3 Work Plan

Topic and Goals

This project is a 5-lesson microlearning course on appropriate dress for an upcoming teen conference. This unit was requested by our teen events coordinator to help reduce the number of dress code violations at our June Teen Leadership & Career Exploration conference. The past few years have seen increasing dress code violations, and after talking with teens and their parents/guardians, we determined that in many cases there was a lack of understanding as to what exactly casual, smart casual, or business professional dress means. The course will be delivered asynchronously via short daily lessons directly to the teens via SMS. Project success will be determined by a reduced number of dress code violations at this year’s conference. Following the course, our expectations are that teens heading to the 2024 conference will be able to identify various dress codes, including inappropriate attire, casual, smart casual, and business professional, and to demonstrate that learning by packing and choosing appropriate apparel for each activity during the conference.

Proposed Elements

There will be five short daily text messages to be delivered over the course of a week in early June. Each of the first four texts briefly defines one category of dress (casual, smart casual, business professional, and what not to wear).  Each lesson will conclude with a link to a Padlet board, which contains examples illustrating each dress code category and allows teens to post their own outfits. ask questions, and provide feedback to subject-matter experts and peers. The final text will consist of links to an interactive packing game, downloadable learning infographic, and packing checklist. The game serves as a summative self-assessment in which teens will drag proposed outfits for conference events into their suitcase (appropriate clothing) or back into the closet (inappropriate clothing).

Timeline

The Teen Events team (SME’s) and I met in early April, 2024 to discuss desired outcomes and what we felt would be the best delivery method and duration for the course. At this time, we also worked on rapid prototyping and submitted our plan for approval from our State 4-H Director and appropriate University departments. We also set the following benchmarks for the project going forward:

1. 1. Data Collection Tool (observer checklist) for Voluneers/Chaperones to Document Dress Code Violations at the 2024 Conference – April 20
   2. Text Message Drafts to SME’s for Workshopping/Approval – April 30
   3. Downloadable Infographic/Packing Checklist Drafts – April 30
   4. Text Messages Finalized, Padlet Boards Set Up – May 24
   5. Infographic/Packing Checklists Finalized, Final Assessment Game Prototype Testing – May 31
   6. Final Adjustments to Padlet Boards and Assessment Game – June 5
   7. Lesson Delivery – June 10-14 (Conference begins June 25)