic Suicide In Community-Based Research: A Tale Of Two Committees, Nancy K. Franz Dr. Jan 2013

Preventing Graduate Student Heroic Suicide In Community-Based Research: A Tale Of Two Committees, Nancy K. Franz Dr.

Nancy K. Franz

Graduate students are increasingly interested in community-based research and public scholarship. However, they often struggle to find faculty research mentors who fully understand or have been personally involved with this type of research and related scholarship. In fact, some graduate students are advised by graduate committee members to refrain from working with communities and community stakeholders. Graduate students also experience few opportunities to develop skills and knowledge for community-based scholarship. It is clear that graduate students interested in community-based research need tools to navigate these dynamics. This article proposes a research stakeholder advisory committee as a successful tool for graduate …


Cost-Effectiveness Model For Youth Efnep Programs: What Do We Measure And How Do We Do It?, Elena Serrano, Mary Mcferren, Michael Lambur, Michael Ellerbock, Kathy Hosig, Nancy K. Franz, Marilyn Townsend, Susan Baker, Peter Muennig, George Davis Jul 2011

Cost-Effectiveness Model For Youth Efnep Programs: What Do We Measure And How Do We Do It?, Elena Serrano, Mary Mcferren, Michael Lambur, Michael Ellerbock, Kathy Hosig, Nancy K. Franz, Marilyn Townsend, Susan Baker, Peter Muennig, George Davis

Nancy K. Franz

The Youth Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) is one of the United States Department of Agriculture's hallmark nutrition education programs for limited-resource youth. The objective of this study was to gather opinions from experts in EFNEP and related content areas to identify costs, effects (impacts), and related instruments to develop a cost-effectiveness model (instrument) for youth EFNEP, which does not exist. A cost-effectiveness model determines the economic or financial cost of producing an impact. The findings highlight several challenges in identifying inputs through consensus and provide a roadmap for the creation of a model that can be adopted …


A Summary Of Agricultural Air Quality Perceptions In Virginia, Jactone Arogo-Ogejo, Nancy K. Franz Dr., Kurt Stephenson Jan 2010

A Summary Of Agricultural Air Quality Perceptions In Virginia, Jactone Arogo-Ogejo, Nancy K. Franz Dr., Kurt Stephenson

Nancy K. Franz

As part of our project “Integrating Education and Development of a Biodegradable Litter Amendment to Mitigate Ammonia Emissions from Poultry House” funded by the National Institute for Food and Agriculture, research project (#2009-55112-05214), we conducted four listening sessions on agricultural air quality with 44 agricultural agency representatives, farmers, and Extension agents/specialists, across Virginia. The purpose of the listening sessions was to gather information from the community (stakeholders) about their perceptions, concerns, what they would like to know, and who should be educated about agricultural air quality. We made a short presentation to introduce the subject and then solicited stakeholder reaction. …


A Holistic Model Of Engaged Scholarship: Telling The Story Across Higher Education's Missions, Nancy K. Franz Dec 2009

A Holistic Model Of Engaged Scholarship: Telling The Story Across Higher Education's Missions, Nancy K. Franz

Nancy K. Franz

Faculty and administrators still struggle to practice and support a holistic approach to engaged scholarship. Many institutions have created a culture of engaged scholarship, yet faculty are looking for practical ways to plan, implement, and reflect on engaged scholarship due to productivity expectations. New faculty are often drawn to the idea of engaged scholarship but don’t know where to start or how to frame their work in a way that appeals to promotion and tenure committees. To address these issues, the holistic model of engaged scholarship presented here provides a definition of engaged scholarship, six practice and storytelling leverage points …


Catalyzing Transformation: Conditions In Extension Educational Environments That Promote Change, Nancy K. Fran, Barry A. Garst, Sarah Baughman, Chris Smith, Brian Peters Aug 2009

Catalyzing Transformation: Conditions In Extension Educational Environments That Promote Change, Nancy K. Fran, Barry A. Garst, Sarah Baughman, Chris Smith, Brian Peters

Nancy K. Franz

Extension faculty and administrators have suggested Cooperative Extension's goal and niche is transformative education—to bring about deep change in individuals, families, and communities. However even though transformative learning appears to be a desirable approach to Extension education, few scholars and practitioners have examined the conditions in Extension learning environments that promote transformation. In fact, Extension agents and faculty ask what they can do to increase the likelihood their work will result in transformation. The research reported here explored conditions that catalyze transformation in two Extension educational contexts: 1) Cornell Cooperative Extension agent/specialist work teams and 2) Virginia 4-H Camps.


Enhancing Accountability: Servsafe™ Impact Template Delivers, Renee Boyer, Matthew Benson, Heather Boyd, Mena Forrester, Nancy K. Franz, Karen Gehrt, Patsy Pelland, Kirsten Roan Jun 2009

Enhancing Accountability: Servsafe™ Impact Template Delivers, Renee Boyer, Matthew Benson, Heather Boyd, Mena Forrester, Nancy K. Franz, Karen Gehrt, Patsy Pelland, Kirsten Roan

Nancy K. Franz

Generating statewide impact data from Extension programs can be challenging. To streamline reporting, Extension specialists, with the help of county agents and administrators, generated a statewide impact statement for the ServSafe™ program in Virginia. This template includes knowledge gain, behavior change, and economic impact from participants generated from current standardized evaluation methods used by all Extension educators across the state. Providing this template for agents resulted in easier, more consistent yearly reporting for those agents administering the program.


Adult Education 101 For Extension Educators, Johnnie R. Westbrook, Nancy K. Franz Dr. Jan 2009

Adult Education 101 For Extension Educators, Johnnie R. Westbrook, Nancy K. Franz Dr.

Nancy K. Franz

Successful Extension educators artfully combine their content matter expertise with their ability to work with adults in an educational setting. This publication compares and contrasts four approaches to adult education: 1.) Andragogy, 2.) Adult Education Working Philosophy, 3.) Facilitating Adult Self-Directed Learning, and 4.) Integrated Perspective of Learning. The implications of these adult education practices will help Extension educators improve educational impact when working with adults.


How Farmers Learn: Improving Sustainable Agricultural Education, Nancy K. Franz, Fred P. Piercy, Joseph Donaldson, Jessie Deelo, Johnnie Westbrook, Robert Richard Jan 2009

How Farmers Learn: Improving Sustainable Agricultural Education, Nancy K. Franz, Fred P. Piercy, Joseph Donaldson, Jessie Deelo, Johnnie Westbrook, Robert Richard

Nancy K. Franz

This project examines how farmers prefer to learn and what that means for agricultural education, especially Extension educational program development and delivery. Extension educators use a variety of methods for teaching content and processes that enhance farmer learning and adoption of new practices. This research project specifically looked at farmer learning preferences and Extension educator’s instructional methods.


Enhancing Extension Employee Coaching: Navigating The Triangular Relationship, Nancy K. Franz, Robin Weeks Oct 2008

Enhancing Extension Employee Coaching: Navigating The Triangular Relationship, Nancy K. Franz, Robin Weeks

Nancy K. Franz

Coaching Cooperative Extension employees is not easy but provides invaluable results. All three parties in the triangular coaching relationship--the coachee, the coach, and the organization--develop and grow from the process, in turn improving and sustaining the organization. The coaching process helps employees get to know themselves better, be more conscious about their way of being in the world, and contribute more fully to the work around them. This article addresses the importance of coaching employees, characteristics of good coaching, coaching risks, and tips for successful coaching of Cooperative Extension employees.


Reporting Program Impacts: Slaying The Dragon Of Resistance, Nancy K. Franz, Mark Mccann Dec 2007

Reporting Program Impacts: Slaying The Dragon Of Resistance, Nancy K. Franz, Mark Mccann

Nancy K. Franz

Virginia Cooperative Extension has responded to today's environment of enhanced accountability by improving the organization's program impact reporting. Successful strategies to enhance the quantity and quality of program impact reports include new hires, training faculty and administration, individual and small group technical assistance, development of reporting tools, and tying impact reporting to performance and recognition. This holistic approach resulted in enhanced reporting and use of program impacts as well as improved program design and evaluation.


Adult Education Theories: Informing Cooperative Extension's Transformation, Nancy K. Franz Dr. Feb 2007

Adult Education Theories: Informing Cooperative Extension's Transformation, Nancy K. Franz Dr.

Nancy K. Franz

As the largest adult education institution in America, Cooperative Extension should ground organizational operations in adult education theory. This connection with theory is especially important as Extension systems work towards organizational transformation to create more participatory and democratic learning. Adult education theories of transformative learning and critical reflection from a critical theory perspective are especially pertinent to inform this type of transformation. This requires that Extension create opportunities for learners to experience disorienting dilemmas, critically reflect on their assumptions, and facilitate how to learn not just what to learn.


Transformative Learning In Extension Staff Partnerships: Facilitating Personal, Joint, And Organizational Change, Nancy K. Franz Apr 2003

Transformative Learning In Extension Staff Partnerships: Facilitating Personal, Joint, And Organizational Change, Nancy K. Franz

Nancy K. Franz

Partnerships can enhance individual and organizational success through more effective problem solving and improved adaptation to change. Learning is often required for successful collaboration that may transform the partners. This article discusses a study that explored learning in Extension staff partnerships that transform the individual, the partnership, and the organization. Three types of learning and eight types of transformative learning are identified. Conditions that promoted transformative learning in successful partnerships included strong partner facilitation, critical reflection, critical events, partner difference bridged by common purpose, and independence with interdependence. Recommendations for nurturing transforming Extension staff partnerships are shared.


Extension Workers As Orchestrators Of Civic Renewal Through Civic Professionalism, Nancy K. Franz Dec 2000

Extension Workers As Orchestrators Of Civic Renewal Through Civic Professionalism, Nancy K. Franz

Nancy K. Franz

I have a passion and a bias. I am passionate about the important role of the Cooperative Extension System (CES) in civic renewal. My bias is that extension workers (also known as agents or educators) are the key to civic renewal throughout the United States. No other institution has the same ability to reach all of America with education and organizing efforts. With extension workers in every county in the nation, this group of professionals and their work cut across age, race, ethnicity, religion, geography and many other demographic characteristics. Extension has a long history of being active in civic …