The Tuesday Letter
Agricultural Experiment Station & Cooperative Extension Service
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
(Vol. 20 No. 16)
IN THIS ISSUE...
WORD FROM THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR - EXTENSION AND APPLIED RESEARCH
Senate Bill No. 411 would remove taxing authority of elected
officials of the Extension District Governing Boards. A bill introduced into the Senate Assessment
and Taxation Committee amends the Extension District Law to remove taxing
authority of Extension District Governing Boards. You can read the proposed bill at http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2013_14/measures/sb411/. There is a hearing on the bill
scheduled this Tuesday, February 25, at 9:30 a.m.
My thanks to our Extension District Directors and the
Extension Administrative team for putting out the information regarding the
bill and its potential impact. This is a
local citizen issue, and as such we were simply trying to provide as much
background information to help in making informed decisions. The impact statement can be read through this link. Throughout the process, we will
bring you any updates as they become evident.
Nothing more to report with respect to any legislative
action on our budget. We did have an
excellent meeting with our State Extension Advisory Council last week, and on
all of our behalf they made visits with legislators around the State House that
are always very positive for K-State Research and Extension.
We will keep you informed as the legislative session moves
along.
On a much brighter note, I had the pleasure to be present at the retirement celebration of Bev Dunning, Sedgwick County Extension Director. Bev retires after 50 years with Extension in Sedgwick County! As a part of the wonderful celebration of all her contributions to the people of Sedgwick County, the Wichita Eagle ran a wonderful front-page article on Saturday. Follow this link to read the article. A very nice reception in her honor was held on Sunday afternoon. My best wishes extend to Bev with hopes for a long, happy retirement.
And, let's all have a great week! –-Daryl Buchholz dbuchhol@ksu.edu
SPRING INTO ACTION: MAINTAINING A HEALTHY (AND GROWING) POULTRY FLOCK
Free Webinar and Twitter Chat Offer Spring Advice on Backyard Poultry
Thursday, February 27, 2014, 1 PM CST
(Please share with those involved with poultry projects or production, both youth and adults!!!)
With spring on its way, new poultry lovers may be thinking about
starting a backyard flock or veteran poultry owners might want to add
baby chicks. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is hosting a free
webinar and simultaneous Twitter chat with experts to help both groups
acquire and grow a healthy flock.
Called “Spring into
Action: Maintaining a Healthy (and Growing) Flock,” the webinar and
chat is an hour-long, online presentation by three poultry experts. They
will share information and answer questions about introducing new birds
to your flock, buying and raising healthy poultry and how to keep them
free from disease and predators. The webinar will take place on
Thursday, February 27, from 1-2 p.m. CST. To guarantee a place at the
webinar, go to the Biosecurity For Birds’ website for the link: http://communique.adobeconnect.com/healthybirds/event/login.html.
To join the Twitter Chat, use #Chickenchat2014. To submit advance questions, visit Healthy Harry’s Facebook page.
Hosting the webinar are: Andy Schneider, also known as “The Chicken
Whisperer®,” a national radio personality who serves as the Biosecurity
For Birds campaign spokesperson; Dr. Jo Anna Quinn, a veterinary medical
officer and poultry health specialist with the USDA Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service (APHIS); and Dr. Casey Barton Behravesh, a
Commander in the United States Public Health Service at the Centers for
Disease Control (CDC). Twitter questions will be answered by an APHIS
veterinarian expert in bird matters.
This event is part of
Bird Health Awareness Week (BHAW), an annual observance promoted by the
USDA’s Biosecurity For Birds campaign that helps support healthy
practices for raising backyard birds. This year BHAW is being held from
February 23 through March 1.
Since spring ushers in
chicks’ season, the time when baby chicks and other baby birds begin
hatching from their shells, the 2014 Bird Health Awareness Week will
focus on these new additions to the country’s backyard flocks. Bird
lovers across the U.S. are invited to celebrate the week in their own
way and let the USDA know what you are doing.
For more
information about Biosecurity For Birds and to send information about
your Bird Health Awareness Week event, please visit the Biosecurity For
Birds website, http://healthybirds.aphis.usda.gov. --Scott Beyer, Animal Science & Industries (Poultry Science) sbeyer@ksu.edu and Gary Gerhard, 4-H Youth Development ggerhard@ksu.edu
TIME TO REGISTER FOR THE FACILITATION TRAINING!
By asking good questions, by inviting others to participate,
and by bringing people together to identify and address issues – this is how we
move forward in our work.
Extension and KSU faculty come together each year to host a
workshop called the Public Issues Facilitation workshop. Recently, a past participant of the workshop
wrote us. Now a faculty member at the University of Oklahoma wrote:
“As a teacher, the ICDD/CECD Facilitation workshop has been
the single most useful training I've ever attended. I am so much better
equipped to run a classroom discussion (and a meeting) than I ever would have
been without this workshop. Honestly, I frequently think about how I am
employing the tools covered during the workshop.”
Workshop attendees will participate in a public forum and discuss
how to best address mental health issues. Participants will practice facilitation
using new KSRE resources on the topic of managing water resources in Western Kansas.
The facilitation workshop takes place at the Alumni Center on the Manhattan
Campus, March 3-5, 2014. Registration is $200 and includes materials,
break refreshments, and lunch on Tuesday. Contact Dan Kahl, dankahl@ksu.edu,
about KSRE scholarships for the workshop.
You may register on line at https://outreach.ksu.edu/etrakWebApp/Registration.aspx?MeetingCode=231418.
For registration by U.S. mail or fax go to http://outreach.ksu.edu/ksumailinfax/default.aspx?Meetingcode=23141. Please register or let us know of your intent to register by
February 28, 2014. --Dan Kahl dankahl@ksu.edu
ASK THE OEIE EVALUATOR: IMPLEMENTATION FIDELITY
When seeking to demonstrate program outcomes, it is important to pay attention to how consistently a program is delivered according to design. In this installment, we discuss implementation fidelity.
What is implementation fidelity? What areas of focus can help me reflect on program delivery?
Implementation fidelity is the degree to which a program or curriculum is delivered as intended by the developer(s). The integrity of the delivery to its prescribed details (i.e., operating manual, instructor’s guide) can directly influence the outcomes, such as the extent of knowledge or skill gained or behavioral changes achieved, aimed for by the program or curriculum. The more closely aligned your delivery to the program or curriculum model, the more likely your chances of producing the same results as promised by the developer.
When considering implementation fidelity, one such guideline encompasses seven basic areas of focus (Principles of Effectiveness, SDFSCA, 1998). When reflecting on your program(s), ask yourself how strongly your program adheres to these seven areas in the research that provided evidence of effectiveness for that particular program.
- Target Audience: Check if the target audience varies from the one in the original curriculum or program design. The demographics, developmental, linguistic, or other population characteristics should be similar.
- Setting: Look to see if the setting is conducive to the instructional activities, projects or application of knowledge as specified in the manual, work plan, or teaching module. The environment should be one that resembles the approach identified within the original model that suggests an optimal learning experience.
- Materials: Assess if the appropriate materials were used or if modifications were made. The content should match the learning capabilities of the audience you are working with, use language that is easily interpreted, and include supplies that convey the ideas to be absorbed and practiced by participants.
- Delivery: Reflect on the consistency of delivery against the model. The instructional style should be those illustrated in the instructor’s reference materials (e.g., skills modeling, coaching, etc.). Another component for review may be the sequence of delivery, the particular order of topics covered. Building on the skills, for example, from the class prior may be important to the overall skill achievement at the end of the program. Check to see if that sequence was maintained or changed.
- Dosage: Probe to see if the program was delivered in the amount of time and with the frequency recommended. The number and frequency of lessons, as well as the length of time should match the intended project duration. Simple questions that explore if all the lessons intended were delivered may reveal some clues about how fully a program or curriculum was delivered. If the length of time for the instruction or practice as specified was curtailed or a few lessons were picked to teach over the total may help you identify where your dosage may be off.
- Provider Qualifications: Reflect to see if the qualifications that educators bring promote the learning experience of the participants involved. This area of fidelity check should address any special credentials or other qualifications required of the person teaching the lessons. Investigate if a trained volunteer or program assistant can implement the program or if a content specialist is needed to implement a segment required of the lessons planned.
- Provider Training: Assess what kind of training might be needed to deliver the content or skills required of the subject matter to be taught. Examine the original published instruction manual that should guide any training needs of the person teaching the lesson to see if any training was missed.
Continuing this theme, look for our next installment to learn more about Implementation Fidelity and Adaptation, Striking the Balance.
Questions about evaluation? Visit the Extension Evaluation Resources website or contact Kathleen Gary, ksgary@ksu.edu or 785-532-5127, at OEIE. -- Office of Educational Innovation and Evaluation
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