CORNELL COOPERATIVE EXTENSION, CORNELL UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF
HUMAN ECOLOGY AND COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURAL AND LIFE SCIENCES
Cornell Cooperative Extension, CCE
ESP Research Brief Winter 2015
COLLEGE OF HUMAN ECOLOGY (CHE) + COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURAL & LIFE SCIENCES (CALS) CCE INTERNSHIPS
AT A GLANCE
Co-Curricular &
Curricular Focus
CCE Summer
Internship Program
Inquiry Purpose
Inquiry Approach
Key interest
Innovations
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Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) offers students summer internship opportunities
combining research and outreach in local communities. CCE partners with teams
comprised of educators from local CCE programs throughout the state and faculty and
staff from Cornell’s Colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Human Ecology to
involve students in work advancing New York State’s economic vitality, social wellbeing and environmental resilience.
The immediate purpose of this study is to describe student outcomes which may
result from internships that embed students in communities throughout the state.
Once framed, this pilot study examining the relative achievement of those outcomes
will inform future program development and administration. More widely, this
investigation of the attainment of internship outcomes is germane to other educators
and internship directors, especially those at land grant and research institutions, who
seek to prepare students as civic-minded professionals.
Cornell Cooperative Extension continues its drive for greater impact through
enhanced evaluation practice by promoting use of the System Evaluation Protocol
(Cornell Office for Research on Evaluation, 2009). Developed with the active
involvement of Extension leadership working with William Trochim (Professor,
Department of Policy Analysis and Management), many Extension programs and units
have adopted the SEP approach to program modeling and evaluation planning.
Accordingly, this inquiry employed the System Evaluation Protocol approach in
collaboration with CORE.
What can we learn about summer interns’ attainment of outcomes pertaining to:
capacity for working with communities; experiential knowledge of the Cooperative
Extension system; understanding of the research process; and informed awareness of
potential career paths?
This inquiry incorporated the Civic Minded Graduate Scale (Steinberg, Hatcher &
Bringle, 2011) and original case study scenarios modeled on an ethics curriculum for
short-term experiences developed by a team from John Hopkins and Stanford
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(DeCamp, et.al, 2013). Also notable: this use of the SEP (CORE, 2009).
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INQUIRY CONTEXT
Engaged
Scholarship Project
at Cornell University
This CCE Internship evaluative inquiry is one in a set of four engaged scholarship
investigations initiated concurrently in August, 2013 by Cornell University’s Center
for Engaged Learning + Research. Known collectively as the Engaged Scholarship
Project (ESP), the intent of this endeavor was to foster cross-disciplinary
knowledge-building while investigating Student Learning Outcomes of communityengaged teaching, learning and research.
Promoting engaged learning is a strategic priority of Cornell University because
of its high educational impact and student demand. However, a number of key
challenges currently constrain the quality and quantity of engaged learning
both at our university and in higher education generally:
 a lack of research on engaged learning. Despite a strong culture of
research, we are not accustomed to applying our research skills to our
educational enterprise;
 a lack of systems for diffusing our innovations. Faculty and programs tend
to operate in relative isolation across Cornell's colleges, and we fail to
share knowledge or capture economies of scale; and
 a lack of support to systematically learn from engaged teaching practice
and to communicate results (Stoltzfus and Kiely, 2013).
Rationale
Outlined in a 2013
concept note
CORE CONCEPTS OF THE CCE INTERNSHIP EVALUATIVE INQUIRY
Career Thinking
Informed by Extension
Experience
Numerous publications address the influence of Extension internships on
students’ considerations of career options. The current inquiry examines reported
impact on the career plans of CCE Summer Interns in NY.
Civic Mindedness
“A civic-minded graduate is one who: a) is formally educated, and b) has the
capacity and orientation to c) work with others in a democratic way to d) improve
the community” (Steinberg, Hatcher and Bringle, 2011).
Transformative
Learning
“Transformative Learning… distinguishes between learners as receptacles of
knowledge versus learners who are actively engaged through critical reflection and
discourse to question assumptions, expectations, and context to achieve deeper
meaning and new perspectives to guide their actions” (Jackson, 2014).
Interwoven
Concepts of
Extension
As the current emphasis on promoting the public value of Extension suggests,
public knowledge of the countrywide system of informal education is less than
robust. Adding confusion to the state of public awareness is that one word,
extension, can signify multiple forms of community practice, as well as a multi-level,
multi-jurisdictional institution. The inquiry looks at changes in student knowledge
of Cooperative Extension as a system and in understanding of extension work as
community practice.
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SELECTED RESEARCH QUESTIONS & BRIEF FINDINGS
KEY
How does the internship experience impact student understanding of the
Extension system and of the practice of extension work?
Question 1
One of the ways this inquiry examined student understanding of
extension was through case scenarios approximating situations
Extension educators encounter. Students were presented the
scenarios and given options for possible courses of action. While little
change was found in the options student selected, responses such as
the following indicate increased insight after the internship:
 “My thinking has not changed, but I do better understand the
importance of clear communication with all parties involved at
every step.”
 “My response is still the same, however my view of the
situation has changed since I have in fact now been in "Janet's"
proverbial shoes. I now understand . . .”
 “I believe this is still the answer I put pre-internship, but I think
I have a better understanding of the issue. I think it is a tricky
decision and Steven should definitely have a discussion with
his supervisor and others involved before making a decision.”
-CCE Summer 2014 Intern
How does the internship experience affect students’ thinking regarding their
own career interests?
Question 2
The insight that I
gained over the
course of the
summer has
definitely
influenced my
decision to pursue
a future career
that combines
scientific research
with community
service.
-CCE Summer 2014
Intern
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“From the internship
experience I gained not just
research experience, but a
better understanding of the
land grant aspect of Cornell.
It's nice to know I'm a part of
a school that encourages
establishing a community
extending from not just
Ithaca, but to all of New York
State.”
Whether affirming an interest, presenting alternative possibilities or invoking
surprise, the internship gave students much to contemplate with respect to
career paths. Roughly two thirds of the respondents experienced new thinking
regarding research as career. One third were less likely to seek a future in
research while one third embraced a career in science with newfound
enthusiasm. Approximately one third of the interns were surprised by how
much they enjoyed their involvement in community-engaged education. Only
one disappointed respondent stated the internship “probably hasn't helped me
in thinking about my future career.”
Students also gained understanding of work-related preferences not directly
tied to a specific career path. Of these, some pertained to the work venue, as
indicated by comments such as: “I learned a lot about the kind of workplace
environment that I would like post-graduation. I think that was the most
valuable thing I learned,” and “working in a community center is very fulfilling.”
Some students were surprised to find themselves more drawn to working with
particular groups of people including low income families and youths. “I may
want to work with adolescent girls in the future, which is a realization I came to
from this internship experience.”
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PROJECT PROFILE
Project Name
Evaluative Inquiry to Frame and Assess Intended Student Outcomes of Cornell
Cooperative Extension (CCE) Summer Internship Programs of the College of Human
Ecology and the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.
Investigative
Process and
Data Collection
Components
Through the iterative process of drafting and revising a Pathway of Change, the team
brought into focus the intended outcomes of the internship program. A mixed
methods inquiry design entailed qualitative analysis of existing data sources (such as
interns’ blogs), as well as pre- and post- summer measurement of student attitudes,
awareness and career plans. We found close affinity between the concept of a CivicMinded Graduate (CMG), as defined by the originators of the CMG Scale, and the CCE
Internships’ vision of students becoming real-world problem solvers, innovative
thinkers, and active citizens. Accordingly, we used the CMG in pre- and post- surveys.
Funding
Major funding for this study was provided by the Einhorn Family Foundation.
Duration
The modeling and design phases of the inquiry commenced in September of 2013.
The study was implemented during 2014. In the autumn of 2014, the Extension
leadership and internship administrators began planning program changes based on
inquiry results.
Investigators
The CCE Internship Program Evaluative Inquiry was designed and conducted by:




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Monica Hargraves, Assistant Director of Evaluation for Extension and
Outreach, Cornell Office for Research on Evaluation
Annalisa L. Raymer, then Research Associate of Engaged Learning + Research
Christopher Watkins, Director of Cornell Cooperative Extension
Jennifer Tiffany, Executive Director, Cornell Cooperative Extension NYC
Daniel J. Cohn, now Assistant Director of Engaged Learning + Research
and with the Engaged Scholarship Project originators and champions:


Richard Kiely, Director of Engaged Learning + Research
Rebecca Stoltzfus, Cornell Provost Fellow for Engagement
Additional Engaged Scholarship Research Collaborators Group Members and
Associates: David Pelletier, Jeanne Moseley, Monroe Weber-Shirk, Casey Garland, and
Paula Horrigan, with Jess Sparling and Chris Caruso.
Works Cited
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Cornell Office for Research on Evaluation. (2009). The evaluation facilitator’s guide to:
the Systems Evaluation Protocol. Ithaca, NY: Cornell Digital Print Services.
DeCamp, M., Rodriguez, J., Hecht, S., Barry, M., & Sugarman, J. (2013). An ethics
curriculum for short-term global health trainees. Globalization and Health, 9, 5.
Jackson, A. (2014). Social media as pedagogy in the feminist classroom (presentation).
Steinberg, K, Hatcher, J. A., & Bringle, R. G. (2011). A north star: Civic-Minded
graduate. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 18(1), 19-33.
Stoltzfus, R. and R. Kiely (2013). Embedding research and diffusing innovations in
programs of engaged learning and research at Cornell University: a pilot project.
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