Volunteer Training Needs for Successful 4-H STEM Programs

Abstract

Informal STEM education programs through youth-serving organizations like 4-H have the potential to help youth prepare for future STEM careers. Volunteers continue to be an important way to mentor and provide programs for youth with support and guidance from professionals working for youth organizations. 4-H STEM programs present challenges for 4-H professionals and traditional 4-H volunteers who often have limited knowledge and confidence in their ability to teach STEM skills. Recruiting science experts as volunteers to lead 4-H STEM programs is one way to provide these programs, but some experts have limited knowledge about youth development and how to engage youth. Findings from the 4-H Science: Building a 4-H Career Pathway initiative are discussed here related to volunteer training, volunteer recruitment and retention and resources needed for 4-H professionals and volunteers to successfully implement 4‑H STEM programs. A process evaluation was conducted that included focus groups and interviews in 3 states that participated in the initiative. Focus groups and interviews were conducted with youth, parents, volunteers, and 4-H professionals involved in 4-H STEM programs. Themes included the need for volunteer training focused on increasing STEM knowledge and skills as well as pedagogy and youth engagement, the need for training for 4-H professionals related to STEM skills so they could support volunteer efforts, and the need to use diverse methods to recruit science experts and other volunteers for these programs.

“Oh, I thought we’d be different”: A multifocal, interdisciplinary examination of the fidelity/adaptation challenge

“…If non-formal educators are expected to negotiate such factors along with specific programmatic content, forms of learning, and requirements in their work with youth, then they must be taught and supported by NFE programs to engage in such negotiation. Unlocking the challenge of adapting and tailoring volunteer and NFE training programs described by Franck and Donaldson (2020) and Taylor et al (2008) begins with the facilitators of NFE training programs-the ways they model teaching, experiential learning activities, and adapting and tailoring their instruction, but also the ways in which they describe their thought processes and decision-making as they do this work.…”

“…This study, like those of Davis et al (2021b) and Taylor et al (2008), points to the need for additional research into the preparation or training of non-formal educators. To move beyond passing references to the need for and implementation of training adaptation and differentiation (e.g., Davis et al, 2021b;Franck & Donaldson, 2020;Huang et al, 2014), facilitators' instructional practice and decision-making must be examined. Although this study includes glimpses of such decision-making, time constraints prevented researchers from conducting interviews with facilitators following training segments in which they were observed.…”

“…In recent years, scholars have highlighted the uniqueness of volunteers, as well as volunteer organizations’ challenges in meeting volunteers’ new and evolving needs (e.g., Davis et al, 2021b; Franck & Donaldson, 2020; Huang et al, 2014; White et al, 2020). For example, White et al (2020) examined the needs of professional staff and volunteers across Washington state’s 4-H program.…”

“…Top-down trainings may succeed in transmitting procedural or factual knowledge, allowing volunteers to “regurgitate facts,” yet these trainings may be ineffective in providing volunteers with the skills necessary to apply their learning in experiential learning activities with youth (Wootton et al, 2017, p. 103; see also Davis et al, 2021a). The challenge attributed to tailoring or individualizing learning in volunteer trainings (e.g., Franck & Donaldson, 2020) is likely a major factor limiting the research on accommodating volunteer needs and adapting volunteer trainings like Wood Badge. Despite this identified challenge, few studies describe how trainings are tailored or individualized, which is the central purpose of this study.…”

Volunteerism in Youth Development Programs: Editors' Note

“…also report that volunteers want training focused around organization, program management, positive youth development, and communication Hensley et al (2020). conclude that training should focus on positive youth development and the role it plays in promoting youth outcomes, while also being thoughtful about frequency, modality, and opportunities outside of face-to-face training Franck and Donaldson (2020). highlight the additional needs for skill development-specifically for STEM programs-given the difficulty of finding volunteers who have existing STEM and youth development experience.…”