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Agricultural Communications Projects/Programs
2004-06

Agricultural Awareness Initiative
Scott Emerson, Tracy Irani, Ricky Telg, Roslyn Brain
Increase Extension faculty, agriculture producers and opinion leaders’ ability to deliver agriculture and natural resource awareness messages and programs. Objectives:
1. Catalog other agricultural and natural resource awareness programs.
2. Assess Extension faculty and other agricultural stakeholders’ knowledge/willingness, and materials/programs preferences/needs (needs assessment).
3. Provide key-message delivery training programs and materials for IFAS Extension faculty and other target audiences (opinion leaders, media, grassroots supporters).
4. Demonstrate through key, regional-messages and support programs how agriculture and natural resources impacts everyday life of target audience(s).
5. Evaluate program/materials effectiveness with Extension faculty post-test.

C-STEP (Center for Scientific Thinking and Educational Partnership)
Tracy Irani, Rick Rudd, Ricky Telg, Maria Gallo
C-STEP, housed in the Genetics Institute at the University of Florida, will serve faculty, students, the public, and the scientific community through educational programs, curriculum design, and outreach initiatives to enhance problem solving and decision making in genetics and other related disciplines as they affect humans, plants, animals, and our environment. C-STEP’s objectives:
1) Prepare students studying genetics and related disciplines to make decisions and solve scientific problems utilizing their knowledge, experience and critical thinking dispositions and skills.
2) Connect key research initiatives with outreach components that can be incorporated into grant proposals and projects.
3) Provide training for university faculty to facilitate teaching of problem solving and decision making skills in the design and implementation of their science curricula.
4) Present community outreach offerings to educate the public on research accomplishments and promote quality decision making and problem solving in the sciences.