Progress 08/01/13 to 07/31/15

Outputs
Target Audience:Youth working in agriculture and adult agricultural educators, supervisors and parents. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Several presentations were made to inform stakeholders about SAY project, products and resources. These include the 2014 National Agricultural Education Summit at the annual conference of the National Association of Supervisors of Agricultural Education (NASAE); the 2014 Agricultural Education Summit "Renewal of Experiential Learning and Supervised Agricultural Experience within Agricultural Education;" the National Association of Agricultural Educators (NAAE); the Utah Agricultural Educators Conference; and the 2014 American Association for Agricultural Education. Educational Displays were developed to promote the SAY Project at the National FFA Conference (Louisville, KY) in October 2013 & 2014; at the National eXtension Conference (Sacramento, CA) in March 2014, and at the International Society of Agricultural Safety and Health Conference (Omaha, NE) in June 2014 and (Bloomington IL) in June 2015. Two webinar were presented. These were 'SAY What? A New Look for Youth Farm Safety education' on November 14, 2013, and 'What is the SAY National Clearinghouse? on April 9, 2014. The webinars are archived for future viewings on the eXtension SAY website. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The quarterly newsletter is a major tool used to inform our stakeholders and communities of interest. The newsletter is distributed through our National Steering Committee and also through a listserve that was created for anyone that is interested to join. Other dissemination avenues include our regular communication with our National Steering Committee and Stakeholder Groups, the website, our displays and presentations at various conferences and annual meetings. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? A national steering committee and 3 Stakeholder Groups were formed to offer the project team guidance.A website was established to serve as the central location for the training materials and an online submission process was developed for submission of educational materials in the clearinghouse. The national steering committee developed a set of recommendations to USDA-NIFA for continued development and sustainability of SAY. .Project Objectives and Accomplishments: Objective 1.1. Formulate the Project Team and the National Steering Committee and Stakeholder Groups. The Project Team met weekly via conference call and emails and set operational procedures for the project. The National Steering Committee and four Stakeholder Groups were formed. The NSC met via webinar/conference calls and face to face. The Marketing Stakeholder Group completed a marketing plan that guides our marketing efforts. The Outreach Stakeholder Group developed an outreach plan. The Curriculum Alignment Stakeholder Group developed the Curriculum Alignment and Submission Tool (CAST). Objective 2.1. Formally identify all safety and health curricula that possibly align to current nationally recognized core competencies and learning objectives/outcomes. Project team members assembled a list of safety related Cluster Skills (CS) performance indicators and measurements from the Agricultural Food and Natural Resources (AFNR) Career Cluster Standards. The project team and Curriculum Alignment Stakeholder Group agreed to add to the national clearinghouse formal curricula and other educational resources that educators would find useful. Formal curricula has clearly stated objectives, content that supports the objectives, and an evaluation component. Other Supporting Resources lacks one of those three components. The project team developed an online curriculum alignment submission tool (CAST) and detailed instructions. There are currently 5 formal curricula and 15 other supporting resources on the National Clearinghouse. The National Clearinghouse was promoted through the SAY quarterly newsletters, webinars, posters, and presentations at conferences and FFA conventions. Objective 2.2. Establish a protocol for development of a pool of exam items. A literature review was conducted to determine if standardized testing procedures can be utilized to establish a testing methodology for evaluating youth readiness to work safely in agriculture. The Curriculum Alignment Stakeholder Group in collaboration with Ohio State developed a protocol to guide the development of a database of student competency assessment items (test questions) for the SAY Clearinghouse. Objective 2.3. Develop and deliver an OSHA-approved, web-based course. An outline and learning objectives of the proposed training program was developed and approved by OSHA. This program follow's the model of the OSHA 10 hour General Industry Training. The agricultural related topics emphasize confined spaces, tractors and animals. Secured agreement from OSHA and USDA-NIFA to offer a joint certification card for all participants that successfully complete the 10-hour General Industry (Agriculture) training course. The first offering of this training course was completed in September of 2014. As of March 2015, 100 organizations from 30 states have enrolled 1,726 students with 472 completions in this program. Objective 2.4. Develop and deliver an OSHA-approved, instructor-led course. An outline of the proposed training program was developed and aproved by OSHA. The outline is the same as the web based course described in 2.3, this version is for an instructor-led training program. Evaluation efforts were completed in Ohio with students. Objective 2.5. Establish a risk assessment protocol for Supervised Agricultural Experiences. An analysis of state level safety policies and procedures designed for school-based work experience programs was conducted to identify safety best practices for supervised agricultural experiences. The best practices identified have been integrated into the SAE risk assessment protocol. Objective 2.6. Provide access to supervision/safety best practices and risk assessment protocols through workshops. Several workshops were presented to agriculture teachers to introduce the SAE risk assessment protocol. Three national webinar was presented and two national meetings were attended that addressed the development and use of the SAE risk assessment protocol. Two meetings for state leaders in agricultural education were attended to teach these leaders how to take the information to their teachers. All materials for the supervision/safety best practices and risk assessment are available online and available through eXtension.org. Objective 2.7. Develop an immersive 3D virtual learning environment proof-of-concept training program for youth ages 13-15. The project used a modified ADDIE model for project management. A decision was made to prototype all three scenarios in Open Simulator first, test and evaluate the prototype, and then create the final product in Unity as a single user stand-alone simulation for PC. 4-H club members are evaluating prototype scenarios. The three scenarios are to be completed in Open Simulator by the end of the grant period. Objective 3.1. Develop a process that ensures user-friendly access to educational resources and expertise. A centralized page within the Farm and Ranch eXtension in Safety and Health (FReSH) Community of Practice was developed to link existing curriculum and education resources for youth. An outreach committee developed a national outreach strategy to engage agricultural community stakeholders. GoogleAnalytics was examined on a quarterly basis to assess traffic to the SAY Project website on eXtension. As a baseline, there were 4,244 total visits with 3,703 unique visitors. During the quarter ending 5/31/15, the total visits were 13,365 with 11,661 unique visitors. Objective 4.1. Implement a national strategy to promote awareness and utilization of SAY. The National Youth Farm and Ranch Safety Symposium was held October 27-28 in Louisville, KY. Speakers and participants represented a multitude of national organizations. A variety of presentations explored the history of regulating youth for agricultural employment as well as the milestones of coalition work over 3 decades on this topic; how the modern farm structure allows for safe youth employment opportunities; how parents and/or employers determine when youth are "ready" to work in agriculture; and if age is the best indicator for prescribing farm chores, or are there other ways to measure competency for task performance. A key outcome of the symposium was that it provided an opportunity to network with other participants that normally do not meet in other venues. Objective 4.2. Implement a national strategy to increase use of SAY through eXtension.org/agsafety A logo, letterhead, PowerPoint Template, and other promotional materials were created. All of these products brand SAY and lead people to eXtension.org/agsafety (SAY website). A listserve was also created to be a vehicle for communicating with stakeholders and others interested in SAY. Time and expense logs were kept to document human resources time and expenses for the various activities of developing and maintaining the National Clearinghouse.

Publications

Progress 08/01/13 to 07/31/14

Outputs
Target Audience: The target audience reached includes a variety of public and private institutions and organizations. Examples include the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), National Farmers Union, National Children’s Center, Ag Safety and Health Council of America, National FFA Organization, National 4-H Office, Agri-Services Agency (Insurance), OSHA Training Institute, National Council for Ag Education, National Association of Ag Educators, American Association for Agricultural Educators, Purdue University, Migrant Health Clinicians Network, NIOSH Ag Centers, U.S. Department of Education Office of Vocational & Adult Education, Farm Safety for Just Kids, farm and ranch youth family members, hired youth workers, etc. Changes/Problems: Our in-person National Steering Committee (NSC) meeting is being held in Yr. 2 rather than Yr. 1 as originally proposed. We will now hold this meeting in conjunction with the National Youth Safety Symposium (NYSS) which enhances both NSC interactions and the NYSS. We aren’t using all of the participant stipends in Yr. 1 that we anticipated. The ag educators that are serving as curriculum advisors felt a smaller group was advisable and that their work best be competed in Year 2 The intended project manager left Penn State and was replaced by another person. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? A presentation was made during the National Agricultural Education Summit 2014 to showcase the SAY eXtension page. Link is provided at http://www.ihigh.com/ffa/broadcast_576628.html?silverlight=1 Presentation at the annual conference of the National Association of Supervisors of Agricultural Education (NASAE): Addressing Literacy through Agricultural Education. Presentation/Webinar January 2014, Agricultural Education Summit “Renewal of Experiential Learning and Supervised Agricultural Experience within Agricultural Education” link http://www.ihigh.com/ffa/broadcast_576628.html?silverlight=1 Presentation National Association of Agricultural Educators (NAAE) Las Vegas, NV SAE Risk Assessment Protocol Demonstration. Presentation Utah Agricultural Educators Conference June 2014 Blanding, UT SAE Risk Assessment Protocol Demonstration Research Presentation American Association for Agricultural Education May 2014, Salt Lake City, UT Safety & Supervision practices and Perceptions of Western Region Agricultural Teachers. Educational Displays – Educational displays promoted the SAY Project were staffed at the National FFA Conference (Louisville, KY) in October 2013, National eXtension Conference (Sacramento, CA) in March 2014, and International Society of Agricultural Safety and Health Conference (Omaha, NE) in June 2014. Webinar – An educational webinar titled ‘SAY What? A New Look for Youth Farm Safety education’ was held on November 14, 2013. The webinar was dedicated to the SAY Project goals and objectives was hosted by the Farm and Ranch eXtension in Safety and Health (FReSH) Community of Practice, promoted through eXtension Learn, and archived for future viewings on the eXtension – SAY website. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? The quarterly newsletter is a major tool that is being used to inform our stakeholders and communities of interest. The newsletter is being distributed through our National Steering Committee and also through a listserve that was created for anyone that is interested to join. Other dissemination avenues include our regular communication with our National Steering Committee and Stakeholder Groups, the website, our displays and presentations at various conferences and annual meetings What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Will continue to work on objectives and activities as planned.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1.1. Formulate the Project Team and identify and invite organizations to serve on the National Steering Committee and Stakeholder Groups. Results: The Project Team consisting of all project partners met weekly via conference call and email during the first two quarters to finalize administrative details of the project (budgets and human subjects approvals, etc.) and set operational procedures for the project. This team continues to meet monthly to monitor project activities to assure the project Aims and objectives are being met. The National Steering Committee and four Stakeholder Groups were formed. The National Steering Committee has met via webinar/conference call 3 times during year one and 3 of the 4 Stakeholder Groups have met at least twice. (The National Steering Committee is also the Curriculum Identification Stakeholder Group). A future National Steering Committee meeting will be dedicated to curriculum identification once the curriculum alignment rubric is complete. Objective 2.1. Formally identify all safety and health curricula for agricultural youth that possibly align to current nationally recognized core competencies and learning objectives/outcomes. Results: Project team members assembled a list of safety related Cluster Skills (CS) performance indicators and measurements from the Agricultural Food and Natural Resources (AFNR) Career Cluster Standards for inclusion into the curriculum alignment rubric that the Curriculum Alignment Stakeholder Group is developing. The Curriculum Alignment Stakeholder Group met three times to develop and test a rubric for measuring the alignment of 4 youth agricultural safety curriculums with the AFNR cluster skills performance indicators and measurements. This rubric will be finalized by the end of Yr.1. The project team developed an on-line curriculum submission template and an on-line version of the curriculum alignment rubric. Plans are underway to promote the curriculum identification and alignment process through the National Steering Committee and other Stakeholder Groups as well as upcoming conferences and the FFA Convention. Objective 2.2. Establish a protocol for development of a pool of exam items (test questions). Results: A literature review has been conducted to determine if standardized testing procedures can be utilized to establish a testing methodology for evaluating youth readiness to work safely in agriculture. This specific objective will focus on tractor and machinery certification exam items since Federal legislation requires successful completion of a test as partial requirement for certification. Objective 2.3. Develop and deliver an OSHA-approved, 10-hour web-based youth agricultural safety & health training course. Results: An outline of the proposed training program was developed and reviewed by OSHA. OSHA gave approval of the proposed training outline. The agricultural related topics emphasize confined spaces, tractors and animals. 6 training modules have been completed. A target date of September 1 to release this training is being pursued. Secured agreement from OSHA and USDA-NIFA to offer joint certification card for all participants that successfully complete the 10-hour General Industry (Agriculture) training course. Objective 2.4. Develop and deliver an OSHA-authorized, 10-hour traditional classroom-based instructor-led youth agricultural safety & health training course. Results: An outline of the proposed training program was developed and reviewed by OSHA. OSHA gave approval of the proposed training outline. The agricultural related topics emphasize confined spaces, tractors and animals. Plans are underway to pilot test this training course with 150 students in 3 states (Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Utah) Work has begun on developing criteria for instructors for this training course. Current OSHA General Industry Instructors that have extensive agricultural knowledge and background will be strong criteria. Objective 2.5. Establish a risk assessment protocol for developing supervision strategies and guidelines for formal secondary students’ experiential learning activities (i.e. Supervised Agricultural Experiences). Results: An analysis of state level safety policies and procedures designed for school-based work experience programs is being conducted to identify safety best practices for supervised agricultural experiences. The best practices identified are being integrated into the SAE risk assessment protocol that has been developed by adapting the Haddon Matrix for intervention development and Safety Guidelines for Hired Adolescent Farm Workers created by the National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety. The SAE risk assessment protocol assists teachers, parents, employers, and students in clearly defining the potential injury risk of a supervised agricultural experience, develop interventions by which safety is incorporated into supervised agricultural experience, and implementing supervision interactions that are expected and/or defined. Objective 2.6. Provide access to supervision/safety best practices and risk assessment protocols through workshops. Results: Year 2 objective; nothing to report Objective 2.7. Develop an immersive 3D virtual learning environment, in proof-of-concept form, teaching farm safety hazards to youth ages 13-15. Results: Work on this objective is behind schedule due to an unexpected six-month delay in finalizing the subcontract. The project is using a modified ADDIE model for project management. The team is currently moving from the analysis to the design phase. A decision was made to prototype all three scenarios in Open Simulator first, test and evaluate the prototype, and then create the final product in Unity as a single user stand-alone simulation for PC. The new timeline anticipates the three scenarios to be complete in Open Simulator by the end of grant year one. Objective 3.1. Develop a sustainable process that ensures user-friendly access to educational resources and expertise. Results: A centralized page within the Farm and Ranch eXtension in Safety and Health (FReSH) Community of Practice was developed to link existing curriculum and education resources for youth. An outreach committee has been formed to develop a national outreach strategy for engaging agricultural community stakeholders. GoogleAnalytics is examined on a quarterly basis to assess the traffic to the SAY Project website on eXtension. As a baseline, there were 3,703 unique visitors to the FReSH page during 6/1/13 – 8/31/13 which is the three months prior to the start of the SAY Project. During the next three quarters, the number of unique viewers to the site were 4,022, 4,055, and 4,650 per quarter. The SAY Project page was developed and uploaded to the FReSH (eXtension) site during the first quarter of the grant with limited traffic to the page. Objective 4.1. Develop and implement a national strategy to promote awareness and utilization of youth safety materials by diverse stakeholder audiences. Year 2 Objective; nothing to report. Objective 4.2. Develop and implement a national strategy to increase use of youth safety materials through eXtension.org/agsafety Results: A log of activities for project team members to record human resource time, expense items, curriculum review, operation of the FReSH CoP, revisions and additions to eXtension.org/agsafety, communications with stakeholder groups, and other outreach efforts was developed and team members are reminded each project team meeting to record these items.

Publications