Learning Styles

1
Learning Styles

• Print learners
• Auditory learners
• Tactile learners
• Visual learners
• Kinesthetic learners
• Interactive learners
• Independent learners
• Observational learners

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Experiential Learning Model
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4-H Skillathons

• Are participant centered
• Involve "do, reflect, and apply"
• The learning is facilitated
• The process is facilitated
• Realistic tasks are expected
• Praise and recognition for learners is
  incorporated

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Criteria for 4-H Youth Development Programming

• A 4-H club
• enrolls at least 5 members from at least 3
  families
• conducts a minimum of 6 regular club meetings
  per year, supplemented by other activities
• meeting typically includes a time for a business
  and educational program and for
  social/recreational interaction.

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Criteria for 4-H Youth Development Programming

• A 4-H club
• Typically elects officers or youth leaders
• meets in any location (homes, military base,
  schools, libraries, etc.)
• adapts to and supports mobility of youth and
  parents, linking them to 4-H programs in other
  counties and states.
• meets interests and needs of youth
• is advised by screened/trained adult staff or
  volunteers

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Criteria for 4-H Youth Development Programming

• A 4-H club
• includes opportunities to learn and apply skills
  such as leadership, citizenship, community
  service and public speaking
• provides individual project experiences in
  science, engineering and technology, citizenship
  and healthy living
• provides programs, curricula and procedures based
  in research, which are developmentally
  appropriate

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Criteria for 4-H Youth Development Programming

• A 4-H club
• provides members and volunteers access to
  resources of land-grant universities and to
  county, state and national 4-H opportunities
• uses experiential learning as a primary teaching
  approach
• fosters youth-adult partnerships that encourage
  active involvement and participation by youth and
  adults

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Criteria for 4-H Youth Development Programming

• A 4-H club
• provides safe and healthy physical and emotional
  environments

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Typical Policies of 4-H Clubs

• A set number of members with completed enrollment
  papers.
• Club is organized with youth officers.
• One or more appointed and trained club leaders.
• An official club name is chosen.
• Club rules are established.

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Typical Policies (cont'd)

• At least 6 regular meetings plus project meetings
  are scheduled.
• A written educational plan for the club program
  is on file at county 4-H Office.
• A copy of the club enrollment is kept on file
  with the county 4-H Office.

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Enrollment Policies for 4-H Members

• Enrollment of members, volunteers and leaders is
  required each year and is done through the county
  4-H Office.
• New members joining throughout the year must
  submit enrollment papers immediately to county
  4-H Office.
• Other forms such as code of conduct may also be
  submitted each year.

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Enrollment Policies of 4-H members (cont'd)

• Eligibility for competition and some project
  involvement are determined by birth date or grade
  in school.
• Contact your county 4-H agent for specific
  policies in your state.

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Enrollment Policies for Volunteers

• Volunteers must also complete enrollment forms
  each year.
• Screening and training prior to serving as 4-H
  leaders are usually required.
• Position descriptions are provided for volunteer
  leaders.

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Fiscal Policies for 4-H Clubs

• 4-H clubs do not pay taxes on income generated by
  the club.
• Some states have membership dues to cover
  insurance or other specific costs.
• Liability and accident insurance varies in each
  state. Contact your county 4-H agent for
  information about insurance coverage in your
  state.

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Reporting Policies of 4-H Clubs

• County 4-H programs report data through their
  states to National 4-H Headquarters at USDA.
• Includes demographic summary of members and
  volunteers
• Number of clubs in the county
• Information about the 4-H programs

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Nine Steps for Establishing a 4-H Club

• Step 1 -- Contact the county 4-H Agent
• Step 2 -- Attend local 4-H volunteer/leader
  training
• Step 3 -- Obtain county and state 4-H policies
  and guidelines

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Nine steps (cont'd)

• Step 4 -- Assess youth, parent and community
  needs and interests
• Step 5 -- Recruit potential club members
• Step 6 -- Conduct an organizational meeting

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Nine steps (cont'd)

• Step 7 -- Recruit project leader(s) and
  distribute curricula
• Step 8 -- Complete and submit enrollment and
  other appropriate reports
• Step 9 -- Assist with club rules or by-law
  preparation

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High-context Youth Development

• Experiences in which young people and adults have
  close connections over a long period of time.

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Step 1Identify Specific Life Skills

• Examples of life skills developed through 4-H
  club meetings
• leadership
• communication
• decision making
• problem solving
• teamwork
• cooperation
• accepting differences

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Step 2Involve Youth and Leaders

• Club meetings should be planned and conducted by
  youth members.
• Youth-run meetings attract more young people to
  the club and keep everyone involved.

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Step 3Plan for Balance and Variety

• Rule of thumb for 90-minute meeting
• Business meeting 15 minutes
• Educational program 30-45 minutes
• Recreation, social 30 minutes

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Guiding PrinciplesThe Essential Elements of 4-H

• Belonging
• A positive relationship with a caring adult
• An inclusive environment
• A safe environment

• Mastery
• Engagement in learning
• Learn new skills

• Independence
• Opportunity to see oneself as an active
  participant in the future
• Opportunity for self-determination

• Generosity
• Opportunity to value and practice service for
  others

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A Yearly Plan

• Clearly states the agreed upon club goals.
• Informs everyone on what to expect as members.
• Outlines each persons' responsibilities.
• Gives everyone time to prepare for meetings and
  events.

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A Yearly Plan (cont'd)

• Promotes a balanced experience with a variety of
  activities.
• Helps the group measure how successful they were
  in reaching their goals.

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Constructing a Yearly Plan

• 1. Determine interests, needs and desires of all
  club members.
• 2. Next, put those suggestions into a plan.

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Ideas for Gathering Information

• Idea box
• Wall parking lot or sticky board
• Web-based survey
• Roll call survey

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Clover Survey

• 4-H is for you! The activities that your club
  plans for the year should be the things the
  members of your club want to do. By completing
  the sentences in each leaf of the clover you will
  help your club plan the coming years activities.

I am curious about
We could help our community by
My hobbies are
Just for fun we could
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Setting Goals For Your 4-H Club

• Good goals
• Reflect interests of the club.
• Target life skills.
• Are stated clearly.
• Are realistic, achievable and measurable.
• Fit within the developmental capabilities of
  members.
• Promote cooperation, learning and skill
  development.
• Provide individual and group achievement
  incentives.

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Examples of 4-H Club Goals

• 25 of club members will exhibit computer
  projects in the county fair.
• Our club will participate in two community
  service projects during the coming year.
• Our club will recruit at least three new members
  during the coming year.

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Club Goals (cont'd)

• Our club will offer healthy snack options at
  every meeting during the coming year.
• Our club will attend one city council meeting
  during the coming year.

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A Typical 4-H Program Plan

• Includes
• Meetings on a fixed day every month.
• Educational trips or presentations by special
  guests.
• Recreational activities.
• Special events such as holiday parties.
• Community service projects.
• Project work.

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A Typical 4-H Program Plan (cont'd)

• Includes
• Opportunities for member presentations.
• One club recognition activity.
• One 4-H promotional activity.
• One meeting to plan the program for the following
  year.

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Marketing to Youth

• Youth today get information from the digital
  world. When marketing to young people,
  especially teens, remember
• Youth pay more attention to digital marketing
  than traditional forms of marketing.
• Use technology that youth use such as PodCasts,
  Facebook and YouTube.
• Advertisements can be produced at minimal cost
  and posted to YouTube, while PodCasts can be made
  available on websites.
• Sites such as Facebook can be used to create
  virtual groups and clubs for dissemination of
  information.
• All of these marketing techniques can be
  developed and managed by teen technology clubs.

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Guide to Creating Your 4-H Marketing Plan

1. What experiences can 4-H provide to your age
   group that they would see as a benefit?
2. What are some special events and activities that
   4-H is involved with that appeal to your
   audience?
3. What are some strategies you could use to let
   your audience know about 4-H and your club?

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Your Clubs Marketing Strategy

• List 3 things your club will do to attract
  members
• How will this be accomplished?
• Who will be responsible?

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Transitioning Youth to New 4-H Communities

• 4-H agents can provide contact information for
  all state 4-H offices.
• 4-H agents can make phone calls to help the
  transitioning member.
• 4-H agents can provide other youth development
  professionals information to help transition
  youth to new communities.

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Transitioning Youth to New 4-H Communities

• 4-H club leaders can assist youth who are moving
  by helping get all their 4-H records and
  paperwork in order.
• 4-H club leaders can assist new 4-H members by
  making sure members have all the information they
  need to be successful in their new club.

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Reasons Why People Volunteer

• To help their families
• To work with youth
• To learn new skills
• To help the community
• To meet and get to know people in the community

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Reasons Why People Volunteer

• To develop leadership skills
• To use personal skills and knowledge
• To learn more about community efforts and
  activities

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Club Leader Role

• Supports youth by providing encouragement, ideas
  and learning opportunities
• Recruits other volunteers and parents to assist
  with project and club activities

42
Club Leader Role

• Links the club to the county 4-H program by
  keeping communication open between the club and
  local 4-H agent
• Makes sure that 4-H clubs contribute to and make
  use of community resources

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Project Leader Role

• Creates positive learning environment where needs
  of all youth are met
• Provides experiences that teach the subject
  matter using experiential learning methods
• Provides opportunities to develop life skills
• Helps youth set realistic goals for projects and
  helps reach those goals

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Skills and Attitudes of Volunteers

• An understanding of youth development principles
• Shares age-appropriate responsibilities with
  youth
• Has high expectations and holds youth accountable
• Recognizes the accomplishments of youth

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Skills and Attitudes of Volunteers

• Fair, objective, honest and sincere
• Facilitates teamwork
• Develops leadership skills of youth

46
Supporting and Recognizing Volunteers

• Maintain contact with volunteers (internet,
  personal contact, phone)
• Develop clearly focused agendas for volunteer
  meetings
• Handle conflicts immediately
• Encouragement and recognition are essential

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Volunteer Recognition Ideas

• 1. Publicly thank volunteers. Write a news
  release for local paper highlighting their
  contributions.
• 2. Ask for volunteers' input into programs,
  events, workshops.
• 3. Invite volunteers to participate in staff
  meetings and conferences.

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Volunteer Recognition Ideas

• 4. Ask a volunteer to speak on behalf of the 4-H
  program to an outside agency.
• 5. Promote a volunteer to a higher level of
  responsibilities.
• 6. Write a letter of reference.
• 7. Nominate volunteers for community, state or
  national awards.

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Volunteer Recognition Ideas

• 8. Encourage youth to send thank-you notes.
• 9. Feature volunteers in print or media
  promotional publications.
• 10. Provide recognition tokens such as plaques,
  certificates, pins.

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Volunteer Recognition Ideas

• 11. Offer perks such as free admission, parking,
  reserved seating, etc.
• 12. Have a Volunteer of the Month Award.
• 13. Host a banquet, luncheon, party or reception
  in the volunteers' honor.

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Characteristics of Recognition

• Recognition is a basic human need.
• Recognition must be designed to build
  self-esteem.
• A balance between intangible and tangible
  recognition is essential.
• Adult support is essential.
• All 4-H members need to experience recognition
  for their efforts.

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Characteristics of Recognition

• Recognition is more meaningful when it occurs
  soon after it is earned.
• Appropriate recognition for individual 4-H'ers
  varies with stage of development, past
  experiences, family lifestyle, community and
  cultural heritage.

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Characteristics of Recognition

• Opportunities for self-assessment and reflection
  within the recognition process allow for youth to
  learn and grow.

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5 Types of Recognition

• 1. Participating in educational experiences.
• 2. Progress toward self-set goals.
• 3. Achieving standards of excellence.
• 4. Peer competition.
• 5. Excellence in cooperation.

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Participation Recognition

• Recognizes attending, participating and
  successfully completing an activity.
• Can take the form of a name in the paper,
  t-shirt, participation ribbon, etc.

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Progress Toward Self-Set Goals Recognition

• Not limited to the outcome at the end of the
  project and is useful when several steps are
  involved in reaching a goal. This form of
  recognition
• Can be used with all ages
• Requires that goals must be realistic and
  reachable
• Progress is evaluated by youth and adults
• Progress is measured using young person's own
  goals and plans

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Achievement of Standards Recognition

• Recognizing accomplishments as they compare to
  pre-determined standards. Key elements are
• Standard used to measure success is an outside
  source
• Adults must assure standards are clearly defined
  and youth are well informed
• Involves a judging system. 4-H uses a ribbon
  placement system
• The standard measures quality of work and is not
  a comparison to others

58
Peer Competition Recognition

• Comparison to peers can negatively influence
  younger members' self-perception
• Desire to win may overpower desire to learn.
  Help youth remain focused on the experience
  rather than the competition.
• Rules and procedures must be clear.

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Peer Competition Recognition

• Negative stress, conflict, etc., can be reduced
  by assuring everyone understands expectations.
• Adults must remember that this form of
  recognition is designed to promote the
  development of youth rather than the success of
  their program.
• Competition should be optional. It does not
  motivate ALL youth.

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Excellence in Cooperation Recognition

• Key components
• Involves all youth in the group
• Is measured against mutually agreed upon goals
  and supports looking at a variety of ideas
• Ultimate goal is not recognition
• Everyone is recognized