Henry
P. Cole Larry
R. Piercy
University of Kentucky
Instructor's
Guide and Activity Materials Table of Contents
Approximately
400 persons were involved in the field test of the Mr. Good
Egg Farmer (MGE) simulation exercise activity. Approximately
125 of these persons were adults but because of time constraints,
only 15 completed the formal evaluation form. The remainder
were farm youth from age 8 to 13 involved in summer, Farm
Safety Day camps where time constraints also prevented completion
of the formal evaluation form by the participants.
Qualitative
Evaluation Results
The
Mr. Good Egg (MGE) Farmer simulated tractor overturn activity
was field tested with 175 farm youth at a Progressive Farming
Safety Day camp in Warren County in Bowling Green, Kentucky
on June 17,1997. Later on the evening of that same day the
MGE simulation activity was also field tested with 12 community
leaders in Barren County at the Glasgow, Kentucky Farm Bureau
office. On June 17, 1997 the MGE simulation activity was
field tested with 100 Barren County farm youth who attended
a second Progressive Farming Farm Safety Day Camp at Temple
Hill. On July 17th the exercise was field tested with 110
farmers who attended the annual Kentucky Minority Farmers
Association held in Meade County. In August 1997 it was
again field tested with three Fleming County adult community
leaders and farmers
Because
of time limitations no formal evaluation data were collected
at the Farm Safety Day camp nor at the Kentucky Minority
Farmers meeting. Each group of participants had only 20
minutes for the activity that was sandwiched between other
activities and presenters. However, the instructors (Larry
Piercy and Freddy Button for the Youth camps and Henry Cole
for the Minority Farmers group) judged the MGE to be easy
to use, interesting and relevant to the farm youth and adults
alike, and capable of holding their interest and keeping
them task oriented. Many adults asked questions and requested
a copy of the materials to use with farm safety presentations
they planned to conduct. The copy of a newspaper article
attached to this document describes the typical participation
and reaction of farmers to the exercise.
Formal
Evaluation Results
The
simulated tractor overturn activity was demonstrated, discussed,
and formally evaluated with a one-page questionnaire with
a group of 15 adults, 10 of whom reported being farmers.
Ten members of the group reported that they drove tractors.
The remaining persons were members of farm families who
either lived (or had in the past lived) on farms. The basic
demographic characteristics for these people are listed
in the table at the top of page 53. Their average age was
39.6 years. Those 10 persons who farm have an average of
223.3 years farming experience. The average farm size was
215 acres, approximately the average size of Kentucky farms.
Among the 1O farmers in the group, the average days per
month of tractor driving is 14.8, very close to the average
15 days per month reported by a sample of 1,648 randomly
selected individuals in a February 1997 survey of 1,648
Kentucky farmers in Barren, Fleming, Hardin, and Nelson
Counties.
These
participants rated the activity as a realistic simulation
of what can happen during a tractor overturn when there
is not a ROPS, when there is a ROPS but the operator is
not wearing a seat belt, and when the tractor has a ROPS
and the operator is wearing the seat belt. The participants
also reported that the activity helped to convince them
that ROPS save lives and prevent injuries, that the seat
belt is valuable, that ROPS and seat belts combined can
save farmers money, and that the activity helped to convince
them to get a ROPS on their tractors and to use the seat
belt. The analysis of the participants' demographic characteristics
and responses are found on the next three pages.
The
15 persons' high ratings of the activity can be seen from
inspection of the means and standard deviations provided
for each 4-point Likert scale item. The highest possible
rating is a 4.0 and the lowest a 1.0. The mean ratings for
the exercise for individual items listed on the evaluation
questionnaire are found the table at the top of page 54
and are also listed in Table 1 on the next page. Table 1
includes the questionnaire item number and item content
as well as the mean ratings. Histograms of the frequencies
of persons within key demographic variable categories, and
within the four Likert scale categories for each of the
13 evaluation items, are found on the next three pages.
Table 1: Participants' evaluation ratings of the Mr. Good
Egg Farmer activity
| Item
No.
|
Item
Content
| Mean*
| SD
|
| 9
| Activity
shows what happens in real-life tractor overturns
| 3.8
|
0.4
|
| 10
| Activity
helped convince me ROPS save lives
| 3.9
| 0.4
|
| 11
| In
an overturn a seat belt holds the operator safe inside
the ROPS
| 3.7
| 0.5
|
| 12
| Activity
helped convince me to wear the seat belt
| 3.6
| 0.7
|
| 13
| Activity
helped me believe a ROPS can prevent injuries
| 3.8
| 0.4
|
| 14
| ROPS
and seat belts on tractors can save farmers lots of
money
| 3.7
| 0.5
|
| 15
| Because
of this activity I will think more about getting a ROPS
| 3.3
|
0.5
|
| 16
| Activity
has helped convince me to get a ROPS on our tractors
| 2.8
| 0.8
|
| 17
| ROPS
are not worth the time and costs it takes to get them
| 1.2
| 0.6
|
| 18
| Had
a chance to discuss the exercise and share my ideas
| 3.5
| 0.9
|
| 19
|
The demonstration of the tractor rollovers was interesting
| 3.8
| 0.4
|
| 20
| I
will use the activity to teach others about the value
of ROPS
| 3.6
| 0.8
|
| 21
| I
didn't learn anything from this activity
| 1.1
| 0.3
|
| *
Maximum rating = 4, minimum rating = 1
|
Descriptive
Statistics
|
| Mean
| Std.
Dev.
| Std.
Error
| Count
| Minimum
| Maximum
| #
Missing
|
| Age
| 39.6
| 13.4
| 3.6
| 14
| 22.0
| 60.0
| 1
|
| Years
Farming Experience
| 23.3
| 11.4
| 3.8
| 9
| 10.0
| 40.0
| 6
|
| Farm
Size
| 215.4
| 80.4
| 21.5
| 14
| 50.0
| 340.0
| 1
|
| Realistic
Exercise
| 3.8
| .4
| .1
| 15
| 3.0
| 4.0
| 0
|
| Convinced
ROPS Save Lives
| 3.9
| .4
| .1
| 14
| 3.0
| 4.0
| 1
|
| SB
Holds Within ROPS
| 3.7
| .5
| .1
| 15
| 3.0
| 4.0
| 0
|
| Convinced
to Wear SB
| 3.6
| .7
| .2
| 12
| 2.0
| 4.0
| 3
|
| ROPS
& SB Save $
| 3.7
| .5
| .1
| 15
| 3.0
| 4.0
| 0
|
| Think
More Getting ROPS
| 3.3
| .5
| .2
| 9
| 3.0
| 4.0
| 6
|
| Try
Get ROPS
| 2.8
| .8
| .3
| 9
| 1.0
| 4.0
| 6
|
| Discussed
Activity
| 3.5
| .9
| .2
| 14
| 1.0
| 4.0
| 1
|
| Learned
Nothing
| 1.3
| .8
| .2
| 14
| 1.0
| 4.0
| 1
|
| Days
Drive Trac/Month Dr
| 13.1
| 10.1
| 3.4
| 9
| 0.0
| 30.0
| 6
|
| ROPS
Prev Injury
| 3.8
| .4
| .1
| 15
| 3.0
| 4.0
| 0
|
| ROPS
Not Worth Time & Cost
| 1.2
| .6
| .2
| 14
| 1.0
| 3.0
| 1
|
| Interesting
Exercise
| 3.8
| .4
| .1
| 15
| 3.0
| 4.0
| 0
|
| Use
to Teach Others
| 3.6
| .8
| .2
| 13
| 2.0
| 4.0
| 2
|
|
