Welcome to our video and resources! We believe you will find this collaboration between 4-H and the NSF Center for Sustainable Polymers a worthy model to explore.

Educators in non-formal learning settings as well as K-12 educators can discover three levels of free curriculum to engage young people as change-agents around real-world plastics issues. We've tested a teen-teaching model using hybrid delivery methods during the pandemic.

We're eager to get your perspectives on:

1. How have you seen youth become change agents around plastic issues? What excites you about working with youth in the topics of plastics and sustainability?

2. What kind of settings might you imagine using the curriculum in?

3. We have evaluated materials using youth surveys. Do you have suggestions for how you have evaluated youth learning beyond surveys of youth participants?

I love your project! I participated in 4H throughout my childhood, but I never thought about how it could be used to foster a love of science! 

What a great video. I'm impressed with the breadth of the partnership and how you've blended the expertise of scientists and youth development professionals to create a curriculum that engages youth in a scientific process that builds skills while also inspiring them to change the world for the better. I'm curious if you've considered longitudinal approaches to evaluating this program. I imagine, for example, learning about plastics at age seven can shapes choices and decisions as youth grow and change through time.

Thanks Joanna!  The longitudinal evaluation question is an intriguing one! We haven't thought about it with younger youth but have with the older youth and the current teen teachers who are primarily middle school aged.  We have mostly discussed this in terms of leadership development at this time, but your question makes me think about it. Something for our team to discuss! Thanks for you post!

I agree with Anne, great question! I think it might be a good idea to think about a longitudinal evaluation after we complete our professional development efforts next year. Perhaps we could find a state program that would be interested in partnering with our team. We could engage their educators who have received professional development and are familiar with the curriculum. That would provide for an authentic context. It would be an interesting and extremely worthwhile undertaking.

It's amazing how many families you are reaching through this program.  One good thing about the pandemic has been realizing how underused technology has been in reaching more kids.

Looks like a very well-organized and well-run program.  Congrats!

What an inspiring video! This seems like a curriculum that could be picked up by a number of informal learning environments, especially community-based organizations, to really dig into issues in their local area. I wonder if evaluation/assessment could happen at the community level as well, like changes in recycling rates or community priorities. How you are sharing/marketing the materials to potential educators/organizations? The teen-youth mentorship piece is especially interesting, as informal spaces look for ways to engage teens in authentic ways and give them leadership roles in the community -- can you say more about that part of the work? Thanks for sharing!

What an amazing project! I love the concept of using teen teachers to help inspire elementary and middle school learners. Are you using the youth surveys to evaluate both the learners and the teen teachers? 

Candice,

Thanks for your comment. We have evaluated youth outcomes using surveys. The teens-as-teachers component is just being rolled out, but I am certain we will be developing strategies to measure outcomes associated with their experiences working with younger youth.

Regards,

Martin

 Thanks Candice!

For the teen teacher program we highlighted in the video - this was a program only used in Minnesota at this point (and also a test of a model that will inform our full team's development of the larger Teens-as-Teachers approach currently in progress).  We have offered the program in fall and spring. In fall, we did informal evaluation with the teens through dialogue during weekly reflection and at the end of the program's 4 weeks.  This spring, we are working with our evaluation specialist in our Center for Youth Development, to develop a survey for the teens.  We have also done weekly reflection with the teens and we asked them how they preferred we capture what they have learned through the experience. They all said "a survey" mainly due to time constraints with end of school year demands. So we will be doing an eval in qualtrics and following up with the teens to get everyone's input (there are 9 teens who taught in spring). I'd be happy to share our survey tool with you if you'd like to see it! 

In addition, we are receiving feedback from the evaluations by parents of the younger youth who participated, giving input on the impact of the teen superheroes' role, so we have some good anecdotal feedback on how the teens really made these younger youth feel welcome, valued and that they "belonged" in 4-H. For many of the younger youth, this is their first, or one of their first experiences with a 4-H program, especially due to the pandemic, so this is a very critical role that the teens play!

Thanks for your interest!

Your project is a good combination science learning coupled with possible change in habits and action.  Joanna Tzenis' comment reminded me of how the smoking curricula impacted our sons fifty years ago.  They made life uncomfortable for their cigarette-smoking grandfather when he visited.  None of them smoke today.  Could you do some evaluation on how the participants in your program are affecting the choices made in their homes.  Is there an impact on use, recycling and reuse of plastics in their homes?  This is also a much-needed example of how changes in our scientific understanding should and can change how people act.    

Gerhard,

Excellent suggestion. Once we move past the development phase understanding the actual impacts of applied knowledge and skills needs to be a subsequent step. Thank you.

Regards,

Martin

As a partner (from SciGirls!) I just wanted to give a shout out to your  tremendous cutting-edge work and it's critically import educational outreach. Great video and terrific project. Thank you. Your center is so crucial to how we will evolve as humans and build a sustainable future for us and the planet. 

Thanks, Rita. Much appreciated. Our California team hasn't had much direct contact with SciGirls, but through our colleagues at UMN we know how important your organization has been re. conceptualization and development of these resources.

This is a great opportunity for young people to get involved and make a difference. What a great way to learn! Thank you for sharing this work and your partnership.

What a great project! I'd love to test some of these ideas in my course for pre-service elementary school teachers. 

Thank you, Danielle! That would be wonderful! You can explore the project website to download the curriculum.

Thank you Anne and Alexa - I will check out the resources. We are building out some programs for pre-service teachers and K-12 students at UCSB that focus on the UN Sustainable Development Goals and making formal and informal connections. Sounds like there might be quite a bit of overlap and possibly opportunities for collaboration. 

Great video!!  Excellent adaptation of existing 4H activities and education with emphasis on sustainability by engaging young learners.

Love the across the age span aspect of this project; especially the K-2 grade band. It my opinion, it is critical to get learners invested when they are young and then foster that interest throughout the P-12 learning experience. 

Absolutely, Yolanda! We were excited to start development at the K-2 grade band as there was a lack of STEM (especially physical sciences) material for youth that young. It was sometimes a challenge to translate what sustainable polymers are for youth that young but I think we made it work!

Yolanda,

Thanks for your comment and your interest in the K-2 age group. We agree that it's critical to reach young learners with content, but also delivering that content using effective pedagogy. As Jennifer stated, we think we've made it work!

Best,

Martin

Great example of relevant, age-appropriate content - love the video!   I'm working with Imagine Science.  We are a partnership of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Girls.Inc, Y-USA and the National 4-H Council and focus on working collaboratively to increase STEM opportunities for underserved youth.  Many of the local teams are using 4-H curricula in OST settings with the Teens as Teachers program model.  We have been using the PEAR CIS survey and Dimensions of Success program quality observations for evaluation.  One of the current projects is the CIDSEE Data Detectives Clubs.