master of science agricultural and extension education | Department of Agricultural Communication, Education, and Leadership

Bowen completes thesis oral exam

August 12 2015

Jessica Bowen successfully completing her Master’s Oral Examination on Monday, August 10, 2015. Her thesis “Exploring Similarities and Differences in Perceptions of Organizational Culture by Generations Present in The Ohio State University Extension Organization” was supported by the Gist Chair in Extension Education and Leadership.

Graham Cochran, interim Department Chair for Agricultural Communication, Education, and Leadership and member of Combs’ graduate committee said “Her work was an important part of a larger organizational culture study and will be valuable as we continue to explore various aspects of organizational culture.”

Below, Bowen shares about her research,

A descriptive study was completed to explore the relationship between the generation one belongs to and their perceptions of the organizational culture of OSU Extension. This study was a part of a larger organizational culture study of the North Central Region Extension organizations. Perceptions of organizational culture were recorded using the, established, Denison Organizational Culture Survey. There were many similarities and a few areas of difference among the organizational traits and management practices across OSUE as a whole and the three generations. This was true for the percentile reports from Denison Consulting as well as ANOVA analysis. Due to minimal variation in the responses of the generations, the overall percentile report for OSU Extension is a fairly good representation of the generations in the organization. The similarities shown as well as the few instances of variation can provide important knowledge for leaders of the organization. Practical recommendations from this study include using the knowledge of generational difference to inform personnel and raise generational awareness as well as further research conducting a qualitative follow up study to further explore the perceptions of organizational culture by personnel.

Bowen will graduate in December with a Master’s in Agricultural and Extension Education. Following graduation she plans to spend additional time with her family, work in the extension profession and return to graduate school for her PhD.

Congratulations Jessica!

Jessica Bowen and her family

Combs completes Master’s Examination

July 24 2015July 23, 2015

Tami Combs successfully completed her Master’s Examination in early June. Her project, Dining with Diabetes: Beyond the Kitchen 2.0, focused on online learning.

Graham Cochran, interim Department Chair for Agricultural Communication, Education, and Leadership and member of Combs’ graduate committee said “Tami’s work with the Dining with Diabetes team in OSU Extension will be valuable for Ohio and nationally as we continue to expand and enhance the online footprint for Extension teaching.”

Below, Combs shares about her project,

For my project Dining with Diabetes: Beyond the Kitchen 2.0 I worked with the original Dinning with Diabetes: Beyond the Kitchen Moodle team to make updates and give a facelift to the original course. The Dinning with Diabetes: Beyond the Kitchen team included: Daniel Remley Ph.D.; Cheryl Spires R.D., L.D., M.F.C.S.; Jamie Seger; Susan Zies M.S.; and Barbara Hennard M.A. For the project I researched and developed an evaluation tool specific to the non-formal, knowledge-based education courses that Extension teaches online such as Dinning with Diabetes: Beyond the Kitchen. I used this tool to evaluate four Moodle courses, including the Dining with Diabetes: Beyond the Kitchen course. From the evaluations, I developed a set of recommendations for improvement to the course. Last, I made updates to the course which included: (1) a complete restructure of the welcome unit including the addition of course goals and updating the welcome email, (2) reorganization of each unit to fit the 4 “A” model (3) improvements to the course aesthetics by deleting and moving course content and making the units collapsible and (4) creating new login instructions with recorded video instructions.

Combs is an employee for Ohio State Extension in Highland County and completed the Distance Learning program in agricultural and extension education. She will graduate in August with her master of science degree, along with a minor in educational technology.

Congratulations Tami!

Tami is pictured with her family, daughter Mercy (2), son Shannon (5) and husband James.

ACEL Students Present at Youth Summit

January 29 2015January 29, 2015

By: Kayla Oberstadt, AEE graduate student
Carla Jagger, AEE graduate student
Mikayla Bodey, agricultural communication minor

The National Youth Summit on Agri-Science was hosted from January 16-19, 2015. In partnership with Merck Animal Health, the National 4-H Council and National 4-H Youth Conference Center presented a dynamic extended weekend of educational activities for youth participants.

Oberstadt, Jagger, and Bodey show their Ohio pride with the Washington Monument!

Three students from The Ohio State University were engaged in leadership and teaching roles during the four-day summit hosted at the National 4-H Youth Conference Center in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Mikayla Bodey, a sophomore from St. Paris, Ohio who is pursuing a minor in Agricultural Communication and two graduate students in Agricultural and Extension Education, Carla Jagger of Mt. Gilead, Ohio, and Kayla Oberstadt of New London, Wisconsin assisted through presenting workshops and leading roundtable discussions at the summit.

Carla Jagger and Kayla Oberstadt facilitated roundtable discussions in the Ag Issues Panel. Jagger led students in discussion of Urban Agriculture and Oberstadt in Public Perceptions of Production Animal Welfare. Other Ag Issues presented included Country of Origin Labeling and The Farm Bill.

Oberstadt facilitates a discussion with youth about agricultural careers and college options.

Participants work on their models for Monsanto’s Fish Farming Challenge in a workshop led by Bodey.

Workshops presented to the students included Monsanto’s Fish Farm Challenge, led by Mikayla Bodey. Ohio State’s own Dr. Bob Horton, Extension Specialist for Educational Design and Science Education, created this experimental challenge that gives students the opportunity to design a simulated fish feeding structure. Jagger guided students in an interactive workshop investigating Hydroponics in the Home where students researched materials needed for hydroponic gardens and were able to build their own simple hydroponic platform. In the Agricultural Career Panel, Oberstadt led students in discussion about college choices and routes to Extension Education, Jagger discussed Agricultural Education, and Dr. Rick Sibbel, director of U.S. Cattle Technical Services of Merck Animal Health, engaged students about veterinary work.

Participants work on their models for Monsanto’s Fish Farming Challenge in a workshop led by Bodey.

Jagger teaches students about components used in building hydroponic structures

This summit brought together youth participants representing regions from across the country. Students in 9^th-12^th grade were actively involved in the hands-on learning experience led by various representatives in the agricultural industry, including students from The Ohio State University Department of Agricultural Communication, Education, and Leadership. With much to learn in their days together, participants and presenters were also able to visit the nation’s capital on a night tour of monuments as well as a trip to George Washington’s home at Mount Vernon. This educational opportunity allowed for a unique educational opportunity for OSU students to share their passion for the agricultural industry and serve as a connection to high school students to explore agricultural education!

ACEL and the Linden Community

November 18 2014March 4, 2016

By: Lindsay Breuler
Cleveland, Ohio
M.S. Agricultural and Extension Education

Over the past two years, the Department of Agricultural Communication, Education, and Leadership has nurtured a partnership with the Linden community in Columbus. In an effort to promote community and youth development, several programs have been established. During the summer months a small, 4-H club was established to teach the Linden youth (ages 14-18) leadership, gardening, nutrition, and community service. The youth completed a variety of learning workshops including a nutrition scavenger hunt, HANDS CPR training, and hours of hands-on gardening. In addition, several community service events were held which the youth helped to organize and facilitate.

Now that the summer is over, a new community-focused program is being developed and piloted. Within the community of Linden, access to fresh, wholesome food is limited making it difficult to obtain food for a healthy lifestyle. As such, a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program has been developed and pilot tested in Linden. The CSA program and Farmer’s market provides fresh, healthy fruits and vegetables to the community. During the pilot test, outside produce was brought in from local producers to gage the interest of the community.

The Linden Community Farmer’s Market was held for three weeks in October starting at the annual Cabbage and Greens Festival. Community members were very excited about the program and expressed significant interest in using the program. After evaluating the three markets in October, it was decided that the program will start back up in April 2015. Plans are in place to include acceptance of SNAP-ED benefits at the market and grow 50-80% of the produce sold at the Linden community garden, Ama Vera’s Garden.

Until April, 2015 the CSA and Farmer’s market will continue to be organized and planned for the next season. Plans are also in place to host three workshops on college and career readiness in the community. Topics covered will include college applications, scholarships, FAFSA, resumes, and interviewing. These workshops will be held starting in January 2015 and will continue through February 2015.

If readers have any questions about the Linden community programs or would like to volunteer please contact myself (breuler.2@osu.edu) or Dr. Gary Straquadine (straquadine.5@osu.edu).