Project Pathway
4-H sees science, technology as crucial to building competitive workforce
By Jim Erickson
ericksonjim@att.net
Editor’s note:This article is reprinted,
from the January issue of “AFC
Cooperative Farming News,” the member
publication of the Alabama Farmers
Cooperative, one of the many farmer co-ops
across the nation that support youth
organizations such as 4-H and FFA.
Erickson is a freelance writer based in
Missouri who has worked for several of the
nation’s major farmer co-ops.
ore than a half-century
ago, the launch of the
Sputnik satellite by the
former USSR sparked a
dramatic increase in the
number of U.S. students opting for
studies and, ultimately, careers in
science, math and engineering.
Today, nearly a decade into a new
century, the importance of those fields
has increased. But as challenges in
biotechnology, alternative energy,
genetics and other fields have come to
the forefront, members of the Sputnikinspired
generation of scientists and
engineers are retiring. And experts say
replacements aren’t coming fast enough
to maintain the nation’s technology
leadership in the future.
Agricultural science is a notable case
in point due to its diverse impact on so
many aspects of people’s lives, both here
and throughout the world. Everything
from the foods we eat and clothes we
wear to the fuels we use have a link to
agriculture.
With that reality in mind, and with
its decades of experience with and
commitment to America’s young
people, the national 4-H Youth
Development Program has embarked
on Project Pathways, a research-based
learning system for youth ages 9 to 19.
To be available online and in CD sets,
the new program is designed to take
advantage of how young people learn
and communicate today.
Early exposure is crucial
Inventive new 4-H out-of-school
programming, such as Project
Pathways, will allow youth to be
exposed to, and engaged in, the sciences
earlier in life. This approach has been
shown to motivate youth to pursue a
career in the sciences as adults, notes
Donald T. Floyd, Jr., National 4-H
Council president and CEO.
A look at some key education
statistics underscores the need for the
Pathways initiative:
- Only 18 percent of U.S. high school
students are proficient in science,
according to the National Assessment
of Educational Progress.
- Just over 32 percent of U.S.
undergraduates are enrolled in
science-related degree programs,
according to the National Science
Foundation. That compares with 63.3
percent in Japan, 62.1 percent in
China and 56.2 percent in Germany
- Of all science-related degrees now
awarded, only 3.7 percent are in
agriculture.
The clear conclusion is that if
America is unable to keep up with the
increasing demand for professionals
trained in science, engineering and
other technological fields, it faces a
daunting task of competing effectively
in today’s global marketplace.
4-H is positioned to play a key role
in encouraging young people to develop
an interest in science and engineering.
The 4-H mission says that the
organization “empowers youth to reach
their full potential, working and
learning in partnership with caring
adults.”
Achieving that goal involves a team
effort that includes the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, 106 landgrant
universities and the National 4-H
Council. The end result is what ranks
today as America’s largest youth
organization, encompassing some 6
million young people, 4,500 4-H
educators, 500,000 volunteers and 60
million alumni.
Going digital
With Pathways, 4-H has set
aggressive targets of fostering 1 million
new scientists and 1 million new ideas.
It will assess progress toward those
targets by measuring literacy in ag
science, engineering and technology
(SET), the number of ag SET majors
and the number of college graduates
pursuing ag SET careers.
In designing the Pathways effort, 4-
H leaders recognized that the
organization faced a number of
challenges, including greater demand
for 4-H project materials, the need to
respond rapidly to changes in ag
science, today’s tech-savvy youth and
the need to connect with a larger
community of learners.
The obvious solution: Going digital
and making materials available online.
Work now under way aims to offer a
curriculum with some 1,000 learning
activities dealing with cutting-edge
plant and animal science content.
A “Project Builder” interface will
enable prospective users to find the
content-driven activity they want to
pursue. Projects will be customizable
according to a user’s age, where he/she
lives, the identity of any sponsor(s) supporting a
particular activity, etc.
According to Roger Olson, 4-H
Council vice president of rural and
agribusiness development, the number
of possible combinations will be
virtually unlimited.
Project activities will be entered and
tracked in a "V-Book," an online virtual
project book replacing printed project
and record books.
Overall, the online content will
provide a blueprint for self-guided
learning, with additional information
including online videos, accessible to
enrich the learning experience.
Questions a user will be asked to
answer will reinforce important
concepts in each project.
In addition, a protected online
community at the 4-H website will
provide opportunities for social
networking, free online collaboration
with subject matter experts and a
searchable database of relevant project
information from land-grant
universities and industry sponsors.
Online goal: late 2011
Partnerships developed with
sponsors and other content providers
will affect how the ultimate cost in
dollars and man hours will be borne.
But there’s no doubt it will be a multimillion-dollar project involving many
thousands of staff hours.
According to Dr. Bob Horton,
professor of educational design at Ohio
State University and chief architect of
the Pathways initiative, the
development plan timetable is for the
initial content to be completed and
online by late 2011, assuming all
necessary funding is obtained. Updating
will be continuous after the Pathways
debut.
Olson noted industry sponsors will
be able to gain added visibility by
providing branded online content such
as “Ask the Expert,” simulations and
moderated chats, podcasts, news tickers
and blog centers and tracking and
reporting journals.
“Project Pathways will be designed
to accommodate, inspire and empower
a wide variety of learners,” Horton said.
“This is the first time the efforts of
industry, academia and youth
development are combining to create a
robust curriculum blending the latest
interactive online programming with
offline, hands-on work alongside
passionate, expert mentors.”
AFC sees 4-H, FFA as key to future of ag
The Alabama Farmers Cooperative and its member Quality Co-op stores have had a long-standing
relationship with the youth of 4-H and FFA. This manifests through sponsorships of events, trips, a youth
scholarship program and financial support for students who participate in state and local livestock shows and
other agricultural competitions.
Each month, an article written by representatives of 4-H and FFA is published in the co-op’s newspaper,
“AFC Cooperative Farming News,” which salutes the accomplishments of each organization’s young people.
“The youth of Alabama
who venture a future in
agriculture are our destiny,
and we will continue to do
what we can to bring their
endeavors to fruition,” says
Jim Allen, editor-in-chief of
“AFC Cooperative Farming
News.”
With Pathways, 4-H
has set aggressive
targets of fostering
1 million new scientists
and 1 million new
ideas.
