This seminar will highlight a two-tier process used to identify curriculum and in-service education needs and priorities for the 4-H/Youth program in Pennsylvania. A task force consisting of faculty, staff, and administrators used decision support software to identify needs and priorities for in-service training, curriculum development, volunteer development, new agent orientation and more. The software sorted and categorized the input to provide feedback on needs, issues, and priorities related to youth development curricula and in-service education.
Information generated from the task force was then posted on a web site with an accompanying questionnaire that asked for input on the most critical questions and reactions to the data. This questionnaire was developed using a relational database on the worldwide web, which allowed for agent and faculty input to be entered directly into a database program for analysis at the state level.
An in-service training plan will be developed utilizing data from both levels of input. The plan will be made available for review and comment systemwide using the worldwide web before adoption and implementation.
The methods used proved to be an excellent way to obtain statewide input on topics of interest to all faculty and staff working in the 4-H/Youth program. The technology allowed for immediate feedback to ideas and plans, eliminated staff time and resources used for travel to meetings, and reduced support staff time needed to enter and analyze data.
The technological processes used will be demonstrated and the resulting training plan will be shared during this seminar.