Investing in Extension Workforce Preparation, Development and Support for Fisheries Extension Professionals through Multiple Dimensions
Wednesday, August 24, 2016: 2:20 PM
New York A (Sheraton at Crown Center)
Samuel Chan
,
Fisheries and Wildlife Department, Sea Grant Extension, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
David Hansen
,
Oregon Sea Grant and Extension Service, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
Michael Spranger
,
Department of Family, Youth & Community Sciences, University of Florida
Michael Liffman
,
National Sea Grant College Program, NOAA
Tania Siemens
,
Oregon Sea Grant, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
Stephanie Showalter Otts
,
National Sea Grant Law Center
Kayla-Maria Martin
,
Oregon Sea Grant, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
Noelle Moen
,
Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University
Jennifer Lam
,
Oregon Sea Grant and Marine Resources Management, Oregon State University/Blue Earth Consultants
Natural resources professionals are tasked to solve complex applied problems that span beyond STEM-based disciplinary technical skills and experiences. Increasingly, decision makers expect disciplinary competent professionals to inform them in an ethical manner, is persuasive to their constituents, creative, scientifically credible, acknowledges transdisciplinary nature of issues and stakeholder’s needs. Extension professionals serve growing roles fulfilling these needs as research-based educators, designers of learning/evaluation programs and tools, conveners, networkers, facilitators and diplomats to tactfully engage stakeholders. We present budding case evidence of these workforce competencies being honed in multiple dimensions including:
1) training middle and high school teachers on conservation themed STEM and stewardship curricula.
2) integrating complex conservation management problem solving into university degree programs with outreach, engagement and communications requirements through capstone projects, service learning, team projects and internships including underrepresented groups.
3) NOAA National Sea Grant College Program’s Extension Academy to improve knowledge and leadership skills to maximize the problem solving effectiveness of Sea Grant’s 350 specialists, agents and communicators and improve collaboration.
4) bringing together fisheries, legal and law enforcement professionals into a co-learning process to build consensus on standardized protocols and model legal tools to minimize the threat of watercraft as vectors for invasive species.
