Learning Task #4 - What Are My Coworkers Seeking?

As new educators come into the University of Minnesota Extension Service, they face an orientation process to introduce them to the many aspects of this organization. I am curious to know why some people leave Extension after a short time and to learn what kind of orientation people need in order to stay with Extension and enjoy their job.

As a member of the cohort group working with the Early Career Workshop for new educators, I asked several new educators how they felt about their orientation process and what could be done to help them feel successful about their first year in Extension. The questions were designed primarily to learn what they need out of a workshop and what we as a cohort could do to help them meet those needs.

I asked the same questions of each person. What were your expectations going into the new educator session? Were those expectations met? What is your preferred learning process? What topics do you see as needing to be covered or addressed? Were you assigned a mentor when you began? After visiting with them I also asked what their background or experience was prior to coming into Extension.

A couple of thoughts before I give their comments. One of the reasons I asked what their experience or background was prior to coming into Extension was because sometimes people "fresh out of college" like I was maybe need some background on "professionalism" or ethics - in a different way than someone who is switching careers. I know everyone can use a reminder, but sometimes it should be more in-depth for some. Maybe a survey of new educators prior to coming to the training - just so the committee can get a feeling of their background and potential needs. Another thought was to set up the trainings on a sequence - such as the first one they get some nitty gritty of Extension, the second one they go to campus and really meet folks, the third one they visit with others about how they have done the work and learn how collaborations have started, etc.

Summary of visits with new educators:

What were your expectations going into the new educator session? Were those expectations met?

The six people interviewed had very different expectations going into the early career workshop. Some were looking for what the organization expected from them as well as what the organization is all about. Others felt they came into the organization with an Extension background and were more prepared for the daily work, but needed some information about the programs and how you begin to program. Another person wanted to meet people and make contacts that they could call on later for advice and resources. Three of the people interviewed felt their expectations were met, while the other three were very frustrated about the "lack of answers" to their questions.

What is your preferred learning process?

Speakers or panels were the largest request. Hands-on was an important method for others. Many of those interviewed preferred to be active, to help break up the day and the length of sitting time, but didn't want it to be games or touchy feely time. Small groups was also highlighted because of the discussion and learning that can happen in a small group.

What topics do you see as needing to be covered or addressed?

7 Multi cultural needs to be addressed: what is it? 7 How to handle hard of hearing folks - such as the MN Relay System? Do we have any Braille publications? What about age as a diverse population? 7 Spell out the acronyms and committees we have. 7 How does supervision happen? 7 How do teams and collaborations function? Tell where they are so people can connect into them. 7 Who to talk to on campus, but more about what their Extension appointment is and who will likely have time to give to you? How to use the EPL's? 7 Needs more background of why land grant university. 7 The differences in job descriptions and expectations. Commented on how it's now different as you will have people with a Bachelors and Masters in the room - why are they different. 7 How to fill out performance assessments? What are they asking for? 7 Who do I talk to when I have ideas to bounce around? How do you start a community collaboration if there's a need for one? 7 How do you do a needs assessment? 7 How to work with the media. 7 How to read the county climate? Who to befriend to learn the county climate? 7 Where do I go for "learning the job?" (such as 4-H)

Were you assigned a mentor when you began this job?

Two of the educators were assigned three mentors each: one from campus, one from the specialization and one from the district. In each case the educator initiated all contacts. The other four educators were not assigned mentors and three are interested in having one as they see benefits to those relationships. One is glad in retrospect that they had no designated person as they went and found someone and has now built that relationship.

Background of educators: Four educators had come from the professional world and had a career before coming to Extension. Two educators were just out of college and this was their first professional job.

Other suggestions/comments I received: Some areas such as true hort positions feel really left out - no real networking in state and not many to turn to for help in job stuff. Someone suggested one or two day events as it gets harder to get away because of schedules. Try areas around the state - such as new people in NW gather - easier to bring in area resources for a few people. Send an evaluation out prior to going - what's your background. Ethics would be valuable for all to hear. List of government agencies you could work with in the county - who usually collaborates? (Like what do people do when they collaborate with Human Services, etc.) Explain how self direction works in Extension. (Many people come from other jobs where they had a boss in the office - how does this work in Extension.)

Loved this response: "Any endeavor is only as valuable as your investment in it. Unless we are willing to live with the dissonance of not knowing the answer, we should seriously consider keeping our comments quiet because they only display our poverty. It is the difficulty of not understanding the future, of the tenuous nature of the Extension Service , which makes it completely worthwhile. We are on an exciting venture. We need as much New Educator Training as we can get to make us struggle without a road map. We can capitulate to the security of the past and die. Or we can have the courage to step out into the unknown and survive. The choice is ours, I choose to live! (In response to the charges heard at the last training that New Educator Training was a "waste of time.")

As I look at the results of this survey, I can only think that it is difficult to please all of the people all of the time. Each of us has different needs, learning styles and methods of accomplishing a task. We need to find a way to meet some of the needs of all people to help them feel comfortable during the learning process. That means we need to recognize that different methods of teaching, topics and personalities need to be involved in the workshop. All evaluations will not be perfect, but recognizing the challenges facing us can help us to plan a workshop that will allow all participants to gain valuable and useful information.

When I look at the responses people gave me to the question about expectations, I realize that it really depended on what background people had coming into this organization. The two educators who came in having been involved in 4-H as youth were comfortable with the job, but had some resource related expectations. The other four educators had questions about what was expected of them on the job and who supervised them, etc. The similarities came in that people felt their questions didn't get concrete answers and they are confused about how an organization can function without any concrete foundation.

The learning styles present a large challenge as many of us think differently, process information differently and react to situations in our own ways. We need to remember, much as the teacher in the classroom, that people have different situations that they bring with them to the table. Some people need to be active learners because they have been driving for a long time to get to the workshop. Others prefer to listen and take notes because it helps them to process and develop questions for later. Remembering the different learning styles will enhance the presentation we can provide for people as they learn about what is involved with Extension.

The topic list generated by the educators who were interviewed is large. This list shows that there are many needs, and answers are needed to these topics to help people do their jobs well. Many of these same topics were recently generated at the January Early Career Workshop as well, and prove to be topics to be addressed at the May session of Early Career Workshop. Some of these topics could easily be used to create a resource directory for new educators or a resource page to help answer frequently asked questions.

As I finish this learning task, I am preparing to be on a conference call with other cohorts to evaluate the January Early Career Workshop. I am going to be prepared with the topics generated on this list, to be able to make suggestions for the next workshop as well. The comments and suggestions made by the educators who were interviewed are extremely valuable to the cohorts involved in this experience so that we can meet their needs when planning the workshops and looking for presenters and experienced educators who can address these topics.

This was an important process for me to consider when serving on this planning for the Early Career Workshop. Remembering what people need and want, versus what others think they should get is important. We need to provide the new educators with the tools and resources to get the job done, as well as the opportunity to connect with others who can be valuable resources when doing the job. This has been a step in evaluating and planning that I need to remember in all the programming I do, as I need to remember to ask what people need and want, rather than providing them with what I think they should have.

-- Anonymous, February 08, 1999

Answers

Wow! Your findings remind why teaching is so difficult and so rewarding (sometimes!). I, too, loved the comment about dissonance.

I think you're really on to a way to organize a flexible, needs/ expectations-based kind of professional development that is NOT based on a RECIPE! Bravo to you!

-- Anonymous, February 09, 1999