PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SURVEY RESULTS Melissa Persing

Overview of Findings: Professional development was very important to the staff from the University of Minnesota Extension Service who were surveyed. Learning content information is important but these staff members also saw networking with other professionals in their field as vital.

Topics they felt were important were: supervisory skills; communication skills in facilitation, leading small group education, conflict management, and presentation skills using new technology; and evaluation and reporting. Staff also felt that introducing new emerging issues/research was important to stay motivated and creative.

A smorgasbord of delivery methods is key to engage a variety of learning styles and schedules of our staff. Learning on demand is most effective but is difficult in our large organization. Travel is also a barrier for staff. One staff mentioned that we use a variety of techniques when we work with citizens, but do not utilize as many styles in our own education.

Staff need a balance of theory and new perspectives from outside nationally known researchers and respected colleagues to keep information practical and applicable in a community setting. Over and over again, I heard staff talk about the importance of having practical how to information available and ready to use such as a program, newspaper articles ready to go, etc. One staff member referred to some of her past training as too vague to be useful for citizens, which she worked.

Method: Telephone Surveys conducted December 27, 1998 through January 4, 1999. Number of People Surveyed: 6 Specialization Represented: Family Development, Leadership Citizenship Education (2), Child and Youth Development (2), Food Nutrition and Health Length of Time in UMES: 1-17 years

1. What types of staff development would be useful to you and others in your professional context?

X Technology: networking and new software programs X Mentor Programs  someone to steer the way and ask questions. X New Extension Educator Training was helpful for networking with new people. Sometimes people who have been here for a few years dont realize how much there is to know and learn. X Specialization Training for information on hot topics, and new emerging issues. X Internship experiences have been very valuable to me because of what I learned from people in those counties and how to do programming. X Programs about youth and youth development for all staff, not just that specialization. X Session on office management to be an effective office leader and supervision. X Quick and dirty evaluations that give us something substantial so we actually do it. We need samples with permission to use. A two-page newsletter would be helpful. X Staff development conferences to help us revive and motivate us since there is no career ladder to motivate and work toward. X Supervision of secretaries and summer staff. X Facilitation skills  working in a group as neutral X Up-to-date information on hot issues X More how to training to get past the vague information. X Working with volunteers X Motivation X Youth and You, Specialization training, Annual Conference and 4-H Think Tank Meetings are useful for networking.

1. What format would be most useful for the staff development?

X One day in a smaller group at several locations around the state to decrease travel. X Some education can be done via e-mail. X A variety of forms are useful for different learning styles. X Allow time for networking. X Hands-on work with topic such as practicing program planning. X Any connections made between educators such as mentoring and building peer relationships. X Half day mini-seminar. X On-line. X Face-to-face to role play and adequately discuss. X Satellite would be better than over the phone. X Face-to-face X Hands-on multi-sensory training X Group work X Small groups

1. What content information do you need to obtain from staff development during the next year? The next 5 years?

X Current information in education as well as organizational and programmatic updates. X New reporting format. X Evaluating for Outcomes. X Review of where and what our resources are. X Technology: presentation skills and how the internet is appropriate for us to use in our professional context. X Supervisory Training X Short and long range goal setting. X Computer related to stay up to date on software. X Core competencies: what does that mean and where do we learn them? X Facilitator Training X How to Deal with Conflict X Entrepreneurial Stuff X Newspaper/letter articles ready to use. X How to move people along/change X Research into useable form in youth development X Entrepeneurship  definition that is easy to understand. X New way of writing and reporting for MN Impacts X Community Development  business vs. farm in futuring as a community issues rather than different segments against each other. X Nuts and Bolts: doing reports, using web page, e-mail groups, performance assessments X Multiple Intelligences

1. Is professional development more effective in small group settings or large group settings?

X Large group settings are good for technical information as long as we can move into a small group and process afterwards. X Small group settings are good for lots of content, discussion, and asking questions. X CD-ROM is good for working at your own pace. X There is value in both. I like to learn in a large group setting, break into small groups to brainstorm and share back as a large group. X Small group setting of 8-10 people. X Depends on the topic. X Need to gather as staff who work with youth programming. X I learn most in small groups. Large group settings wok as long as we break down in small groups.

1. Do you prefer to learn from experts from the outside  regional, national, international specialists? Or do you prefer to learn from a respected colleague who is from your familiar context?

X A happy medium with big name speakers providing the technical information and local people providing ideas for application. X Outside experts are important to learn from people who work with one topic area. But it is important to learn from each other as respected colleagues. X Outside  its good to learn from different perspectives. X Both  from the outside as long as they understand who we are. X A dynamic speaker X Creative X Someone who brings a different perspective X Someone to come from the outside in the camping area for youth programming X Someone new to come in from other areas.

1. Are there any people from the University of Minnesota Extension Service that you would like to learn from? Who are they and what topics would they bring?

X Sue Laternal  MELD is good at facilitation, working with people, communication skills and learning styles. X Ron Pitzer  anything in Family Development. X Kent Thesis  about his AMC internship and how to better connect to key officials and what they are looking for in our programming. X Kim Boyce  useful books X Warren Sifferath  Political Savvy X Barb Muesing  Visioning how to connect with us. X Phil Larson from College of Agriculture on the way he thinks and works X Jody Hornvedt  ideas X Dick Moreland  thoughtful X Marie Lee Rude X Barb Warren X Bill Svensgaard-diversity and trying new things X Mike Charland X Pickem Cluster  how they do cluster programming and why its working from them now. X Phyllis Onstad  Multiple Intelligences

-- Anonymous, January 08, 1999

Answers

A very thorough investigation here. Great job. Were you surprised by any of your findings?

-- Anonymous, January 31, 1999