Youth Engagement in Economic Opportunities within Rural Areas

Webinar hosted by Making Cents International on "Youth Engagement in Economic Opportunities within Rural Areas". 

DATE: Tuesday, Feb. 4^, 2014, 10-11 AM EST

RSVP & MORE INFO: http://j.mp/1fFs6LF

WEBINAR SPEAKER(S):

Steve Cumming (Program Manager of Youth Learning at the MasterCard Foundation)

Mary McVay, (Founder, Enterprise Development Kiosk)

Simeon Ogonda (Co-Founder, Spring Break Kenya)

ABOUT THE WEBINAR: Today’s unprecedented high youth population presents the challenge of creating constructive career paths for millions of people born into rural poverty, but it also presents the opportunity of leveraging human resources to address a major global challenge: food security. How can we engage young people in agricultural and/or rural development efforts in ways that present a viable future for them and contribute to food security? Many young people want to leave the farm, but where will they go and who will be tomorrow’s farmers? What other rural development work can offer opportunities to young people, and benefit from their contribution? What are young people themselves saying? Join Steve Cumming (Program Manager of Youth Learning at the MasterCard Foundation), Mary McVay, (Founder, Enterprise Development Kiosk), and Simeon Ogonda (Co-Founder, Spring Break Kenya) for this in-depth conversation that will address these and other pressing questions, while providing you with practical guidance to inform your work.

Additional Resources

This week we are wrapping up the first course theme: Education as Innovation, where we explored the notions of diffusion, the effects of education, and the special contribution of agriculture to development.  We'll be moving into Access to Education and Employment, which focuses on the barriers to accessing quality education and employment.

Have lingering questions about poverty, education and agricultural development?  Want to learn more about diffusion of innovations?  Curious to learn more about the barriers to education and employment?

I encourage you to spend some time with the books from which we pulled our select class readings.  These resources address other facets of poverty and development that are outside the purview of this course.  Additionally, seriously consider reading Rogers' entire Diffusion of Innovations and spend some time looking at current and historical studies that have utilized this model.

• Banerjee, A. V., Benabou, R., Mookherjee, D., & Case, A. (2006). Understanding poverty. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN: 9780195305203. 

• Banerjee, A. V., & Duflo, E. (2011). Poor economics: a radical rethinking of the way to fight global poverty. New York: PublicAffairs. ISBN: 9781586487980.

• Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of innovations 5th ed. New York: Free Press. Chapter one available on ANGEL.

 I also recommend the work of Amartya Sen, a Nobel Prize winner who writes about famine, poverty, health and education in the developing world from a very unique viewpoint.

Also, an alternative way of learning more about these issues is to look at the open course (MOOC) offered by MIT on global poverty.  It's just like attending a class - you get a syllabus, the required readings, assignments and exams and then you can watch videos of the course lectures.  The course I've linked to is actually taught by Banerjee and Duflo, two of the authors from our course readings and who are also world-renown development economists.  MIT also offers several other open courses that you might be interested in such as sustainable development, food security and development policy.  

Finally, challenge yourself to connect with at least three organizations or key individuals that are working within these subject areas.  Visit their websites, learn about their strategies, identify their sources of funding, and stay updated on their activities via social media or newsletter updates.

History of the Land Grant Mission

In class on Thursday, it became apparent that not everyone is familiar with the fact that Penn State is a Land Grant Institution.

Historical Marker located near Ag Admin Building

In fact, Penn State was one of the first land grant universities in the nation and was the first to award degrees in agriculture.

Land Grants were established by the Morrill Act of 1862 to provide opportunity for the common man to have access to education on agricultural, mechanics and military science. Recently, Land Grant Universities celebrated 150 years.

Other significant pieces of legislation that impacted the missions of these institutions include:

• The Hatch Act of 1887 - Established Ag Experiment Stations
• The Smith-Lever Act of 1914 - Created Cooperative Extension Service.

Today, Land Grants have a mandated tripartite mission of Teaching, Research and extension/outreach.

To learn more about the history of the Land Grant, visit this pdf from the Association of Public Land Grant Universities (APLU): http://www.aplu.org/document.doc?id=780

To learn more about US extension, visit this site of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA): http://www.csrees.usda.gov/qlinks/extension.html

To learn more about extension in Pennsylvania: http://extension.psu.edu/

Here is a 3:00 minute video about the History of Land Grant Universities in Pennsylvania:

Here is a 10:00 minute video from APLU about the Sesquicentennial Anniversary (Great watch): 

Global ATVET

The information from the assigned reading yesterday - The Role of Agricultural Technical and Vocational Education and Training in Developing Countries - is vital to this course.  Spend some time answering the questions below to ensure your understanding of the material presented.

1. What is the definition of ATVET?  TVET?  What are the differences and similarities between these terms?
2. What types of jobs are considered "agricultural"?
3. What is "workforce development"?
4. What are the steps to using the workforce development strategy?
5. What types of skills should be included in ATVET?  What are the current trends?
6. Summarize the Ethiopian case study from the report.  What are the strengths and weaknesses of the Ethiopian ATVET system?
7. Generally speaking, what are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of ATVET in developing countries?
8. Search for more information from one of the recent ATVET projects highlighted in table one.  What are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of this program?
9. Summarize the Kyrgyzstan case study from the report.  What are the strengths and weaknesses of the ATVET system in Kyrgyzstan?
10. Where do you see opportunities for strengthening the global ATVET system?  What are factors to take into consideration?

If you would like to discuss your answers to these questions, please do not hesitate to come see me.  Also, make sure you visit the innovATE website, the project responsible for commissioning this paper.

Comprehension Check #1

Check or understanding from reading #2

Readings for Session 7

Class, just a reminder that in addition to the course readings for Tuesday, I'd like you to familiarize yourself with the Millennium Development Goals by exploring the website and checking on the progress made toward each goal. 

Who made the goals, and how much time do we have left to achieve them?  Is the world on track to meet these goals?  Why do we care about these goals in this course?

This reading is not required, but you might be particularly interested in reading the report on teaching and learning, which found that 75% of the teachers in the world are not formally trained in education.

Tuesday is a tech day!  Also, remember that we have readings #5 & 7, and that Tuesday will be the first journal check.  Plan to leave your journal with us before you leave class on Tuesday!

Finally, remember that Step 1 for your "This I Believe" essay is due on Thursday - either a hard copy turned in during class, or uploaded into the dropbox on ANGEL.

But...I still have questions!

We are now in the third week of the semester.  As instructors, we've challenged you to actually read the assigned readings before coming to class.  We ask this so you come to class with a basic understanding of the content, which leaves us the freedom to engage with the content at higher cognitive levels in the classroom. 

We don't just want you to know the material, but we want you to be able to discuss it, analyze it and synthesize it.  These higher cognitive functions are so much more challenging to your brain than simple lecture and hours of PowerPoint presentations. 

In essence, this class is about YOU learning the material, not the instructors demonstrating that they can drone on for hours about the material.  That's called student-centered!

It can be uncomfortable at times because not many classes are run this way.  Isn't that funny?  Most classrooms are not student-centered.  It seems kind of backward to me, because aren't classes supposed to be focused on students learning something...?

It has come to my attention that some students might be unsettled when they leave class.  After doing the readings and engaging with the content students might not feel that they "know" the material. 

So, in our student-focused class, we turn the onus of responsibility back on you.  Reread the readings, look at the additional resources we tweet, and or pay us a visit to follow-up with us on anything you have questions about.  Ignite your inner desire to know more and act on it!

Did you miss the last #AskAg Twitter chat?

The most recent Agrilinks #AskAg Twitter chat focused on international volunteering advancing agricultural development.  The intention was to bring together potential, existing and returned volunteers who have spent time overseas working on agriculture and food security.

The Twitter chat was organized around the following questions:

1. What do volunteers gain from their service?
2. What type of traits/skills make for an effective volunteer?
3. What does an AgDev Volunteer experience look like, and how does this differ from paid work?
4. What sort of challenges do volunteers face, and what resources help them address these challenges?

Participants included representatives from organizations such as Volunteers for Economic Growth Alliance (VEGA), ACDI/VOCA, TechnoServe, Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Washington and Willing Workers on Organic Farms (WWOOF).  If you'd like to see the list of Twitter accounts associated with these organizations and their representatives, check out the complete explanation of the Twitter chat on Agrilinks. 

If you missed the chat you can search #AskAg through your Twitter account to see comments from participants.  Many great resources were shared including links to international agriculture resources and organizations and specific volunteer postings.  Many individuals and organizations active in this field joined in on the chat.  If you're interested in volunteering in international agriculture, this Twitter chat was a great way to identify possible organizations and key individuals.

Agrilinks now hosts #AskAg Twitter chats on a monthly basis.  Watch this YouTube video to learn more about their Twitter chats or click here to sign up for monthly emails announcing upcoming events.

Session #5 Education as Innovation Ticket Out Responses

What are you curios about?
1. What the guest speaker is going to talk about

•  Refer reading #6

2. Can we look at twitter posts if we do not have a twitter

•  Twitter post is display at our course blog  

3. How can we reserve the youth trend back into Ag related areas/make the agriculture industry more appealing to young people

• We will reserve this question as our Lingering Questions

4. If liberalizing term of trade can do a lot to improve situations (like in China and India) why it is not done more often?

• We will reserve this question as our Lingering Questions

5. Is interest in agriculture increasing in developing countries?

• World bank Data [INFO]

7.What is the WTO's role in the trade and helping developing countries?

• More information of [WTO]

8.Who I'm going to get as my pen pal & if we could discuss thing more from an ag. standpoint, how we can communicate with our student pen pal?

• Those who choose to have Ag student pen pal, you will connected to students in Malaysia who is in a teacher preparation program and taking Ag courses as part of their requirement. However you only will be able to get their information and exchanging emails a week after February 10. Discussion about Ag is definitely encourage.

9. Learn more about Engel's law

• Distinguish Professor Lecture:  Engel's law  by Rulon D. Pope [ Youtube]

10.What is the direct connection between labor wages and land-to-labor ratio

•  Revisit reading #2

11. What is the speaker do to actually develop her work?

•  More about our speaker [LINK]

 What did you learn?

1. Land to labor ratio
2. Agriculture makes a difference
3.Engel's law
4.Land to labor ratio can be interpreted differently based on perception
5.The importance of money and education in relation to food
6. Land and labor ratio is very simple but complicated concept
7.Implication of land to labor ratio
8.Interconnection of agriculture in rural communities
9.The development of agriculture is incredibly complex and relates to so many aspect of society
10. There is an online volunteering opportunity through the UN
11.Land to labor ratio in developing countries is low

What are you want to learn more about?

1. Trend among youth in area that were not covered in class

• This might be a good questions for our guest speakers 

2. More information about the organizations and people that were involve in the #AskAg

• Talk to your instructors

4. Ways is which people are currently trying to encourage the idea of sustainable agriculture around the world

• We will reserve this question as our Lingering Questions

5. The economic of breaking though poverty

• Refer to reading #2

6. What is social entrepreneur is?

• Will be answer in our next class session

Session #4 Education as Innovation Ticket out Responses

What are you curious about?

1. The best way to evaluate the quality/impact of an education and why is it important?

• Refer reading #1 and #2 and you can look at this [Article]

2. Is there an accepted definition for education?

• Refer reading #1

3. Do we have to pay to send letters to our pen pals?

• You will exchange emails with your pen pals.

4. Mexico's Progresa Program mention in the reading

• Check out Progress against poverty : sustaining Mexico's Progresa-Oportunidades program Book  available at PSU [ Library]

5. Factor affecting education progressing

• We will keep this question as our lingering questions.

7. I would like to learn more about health & fertility and education roles

• Refer reading #1

8. Are other nations or developing nations welcome our help? is it our place to step in?

• Bill Gates' 2014 open [LETTER] 

9. Education (Agriculture education) in other developing countries

• You will get the chance to talk to our guest speakers and also exchange stories with your Pen Pals. 

10.How does government funding towards education effect the education system of a particular country?

• This is good question to ask our guest speakers.

11.Since education is hard to quantify how do researchers that study it go about their work

• Excellent question. you might be interested to read this Book :
  Challenges for educational research,  edited by Jean Rudduck and Donald McIntyre

What did you learn?

1.The factors of education (income, health and fertility) affect education and are affected by it, and affect each other
2. The effect of education and fertility
3.Factor involved in developing education systems
4.People's view points on education
5.Income, Education, Fertility
6. How education can impact health and fertility
7.That I am grateful to have had CED classes in the past to integrate into this course material
8. About Education impact on the world
9.Many variables inhibit the study of achieving universal education
10. Everyone defines education and being educated differently making researching education hard


What do you want to learn more about
1. What other aspect of human such as capital/health contributes to success

• Almost everything!

2. How school should decide how to use their resources to best meet the need of their children esp if they have very limited resources.

• This is another good question to ask our guest speakers.

3.How the UN plan on implementing their MDG of universal education goal

• MDG Action [Plan]

5. How do researchers identify and isolate factor that effect education.

• In an educational research there is a process called Identifying Research Problem. Read More [Here]

Example "This I Believe" Podcast

Here is an example This I Believe Podcast that your classmate, Keith Taylor, shared.

I encourage you to check it out.

http://rhetoricandciviclifetaylor.tumblr.com/post/16871216484/this-i-believe-crying-in-sports-by-keith-taylor

Three Cups of Tea and Greg Mortenson

One thing that all students in this class should know is that the course syllabus has been passed out to education and development experts around the world, just to make sure that we're on target.

One thing a few syllabus-reviewers commented on was the Three Cups of Tea reading.  Wasn't the author discredited?  Why do we persist in assigning it in this class?  In fact, the entire Three Cups of Tea book was used as a course text in a previous version of AEE 400. 

I like this chapter because it shows an American going into a village in a developing country, witnessing the poverty, and jumping to the conclusion that a material good - a school building - will solve the problem of education there.  He's also an outsider, meaning that he is not from that country and does not understand the culture or context well.  The rest of the book chronicles the uphill battle he fought to get the school building built, install a teacher and to actually get kids to attend the school.

In short, this reading highlights many aspects of the diffusion of innovation model and provides fodder for discussion. 

The scandal that broke with the foundation that the author, Greg Mortenson does not diminish what we can learn from this chapter.  You can learn more about the scandal by searching for news articles or by watching this 60 Minutes segment.  It's a great example of how accountability with development projects is difficult to document, and how some projects can do more harm than good.

If you're interested in engaging with this reading more, you might consider filling out the worksheet passed out at the end of class using this situation as an example.  Also, the entire book is a great read and I encourage you all to pick it up from either Penn State Library or Schlow Public Library.

Diffusion of Innovations and AEE 400

From the wealth of "Ticket Out" responses, it seems that the Rogers' model of diffusion of innovations captured the interest of many students. 

There are many lingering questions, including:

• How the diffusion model can be used for good and seen as destructive?
• Developing nation and communities wants vs needs? Are we forcing something on the people?
• Does the diffusion of Innovation process/model ever not happen? Example?
• What are some best practices for facilitating diffusion?

These are all GREAT questions!  I'm glad that the reading and brief discussion of this model has your minds turning in all different directions.

As we'll discover throughout this class, the Rogers' model of diffusion is just one model. There are other models of diffusion, which were largely developed because researchers saw so many flaws with the Rogers model.

If you take a look at the model, there are some limitations that you can see right off the bat.  Why should 100% adoption of the innovation be the goal?  Doesn't that assume that the innovation is the right thing for everyone?  These biases are called the pro-innovation bias and the individual-blame bias, which assume that the innovation is "right" and people are "wrong" for not adopting it. 

Decades of research was conducted using this model, trying to pinpoint the best practices to rapidly diffuse new innovations among populations in developing countries.  You can find examples in the readings, as well as by searching for research articles through Penn State libraries.  In the end, many development experts found that each context is unique and that it is very hard to generalize results in across cultures and different geographic locations. 

Doesn't this idea tie right in with the development question?  How do outsiders, mainly Westerners, decide what is right for other people?  If you keep reading in Rogers or look at the literature, many development projects that utilized this model have had unintended consequences and many have tried to diffuse Western innovations in a non-Western context.  In the process, the needs and wants, as well as the indigenous knowledge, of local people are often ignored.

This is a big idea!  There are entire college courses taught JUST on Rogers' model.  In fact, there is an entire graduate class in Workforce Education taught on this topic.  There are folks that have dedicated their academic lives to thinking and researching this model.  So don't be frustrated!

Here are some things you can do: I encourage you to fill out the worksheet passed out at the end of class and reread the assigned reading to make sure you have the basics down.  Come talk to me if you have questions or if you want to learn more about this model.  Also, check out the rest of Rogers' book for more examples and detail about the issues touched on above.  It's an easy read and the examples are great illustrations of his main points.

Seven Characteristics of Good Learners

Hello all!

I was reflecting on the bus ride about AEE 400 and the trajectory the course is taking.My observation is that not everyone perhaps is comfortable with the format of the course yet (no doubt, we will all acclimate).

A fundamental philosophical foundation that we took when designing this course is while there are concepts that can be engaged in there is no one "right" answer when dealing with our course themes and for this course to have true value, each learner will have to actively engage in constructing their own meaning.

In order to accomplish the goal of "engaging" with the material and peers to construct meaning, each learner must come to class prepared by having completing the reading that was provided to provide context. This allows us to go deeper and really start creating individual meaning. It is not an effective use of time for us to come to class and "lecture" at you about the reading...we would be greatly hindering our chance and true learning if that was the case because the issues we are grappling with are dynamic and ever-changing, not static that can be learned from a book alone.

In my email this morning, I received a blog entry from Dr. Maryellen Weimer that I thought I would share those with you to get your feedback. Of course, as instructors we are committed to being "good learners" as well.

SEVEN CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD LEARNERS

1.     Good learners are curious – They wonder about all sorts of things, often about things way beyond their areas of expertise. They love the discovery part of learning. Finding out about something they didn't know satisfies them for the moment, but their curiosity is addictive.

2.     Good learners pursue understanding diligently – A few things may come easily to learners but most knowledge arrives after effort, and good learners are willing to put in the time. They search out information—sometimes aspiring to find out everything that is known about something. They read, analyze, and evaluate the information they've found. They talk with others, read more, study more, and carry around what they don't understand; thinking about it before they go to sleep, at the gym, on the way to work, and sometimes when they should be listening to others. Good learners are persistent. They don't give up easily.

3.     Good learners recognize that a lot of learning isn't fun – That doesn't change how much they love learning. When understanding finally comes, when they get it, when all the pieces fit together, that is one special thrill. But the journey to understanding generally isn't all that exciting. Some learning tasks require boring repetition; others a mind-numbing attention to detail; still others periods of intense mental focus. Backs hurt, bottoms get tired, the clutter on the desk expands, the coffee tastes stale—no, most learning isn't fun.

4.     Failure frightens good learners, but they know it's beneficial – It's a part of learning that offers special opportunities that aren't there when success comes quickly and without failure. In the presence of repeated failure and seeming futility, good learners carry on, confident that they'll figure it out. When faced with a motor that resists repair, my live-in mechanic announces he has yet to meet a motor that can't be fixed. Sometimes it ends up looking like a grudge match, man against the machine, with the man undeterred by how many different fixes don't work. He's frustrated but determined to find the one that will, all the while learning from those that don't.

5.     Good learners make knowledge their own – This is about making the new knowledge fit with what the learner already knows, not making it mean whatever the learner wants. Good learners change their knowledge structures in order to accommodate what they are learning. They use the new knowledge to tear down what's poorly constructed, to finish what's only partially built, and to create new additions. In the process, they build a bigger and better knowledge structure. It's not enough to just take in new knowledge. It has to make sense, to connect in meaningful ways with what the learner already knows.

6.     Good learners never run out of questions – There's always more to know. Good learners are never satisfied with how much they know about anything. They are pulled around by questions—the ones they still can't answer, or can only answer part way, or the ones without very good answers. Those questions follow them around like day follows night with the answer bringing daylight but the next question revealing the darkness.

7.     Good learners share what they've learned – Knowledge is inert. Unless it's passed on, knowledge is lost. Good learners are teachers committed to sharing with others what they've learned. They write about it, and talk about it. Good learners can explain what they know in ways that make sense to others. They aren't trapped by specialized language. They can translate, paraphrase, and find examples that make what they know meaningful to other learners. They are connected to the knowledge passed on to them and committed to leaving what they've learned with others.

Session # 3 Education as Innovation Ticket Out Responses

**Note: due to many "Ticket Out" responses focused on "Three Cups of Tea" and "Diffusion of Innovations" there will be separate blog entries addressing those topics.

What are you curious about?

1. The journal entries?

•  The journal entries are for you to write about your thoughts and feelings regarding the class and course readings. You will keep your journal for yourself and only turn it in when journal checks are noted in the syllabus.

2.  Official definition of diffusion  of innovation

• Refer to reading # 9

3. Who I will become pen pals with and how difficult it will be to make a podcast?

• It could be a peace corps volunteer or an agriculture student in a developing country.  We will connect you with a pen pal, if you choose one of these assignments for your "Pick One".
• This is  a video [LINK] for how to create a podcast.

4. Listening to ''This I Believe''

• You can listen to some example of this is believe podcast here [LINK] 

5. How many people go out and try still try to introduce new things? Is there a certain program

• There are a lot of great individuals or organizations who goes out helping  and making other people's lives better. During the course of the semester we will be taking a look at many different types of organizations focused on agricultural education as a vehicle for diffusing new innovations.  Many of the guest speakers in this course represent or have participated in these programs.

6. Do we need to force changes in places that we perceive to be under-developed?

•  This is a debate when considering the idea of "development".  What does "developed" mean?  Does it mean that countries will be regarded as "undeveloped" until they look like the so-called "developed" countries?  Or is there a new pathway forward?  This is a broader debate that you can explore by taking more classes on this topic.  We'll take a look at this issue regarding agricultural education in this class.

What did you learn?

1. The innovation is all about perception

2. Not all innovation are as highly valued in some cultures as we may expect

4. Education can tie into the diffusion of innovation because it id both affected by it and is a form of diffusion

5.








6. Innovation depends on perspective

7. How to present ideas in our new classroom

8. Roger's Diffusion of innovation chart

9. The diffusion model

10. Innovation and Diffusion

11.The World is a Challenging Place



What do you want to learn more about?

1. How to conduct a case study

• You can talk more about this with your instructors.

2. How the model connects with everything that we find innovative in today's world

• I encourage you to continue reading Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations available at PSU [LIBRARY].  Each element of diffusion is discussed in detail, along with many examples.

3. Interested in reading more of the story

• Three Cups of Tea book is available at PSU [LIBRARY]

4.   The solid definition of diffusion

• Refer to reading #9

5. Who the peace corp volunteers are

• Learn more about the volunteers here [LINK]

6. Factor behind accepting agriculture innovation/ ideas in developing countries

• In general- Relative advantage, Compatibility, Complexity, Trialability, and Observability. Refer to reading #9

7. The DIY project oppurtunity

• Talk to the instructors

8. The Mortenson story 

• Find more story about Mortenson story here [LINK]

Seminar Opportunity - January 29th - Cultivating Dismodernity: The Meanings of Maize and Agricultural Development in Mexico’s Central Highlands

Wednesday, January 29, 2014
124 Sparks, 1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m

Cultivating Dismodernity: The Meanings of Maize and
Agricultural Development in Mexico’s Central Highlands

Emma Gaalaas Mullaney, Penn State

Agricultural development programs in Mexico have been consistently pushing for the replacement of traditional maize cultivars with “improved”, “modern” scientifically-bred

varieties for over 70 years, and yet the overwhelming majority of Mexican maize area remains planted with farmer-bred varieties to this day. The country’s Central Highland region

is home to some of the world’s foremost centers of maize research, and also to maize-cultivating peasant communities that, though oriented to commercial production, consistently

decline to cultivate commercial seed in favor of diverse varieties that they have maintained for generations. Drawing on ethnographic research and oral histories with local maize

farmers, agricultural extension agents, and research scientists, this talk will explore how conflicting and contextually-inflected interpretations of modernity and tradition have shaped

the agricultural landscape in a region where maize is a primary source of food security, livelihood, cultural identity, and biodiversity.

Emma Gaalaas Mullaney is a dual-degree PhD Candidate in Geography and Women’s Studies. Her dissertation research has been made possible by support from the National

Science Foundation, the Society of Women Geographers, the Institute of International Education Boren Fellowship Program, Specialty Groups of the Association of American Geographers, the Center for Global Studies, and several other departments and institutes at Penn State. Since 2010, Emma has also served as a Youth Delegate to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).

This lecture is a part of the Center for Global Studies Brown Bag Graduate Lecture Series which focuses on interdisciplinary graduate research.

Session # 2 Welcome - Ticket Out Responses

 Ticket out responses

What are you curious about?

1. Agriculture Student Digital Pen Pal?

The instructor will connect you with a post-secondary student studying agriculture in a developing country. We will have future discussion about this session as the class progresses.  

2. How could agriculture be a part in combating the issues from the film?

You have the similar question this course is trying to answer. Good question .We can think about it together. 

3. How everyone involved is doing now: what the kids are up?

            You might find some interesting update here
              https:/  /www.facebook.com/asmallact

4. How student learn in developing countries?

International students at Penn State came from 141 countries and I bet most of them are from developing countries. Find new friends and learn from them. You can visit http://global.psu.edu/uogp  and find about more about the Global PSU.

5. About similar foundation and how we can help different foundation?

There is a lot of foundation out there you can find and one of them is UNICEF (United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund).  They are in over 190 countries around the world we are doing whatever it takes to reach the world's most vulnerable children. They are saving lives, protecting childhoods and getting children to school. Check here in [How You Can Help]

6. How far has the Hilde Backed Foundation Grown?

You can visit this page and see how they grown http://www.hildebackeducationfund.com/

7. About this course?

These course expectations can be learned from the course syllabus  

8. History of Ethnic conflict?

This might be a good book to look at, Ethnic Conflicts and the Nation-State (Author: Rodolfo Stavenhagen)

 What did you learn?

1. Public education is still very similar across continent

2. Change how I think of things

3. Open my mind to other culture

4. The impact of a small action a single person can do

5. Programs in the different countries

6. How we can help in our area

7. How intense the education system is in the Africa

8.  About the education system in Kenya

9.  KPCE result were reported through text message

10.The generosity of others really makes a big impact

11. How different educational access and value in other countries

12. Politics/political interest has a huge effect on students and their ability to perform

13. The need for education  changes in developing countries

What do you want to learn more about?

1. Agriculture Specific education for these kids / Agriculture programs/K-12 sciences program to improve education in developing countries?

 Learn more and ask question when you have chance to meet our guest speakers. They are individuals  with experiences and knowledge in global agricultural education

2. How to properly communicate with international student/people/ leaders

 “To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.”           

       (Tony Robbins)

Global Issues Colloquium

The Global Issues Spring Semester colloquium hosted by Penn State's School of International Affairs beginning today. The seminars are held every Thursday from 11:15 am to 12:30 pm at the Executive Education Building near the Nittany Lion Inn. 

Please see the flyer for specific speakers and topics for each seminar. It looks like a great opportunity to network with the International Affairs program as well as learn from highly distinguished speakers from both academia and the world of global affairs! 

Faculty Introduction - Melanie Miller Foster

Hello everyone,

My name is Melanie Miller Foster and I work in the Office of International Programs in the College of Agricultural Sciences.  My background is in rural sociology and agriscience.  I'm a proud alumna of both North Dakota State University and The Ohio State University.

It's exciting to pilot test AEE 400: Educational Programs in Agriculture in Developing Countries and it will be an adventure to utilize the Krause Innovation Studio.

Don't hesitate to contact me with any questions, concerns or causes for celebration.

This is going to be a great semester!
Melanie
@GlobalMelanie

Faculty Introduction - Daniel Foster

Hello all,

My name is Daniel Foster and I am an agricultural teacher educator at Pennsylvania State University. Prior to Penn State, I received my graduate degrees at The Ohio State University and taught secondary agriculture in Willcox, Arizona.

I am so excited to work with you on this grand adventure of AEE 400: Education in Agriculture in Developing Countries.

I think that with you and your classmates, we have a great team and the chance to really develop our capacity as positive agents of change.

I look forward to growing as a learning community with you. I hope you are active in sharing and commenting on our course blog and sharing via Twitter with the hashtag #AEE400

Let's Rock and Roll!

Daniel
@FosterDanielD

Welcome to AEE 400

Our first class will be meeting at 120 Moore Building (Tuesday 1.00pm-2.15pm) [MAP]