YouthFest: Iowa 4-H Youth Staff Conference
Workshop Descriptions
Tuesday, Nov. 15 Workshops: 1:30-2:30 pm
Extension & Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council: An Excellent Partnership
Location: Room 150-154
Presenter: Paul Gibbins
Join the North Central STEM Manager in a discussion about the various ways in which Extension can be and is currently involved in the Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council. Whether you are new to Iowa STEM or experienced with Iowa STEM you are encouraged to join the conversation. This session is meant to be a roundtable type discussions drawing on the experience of those in the room as we discuss best practices in implementing and expanding upon numerous programs available through the Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council.
I would hope that participants would recognize that there are resources available to them to use and programs to which they could apply (STEM Scale-up) to benefit their program. I would also hope that some of the participants would share their experiences and various methods of implementation with the rest of the participants.
Regional Trips and Summer STEAM Camps: Should You Laugh, Cry, or Take the Next Month Off?!
Location: Room 167
Presenters: Region 19 4-H Staff
Come and learn about Summer STEAM Camps and where Region 19 has traveled to through regional trips. And, how the region has worked together to provide these opportunities to 4-H members at a low cost, to keep them engaged, and involved beyond the county level. Also hear about an innovative partnership developed to deliver camps in one county!
Our goal is for participants to be able to take the ideas they hear in this session back to their home counties/regions and implement them. We want to share our successes and what we have learned about taking regional trips, putting on summer camps, and the behind scenes work that goes into making these events happen!
Preparing for 4-H: Strategies for Building a Vibrant Clover Kid Program
Location: Room 171
Presenters: Kiersten Beilke, Melissa Voigt
This workshop will cover a successful example of the implementation and structure of Junior Clover Kids and Clover Kids including strategies for intentionality in: 1) Recruitment, 2) Meeting Structure, 3) Fair Exposure, 4) Graduation, and 5) Retention. Participants will learn about and experience the cycle of events that Junior Clover Kids and Clover Kids progress through in a year as they advance in the program and transition into 4-H. Utilization of the strategies presented have impacted: 1) engagement of younger audiences, 2) first-generation 4-H enrollment, 3) ease of Clover Kid transition into 4-H, and 4) engagement of parents/guardians.
Participants will learn about a successful example of the implementation and structure of Junior Clover Kids and Clover Kids including strategies for intentionality in: 1) Recruitment, 2) Meeting Structure, 3) Fair Exposure, 4) Graduation, and 5) Retention. Participants will be able to apply the strategies shared and adapt them to their own county's needs to engage younger youth and facilitate their transition into the 4-H Program.
Breaking Boundaries: Teaching Teachers to Help Students through Teambuilding
Location: Room 175
Presenters: Ben Pullen, Honna Brown
Many of our 4-H programs utilize a component of teambuilding, hear about a program where extension staff partnered with school staff to help youth through games. The vision was utilizing 4-H youth development activities and philosophy to help the students form relationships and break down social barriers which were effecting academic performance. In this session you will hear about the program, play some games, and make a implementation plan for your own county.
We hope they will take away a sense that there are organizations in their communities (schools, youth groups, etc.) that are looking for youth development expertise that Iowa State Extension staff can offer. Hopefully they will walk away with ideas of where they can share their knowledge in partnerships to reach greater audiences of youth in their area as well as a plan of how they could do so. Finally we hope they will walk away with some fun activities they can take back to their counties.
Expanding Capacity through Community Partnerships
Location: Room 179
Presenters: Wade Weber, Nichol Kleepsies
Leveraging local resources and content expertise to enhance 4-H youth development programming is essential to building program momentum and creating a buzz around your community about the 4-H program. Discover the essentials of partnership development and learn from compelling examples of how partnerships are transforming and expanding the capacity of local 4-H programs to engage more and more diverse youth in exceptional youth learning experiences.
Partnership development is essential in building community impact and program momentum. By refining skills of partnership identification and growing in awareness of the process of partnership development, participants will leave with a greater confidence and network of fellow professionals to resource when moving forward 4-H program development in their local community.
Youth in Culture – “Don’t just give them a car”
Presenter: Jeff Jackson
Why are our efforts with youth falling short? Why can’t we seem to reach their potential? These are common questions that we all ask as we strive to develop student leaders. The answer to these questions is found in understanding their generations, their culture, and their true motivation. So come explore with us, brainstorm, and seek those answers together in the Youth in Culture workshop.
The hope is that participants would take away how to reach youth of all diversities by thinking more about Youth Culture. I also hope that they would learn the key points about the various generations and key points about the various youth cultures. How different backgrounds affect them, how their generation is different and how best to reach them where they are, and to mainly help “lead” youth to those personal discovery moments instead of trying to hand it to them. In Motivational Interviewing the key is letting the client reach that decision to change their life on their own with the facilitator merely leading them to it. The same applies with working with youth. If they achieve that drive and motivation themselves then it means so much more to them and will stay with them once they are out of our programming.
Wednesday, Nov. 16 Workshops: 2:00-3:00 pm
#4HGrowsHere – Wednesdays with Extension
Location: Room 150-154
Presenters: Autumn Denato and Brenda Spurgeon
Could you survive a zombie apocalypse? Could you plan an afterschool workshop to teach kids how to survive a zombie apocalypse? Come and learn about one county’s experiences with afterschool programming and the partnership with their local school district to meet the needs of youth in their community. Participants will hear about innovative afterschool programming, including opportunities for all grade levels, lessons we learned in year one, and what changes we made for the 2016-17 school year.
Creating a Culture of Youth Leadership with County 4-H Councils
Location: Room 167
Presenters: Morgan Bjerke and Lynette Houser
Join us to explore active leadership perspectives for your County 4-H Youth Councils. Our workshop focuses on leadership skills and practices that youth and adults can apply according to their interests, passions, community needs, and life experiences. We will share results and data obtained from a tri-level leadership experience through six counties.
Our goal is to help youth think critically about personal leadership styles and strengths, while also reflecting on the purpose of “leadership” in our communities.
- Discover the value youth create within a county 4-H program and their community through defined leadership projects
- Grow Youth-Adult partnerships through county leadership projects
- Encourage regional approaches for youth culture impacts
Communicating Impact in Program Reports
Location: Room 171
Presenters: Melissa Voigt, Wade Weber
Being a youth development professional involves all of who you are! You work hard planning, preparing, executing - and yet - have you ever wondered why people do not understand the real impact 4-H programming is having on youth and the local community? Effective communication of program impact and momentum is vital to persuasion and overall stakeholder communication. Together we will discover tools to upgrade your effectiveness in communicating program impacts with local decision makers and the public in a way that informs about Iowa State and the Iowa 4-H program and inspires the reader to action.
4-H Yoga
Location: Room 175
Presenter: Allison Lansman
Yoga is a great way to engage youth and adults in physical activity to improve overall body and mind wellness. This yoga workshop is conducted with the 4-H program in mind – focusing on our head, heart, hands and health as a method for learning about and applying positive self-reflection, breathing exercises and forms of yoga. Participants should wear comfortable clothing.
Participants in this program will be able to apply what they’ve learned in the 4-H Yoga workshop to lead their own yoga session at a 4-H club meeting, leaders training, etc. as an easy to energize a group, relieve stress and provide an opportunity to expose youth to the health benefits of yoga. The yoga exercises I will be teaching consist of a series of poses and are appropriate for any age audiences and learning environments.
Grab & Go Leader Activities
Location: Room 179
Presenter: Kendra Crooks
Leaders looking for something more to do at club meetings? Club meetings needing a vibrancy boost? If you answered yes to either of these questions this session is for you! Experience “Grab and Go” activities your club leaders can check out from the office or easily gather together and lead themselves. Learn about the components of a club meeting and how to help volunteers develop a vibrant club environment.
- Take away ideas and develop kits back at the office for clubs to utilize.
- Importance of having a vibrant and active club – understanding of components of a club meeting
Cooking Up Science!
Location: Room 275
Presenters: Lisa Berkland, Gail Castillo
The Clover Cookie Factory desperately needs your help; their cookies are a flop! Join in to learn about fun food science experiments to guide youth in learning the purpose of the ingredients in sugar cookies and solve the problem the Clover Cookie Factory is having. The second part of the workshop will introduce you to Muffin Mania/Pancake Pizzazz: a workshop to continue the food science learning with youth in your county. This session is targeted toward staff who are new to our Cooking Up Science curriculum.
Iowa State University Extension and Outreach does not discriminate on the basis of age, disability, ethnicity, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or status as a U.S. veteran. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies may be directed to Ross Wilburn, Diversity Officer, 2150 Beardshear Hall, 515 Morrill Road, Ames, Iowa 50011, 515-294-1482, .
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