The Tuesday Letter
Agricultural Experiment Station & Cooperative Extension Service
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
(Vol. 17 No. 43)
IN THIS ISSUE...
WORD FROM THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR - EXTENSION AND APPLIED RESEARCH
The Extension administrative team met on August 18 and 19 with the State Extension Advisory Council (SEAC). The meeting was hosted by Tresa Jones, Board Chair for Meadowlark Extension District and SEAC secretary, in Seneca. Co-hosting were David Key, District Director; and Dale Fjell, Area Director.
The first afternoon is used as an educational opportunity presented by our hosts. We were all provided background information on economic development work taking place in Seneca and provided a tour of main street to see first hand the improvements and development taking place, and how Meadowlark District was supporting this community development initiative and other such initiatives in the District. Following that, Dr. Charles Barden presented lessons learned in carrying out Extension projects and programs with the Prairie Band Potawatomi Tribal Council. And, Jody Holthaus, David Hallauer, Nancy Nelson, and Ross Mosteller each provided insight on how their programming, their audiences, and their work has changed with the transition from county-based generalists into district specialized agents. Presentations were insightful and generated considerable discussion and questions for all of us attending.
Friday was our business meeting where we provided SEAC members a snapshot of programming priorities, initiatives, and future plans, along with discussion of budgets, staffing, and challenges facing local Extension units. The SEAC was challenged with the question of how our delivery structure should look. Much attention, focus, and discussion centered on the Extension Districts. The SEAC stressed the need to minimize misunderstanding, misinformation, and rumor around the process and outcome of creating an Extension District.
They came forth with 4 general recommendations to reduce misinformation:
1) survey existing districts on how the system is working;
2) educate the pubic on the different method of delivery;
3) increase communication on districts per information coming out of the surveys of existing districts; and
4) identify the external proponents for districts and utilize their voices, in addition to the Extension voices.
I am greatly appreciative of the State Extension Advisory members for their commitment, active participation, and sincere belief in our mission, and the honest feedback they always provide. With 22 members from all across the state, we had 21 in attendance in Seneca. Our only one missing was due to a family member undergoing surgery. New officers were elected for 2012 with Steve Long, chair; Carolyn Harms, chair-elect; Janell Harman, secretary; and Kelly Overmiller, treasurer. A complete list of the SEAC members and past minutes to meetings can be found at http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/boardleadership/p.aspx?tabid=557.
Read on for several other important announcements. Have a great week! --Daryl Buchholz dbuchhol@ksu.edu
UPDATES TO ANNUAL CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
The “Future of Groundwater Use in Kansas” has been changed to “Conserving the Ogallala Aquifer.” It starts at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, October 19, at the International Grains Program building at 1980 Kimball Avenue.
Topics include: An Overview of the Ogallala Aquifer, Kansas Irrigation Trends and Impacts, Effectiveness of Irrigation Technologies, Economic Implications of Water Management, Irrigation Scheduling using Climatic Data for a Range of Weather Conditions, Setting the Future Research and Extension Objectives.
A social follows the presentations at 5:50 p.m. with the Oktoberfest tailgate meal at 6:30 p.m.
For more information and a list of speakers, go to the website, www.ksre.ksu.edu/annconf, or access the annual conference site from the Employee Resources link on www.ksre.ksu.edu.
When registering, please note that some sessions overlap. “From the Outside Looking In: Four External Perspectives of Social Media Possibilities for an Engaged Land-Grant University” overlaps with Breakout Sessions A and B. The Q&A session following the social media panel overlaps with Breakout Session C. “Conserving the Ogallala Aquifer” overlaps with Breakout Sessions A through C. –-Stu Warren, committee chair, slwarren@ksu.edu
VOLUNTEERS STILL NEEDED FOR THE KSRE/COA BOOTHS AT THE KANSAS STATE FAIR
The College of Agriculture and K-State Research and Extension will once again have booths in the Pride of Kansas building at the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson. The Kansas State Fair runs from Friday, September 9, through Sunday, September 18, 2011.
We would appreciate faculty and staff from campus, area offices, counties/districts, Agronomy Fields, and Research-Extension Centers coming to the fair and working a few hours in one or both of the booths. Also, we would really appreciate agents and/or faculty, who are coming to the fair anyway, signing up to work a couple of hours in the booth before or after your activities.
Days and times that our KSRE/COA fair booths are open are:
Sunday, September 11 - (We still need help from 1 p.m. - 9 p.m.)
Monday, September 12 - (We still need help from 3 p.m. - 9 p.m.)
Wednesday, September 14 - (We still need help from 3 p.m. - 9 p.m.)
Thursday, September 15 - (We still need help 3 p.m. - 9 p.m.)
Saturday, September 17 - (We still need help from 6 p.m. - 9 p.m.)
Sunday, September 18 - (We still need help from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. and from 3 p.m. - 6 p.m.)
If you would like to work in the K-State Research and Extension booth, please contact Maria Sweet, marswe@ksu.edu, by September 2.
If you would like to work in the College of Agriculture booth, please contact Sandy Klein, sandy@ksu.edu, by September 2.
We will then send out the instructions, entrance tickets, etc. --Sandy Klein and Steven Graham sgraham@k-state.edu
ASK THE OEIE EVALUATOR - DIFFERENT METHODS TO GATHER DATA AND TO EVALUATE PROGRAMS
In the last installment of “Ask the OEIE Evaluator,” we talked about survey questions and how they can help you gain information from participants about their experiences of a program. Surveys are a common way to gather data about a program and to evaluate its impacts; however, there are many other methods you may apply. Many of you are now working on your individual action and professional development plans for the upcoming year, including plans to evaluate your programs. In this installment we will consider the variety of methods you may plan to use for program evaluation.
Q: What are different methods to gather data and to evaluate a program?
Surveys can be conducted through a paper-and-pencil questionnaire, online, or over the phone. Surveys typically ask structured questions of participants to learn about their perceptions of a program and its impacts on them. However, surveys may not be valuable or feasible for all programs. Depending on the intended outcomes of your program, you may seek other forms of data to better evaluate your program’s impacts.
Valuable information for evaluating your program may come from people (as in a survey), or from observations or visual sources, or from existing documents or records. Here are some possible methods for gathering program data:
- Observation: Information collected through seeing and listening, often with the aide of an observation protocol that can guide your attention. Observation may be done as a program is delivered, or afterward and in a location where the desired outcomes are expected to occur.
- Interviews: Information collected by talking with and listening to people, face-to-face or over the phone. Interviews can be highly structured, like in a survey, or more open-ended and conversational, depending on your evaluation purposes.
- Focus groups or group assessment: Gathering data and/or participant interpretations of data through focus group interviews or group processes like brainstorming, community forums, Delphi, or nominal group technique.
- Document analysis: The collection and careful analysis of existing documents relevant to the evaluation. These documents could be curriculum materials, minutes from board or community group meetings, newspaper articles, or public records, among others.
- Diaries, journals, or logs: Recording of events or observations over time. Participants, program presenters, or others can record information about a program briefly and factually, or note their personal perspectives as well.
- Case study: In-depth examination of a particular case (e.g., site/location, group of participants, program variation). Case studies use multiple sources of information and methods to provide as complete a picture as possible.
Deciding which method or methods to use in a program evaluation requires you to think about the intended outcomes of your program as well as practical considerations (i.e., the time, energy and resources you have for evaluation). In a future “Ask the OEIE Evaluator” installment, we will discuss how to decide what method of data collection is best for your evaluation.
Questions about evaluation? Contact Amy Hilgendorf at OEIE, aehilgen@k-state.edu, 785-532-5538.
Reference: Program Development and Evaluation. (2002). Methods for Collecting Information, Quick Tips #8. University of Wisconsin-Extension: Madison.
INTRODUCTION TO CONFLICT COACHING
Save the date! Heartland Mediators Association is offering a one-day “Introduction to Conflict Coaching” seminar, October 21, from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. at the Webster Conference Center in Salina, Kansas. Terrie R. McCants, Program Coordinator of the K-State Conflict Resolution Studies Program; and Art Thompson, Dispute Resolution Coordinator for the State of Kansas; will conduct the training.
Conflict Coaching is a flexible mentoring (educational) process designed to increase conflict competencies. Mediation or facilitation training is not required. Conflict coaching can be a benefit to anyone facing an important workplace or personal conflict. It can also be useful for those adapting to a new organizational setting or developing as leaders.
This seminar is for anyone (in, out, or on the edge of conflict) interested in replacing counterproductive behaviors with constructive skills and approaches.
The main objectives of Conflict Coaching are to coach participants to:
* identify their goals for managing conflict effectively
* determine and take the required steps to attain those goals
* consider how to change their habitual behaviors that contribute to conflict
* reflect on the improved ways they react to and manage conflict
* shift unhelpful reactions to conflict to constructive responses
* improve language and communication skills in order to interact and address conflictual situations more effectively
* reduce the harmful impact of conflict on themselves and others
Cost for Heartland Mediators Association members is $75; Non-HMA members is $125. This training is open to the public and to non-mediators. Information regarding registration will be announced soon.
For more information, contact Janet Lhuillier, HMA Executive Director, HMAOrganization@everestkc.net; or Becky O’Donnell, Kansas Agricultural Mediation Services, bodonnel@ksu.edu. --Becky O'Donnell
|