Lesson Worksheets: A Tool for Developing Youth Weather and Climate Science Comprehension

At an Extension youth agricultural science center, our team developed and pilot tested a five-lesson weather and climate science curriculum for middle school–aged youths. As part of the endeavor, we conducted an item analysis of the five worksheets used across the lessons and determined relationships between worksheet scores and pretest/posttest science comprehension improvement scores. Results from 88 primarily Hispanic eighth graders indicated that worksheet performance was related to overall science comprehension, science knowledge, and weather and climate resiliency in agriculture and natural resources lesson improvement scores. Results support the use of formative scaffolding tools such as worksheets in Extension youth programming to improve youth science comprehension

Science Comprehension Retention Among Youth Agriscience Students Instructed in Weather and Climate

The purpose of this article is to examine the science comprehension retention of 8th-grade science students taught a new weather and climate curriculum. The students’ middle school is part of an innovative Extension youth agricultural science center that has a mission to develop and test new teaching and learning models and curricula in agriculture and natural resources. Our curriculum was developed following a science comprehension model we created and have been testing at the center. It contained lessons on the water cycle, the greenhouse effect, measuring and analyzing precipitation and temperature data, and mitigating and adapting to weather and climate extremes in agriculture and natural resources. For each lesson, students viewed introductory PowerPoint slides, participated in an activating strategy, set up an experiment or analyzed local precipitation or temperature data, formulated hypotheses, participated in a summary activity, and completed a worksheet. We pretested 81 students, taught the curriculum over a 6-day period, and gave the posttest. We returned 2 months later to administer a follow-up to check for science comprehension retention. The students’ overall science comprehension and science knowledge, science skills, and reasoning abilities subcomponent follow-up scores were lower than their post-program test scores. Both boys and girls declined in their overall post-program test gains over the 2 months. Students also declined in their preference for learning-by-doing from post-test to follow-up. Based on these results, we made changes to the curriculum consistent with the literature on learning retention before publishing it online for youth educators

Youth Leadership Life Skills Development Scale: An evaluation and research tool for youth organizations

Evaluation uses; Research uses; Scale specifications; Using the scale; Request for information; BibliographyResearch report containing information on the use of the Youth Leadership Life Skills Development Scale (YLLSDS) for evaluating and researching the effects of youth organizations, and a sample YLLSDS form

Turning an Extension Aide into an Extension Agent

For any organization to remain sustainable, a renewable source of faculty and staff needs to be available. The Extension Internship Program for Juniors and Seniors in High School is a new tool for recruiting and developing new Extension agents. Students get hands on experience working in an Extension office and earn college credit while in high school

Fermi LAT Observations of the Vela Pulsar.

e-Print: arXiv:0812.2960 [astro-ph] , Submitted to Astrophys.J