Using Online Focus Groups to Inform Staff and Professional Development

Sarah Baughman, Ph.D.eXtension

Michael Lambur, Ph.D.Virginia Cooperative Extension

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State & Local Value Enhancement ProjectAn eXtension initiative to promote the use

of eXtension at the state and local level with four key strategies:

1.) Develop listening sessions to determine current needs and use of eXtension and technology tools by Extension professionals.

2.) Reach out to all institutions and offer to help/visit.

3.) Target key institutions for onsite and virtual visits.

4.) Create a multi-state work team to develop strategies for State and Local Value Enhancement (SLVE) efforts.

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Why Online Focus Groups?

National scope of the projectNeed to reach diverse audiences within

CESPromote and model use of technology To experiment with new method

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Focus Group Recruiting

Participants were recruited through Institutional TeamsFour groups – • Administrators• State Specialists/Faculty• Local Educators• Programming Assistants and

Support Staff

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Protocol

Emulate a traditional in person focus groupMix of verbal questions, chat pods and a poll1 hour sessions 6 questionsDesignated moderatorNote takerAdditional support for discussions

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Questions

1. Please describe your key job responsibilities (verbal response)

2. How and to what extent do you use technology in your job? (type in chat pod)

3. How familiar are you with eXtension? (poll with verbal follow up)

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Questions

4. How and to what extent have you used eXtension in your work? (type or talk)[eXtension is…]5. Based on your current understanding of eXtension and our explanation of the opportunities it can provide, in what ways to you think eXtension might help you enhance your Extension work? (type)6. What can we do to help you take full advantage of eXtension? (verbal)

Question 1: Respondents answered verbally but could also choose to type in the chat pod on the right

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Response

74 people participated 13 Institutions8 total focus groups conducted

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Key Findings

Three broad categories of findings:• General Findings• Top Uses of eXtension• Ways to use eXtension

Findings have driven the work of the SLVE working group as it conducts its work

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Lessons Learned

• Preparation is key• Extra staff critical to help

initiate/encourage discussion• People more willing to speak than

we anticipated• Chat pods were essentially

transcripts… but needed to read in context with the recordings

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Using for staff and professional development

• Effective way to gather information from different locations

• Useful format for working groups or conducting resesarch

• Staff development can be interactive • Opportunities to bring in broader

range of expertise• Inexpensive and effective

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Contact Information

Sarah BaughmanCell: 540-315-0164Office: 540-231-7142@programevalGplus.to/SarahBaughmanScoop it: Cooperative Extension EvaluationPinterest.com/sarahbaughman