Using Research to Transform Community: The National FFA Organization Model

1. Using Research to Transform Community: The National FFA Organization Model Living to Serve Team – National FFA Organization Michael Slavkin, National FFA Evaluator, Manchester University Stefonie Sebastian, Education Specialist, Education Programs Division

2. National FFA Organization Living to Serve is a service-learning grant program focused on rural youth development.

3. National FFA Organization Living to Serve is a service-learning grant program focused on rural youth development. Student = Member Teacher = Advisor School = Chapter

4. Purpose of Overview Why are we here??? • Strengths/limitations of assessment • Systematic documentation of our work • What can we do better? • Reconsidering programming, training, and technical assistance needs • Are we meeting the needs of members? • Are we meeting the needs of advisors?

5. Pre-Presentation Reflection Consider your experience working with members, advisors, community partners, and administrators during service-learning projects: • What is my experience working with service-learning projects? • Do advisors, administrators, parents, and members in my school have concerns about our work? • What kind of planning can be initiated with our programs to ensure stronger results?

6. Purpose of Overview Review information received from 2010-2013 • 180 sites, across 46 states • 4 granting institutions: • United States Department of Agriculture • Howard G. Buffett Foundation • Farmers Feeding the World • CSX Transportation • Review of assessment information from members, advisors, and community partners

7. Put Your Leadership Into Action! Investigation Planning Action Reflection Demonstration • 5 Core Components of Service-Learning • I-P-A-R-D • (presentation will focus on planning and demonstration)

8. Rural Engagement: Think AboutSchools and Communities • Criteria that impact engagement: • Size of community – “Goldilocks test” • Stability of the community – consistency, with a representative nature of values and beliefs • Social structure of community – sense or structure, with some formalized organization beyond mutual interest • Focus on community institutions – what parts of the community culture will be of value and importance, and can see the benefit of partnering with youth? • Interactions significant to community members – congenial communication with stakeholders and school members

9. Types of Engagement • Used model supported by Decker et al. (2000) – systematic approach to engagement: • Effort focuses on specific improvement initiatives • Community driven efforts with broad resident involvement • Comprehensive, strategic, or entrepreneurial efforts • Asset-based efforts • Efforts tailored to neighborhood scale and conditions • Efforts collaboratively linked to the broader society • Efforts to consciously change institutional barriers and racism

10. Assessment Outcome: FFA 2010 - 2013 Focus was on following participants: • 6 – 12 members enrolled at National FFA – sites • 6 – 12 advisors at National FFA – sites • Parents and community partners who devote their own time at National FFA sites and support programming related to service-learning

11. Assessment Outcome: FFA 2010 - 2013 For 6 – 12 Grade members, goal is to focus on civic engagement in schools. • Do they feel connected to communities? • Are they collaborators in education? • Do they see themselves as change makers? • Are diverse members included?

12. Assessment Outcome: FFA 2010 - 2013 For advisors goal is to focus on use of curriculum as catalyst for social action • Do they view SL as a effective pedagogy? • Does SL increase learning/ decrease time? • Does SL empower members from diverse backgrounds? • Does SL improve teacher morale? • Is SL connected to school change?

13. Assessment Outcome: FFA 2010 - 2013 For parents and community partners, goal is to focus on civic involvement through schools • Do they see how youth can change a community? • Do they feel invited/invested in schools? • Does SL increase parent involvement?

14. Focus on the End At The Beginning: Goals • The service-learning project will have the following measureable impacts on their local community and the larger global community • Decreased the local landfill by 9 cubic yards • Saved 12,000 kilowatts of energy • Saved 21,000 gallons of water Investigation Planning Action Reflection Demonstration

15. What Kind of Goals Should We Have? • Activity: • Define a few SMART Goals • Brainstorm potential community partners • Create a short timeline of both learning and service activities • Identify learning goals for youth to meet Investigation Planning Action Reflection Demonstration

16. Data: Members (6th Grade – 12th Grade) General Results: • members feel more connected to communities after service-learning programs and identify closer ties with community partners. • members feel that they are collaborators in education, and show significant improvement (increase) in youth voice and active facilitation of programs. • members generally feel that members can be change makers in their communities, especially following involvement in service-learning. • Inclusiveness of diverse student groups is apparent in classrooms. • Leadership – power to improve specific behaviors …

17. Data: Members (6th Grade – 12th Grade)

18. Data: Advisors General Results: • Limited differences exist for whether SL is an effective pedagogy • Significant differences found between perspectives of advisors as to whether SL increases learning of members • A significant increase in the empowerment of members from diverse backgrounds is verified by advisors. • Improved morale is found in advisors following involvement in service-learning. • Advisors believe that SL programming is connected to school change following involvement in program. • Advisors do not believe that their schools show different commitment to service-learning ($, vision, T/TA, time to do it) following their involvement in programs.

19. Data: Parents and Community Partners • General Results: • Parents and community partners can see how youth can change a community more after involvement with service-learning. • Parents and community partners feel more invited into the schools and engaged with programs following participation in service-learning. • Increased involvement of parents and community partners not evidenced (need to examine if increased numbers between 2010 – 2013 academic years).**

20. Conclusions from Data • Programming successful in leading to change in members, advisors, administrators, parents, and community partners. • Need to work with schools on increasing deep thinking and connections of programs with academic curriculum. • Need to work with advisors on increasing understanding of how service-learning supports advancement of involvement in administrative function of schools. • Need to work on ensuring greater involvement of parents and community partners in corporation wide programs (in particular at middle and high school).

21. Conclusions from Data: Authenticity • High quality service-learning requires AUTHENTICITY: • Meets academic standards and curricular needs • Promotes critical thinking and problem solving • Engages community partners • Provides opportunities for youth voice throughout the project • Duration and intensity are critical

22. Conclusions from Data: Academic Standards • Academic standards alignment requires: • Creative and exciting uses of the curricula • Relevant to members and their community • Focus remains on academic skills • Approach to the acquisition of skills is what changes (Sitter, 2006) NOT CONTENT REVIEWED

23. Conclusions from Data: HOTS • Critical thinking demands: • Use POWERFUL methods, real world, experiential activities • Allow academics to come to life • Understanding how academics relate to life • Helping members think about the importance of learning • Reflect on the process and final product

24. Conclusions from Data: Youth Voice/Action • Engaging community partners/youth voice expects: • members select the service-learning project (Shumer, 1997) • Authentic action expected • Student-created projects ensure they will work harder and longer (duration and intensity**) • Community partners want to hear from members, not advisors (Friedland, 2003)

25. Conclusions from Data: Duration/Intensity • Duration means that: • Project occurs throughout the term/academic year • Reflection before, during, and after project • Duration - concentrated block of time • Intensity – how powerful is the learning? • Often forgotten component of service-learning • What is the educational value of a project? • includes members having time to understand, reflect, and learn from the experiences they encounter

26. Post-Presentation Reflection Based on the discussed results, consider the following questions, then discuss them with members of your team or a person sitting next to you: • Does my experience working with service-learning projects sound similar to what was experienced by the National FFA team? • Do teachers, administrators, parents, and students in my school have similar concerns? • What kind of planning can be initiated with our programs to ensure stronger results?

27. Put Your Leadership Into Action! National FFA Organization https://www.ffa.org/programs/grantsandscholarships/LivingtoServe/pages/default.aspx Living to Serve www.ffa.org/ltsgrants National Service-Learning Clearinghouse www.servicelearning.org Living to Serve Lesson Plans www.agedlearning.org Resources to support service-learning:

28. In closing … Educate, then, at any rate, for the age of implicit self-sacrifice and instinctive virtues is already flitting far away from us, and the time is fast approaching when freedom, public speech, and social order itself will not be able to exist without education. • Alexis de Tocqueville • Democracy in America (Vol 2, pg 124)