{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/71651"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/71651","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Experiential Learning and Professional Identity Development for Scientists Participating in K-12 Outreach: A Case Study of the Graduate Extension Scholars Program","abstract":"To address 21st century environmental and economic issues, the practice of agricultural science has become more interdisciplinary, collaborative, and reliant on wider community connections. These changes have fueled demands to improve public agricultural literacy and strengthen the agricultural science workforce, increasing expectations for high-quality undergraduate teaching and public scholarship by agricultural science faculty. Unfortunately, faculty often lack professional preparation for this aspect of their work (Bagdonis and Dodd, 2010; Blickenstaff, Wolf, Falk, and Foltz, 2015). In other STEM fields, K-12 outreach by graduate students has gained popularity as a way to improve scientists' skills and outlook toward public scholarship. This thesis explored learning and professional identity development for participants in a K-12 outreach program for graduate students in the College of Agricultural Sciences at Virginia Tech. The theoretical framework of Kolb's (1984) experiential learning cycle and Lave and Wenger's (1991) situated learning theory were employed to explore these processes. Findings revealed that the Graduate Extension Scholars saw themselves as educators and public scholars both before and after participating in the program. Motivations for participation were related to identified gaps in their professional preparation. Participants believed that their knowledge, skill, and professional identity around teaching and public scholarship had been strengthened by their participation in the program. The program's constructivist experiential theoretical framework, community of practice, and extensive support structures were identified by participants as contributors to these outcomes. This study informs program evaluation and has broader implications for preparing future agricultural science faculty.","abstract_html":"To address 21st century environmental and economic issues, the practice of agricultural science has become more interdisciplinary, collaborative, and reliant on wider community connections. These changes have fueled demands to improve public agricultural literacy and strengthen the agricultural science workforce, increasing expectations for high-quality undergraduate teaching and public scholarship by agricultural science faculty. Unfortunately, faculty often lack professional preparation for this aspect of their work (Bagdonis and Dodd, 2010; Blickenstaff, Wolf, Falk, and Foltz, 2015). In other STEM fields, K-12 outreach by graduate students has gained popularity as a way to improve scientists' skills and outlook toward public scholarship. This thesis explored learning and professional identity development for participants in a K-12 outreach program for graduate students in the College of Agricultural Sciences at Virginia Tech. The theoretical framework of Kolb's (1984) experiential learning cycle and Lave and Wenger's (1991) situated learning theory were employed to explore these processes. Findings revealed that the Graduate Extension Scholars saw themselves as educators and public scholars both before and after participating in the program. Motivations for participation were related to identified gaps in their professional preparation. Participants believed that their knowledge, skill, and professional identity around teaching and public scholarship had been strengthened by their participation in the program. The program's constructivist experiential theoretical framework, community of practice, and extensive support structures were identified by participants as contributors to these outcomes. This study informs program evaluation and has broader implications for preparing future agricultural science faculty.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Wilk, Ayla Arsel"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Master of Science in Life Sciences","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"Agricultural and Extension Education","degree_department":"Agricultural and Extension Education","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Spindler, Matthew Kenneth"],"committee_members":["Scherer, Hannah H.","Glasson, George E."],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-06-28","date_published":"2016-06-28","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:19:13Z","subjects":["Education","Agricultural Education","Science and Education","Education, Higher"],"languages":[],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:7935"],"render_values":[{"text":"vt_gsexam:7935","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10919/71651","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Spindler, Matthew Kenneth"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Scherer, Hannah H.","Glasson, George E."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Agricultural and Extension Education"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Wilk, Ayla Arsel"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2016-06-29T08:00:34Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2016-06-29T08:00:34Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2016-06-28"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Agricultural and Extension Education"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science in Life Sciences"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Education","Agricultural Education","Science and Education","Education, Higher"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:7935"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/71651"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["To address 21st century environmental and economic issues, the practice of agricultural science has become more interdisciplinary, collaborative, and reliant on wider community connections. These changes have fueled demands to improve public agricultural literacy and strengthen the agricultural science workforce, increasing expectations for high-quality undergraduate teaching and public scholarship by agricultural science faculty. Unfortunately, faculty often lack professional preparation for this aspect of their work (Bagdonis and Dodd, 2010; Blickenstaff, Wolf, Falk, and Foltz, 2015). In other STEM fields, K-12 outreach by graduate students has gained popularity as a way to improve scientists' skills and outlook toward public scholarship. This thesis explored learning and professional identity development for participants in a K-12 outreach program for graduate students in the College of Agricultural Sciences at Virginia Tech. The theoretical framework of Kolb's (1984) experiential learning cycle and Lave and Wenger's (1991) situated learning theory were employed to explore these processes. Findings revealed that the Graduate Extension Scholars saw themselves as educators and public scholars both before and after participating in the program. Motivations for participation were related to identified gaps in their professional preparation. Participants believed that their knowledge, skill, and professional identity around teaching and public scholarship had been strengthened by their participation in the program. The program's constructivist experiential theoretical framework, community of practice, and extensive support structures were identified by participants as contributors to these outcomes. This study informs program evaluation and has broader implications for preparing future agricultural science faculty."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Master of Science in Life Sciences"]},{"key":"dc:format.medium","label":"Dc Format Medium","values":["ETD"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Experiential Learning and Professional Identity Development for Scientists Participating in K-12 Outreach: A Case Study of the Graduate Extension Scholars Program"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Spindler, Matthew Kenneth"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Scherer, Hannah H.","Glasson, George E."],"dc:contributor.department":["Agricultural and Extension Education"],"dc:creator":["Wilk, Ayla Arsel"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2016-06-29T08:00:34Z"],"dc:date.available":["2016-06-29T08:00:34Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2016-06-28"],"dc:description.abstract":["To address 21st century environmental and economic issues, the practice of agricultural science has become more interdisciplinary, collaborative, and reliant on wider community connections. These changes have fueled demands to improve public agricultural literacy and strengthen the agricultural science workforce, increasing expectations for high-quality undergraduate teaching and public scholarship by agricultural science faculty. Unfortunately, faculty often lack professional preparation for this aspect of their work (Bagdonis and Dodd, 2010; Blickenstaff, Wolf, Falk, and Foltz, 2015). In other STEM fields, K-12 outreach by graduate students has gained popularity as a way to improve scientists' skills and outlook toward public scholarship. This thesis explored learning and professional identity development for participants in a K-12 outreach program for graduate students in the College of Agricultural Sciences at Virginia Tech. The theoretical framework of Kolb's (1984) experiential learning cycle and Lave and Wenger's (1991) situated learning theory were employed to explore these processes. Findings revealed that the Graduate Extension Scholars saw themselves as educators and public scholars both before and after participating in the program. Motivations for participation were related to identified gaps in their professional preparation. Participants believed that their knowledge, skill, and professional identity around teaching and public scholarship had been strengthened by their participation in the program. The program's constructivist experiential theoretical framework, community of practice, and extensive support structures were identified by participants as contributors to these outcomes. This study informs program evaluation and has broader implications for preparing future agricultural science faculty."],"dc:description.degree":["Master of Science in Life Sciences"],"dc:format.medium":["ETD"],"dc:identifier.other":["vt_gsexam:7935"],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/71651"],"dc:publisher":["Virginia Tech"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:subject":["Education","Agricultural Education","Science and Education","Education, Higher"],"dc:title":["Experiential Learning and Professional Identity Development for Scientists Participating in K-12 Outreach: A Case Study of the Graduate Extension Scholars Program"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Agricultural and Extension Education"],"thesis:degree_level":["masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science in Life Sciences"],"thesis:institution_name":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:19:13Z"}