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Embracing Past Technologies – The Use of Correspondence Courses to Fulfill Pesticide Training Needs

Horticulture & Turfgrass

Tom Butzler
Horticulture Educator
Penn State
Mill Hall

Abstract

The Environmental Protection Agency requires anyone applying pesticides to a property not owned or rented by the applicator or intends to purchase and/or apply restricted-use pesticides to become a certified applicator. Once certification is acquired, applicators must obtain update training to maintain their status. Penn State Extension has provided much of this recertification training, mostly through face-to-face meetings, workshops, and conferences. With the COVID pandemic and resulting state limitations on in-person gatherings, Extension had to pivot and provide much of this material through virtual formats. While this worked well for many pesticide license holders, a virtual format posed problems for those who did not feel comfortable participating in video conferences, lacked sufficient bandwidth to participate, or have strong beliefs that prohibited the use of this form of content delivery. The need for correspondence courses (workbooks) was determined as a way for certified applicators to obtain their credits without internet connectivity. A group of extension educators and specialists from across teams created nine workbooks; tomato, pumpkin, soybean, and forage diseases, fumigation, pesticide recordkeeping, pollinators and pesticides, adjuvants and pesticides, and pesticide spill protocol. When in-person presentations were curtailed (2021), 3,269 workbooks were sold. But even after in-person classes resumed in 2022, over 1,620 workbooks were sent out as this learning method remained popular. Returned quizzes, part of the requirement to receive license credits, had a 97.2% passing rate (for those that fail, another quiz is mailed to allow them another attempt to pass and gain their credits). Evaluations were part of the workbook to try and measure changes in participants' perceived levels of knowledge and confidence. Using Likert-style questions (typically ranging from 1 to 4), the statistical analysis of the data indicated a significant increase in knowledge and confidence levels after completing the workbooks.  Both the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and pesticide applicators have expressed their excitement to have the correspondence courses as another option to get needed credits and keep the workbooks as a source of information on pesticide safety and crop diseases.

Authors: Tom Butzler, Nicole Santangelo Thompson, Brenna Butler, Tom Ford, Liz Bosak, Jon Johnson, Sharon Gripp, Ed Crow, Jame Kopco, Julie Watson, Megan Clitherow, Crystal Henry, Adriana Murillo-Williams, Beth Gugino, Alyssa Collins, Paul Esker, Garo Goodrow
  1. Tom Butzler Extension Educator, Horticulture, Penn State Extension, Pennsylvania, 17745
  2. Nicole Santangelo Thompson Extension Educator, Agronomy, Penn State Extension, Pennsylvania, 16915
  3. Brenna Butler Evaluation Specialist, Penn State Extension, Pennsylvania, 16802
  4. Tom Ford Extension Educator, Horticulture, Penn State Extension, Pennsylvania, 15931
  5. Liz Bosak Environmental Chemist, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Pennsylvania, 17101
  6. Jon Johnson Director of Pesticide Education, Penn State Extension, Pennsylvania, 16802
  7. Sharon Gripp Extension Associate, Pesticide Safety, Penn State Extension, Pennsylvania, 16802
  8. Ed Crow Pesticide Regulatory Specialist, Penn State Extension, Pennsylvania, 16802
  9. Jame Kopco Extension Educator, Penn State Extension, Pennsylvania, 16802
  10. Julie Watson Education Program Assistant, Penn State Extension, Pennsylvania, 16802
  11. Megan Clitherow Marketing Strategy Specialist, Penn State - College of Agricultural Sciences, Pennsylvania, 16802
  12. Crystal Henry Marketing Strategy Specialist, Penn State - College of Agricultural Sciences, Pennsylvania, 16802
  13. Adriana Murillo-Williams Extension Educator, Agronomy, Penn State Extension, Pennsylvania, 16823
  14. Beth Gugino Assistant Dean for Graduate Education, Penn State Extension, Pennsylvania, 16802
  15. Alyssa Collins Associate Research Professor Director, Southeast Agricultural Research & Extension Center, Penn State - College of Agricultural Sciences, Pennsylvania, 17545
  16. Paul Esker Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Field Crop Pathology, Penn State - College of Agricultural Sciences, Pennsylvania, 16802
  17. Garo Goodrow Multimedia Specialist, Penn State Extension, Pennsylvania, 16802