Dan Weigel

Photo of Dan Weigel, Extension

Dan Weigel

Child and Family Living Specialist

Summary

As a Child and Family Living Specialist for Extension my role is to develop, deliver, and evaluate community education programs in child development and family living. Most of my teaching efforts have centered on issues of early literacy and school readiness, parent education, and child care. My teaching methods include presentations, workshops, curricula, simulations, workbooks, games brochures, pamphlets, media, display, and service delivery. 

Programs

Two women read a book with a little girl at a Family Storyteller workshop

Family Storyteller Literacy Program

National award-winning Family Storyteller is a literacy program aimed at encouraging and training parents to play a vital role in the literacy development of their children. The statewide program creates an opportunity for parents and young children to interact around literacy and language activities.

playing games

Fun to Play

The program targets families where, due to the young age, inexperience or limited resources of the parents, young children are placed at-risk for developmental delays and later school difficulties.

heart and shield cb

Heart & Hope: Family Violence Prevention Program

Program works to promote resiliency, strengthen positive future relationships and stop the domestic violence cycle

A mother holds her sleeping newborn baby

Just in Time Parenting

Just in Time Parenting is an electronically delivered age-paced parenting newsletter originally developed by a national network of Extension Family Life Specialists in 2008. The program was designed to reach parents at teachable, transitional moments.

A mother and daughter work together on creating artwork with colored paper shapes at a Let's Discover STEM workshop.

Let's Discover STEM

Let’s Discover STEM (Descubramos STEM) is a 7-week program that focuses on STEM enhancement and parent engagement for families with preschoolers and kindergarteners.

Photo collage of parents and children cooking together.

Little Books & Little Cooks

Healthy eating, family literacy and positive parent-child interaction is promoted in this 7-week program for families with preschool aged children. It also promotes children's school readiness skills. An important component of the program is the involvement of both parents and children, especially during the hands-on cooking activities.

News & Journal Articles, Fact Sheets, Reports...

Brochures
Family Storyteller | Calendar Fun University of Nevada, Reno Extension 2018, Extension, University of Nevada, Reno
Fact Sheets
Engineering in the Preschool Classroom
Children are natural engineers. Adults can help develop children’s beginning engineering skills by giving them things to build with and to take apart, asking questions, and providing them with safe opportunities and places to test out their ideas. In this fact sheet we focus on the engineering-related skills of building and construction, and movement and force.
 Weigel, D., Byington, T. and Kim, Y. 2019, Extension | University of Nevada, Reno, FS-19-04
baby with laptop
Science in the Preschool Classroom: Physical Science Byington, T., Kim, Y., and Weigel, D. 2017, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension
Science in the Preschool Classroom: Earth Science Kim, Y., Weigel, D., and Byington, T. 2017, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension
Science in the Preschool Classroom: The Living World - Animals and Plants
This fact sheet contains extensive information on how children can learn to be scientists at an early age by exploring different topics and ideas for the classroom.
 Weigel, D., Byington, T., Kim, Y. 2017, Extension | University of Nevada, Reno, FS-17-09
Math in the Preschool Classroom Number Identification, Counting and One-to-one Correspondence, and Addition and Subtraction
In this fact sheet, we focus on the following number sense skills: number identification, counting and one-to-one correspondence, and addition and subtraction.
 Byington, T., Kim, Y., and Weigel, D. 2016, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, FS-16-14
Math in the Preschool Classroom Spatial relations, Geometry and Measurement
In this fact sheet we focus on three fundamental math skills — spatial relations, geometry (shapes) and measurement.
 Byington, T., Kim, Y., and Weigel, D. 2016, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, FS-16-13
Math in the Preschool Classroom Classification, Matching, Seriation and Patterning
In this fact sheet we focus on the math skills of classification, matching, seriation and patterning.
 Byington, T., Kim, Y., Nazarechuk, C., Weigel, D. 2013, Extension | University of Nevada, Reno, FS-16-12
Journals
What Cooperative Extension Professionals Need to Know About Institutional Review Boards: Risks and Benefits
What Cooperative Extension Professionals Need to Know About Institutional Review Boards: Risks and Benefits
 Weigel, D., Martin, S., and Brown, R. 2005, Journal of Extension
What Cooperative Extension Professionals Need to Know About Institutional Review Boards: Recruiting Participants
As more Cooperative Extension professionals conduct evaluations, needs assessments, and research that is professionally published and presented, there is a need to better understand the process for navigating the university Institutional Review process. This article examines challenges associated with recruiting participants and is the second in a series providing tips for preparation of IRB proposals and the implementation of more sound and productive studies.
Brown, R., Martin, S., and Weigel, D. 2004, Journal of Extension
What Cooperative Extension Professionals Need to Know About Institutional Review Boards
Increasingly, Cooperative Extension professionals are required to have their projects approved by their university Institutional Review Boards. For many, this can be an intimidating task. In this article we provide information that we hope will help ease the confusion and frustration that can sometimes accompany the process. We also present several tips for helping the process go more smoothly.
Weigel, D., Brown, R. and Martin, S. 2004, Journal of Extension
Special Publications
Nevada State Crop and Resource-Use Needs Assessment: Stakeholder Perspectives on Crop, Resource Use, Pest and General Agricultural Needs
Needs Assessment special publication for the state of Nevada, on crops, resource use, pest control, and general agricultural needs.
 Walia, M., Snider, K., Evans, W., Weigel, D. 2021, Extension, University of Nevada, Reno, SP-21-13