Curricula are planned and written by curriculum developers; they serve as instructional guides for educators. Educators make adaptations to written curricula to meet learners' needs and achieve intended learning outcomes. The efficacy of curriculum adaptations is enhanced when educators have a high pedagogical design capacity, which can be…

One of CYFAR's unique features is the built-in planning year for all grant recipients. We present our evaluation team's approach during year 1 to establish a foundation and plan for scholarly publications during funding years 2-5. The systematic literature review provided the team with a better understanding of the culture and context of the…

There is a strong need to increase the opportunities for and success of the next generation of beef cattle producers. South Dakota State University Extension provides a 2-year educational program called "beefSD;" the purpose is to provide producers with a holistic view of the beef industry, an appreciation for utilizing adaptive…

Effective curricula are considered to be the cornerstone of successful programming in Extension. However, there is no universal operationalized definition of the term "curriculum" as it applies to Extension. Additionally, the development of curricula requires a systematic process that takes into account numerous factors. We provide an…

The lesson study methodology allows Extension educators to reflect on instructional practices and gather formative data that can be used to refine curricula. We trained Extension educators and formed a community of practice (CoP) of agents who used the lesson study method to inform improvements of a 4-H coding curriculum. The CoP planned and set…

Practical aspects of curriculum development, especially that involving multiple authors, often are overlooked, but they are critical to moving a curriculum from concept to finished product. The Ohio 4-H Camping Design Team developed a competency-model-based curriculum for training the state's 4-H teen camp counselors. The team incorporated action…

For Extension educational programs to meet the educational needs of today's youths, families, and communities, Extension needs to expand "what counts" as learning. The purpose of this article is to define learning in the context of Extension. We summarize key aspects of the educational research literature by comparing two prevailing…

This article outlines a four-step model for developing a training program for farm labor supervisors. The model draws on key lessons learned during the development of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Farm Labor Supervisor Training program. The program is designed to educate farm supervisors on farm labor laws…

The "Journal of Extension" serves as a conduit for the dissemination of current research and practices within Extension and 4-H. We conducted a review of "Journal of Extension" articles published since passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Our purpose was to determine what practices, programs, and studies have…

Family life and Extension family and consumer science educators are encouraged to adapt existing curricula to effectively use with ethnically diverse audiences. Scholars have described different methods for culturally adapting programming; however, few have documented the process by which Extension educators may tackle this endeavor. The purpose…

Workers on prison farms in the United States commonly grow produce and row crops and raise livestock. Teaching good agricultural practices to prisoners and prison staff increases the safety of the food produced and reduces the likelihood of an illness outbreak. We developed a food safety curriculum for use on prison farms in Iowa. In developing…

Food Talk: Better U (FTBU) is a healthful weight management curriculum developed by the University of Georgia's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) team. FTBU addresses the high burden of obesity among low-income Georgians by focusing on healthful weight management practices. Topics include practicing portion control,…

What goes into designing and implementing a successful program? How do both research and practice inform program development? In this article, the process through which a federally funded training curriculum was developed and piloted tested is described. Using a logic model framework, important lessons learned are shared in defining the situation,…

The number of school gardens and university farms is increasing in the United States. Produce grown in these venues is often sampled in the classroom or incorporated into the food chain. Food safety education for students and workers is needed to ensure that produce is safe. Two 1-hr food safety curricula were developed to inform K-12 students and…

The concept of a "healthful home" offers the basis for a comprehensive approach to addressing the well-established relationship between health and housing. Many environmental health hazards found in homes--such as lead, mold, environmental tobacco smoke, and pesticides--can be reduced or eliminated through the use of scientifically…