Undergraduate research is a high-impact practice (HIP), but it can be difficult to implement well. Faculty generally lack training for effectively mentoring students. A semi-autonomous faculty organization at Utah Valley University has maintained a faculty development program, the Mentoring Undergraduate Research Academy (MURA), and other…

Professional development (PD) programs do not always reach the teacher or allow for sustained usage of technology. However, recent studies show that teachers are more open to use technology after increased technology dependence during the COVID-19 pandemic. Motivated by that new openness to technology integration, we used interview and survey data…

To address the question of how to develop the capacity for every instructional coach to provide job-embedded professional learning for every teacher and student, the Utah State Board of Education's quality instruction team designed and built a statewide 22 networked professional learning system that includes instructional coaches, local education…

The arts offer a cost effective and appealing approach to healthy aging. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the development and implementation of three creative aging pilot programs led by professional teaching artists in multipurpose senior centers. The process of recruitment focused on professional teaching artists, senior center…

To introduce and provide equine-related activities to military personnel and their families, Utah State University Equine Extension created and implemented an effective program called Ride Utah! Equine-related activities have been shown to improve mental health and build strong family relationships in participating individuals. Ride Utah!…

Webinar production has steadily increased as a preferred method of information delivery for Extension professionals. Our objective with this article is to offer practical guidance from Utah State University (USU) Forestry Extension and the eXtension Foundation that can help others generate impactful webinar programs. From January 2016 to August…

This article describes a statewide online alternative teacher preparation program in early childhood special education. The history and evolution of the program is explained along with the programmatic changes that resulted from working with noncertified teachers with a wide variety of backgrounds in both rural and urban districts. Challenges and…

With the increase in the number of displaced peoples, the demand for skilled social workers from diverse backgrounds to serve them is critical. This article explores a continuing education program that prepares precollege individuals from newly arriving communities who will work as entry-level workers serving these immigrant and refugee…

Integrating evaluation into an Extension program offers multiple opportunities to understand program success through achieving program goals and objectives, delivering programming using the most effective techniques, and refining program audiences. It is less common that evaluation is used to guide and validate the effectiveness of program…

Physical education is critical to addressing childhood obesity, yet many school-based programs do not meet established quality standards and teachers are called upon to change. Little is known about how change is initiated and its associated internal and external factors. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate physical education…

This chapter outlines the birth and growth of a veterans' program in Salt Lake City, Utah, and discusses next steps in spurring additional innovations and advancements to improve service for student veterans in community colleges.

No major change in thought or action occurs without mistakes, casualties and growth. This article is designed to examine the implementation of integrated curriculum design from a more critical perspective. While the integrated curriculum innovators were confident about the design and their process, not all of their colleagues were interested in…

We describe experience with a pilot week-long, No-Child-Left-Inside (NCLI), outdoor program implemented in Cache Valley, Utah, in 2012. Through response analysis of a "pre-then-post" children's survey and a parent-completed demographic survey, we assess program effectiveness in raising children's enthusiasm for nature-related behaviors…

Sustainability Camps provide an opportunity for Extension educators to be in the forefront of sustainability outreach and to meet the growing demand for sustainability education. This article shares development, implementation, and evaluation of an Extension Sustainability Camp for youth, grades 4-6. Camp impact was measured via daily pre-and…

Contrary to popular understanding that the United States Peace Corps stemmed from a spontaneous idea generated on the campaign trail to appeal to young voters, John F. Kennedy's celebrated proposal for a federally sponsored, overseas volunteer training programme was drawn from models and theories circulated by American academics. This article…