The Professional Development Unit directly supports Iowa State University Extension and Outreach’s strategic plan, aligning the professional skills of our people with the needs of our organization. We conceptualize, design and present development opportunities that will motivate, challenge, strengthen and enlighten county and campus-paid staff, faculty and elected council officials.

March 2021

A Note from Brenda

Brenda Allen, professional development manager

Dr. Carol Heaverlo

Professional Development Galore

Happy Annual Conference Week! I look forward to learning along with you on Tuesday as we focus on Looking Inward and Reaching Out. Our keynote speaker, Colette Carlson will provide new tips on self-care and work-life balance as she presents on “You Management.” I especially look forward to celebrating with colleagues across the system on the many accomplishments we’ve shared this year. Following the conference, all resources, video recordings and a list of our honorees can be found on MyExtension.

As you can see by the full newsletter this month, there are MANY additional professional development opportunities available to staff this spring. Please read closely and take advantage of one of these great opportunities. If you haven’t visited recently, please also check out the Extension Professional Development web page.

 

Professional Development Opportunities

Registration is open for April 15 & 16 Virtual Orientation

Your orientation has been designed by new and experienced ISU Extension and Outreach staff and the Professional Development unit. The Orientation experience is evaluated and adjusted to fit the needs of new staff and faculty with ISU Extension and Outreach appointments. Online registration must be completed to attend. 

Please complete the training: “Things You Need to Know on Day One”(including the evaluation!) after you have registered. You will be sent Zoom information. 

Contact Alison DePenning with any questions.

 

Mental Health First Aid Workshops Go Virtual

Individuals will learn how to identify, understand and respond to those who may be experiencing a mental health related problem or crisis. You will learn what to do, what to say, and how to offer support and resources with confidence. The virtual Mental Health First Aid is a 6-hour course via Zoom offered by trained facilitators and is listed in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices. Participants must complete a 2-hour self-study class prior to attending the 4-hour virtual training. No exceptions. For details, you may visit their site online

Registration is available online. 

Cost:  $50 per person minus $15 (related to grant funding) = $35 per participant

Cost for Agribusiness Professionals:  $0 per participant - Use promotional code: AGPRO

Please see the schedule of workshops online.

Contact David Brown with questions.

Incorporates the following competencies:

+ Communication + Leadership + Diversity and Inclusion

 

Youth Mental Health First Aid

1 in 5 teens and young adults report living with a mental health condition. If you are an adult who interacts with youth (ages 6-18), this 6-hour, virtual course introduces common mental health challenges for youth and reviews typical adolescent development. You will learn a 5-step action plan for how to help young people in both crisis and non-crisis situations. The updated virtual curriculum includes expanded content on trauma, addiction and self-care and the impact of social media and bullying. Participants must register two-weeks prior to the course and must complete two-hours of self-paced course pre-work prior to the start date of the program. 

Upcoming classes are scheduled for March 30, April 21, May 19, and June 17, 2021. All scheduled classes will be held virtually, from 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Registration closes two weeks prior to the event date. Private classes are available to interested groups as well. 

For answers to questions, please email Demi Johnson at demij@iastate.edu or call 515-334-4907.

 

Question. Persuade. Refer Training Available 

Say "Yes" to saving the life of a friend, colleague, sibling, or neighbor. Just as people trained in CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver help save thousands of lives each year, people trained in QPR learn how to recognize the warning signs of a suicide crisis and how to question, persuade, and refer someone to help. Each 60-minute training will be offered through Zoom. Information about access to a password-protected Zoom room will be emailed to registered participants. This program is designed to teach laypeople and professionals about the warning signs of a suicide crisis and appropriate responses. It can be offered as a stand-alone program or as a breakout session at larger conferences.

QPR Gatekeeper Training for Suicide Prevention is listed in the National Registry of Evidence-based Practices and Policies.

For answers to questions, please email Demi Johnson at demij@iastate.edu or call 515-334-4907.

 

Everything DiSC Workplace on the Catalyst Platform

Everything DiSC Workplace on Catalyst is the Everything DiSC Workplace workshop offered virtually. Participants discover their DiSC communication styles and learn how styles affect their workplace priorities and relationships.

Catalyst Culature Matters image

Workshop facilitators: Alison DePenning, Professional Development, Karen Lathrop, Advancement, Julie Hlas, Advancement

Course Information can be found online.

Workshop Dates:

  • April 8

Time: 9:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Cost: $115 per participant – registration through Conference Planning and Management arranged by Professional Development. Fee is non-refundable once the assessment is completed.

2020 Mentor Academy participants, use phrase MENTOR to bypass payment.

Format: Workshop format is Virtual (Synchronous) – Includes a review of material, group discussion, presenter lead. Participant engagement is required for full benefit. Virtual delivery will require internet access, a microphone (preferred – telephone alternate), and a camera (preferred).

For more information on this workshop, contact Alison DePenning.

Incorporates the following competencies:

+ Communication + Diversity and Inclusion + Leadership

 

Everything DiSC Workplace Community of Practice series offered through May 2021 

ISU Extension and Outreach Professional Development invites you to participate in a Community of Practice. Community of Practice (CoP) is a “group of people who "share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly". 

Each virtual, 50-minute monthly session focuses on a different topic from the Everything DISC Workplace workshop. Sessions are related yet independent; register for any, or all in the series. Some sessions may require 'homework' to be completed prior to the session. Session leaders will vary. All sessions require participation for full benefit. There is no cost to attend these sessions. 

Prerequisites: 

  • Participants must have already taken the Everything DiSC Workplace workshop  
  • Locate and have available your original Everything DiSC Workplace assessment report. 
  • Pre-work will require about one hour or less for some sessions. 
  • Equipment: virtual delivery will require reliable internet access, a microphone (preferred – telephone alternate), and a camera (preferred - optional).  

Session 4 – ’Workplace Conflict - Harness the Power’ March 16 

Conflict is an inevitable and often destructive part of workplace interactions. But it doesn't have to be that way. Uncover the reasons behind destructive responses to conflict and learn how to re-frame them to become more constructive and useful. 

Session 5 - ‘How You Work - Tips for Working with Me’ April 13

Session 6 – ‘Action Planning’ May 11   

Please contact Alison DePenning for additional information. 

Incorporates the following competencies:

+ Communication + Diversity and Inclusion + Leadership

 

Virtual Coming Together for Racial Understanding

Coming Together for Racial Understanding (CTRU) is a Professional Development workshop created by the National Cooperative Extension Service Rapid Response Team to enhance communication and engagement by identifying barriers, countering bias and building trust across racial differences. Now Coming Together for Racial Understanding is also being offered in an on-line, educational format.

There is no cost for ISU Extension and Outreach staff to attend. For in person trainings, morning refreshments will be provided and participants will need to bring their lunch. For more information about the workshop, see the Coming Together for Racial Understanding Course Information Sheet and Coming Together for Racial Understanding Sample Agenda.

  • April 7, 2021 from 9:00 am to noon and 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm with an hour and a half lunch break

Please contact Gayle Coon for additional information. Registration is limited to 25 participants per workshop.

Incorporates the following competencies:

+ Communication + Leadership + Equity, Diversity and Inclusion + Interpersonal Relationships + Professionalism

 

Register for Adult Learning Strategies series

Professional Development offers a series of classes (independent yet related), that help with the process of creating classes, programs, and workshops. The three online classes can be taken independently or sequentially. Join a cohort of learners as you learn about: Writing Clear Learning Objectives; Effective Instructional Design Methods; and Integrating Instructional Activities. The classes are offered in a flipped format, meaning participants learn materials online at their pace (asynchronous) and then come together via video conference (synchronous) to discuss the material. Each class takes about 1-3 hours to complete the asynchronous portion and 1.5 hours for the synchronous portion. See the course information sheets for more specific information about each class.

  • Writing Clear Learning Objectives

Detailed course information sheet 

Course dates: March 22, 2021 – March 29, 2021

Course description: Empower faculty and staff of Iowa State University Extension and Outreach to write effective learning objectives for use in curriculum writing, programs, workshops, and/or courses.

  • Effective Instructional Design Methods

Detailed course information sheet 

Course dates: April 12, 2021 – April 19, 2021

Course description: Provide faculty and staff of Iowa State University Extension and Outreach with research-based instructional design processes for use in the design of educational programs, workshops, and/or courses.

  • Integrating Instructional Activities

Detailed course information sheet 

Course dates: May 17, 2021 – May 24, 2021

Course description: Equip faculty and staff of Iowa State University Extension and Outreach with knowledge and skills to integrate instructional activities into educational programs, workshops, and/or courses.

Please contact Robin Ertz for additional information pertaining to the series.

Incorporates the following competencies: Development of Programs, Delivery of Programs, Educational Opportunities

 

Race: The Power of an Illusion (RPI) Learning Exchange

Virtual Workshop to be held April 8

A day of learning, listening and courageous conversations brought to you by the Iowa Department of Human Services and sponsored by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Professional Development

RPI is a 1-day learning exchange that will bring together Extension and Outreach staff and faculty to have conversations about the intersections of race, equity and child welfare. This is another learning opportunity to build on our Navigating Difference Cultural Competency Series and Coming Together for Racial Understanding workshop. 

Defined as a learning exchange, rather than as a training, RPI is both a guided educational experience which uses a standard curriculum and a facilitated discussion that encourages and supports participants’ active involvement in the learning exchange. A team of intensively-trained facilitators with a background in child welfare, and commitment to eliminating disproportionately in the Iowa child welfare system, lead the learning exchange. 

RPI will take place from 9am-3:45pm with an hour for lunch over noon and then two ten-minute breaks (one mid-morning and the other mid-afternoon). This session will be presented via Zoom; calendar invitations containing links to join virtually will be sent out to registrants roughly one week prior to each training date.

Please contact Gayle Coon for additional information.

Incorporates the following competencies:

 + Communication + Leadership + Diversity and Inclusion + Interpersonal Relationships + Professionalism

 

Understanding Implicit Racial Bias: Rewiring Our Perceptions and Intentions (UIRB) Virtual Workshop opens for May 13

Professional Development will be sponsoring a 1-day learning exchange for Extension and Outreach staff and faculty, Understanding Implicit Racial Bias: Rewiring Our Perceptions and Intentions (UIRB), developed by the Iowa Department of Human Services’ (DHS) Adult, Children and Family Services Division. Defined as a learning exchange, rather than as a training, UIRB is both a guided educational experience which uses a standard curriculum and a facilitated discussion that encourages and supports participants’ active involvement in the learning exchange. A team of intensively-trained facilitators with a background in child and family welfare and a commitment to understanding and reducing implicit bias lead the learning exchange. 

This is another learning opportunity to build on our Navigating Difference Cultural Competency Series and Coming Together for Racial Understanding workshop, and Race: the Power of an Illusion (RPI). 

UIRB will take place from 9am-4pm with an hour for lunch over noon and then two ten-minute breaks (one mid-morning and the other mid-afternoon). This session will be presented via Zoom; calendar invitations containing links to join virtually will be sent out to registrants roughly one week prior to each training date.              

Please contact Gayle Coon for additional information.

Incorporates the following competencies:

 + Communication + Leadership + Diversity and Inclusion + Interpersonal Relationships + Professionalism

 

Creating Accessible Digital Documents Workshops offered

Creating Accessible Digital Documents will help participants to become more intentional about creating (and modifying) Word documents so that they are easily read by those with vision impairments (including use of assistive technology). While the class focuses on the use of MS Word, the concepts can be carried over into other MS Office products like Excel, PPT, and Outlook. Class material provides the step-by-step “how-to” approach for all Office products. You will learn how to check your documents using screen-reading technology. Detailed information can be found on the Creating Accessible Digital Documents course information sheet

Upcoming Workshop:

  • Wednesday, May 19, 8:00am – 12:00 noon
  • Thursday, September 16, 8:00am – 12:00 noon

You can register online for the above classes.

The goal is to have everyone participate, county and state. Watch these videos to learn more about *why* this work is so important.

About one week prior to the workshop, participants will receive a reminder email message which will include class pre-work (watching the 2 aforementioned videos, downloading and installing the Accessibility Ribbon, and optionally – printing the class handout material). 

Please contact Robin Ertz for additional information. Registration is limited to 20 participants for each workshop. Participants must have MS Office 2016 or Office 365 on the device used for class.

Incorporates the following competencies:

+ Communication and interpersonal relations + Equity and diversity + Professionalism and leadership + Educational Opportunities

 

Crucial Conversations Refresher Series Continues

Have you taken the Crucial Conversations 2-day workshop? Would you like a refresher of the skills and strategies in an interactive environment?

Professional Development invites those who have completed the full 2-day Crucial Conversations (CC) workshop to attend our new “Crucial Conversations Refresher Series.” Neuroscience and learning transfer theory tells us that consistently practicing (new) skills is the biggest predictor to successfully integrating learning into our everyday environments.

The Refresher Series will provide a highly engaging environment in which to share ideas and discuss experiences related to the skills and strategies learned in the original CC workshop. Discuss CC skills and strategies in a facilitated environment. Collaborate with other participants to enhance your application of concepts learned. Sessions are related yet independent; register for any, or all in the series. Find out more about the online series from the CC Refresher Series 2020-2021 information sheet.

Incorporates the following competencies:

+ Communication and interpersonal relations + Equity and diversity + Partnership development + Professionalism and leadership + Delivery of Programs and Educational Opportunities

 

Virtual Navigating Difference Open for Registration

The Navigating Difference workshop series is designed to help ISU Extension and Outreach professionals expand their skills in working with diverse audiences. Navigating Difference is now being offered in an on-line, educational format!

Become more aware of your own personal and organizational cultures and examine how your personal and organizational cultures affect your ability to work across difference in both negative and positive ways. Build skills to increase your competencies as you work with others who are different from you.

Dates and Times for the on-line option:

  • Tuesday, September 21- 9:00am-12:00pm
  • Wednesday, September 22- 9:00am-12:00pm
  • Wednesday, September 29- 9:00am-12:00pm
  • Thursday, September 30- 9:00am-12:00pm
  • Tuesday, October 5- 9:00am-12:00pm

Registration is limited to 30 participants. You must attend all 5 days to complete the series and receive a certificate of completion.

All county and campus-paid staff, council members, faculty and volunteers are encouraged to attend.

Incorporates the following competencies:

+ Communication + Leadership + Diversity and Inclusion + Information Technology + Supervision + Program Design and Development + Program Implementation and Delivery + Program Assessment and Evaluation

 

Enhancing Your Impact

Alison DePenning, professional development program specialist

Well-being Resources a Click Away

In November, ISU Extension and Outreach staff were invited to take a survey regarding their overall well-being as well as physical, behavioral and financial health.

Nearly 500 staff completed the survey and a summary of the results can be found on the MyExtension website.

The summary included encouragement to practice self-care. In fact, it asked that staff look at self-care as a personal responsibility.

While the internet provides countless methods and resources to aid staff in making well-being a priority, many valuable opportunities are also available at our fingertips right here through Extension and Outreach!

Jody Gatewood, ISU Extension and Outreach nutrition program specialist, offered the following physical well-being resource found within the Spend Smart. Eat Smart website and app.

Five new videos have been added to the Spend Smart. Eat Smart. website and app. These include four new physical activity videos and a video on reading the Nutrition Facts label.

The physical activity videos include Chair Workout, Chair Stretches, Upper Body Stretches, and Cardio Pyramid. Each is less than 10 minutes long. They are a great way to fit in some physical activity during the day. Physical activity can also help reduce stress.

Understanding how to read and use the information on the Nutrition Facts label can help you make food choices that support your health needs. MyPlate.gov is another reliable and helpful resource for nutrition information. The Start Simple App helps you build healthy eating habits one goal at a time. The MyPlate Plan shows you what and how much to eat within your calorie allowance.

The 4-H program also offers several self-care resources including a ‘365 Day Wellness Tracker’ found on the MyExtension web page. And if you are looking to exercise your financial health or family connections, check out the many Human Sciences offerings located on their web page. 

As Extension and Outreach professionals, our focus is on others. But don't forget, those resources we provide to others are resources for us too! There are many more than just the ones mentioned in this article. Take some time for yourself to seek out the resources you need.

 

Building an Inclusive Organization

Gayle Coon, professional development program specialist

Leading Inclusive Virtual Meetings

Inclusion is a sense of belonging, connection, and community at work. Inclusive organizations help people feel welcomed, known, valued, and encouraged to bring their whole, unique selves to work. How can we work to be more inclusive in our virtual community? Here are eight tips from Neuro Leadership Institute Facilitators Jon Martin and Matt Summers on ways you can make your virtual meetings more inclusive, split between meeting logistics and specific behaviors as the leader.

Meeting Logistics

  • Turn on your video, and encourage everyone to do so if they are able to. This builds relatedness and connections and helps mitigate distance bias.
  • Start with a ‘human’ check-in and show genuine warmth. Keeping people at arm’s length feels formal. When virtual, pull your sliding scale of social distancing in closer.
  • Provide certainty. Share your intent before asking for input. Let the attendees know they are important and you will interact with everyone regularly throughout the meeting.
  • If possible, share the agenda ahead of time so those who want to can prepare if needed. If there is a big decision to be made, allow people to think about it before the meeting. And pay attention to the volume of agenda items—consider quality vs. quantity.

Leadership Behaviors

  • Adopt the mindset of inclusion. Plan on hearing from everyone, not just the most outspoken. See the attendees as a source of learning instead of competition or threat.
  • As the meeting leader, lower your status a bit to encourage more participation. Ask questions more than you give instructions. Provide choices to give a sense of autonomy. Give your opinion after others have shared theirs.
  • Don’t cut people off. Let them finish their thought. It can be hard to do, especially in a virtual environment, but coming in over the top of them says you don’t care enough to listen. If someone is taking more time than expected, when they take a breath say something like, “We will need to move on so the next person can share.”
  • Build psychological safety. Allow space for people to think out loud and create habits for sharing mistakes. Also, make people feel valued even if their answer isn’t what you were expecting. Respond with a genuine positive remark like, “Wow, that’s an interesting connection,” and show curiosity by asking for more info. Remember, how you handle these situations determines if people will contribute to the rest of the meeting.

Focusing on being inclusive in virtual meetings can have a real impact on team cohesion, innovation, and engagement. Following these simple tips and above all, valuing each participant and their input, helps everyone thrive in challenging times.

 

Technology in Teaching and Learning

Robin Ertz, professional development program specialist

Auto Captioning in Zoom and Webex

Both Zoom and Webex have the capability to create auto captioning within their respective meeting rooms. Auto captioning in a meeting room is similar to having a technology like Siri translate the spoken word into text. Using this feature increases access to your material for people who: are in a loud or public space, are English language learners, and/or benefit from hearing and reading content simultaneously.


The accuracy of any transcription feature depends on many variables including, but not limited to: background noise, volume and clarity of the speaker’s voice, speaker’s language proficiency, and lexicons and dialects specific to a geography or community. The efficacy rate for auto captioning within video conferencing is anywhere between 70% - 85% accurate. At these rates, auto-generated transcripts such as these are not the solution to an accommodation request.  According to Zoom, “If you are required to use speech-to-text support for any compliance needs in your meetings and webinars, we recommend using a manual captioner who may be able to guarantee a specific accuracy”.

Knowing that this feature can still be helpful to many attendees, let’s look at the facts for each platform (Zoom and Webex).

Zoom: In Zoom, this feature is called “Auto Transcription” and is now available in licensed (Pro) accounts and free accounts. Users must initially enable the feature via the web portal and turn it on in each meeting room when desired. This function creates transcriptions during the live event but is not supported in breakout rooms. The audio transcript will be saved separately if a recording is saved to a user’s account in the cloud (it does not save at all if saved to a user’s computer). Users can then edit the transcript (the law requires that transcripts in archived recordings be 99% accurate) and share them with the recorded URL.

Webex: In Webex, this feature is called the “Webex Assistant”. Right now, at ISU there are 100 accounts using it on a trial basis. ISU plans to roll this feature out to all user accounts this summer. Once available, users will automatically see the Assistant appear in the lower left corner of the meeting window. The Assistant can be turned on or off as warranted. This function creates transcriptions during the live event but is not supported in breakout rooms. During the Webex Assistant trial archived recordings do not automatically have the transcript associated with it. Cisco Webex indicates this feature is available and may be implemented at some point in the future by Central Campus Information Technology Services. 

 Please consider the learner and what needs they may have and then use features accordingly. If you would like to continue this conversation, you are invited to contact me at rertz@iastate.edu.

 

Additional Professional Development Opportunities

Vice President for Extension and Outreach Tuition Assistance Program

County-paid and ISU-paid extension employees may apply for the program, whether taking credit courses from Iowa State, a community college, a private institution or other accredited public institution.

Summer 2021    March 8, 2021 - May 14, 2021

Deadlines will not be extended and any application after the deadline will not be approved.

Reimbursements will not be processed until after the reimbursement deadline:

  • Spring: July 1
  • Summer: September 1
  • Fall: February 1
 

COVID-19 Resources

As Iowans deal with disruptions to their families and communities, these resources provide information to help you cope with concerns about healthy eating, relationships, mental health and well-being, personal finance, food safety, and nutrition and wellness.

Finding Answers Now is a resource for you and those you support.

 
Learn@ISU
LinkedIn Learning
eXtension
ECOP logo
Did You Know image
ISU Diversity and Inclusion
Virtual New Staff Orientation

Online Learning


Extension Disaster Education Resources
Employee & Family Resources
Journal of Extension logo
Iowa Concern Hotline image
 

Resources for New Staff and Supervisors

 
AAACE logo
 
NAESPSDP logo
 
ESP logo

For additional information regarding Professional Development, please contact Dr. Brenda Allen, professional development manager, 515-294-1567, bsallen@iastate.edu, or Alison DePenning, program specialist for ISU Extension and Outreach Professional Development, 515-294-7033, depennin@iastate.edu.

 

Professional Development

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach

1110 Extension 4-H Building

Ames, IA 50011

In accordance with Federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, and reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, and American Sign Language) should contact the responsible State or local Agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339. To file a program discrimination complaint, a complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, which can be obtained online at https://www.ocio.usda.gov/document/ad-3027, from any USDA office, by calling 866-632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by: (1) Mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or (2) Fax: 833-256-1665 or 202-690-7442; or (3) Email: program.intake@usda.gov. This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

For the full non-discrimination statement or accommodation inquiries, go to www.extension.iastate.edu/diversity/ext