Agricultural Courses Research Articles

Determinants of students learning competencies in agriculture through hands-on experiences

The overall goal of this study was to assess the implementation of curricula for agricultural courses aimed at equipping students with the requisite emerging competencies that should make them self-reliant after training. Most technical and vocational colleges lack infrastructure such as agricultural laboratories, agricultural tools, equipment and farms for teaching the courses. In Kenya, there is currently no data indicating whether or not students study agricultural courses due to personal interest and conviction or because it was the only option available. The study sought to establish: ways in which teaching methodologies used by teachers’ impact the practical competencies gained by learners through hands on experiences, and find out the perceptions of learners towards pursuing further studies and activities in agricultural disciplines. The study observed 89% of those who had two practical lessons in a term indicated that they can practice agriculture on their own. It is concluded that, most teachers engage resource persons in their teaching. Majority of the teachers do not also embark on field trips with their students to places where students can have a real experience of certain concepts or materials that cannot be made available in their school environment for studies. More studies should be carried to explore ways of infusing value based learning employing modern online techniques that enhance learners’ competencies in their careers. However, the determinants of students learning competencies in agriculture through hands-on experiences during the changing pedagogies global.

Pattern of human resource development in Indian agricultural universities

Agriculture is the primary sector of Indian economy contributing substantially towards GDP of the country. Qualified and quality human resources contribute significantly towards agricultural sector in the economy. The present study (2021) attempts to analyze the human resource development in terms of enrollment pattern of students in undergraduate (UG) course of agriculture and allied sciences and reflects on evolving strategies for attracting talented students in this sector. Present study shows that there is a close correlation with State Value of Output in agricultural sector and number of students enrolled in higher agricultural and allied studies. Presently, there are 74 agricultural universities (AUs) under the National Agricultural Research Education System and the present study attempts to analyze the student enrollment patterns of under-graduate students in agricultural universities of India for meeting the scientific manpower needs towards achieving targeted agricultural growth. Five years of enrollment data (2015–20) across AUs was considered. Human resource development in terms of enrolment in the higher agricultural education of agricultural universities is quite low when compared to enrolment of students overall in higher education and pattern of enrollment of girls varied in different regions of the country. This study has brought out an important aspect linked to higher agricultural education that the State Value of Output in agriculture has a positive association with enrollment of the students in higher agricultural education from the state in agricultural sector. It is important to assess the future human resource needs for the various sub-sectors of agriculture.

Stanisław Karłowski (1879-1939): Pioneer of Biodynamic Farming and Organic Agriculture in Poland

Stanisław Karłowski (1879-1939) was one of the great champions of Biodynamic farming during its formative years. After an illustrious career as an international banker, in 1920 he purchased the Szelejewo Estate in Poland comprising 1,724 hectares. Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) presented his Agriculture Course at Koberwitz (now Kobierzyce, Poland) in the summer of 1924. Rudolf Steiner called for farming to be based on natural and biological principles and the farm to be considered as an organism. His seminal course laid the grounds for the subsequent development of Biodynamic and organic farming. Stanisław Karłowski encountered Biodynamics in 1929. He converted his Szelejewo Estate to Biodynamics, thereby creating what was, at the time, likely the largest Biodynamic (BD) farm in Europe, and perhaps the world (c.f. Ehrenfried Pfeiffer’s farm, Loverendale, Netherlands, was 320 hectares). Stanisław Karłowski published a series of seven booklets (in Polish) promoting the practice of Biodynamics (including a translation of Ehrenfried Pfeiffer); these are believed to be the first Biodynamics publications in Polish. Stanisław Karłowski ran courses on Biodynamics at his Estate and made BD preparations available. He engaged in lively debate and advocacy for Biodynamics in Poland’s ‘Agricultural Gazette’. He implemented Rudolf Steiner’s injunction to test the ideas of the Agriculture Course and he published his results and observations in ‘Demeter’, the leading Biodynamics journal of the time. With a leading Polish Anthroposophist artist, Franciszek Siedlecki, he developed advertising material for Biodynamic bread from his Szelejewo Estate. Stanisław Karłowski was a member of Rudolf Steiner’s ‘Experimental Circle of Anthroposophic Farmers and Gardeners’, the ‘inner sanctum’ of those pioneering the development of Biodynamics in its gestational years of the turbulent interwar period. He founded an association to progress biological farming practices. The breadth and depth of Stanisław Karłowski’s dedication to Biodynamics flags him as an exceptional member of the Experimental Circle. He brought to the task an economic viewpoint, the attention to detail of a banker, and the independence of thought of a non-Anthroposophist. Within weeks of the German invasion of Poland, Stanisław Karłowski was executed by a Nazi firing squad in the town square of Gostyń, his wife was deported, his beloved Szelejewo Estate was appropriated by the Nazis, and Poland was extinguished as a sovereign state. The present paper establishes Stanisław Karłowski as a pre-eminent pioneer and champion of Biodynamic and organic agriculture.

An Empirical Study of Situational Teaching: Agricultural Location in High School Geography

In China’s most recent round of curriculum reform, the “one situation to the end” (OSTE) situational teaching method has been successfully introduced in geography classes to improve students’ ability to solve problems in real-life situations. Taking an agricultural location course as an example, this study analyzes the implementation of situational teaching and discusses the effect of the OSTE method on the topic of sustainable development in the teaching of geography. Using a quasi-experimental design and by distributing a questionnaire to teachers in a Chinese high school, the following findings were obtained: (1) almost all teachers use some form of situational teaching, and the OSTE method has been widely used; (2) OSTE contributes to students’ awareness of sustainable and circular development, but it is not associated with an improvement in geographical skills; and (3) students are mostly interested in the promotion of higher-order thinking, a positive emotional experience, active learning, and the acquisition of systematic knowledge instead of fragmented knowledge. In short, OSTE is an efficient teaching method for geography classes, especially given how it fosters students’ sustainable development ideas. We suggest enriching the understanding of OSTE through teaching-training, jointly developed situations using students’ existing experiences, and well-designed question chains with more opportunities for interaction.

Effects of a Simulation on Eighth Grade Students’ Business Management Knowledge and Entrepreneurial Intent in an Exploratory Agriculture Course

Entrepreneurship education has historically been part of agricultural education; yet few researchers have studied entrepreneurship-related outcomes for youth in formal and nonformal educational settings. Entrepreneurship education programs develop entrepreneurial attitudes and intentions, but limited studies exist regarding junior high school youth. This quasi-experimental study utilized a business management simulation with eighth grade students and focused on teaching, learning, and outcomes of entrepreneurship in an exploratory agriculture course. Junior high school students had higher business management knowledge when an educational simulation (playing a board game using double-entry accounting and computing financial statements) was used compared to students who were taught using a board game and tracked a cash balance. Students’ entrepreneurship intent was similar between the control and treatment groups after the two-week unit. However, students who previously completing a 4-H animal science project had higher entrepreneurship intent than their peers who did not complete a 4-H animal science project. This study supports the premise that educational simulations can effectively teach business management skills and offers educators an enhanced understanding of how to capitalize on the value of SAEs and 4-H animal science projects when building entrepreneurial skills in youth.

Hybrid Vigor: A Quantitative Analysis of Job Satisfaction of United States School Based Secondary Agricultural Education Classrooms

The balance between work and personal life has seen a renewed focus in the years since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the years leading up to the work stoppage in 2020 a growing body of literature was being compiled that agriculture teachers, as many of the American population do, suffered from a lack of balance between personal and work life. This study sought to examine the way agriculture teachers spent their time, how they viewed their job satisfaction, and if any relationships exist between them. A national sample of agriculture teachers (N = 570) was conducted and when the results were interpreted it was found that agriculture teachers are majority female (51.9%), almost all took agriculture courses in high school (89.3%), were active in FFA in high school (81.9%), and many continued that membership into college (44.9%). Most teachers spent some time outside of school hours preparing for class, SAE supervision, and other school-based activities, but most of their time was spent on FFA activities. Teachers reported some time spent in domestic, civic/religious, and recreation time outside of work. Teachers had a heavy slant towards positive job satisfaction, (M = 1.86, SD = .788) on a one through five scale with one being extremely good and five being extremely bad. Significant correlations were found at a small level (Cohen, 2013) between time in SAE, time in recreation, and salary range with job satisfaction. Significant linear (p < 0.05) regressions were calculated with salary, time in SAE’s, time spent in recreation. Time spent in recreation provided the best fit.

Feedback of students on internship program in an agricultural course

<span lang="EN-US">Internship is the essential part of curriculum where students get hands-on experience in training establishments that complement their formal learning in school. Studies on institutional internship programs are done to identify concerns that may hinder its successful implementation. Through the lens of student-interns, this study aimed to assess industry partners and the internship program for undergraduate Animal Science majors, in order to propose strategies toward enhanced internship implementation specifically for the institution’s new curriculum for agriculture students. The study utilized the descriptive-evaluative survey method using an adapted and modified questionnaire. Based on the results, the 217 surveyed student-interns assessed their host training establishments to be very satisfactory in terms of facilities, communication, regard for people, empowerment, and work ethics. They rated the internship program as excellent in overall effectiveness, and very satisfactory in policies. The interns seldom encountered problems while training. The proposed action plan gives strategic options in the areas of linkages and policies, to enhance the overall implementation of the internship program, toward optimized benefits for students, industry partners, and the college. This research can contribute to the improvement of internship in agriculture-related courses in higher education institutions.</span>

Using trace data to enhance Students' self-regulation: A learning analytics perspective

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether students' self-reported SRL align with their digital trace data collected from the learning management system. This study took place in an upper-level college agriculture course delivered in an asynchronous online format. By comparing online students' digital trace data with their self-reported data, this study found that digital trace data from LMS could predict students' performance more accurately than self-reported SRL data. Through cluster analysis, students were classified into three levels based on their self-regulatory ability and the characteristics of each group were analyzed. By incorporating qualitative data, we explored possible explanations for the differences between students' self-reported SRL data and the digital trace data. This study challenges us to question the validity of existing self-reported SRL instruments. The three-cluster division of students' learning behaviors provides practical implications for online teaching and learning.

Transformative Learning in an African American Agriculture Course

Despite agricultural education’s prioritized efforts to increase diversity, people of color remain minimally represented. The overwhelming majority of all School-Based Agricultural Education (SBAE) teachers are White, non-Hispanic. The limitations of SBAE teachers’ prior experiences or knowledge base of ethnic and racial diversity could lead to challenges in successfully supporting minority students. Agricultural education programs play an essential role in supporting preservice teachers’ attainment of deeper understanding by providing multicultural education curriculum that encourages growth in their critical awareness of diverse cultures. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the transformative learning experience of students completing an African American (AA) Agriculture course. This study analyzed responses provided by students both at the beginning and end of the course experience to understand if and to what degree the transformative learning process occurred. Findings revealed evidence of transformative learning among the students in the way of six emergent themes that described their perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs about AA agriculture when comparing responses acquired before and after the completion of the course. With the limited representation of AA teachers in SBAE programs, the evaluation of the transformative learning process of students in this course may open the door to create a more culturally inclusive environment in SBAE and the agricultural industry as a whole.

Knowledge Levels of Agricultural Extension Workers Concerning Sustainable Agricultural Practice in Sulaimani Governorate

This study aimed to determine the Knowledge of Agricultural Extension Workers regarding the Sustainable Agricultural practice (SAP) in Some areas in Sulaimani Governorate, then to find the differences in the total mean of sustainable knowledge according to some variables. The questionnaire was prepared for this purpose consists of two parts, the first part included several questions related to the independent variables, while the second part included several items to identify the knowledge level of extension workers and participate in agricultural Sustainable. The research population involved agricultural extension workers who work in some of the Agricultural Extension Centers in the Sulaimani governorate, included (75) respondents representing (67.5%) of the population (111) workers, taken by a simple random sampling method. After the data was collected there were arranged and classified and analyzed through SPSS software. The results indicated that the level of Agricultural Extension Workers of Sustainable Agricultural Practice knowledge was medium tend to high, also the level of participation in activates concerning Sustainable Agricultural practice was medium tends to high, as well the desire of participation in agricultural training courses was medium tends to high. The results showed there is a significant difference in total knowledge according to (educational level, extension service). While, no significant differences according (age, gender, Job Place, professional address. The researchers recommend creating an opportunity for agricultural extension workers to participate in the field of sustainable development practically because they have good information about this field and have a positive desire for sustainability regardless of their age, gender or place of work.

Competency of Faculty Members in Online Teaching of Agricultural Undergraduatesduring COVID-19 Pandemic: A study in North-East India

Quality education is crucial for growth and development of a nation. Teaching learningprocess worldwide which was disrupted by COVID-19 pandemic has found consolationthrough online remote teaching. Competency of teachers plays an important role in thesuccess of online teaching. The study was conducted in North Eastern region (NER) ofIndia to assess the faculty members’ competency in online teaching of agriculturalundergraduates. For the study, all the teachers of institutes in NER imparting undergraduatelevel degree course in Agriculture were selected. Online questionnaire was sent to all theteachers of which 75 responses were received, which formed the respondents of the study.Five online teaching competency dimensions were considered for the study. The respondentshad highest mean competency score in Teaching Ethics and lowest in Content Facilitation.Online teaching competency had significant and positive correlation with online teachingexperience; attitude towards online teaching; and organisational facilities & support. Thestudy recommends providing organizational facilities and support in the form of adequateinfrastructure and conducting trainings on awareness and usage of e-teaching resources andtools to improve the online teaching competency of the teachers.

Aula prática sobre compostagem no ensino remoto emergencial: um relato de experiência

The pandemic caused by COVID-19 made social isolation necessary. Therefore classroom lessons were canceled and the emergency remote teaching was started. In this scenario practical laboratory classes were suspended, in many cases due to the difficulty of carrying them out at a distance. We are aware of the importance that practical classes have for effective learning, where students are able to visualize the phenomena in a concrete way and relate them to the reality in which they are inserted. The present work aimed to report the experience of teaching an online practical class on composting, for the 1st year class of an integrated technical course in Agriculture. The subject in question provides the students with a practical understanding of the importance of recycling organic wastes, as well as promoting effective environmental education in the high school context. For this an introductory class on the subject was given and then a class, showing the necessary steps to make a compost bin. The composting experiment was carried out by students participating at the Pedagogical Residency Program, CAPES. The participation of students and interest in the topic were observed, however many students were not present, due to technological problems or the need to work. This made it impossible to analyze the practice with the whole class, and highlighted some problems generated by the pandemic in education. It was concluded that the practical class on composting contributed significantly to teacher training.

Perceived Social Distances of Rural High School Seniors Toward Multicultural Student Profiles

Social identity theory posits that people do not have one personal sense of identity, rather multiple identities based on group memberships. After four years of involvement in secondary agricultural (an elective set of courses for high school youth), the identity of seniors is molded by the environment surrounded them over their tenure. The purpose of this study was to identify the acceptance level high school seniors, throughout Kentucky, have toward multiple student profiles that reflect a diversity of social, racial, and sexual identities. Using a social distance scale, the results reveal that students were more accepting of a student who resides from a farm background and is heterosexual; however, results reveal a strong resistance against a student not from a farm background, Black, and gay to enroll in agriculture courses. Results reveal a level of implicitness that hinders the enrollment of students from cultures different from the social identity of the current group membership. Recommendations for inclusive programs that provide opportunities for secondary students to collaborate with culturally different individuals as well as the development of agricultural curriculum that encompasses a transformational approach to gaining cultural

University Students’ Opinion on Urban Agriculture Course: A Case Study

Urban agriculture is one of the most popular sustainable concepts in the world and Turkey recently. There are various programs and courses for urban agriculture education in universities around the world. However, urban agriculture education in Turkey is still developing. Therefore, Uşak University has recently started offering an urban agriculture course to undergraduate students. This course aims at increasing their awareness and knowledge of urban agriculture. It is the first urban agriculture course at the undergraduate level in Turkey. This study aims to determine the opinions of Usak University 3rd-grade students about urban agriculture courses and their attitudes towards urban agriculture after the course. An online questionnaire was conducted for 40 undergraduate students from different depart-ments who enrolled in an urban agriculture course. The questionnaire consisted of 19 questions includ-ing multiple-choice, yes/no, and fill-in-the-blank question types. In this study, descriptive statistical methods were used and answers were sought for sub-problems using the chi-square test. As a result of the research, it was concluded that the student's opinions of the course were positive, course content and materials were sufficient and the course was considered suitable for e-learning. In addition, it was observed that the awareness of urban agriculture increased at the end of the course.

493 Awardee Talk: Filling Knowledge Gaps in Quantitative Genetics Through Online Education

Abstract The genomic revolution has been compared to the industrial revolution, with caveats that it has happened faster and will have a far greater impact on our lives. Interpreting and using knowledge emanating from this revolution requires unique skills. Providing education in quantitative genetics that keeps pace with that need, particularly where expertise and funds are limited, remains challenging. One solution is sharing resources and capacities across-institutions to deliver high-quality instruction online. Beginning with 4 universities in 2007, expanding to 7 in 2012, a multi-state U.S. consortium built an online Masters-level curriculum in quantitative genetics and genomics. Sixteen courses were developed, each revised based on review by 2 academic peers and an instructional designer. Over 330 students from 34 U.S. and 5 international institutions have completed over 1,200 credit hours. Anonymous student feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. The curriculum was established with funding from two USDA-NIFA Higher Education Challenge grants. In 2015 it was integrated into AG*IDEA, a national consortium offering online courses in agriculture. A permanent infrastructure was thereby established with students earning formal academic credit. Only students matriculated at one of 19 AG*IDEA member universities can enroll directly, sadly limiting access, especially to international students. A potential constraint of online instruction is a disconnect with students. In some courses, a blended-learning format has been introduced with a weekly virtual recitation session. To increase engagement, an experiential learning opportunity also is offered. This entails a web-based simulation game—CyberSheep—where students apply genetic principles to a virtual breeding cooperative. Additionally, CyberSheep is typically played by 400 undergraduate students at 5 U.S. universities each academic term, contributing to their learning of animal genetics. Outcomes of these initiatives demonstrate that online training can be an effective tool to fill knowledge gaps in quantitative genetics, with opportunity to reach a wider audience.

An exploration of graduate level agricultural leadership course descriptions

Since its introduction into agricultural education programs in the 1970s, agricultural leadership has continued to change due to the needs of students and trends within the field (Cletzer et al., 2020; Jones, 2004; Williams, 2007). A single research question guided the study: What is the nature of graduate agricultural leadership courses offered in the United States? This study utilized a qualitative content analysis to capture the meanings, emphasis, and themes of agricultural leadership graduate course descriptions. The frame for this research was established by consulting the American Association of Agricultural Educators member list. University course catalogs were reviewed, and all graduate coursework offered by the agricultural education departments of the identified institutions that included any of the following terms in the title were noted: (a) lead, (b) leader, and (c) leadership. A total of 62 courses from 11 institutions met the criteria. The findings clustered the courses into 21 categories, further compiled into six themes: (1) individual-level focus, (2) organizational-level focus, (3) societal-level focus, (4) professional focus, (5) methodological focus, (6) developmental focus. The findings and recommendations should be considered by agricultural leadership educators as they evaluate how to most appropriately grow their academic programs and coursework.

Science of Climate Change in Agricultural Courses

Climate change adaptation is required knowledge for students and graduates from colleges of agriculture since recent crop production and food security are influenced by climate change. Thus, understanding the dynamics of climate change is important to support farmers to adapt to future conditions. However, not all students and graduates understand the concept and application of climate change with regard to the dynamics of food production and future food security. While agriculture faces the challenge of climate change adaptation, agricultural courses have not kept pace by incorporating climate change science into the curricula. To address this issue, eleven syllabi in selected agricultural courses from 100 to 700 levels were reviewed in the year of 2018 and 2019 to observe the integration of climate change science into the syllabi. The results suggest that educators, instructors or course designers should consider the following before creating the courses: (1) the specific interests and needs of students; (2) linking global climate change to local problem in agriculture, (3) applying lessons across disciplines, and (4) encouraging active student participation. In addition, the syllabi should meet the needs of a specific course level, such as the topical interests and learning needs with lesson updates on a regular basis. By applying these components to future syllabi, the integration of climate change science into agricultural courses will better facilitate climate change adaptation concepts, curricula and applications for all students, graduates and crop producers.

TRADIÇÃO E MEMÓRIA DO ENSINO AGRÍCOLA: UM ESTUDO ETNOGRÁFICO

The study aimed to analyze the importance of the tradition of agricultural education, as well as the preservation of its memory from documents, artifacts, such as: photographs, objects and reports of the authors involved. Targeting this scope was developed an ethnographic research. In order to recover elements of the legal and institutional culture of the researched materials, the techniques of semi-structured interviews with management, pedagogical coordination, coordination of the agricultural course and vocational guidance of Etec Conego Jose Bento were approached. Questionnaires were applied to 84 students, 15 graduates and 4 employees of this course, in the city of Jacarei, Sao Paulo, taking into account the tradition of 80 years of local agricultural education. The interviews were analyzed from a content analysis perspective, the questionnaires were tabulated, and the frequencies and percentages were calculated. It was evidenced from the perspective of the researched that the tradition in agricultural education in the region is relevant and responds, in part, to the choice of entrance in the said school. The article also revealed the contribution of several public agencies in preserving the patrimony and memory of agricultural education in the region.

Texas High School Counselor Perceptions of Agricultural Education

The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of high school counselors across the state of Texas toward agricultural education. This study was descriptive in nature. High school counselors had an overall positive attitude toward agricultural education. They did not believe agricultural education courses were intended for lower-performing students. High school counselors agreed their local agricultural education program was valuable for college bound and non-college bound students. An overwhelming majority (85%) of high school counselors reported that student interest was their top priority when advising students to enroll in an agricultural education course. They had low to very low awareness of many opportunities available for agricultural education students. It is recommended that agricultural education teachers continue to develop strong, positive relationships with school counselors to provide education and awareness of the agricultural education program opportunities.

A Probe into the Strategy of Implementing Flipped Classroom Teaching Model in Agricultural Courses

With the integration and development of information technology and education, the flipped classroom teaching model has been popularized and applied in many colleges and universities, and it has become a prominent highlight of my country's higher education reform. Based on the analysis of the shortcomings of the traditional teaching methods of agricultural courses and the advantages of the flipped classroom teaching model, this article explores and constructs a flipped classroom teaching model for agricultural courses. It also discusses the implementation strategies of the flipped classroom model from the aspects of teaching philosophy, video material preparation, classroom activity organization, assessment and practical teaching, etc., aiming to improve the teaching effect of agricultural courses.