K-State Research and Extension

The 4-H Military Partnerships honor an individual or team each year with the NAE4-HA 4-H Military Partnerships Award. The 2017 recipient was Beth Drescher, former County 4-H Agent in Sedgwick County. Beth received the NAE4-HA Military Partnerships Award at the NAE4-HA Conference on November 16, 2017, for her support of military connected youth and their families in Kansas. Beth’s passion and dedication to serving military youth and families had an impact in Sedgwick County and also at McConnell Air Force Base.

Beth’s desire for positive youth development has resulted in a very strong program at McConnell Air Force Base. As one of Beth’s collaborators stated, “With Beth’s involvement in our program we have become the ‘model’ for other Air Force installations on how to create partnerships with local 4-H program offices.” Each year, the McConnell 4-H members have 75 to 100 exhibits entered at the county fair, with many qualifying for exhibition at the Kansas State Fair. “It is always a treat to have the McConnell 4-H members visit the county fair to have their exhibits judged and to interact with other 4-Her’s.”

Congratulations to Casey Mull, GA Extension 4-H Military Liaison, as he takes leadership as the 2018 President of NAE4-HA!! Best wishes on a great year!

Mark your calendars for the 2018 4-H Military Partnership Meeting will be held the week of April 2-6, 2018, in San Antonio, TX. More details to come soon!

Note: At the 2018 4-H Military Partnerships Meeting, we will be missing Navy CYP staff due to limitations on travel. Please send any statement of impact/changes you have noted with the development of relationships, knowledge/skills of staff and youth after attendance at the 2017 meeting to Carol Fink at cfink@ksu.edu. We need to help Navy recognize the impact/changes and how the programs improved at their youth centers.

This webinar is a follow-up to earlier presentations by Dr. Mary Arnold on a new model for the 4-H program. The model, which proposes that 4-H programs impact youth by increasing youth thriving, was pilot tested in 2017. The results of the pilot test supported the proposed model and suggest important implications for 4-H programs. During this webinar, Dr. Arnold will present an overview of the model, the results of the pilot research, and updates on next steps for the model. An important aspect of this webinar will be the implications for 4-H programs seeking to increase thriving in youth.

Continue reading “Webinar: The Impact of 4-H on Adolescent Thriving” →

This is a reminder that letters of interest for the 2018 Navy Specialty STEAM camps are due January 5, 2018. Please see the email from November 15 from Marlene for details for submitting a letter of interest. Contact Marlene with any questions.

Growing Together is the title of the 2017 4-H Professional Research, Knowledge, and Competencies (PRKC) framework which provides a roadmap for us as 4-H youth development professionals. The PRKC framework uses a four-level taxonomy including domains, topics, components, and competencies to help us in every aspect of our work – from program planning and evaluation to volunteer development, and from diversity training to organizational effectiveness. The framework also offers guidance on the essential subject matter and competencies that identify the skills and behaviors we need to be effective youth development professionals. The 4-H PRKC is designed around the following six domains:

Continue reading “Growing Together: PRKC 2017” →

Professional development is a term widely used in educational fields to refer to experiences that promote the growth of an individual in their given profession. The primary outcomes of professional development are to build skills, improve competencies, and strengthen effectiveness. One way to strengthen the 4-H profession is to have a competency model that we can each use to guide our own professional development.

Competencies allow us to demonstrate that we can effectively utilize and perform a particular skill. Possessing a skill or knowledge base is not enough. We need to have the competency to use that skill to meet the outcomes of a given task. For example, I may know the steps to the experiential learning model but not be effective in implementing those steps when delivering educational programs to 4-H youth. This is an example where having a competency expectation can help to improve program effectiveness. 

Marlene received a call from KaBOOM! about a grant opportunity for Creative Play Products (Imagination Playground and Rigamajig).  She’s passing this along if you are interested in pursuing a grant for these materials to use with your 4-H clubs for military youth.  Applications should be submitted by Friday, December 15th if you are interested in this round of grant funding.

“KaBOOM! is the national non-profit dedicated to bringing balanced and active play into the daily lives of all kids, particularly those growing up in poverty in America.

KaBOOM! is excited to promote play by awarding a Creative Play grant to an organization that serves military children.

Continue reading “Creative Play Grant Opportunity for Organizations that Serve Military Children” →