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This project seeks to equip educators with an inquiry-based, hands-on teaching tool that incorporates STEM disciplines into state-mandated curriculum, while fostering an appreciation for agriculture among students. Through this project, teachers will also be prepared to orchestrate activities that directly relate to real-life workplace applications. <P> The project objectives will meet the Educational Need Area- Curriculum Development, Instructional Delivery Systems and Expanding Career Opportunities supporting the NIFA Priority Area of Food Safety. <P> Objective 1 - Help students, their teachers, and the public develop an appreciation for the essential role of agriculture in our economy and society. <P> Objective 2 - Prepare students for STEM-related agriculture career opportunities in agriculture focused on food safety through the integration of STEM and agriculture education. <P> Objective 3 - CFAITC will develop a self-sustaining webpage at www.LearnAboutAg.org dedicated to agriculture-themed STEM curriculum. <P> The new unit will be highlighted on the newly created STEM webpage along with other reviewed STEM curriculum and materials. Specifically, this project will develop an instructional resource, a comprehensive agriculture-based STEM curriculum unit that will feature four lessons that unite STEM disciplines and agricultural literacy while meeting state standards. Developing agriculture-based STEM curriculum will help students, their teachers, and the public develop an appreciation for the essential role of agriculture in our economy and society. <P> An ultimate benefit of this project is that students will experience a consistent thread of STEM education beginning in 3rd grade (via previous SPECA grant award 2010-38414-21033) through 8th grade, in preparation for high school STEM education. <P> The project's impact will be measured through a pre- and post-test given during lessons being piloted and an online survey administered to educators implementing the resource.
NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY:<BR> Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are essential educational disciplines in the field of agriculture. In order to meet the complex agricultural challenges and to create a workforce that can compete globally in the 21st century, educators must incorporate STEM education into the classroom environment. Many educators lack STEM-specific training, thus finding the task of educating students in these disciplines overwhelming. By developing a comprehensive agriculture-themed 6-8 grade curriculum unit focusing on food safety and distributing it to teachers nationwide, educators will have the tools they need to begin incorporating STEM education into their state-mandated curriculum ultimately resulting in more students exploring agriculture and food safety careers. From this hands-on interactive comprehensive unit students will gain valuable skills like cooperative learning, critical thinking and simulate real-world applications. The unit will reinforce themes and learning styles that are consistent of the STEM education beginning in 3rd grade (via previous SPECA grant award 2010-38414-21033) through 8th grade, in preparation for high school STEM education. The students will be given a pre and post test and a survey will be administered to educators implementing the resources to measure what the students learned about agriculture careers through STEM. The survey will ask for educator observations, assessments and specific student insights, recognitions, and understandings about agriculture.
<P> APPROACH: <BR> The two-year project involves the development and dissemination of a comprehensive 4 lesson agriculture-themed curriculum unit that reinforces science, technology, engineering and mathematic skills. Production of new educational resources is coordinated by California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom's curriculum coordinator, Jenna Swenson. Ms. Swenson reports to Judy Culbertson, executive director of the California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom. Ms. Swenson will invite selected educators from CFAITC's network of 13,000 contacts to serve on a writing team for the development of a new comprehensive unit. Industry and/or educational experts from partnering organizations, such as California Department of Food and Agriculture and the California Department of Education, are also invited to serve on the writing committee. The selected team reviews and discusses the topics to be addressed within the unit, investigates the facts, collaborates with other agriculture industry professionals, and develops a rough draft of lesson plans. Following the development meeting, Ms. Swenson organizes and polishes the language of the instructional unit, adding an introduction, unit overview, acknowledgements, glossary, commonly asked questions, additional teacher resources and references, related websites, and related literature. The draft copy of the resource is then submitted to industry experts for technical review. Feedback for technical improvements is received and changes are implemented. Several rounds of reviews will occur to attain absolute accuracy. The lessons will be piloted in four California classrooms. The educators conducting the lessons will provide specific feedback for curricular improvements. Once again, teacher suggestions are considered and often implemented within the instructional unit. Following the review process, Ms. Swenson aligns the lessons to the California State Board of Education's Content Standards. Once the copy has been finalized, the unit is formatted and illustrated to CFAITC formatting guidelines by a graphic designer. When complete, the resource will be disseminated throughout the nation. Project dissemination plans of this instructional unit will be available to educators in three formats: hard copy, electronic on the Resources for Every Season CD, and electronic online. CFAITC will distribute hard copies and CDs of the instructional unit at Farm Days, California and National AITC Conferences, student teacher presentations and teacher conferences such as California Science Teachers Association. We will also ship the resource to California teachers by request. To disseminate the project to the broadest extent among the academic community, CFAITC is committed to promoting the new resource via social media and a promotional mailing. In addition, this project will be listed in CFAITC's 2013-2014 Teacher Resource Guide (www.LearnAboutAg.org/trg). The project outcomes/impacts will be shared with other State AITC contacts at regional and national meetings. Press releases will announce the resource's availability to the greater agriculture community.