Evaluating the impact of an educational intervention on farmers in El Salvador
Rafael A Quijada Landaverde, Amy E. Boren-Alpízar, Sarahi Morales, Matt Baker, John Rayfield,
Texas Tech University
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Rural farming communities in El Salvador are deeply affected by food insecurity. Understanding appropriate interventions to enhance food security among farmers in El Salvador could alleviate undernourishment in rural areas. The objectives of this study were: 1) Qualitatively identify the state of food security among farmers in rural El Salvador; 2) Quantitatively measure the impact of an educational program on farmers’ knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of food security. A mixed-methods research design was used in this study. In the qualitative strand, interviews were conducted with small farmers about their food security. In the quantitative strand, a non-equivalent control group matching design was used due to size and access constraints. Data was collected using: (1) The FAO Food Insecurity Experience Scale, (2) a knowledge test, and (3) an attitudinal test. Results from the qualitative strand of the study were used to design a four-hour educational intervention on food security. The overall score on the Food Insecurity Experience Scale was 4.5, indicating that the food insecurity of the farmers was moderate to severe. The comparison of the knowledge scores between the farmers in the experimental (M = 12.85) and the control group (M = .21) showed a change in knowledge. Farmers in the experimental group (M = 4.15) presented higher intentions of adoption for food security and agricultural production techniques than the control group (M = 3.64). Results indicate that involving the community prior to designing an educational program for the community may enhance knowledge acquisition and adoption intentions of the community.

“I can do it all on my own” Small Farmers and their decisions to seek classes
Jason D McKibben, Cole Payne, Shannon Allen
West Virginia University
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Farming is one of the only professions where the main objective is survival; the hope of seeing another year. This study questioned whether small farmers in West Virginia feel that they can have strong influence over their own success or outside factors decide their fates. More specifically, if those who do feel responsible, would be willing to partake in classes or training. Locus of Control is thought of as how someone perceives their control over the outcomes of their lives. It can be broken into two categories: internal and external. Farmers with an internal locus will see themselves as the ones who control the success and failures of their farm. Those with an external locus will believe that all things happen because of outside factors. Data were collected during face to face encounters at the West Virginia Small Farms Conference and the West Virginia Women in Agriculture Conference. Participants were asked to answer twenty-two agree or disagree questions about their perceptions of control over success. They were then asked a series of informational questions such as how often they take classes in order to further their knowledge and what was there primary source of information. This study found that there was no correlation between West Virginia small farmers’ Locus of Control and interest in taking classes or what source of information they utilized the most readily. Predictably, there was a small correlation between where the farmers sought information and the frequency in which they sought formal training or classes.

Role for urban agriculture in promoting life skills, entrepreneurship and healthy eating among youth attending Felege Hiywot Center
Theoneste Nzaranyimana, Kathryn Orvis, Mark Russell, Aster Bekele
Purdue University
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Unemployment and poor diet related diseases in underrepresented youth continue drawing much attention to policy makers and practitioners. This exploratory study assessed underrepresented middle and high school aged youth intentions towards gaining life skill, entrepreneurship and healthy eating as the result of attending a STEAM summer institute Felege Hiywot Center (FHC), an urban agriculture program. Applying a sequential mixed-methods research design, a sample of 24 youth were recruited for the study. A survey was developed by adapting existing surveys for entrepreneurial intentions, life skills and healthy eating and utilized pre and post program with the youth. The survey was followed by individual interviews that were conducted to investigate further themes from the survey findings. Descriptive statistics were used to illustrate how youth scored in different variables of interest. Approximately 54% of participants demonstrated that their healthy eating improved; 54 % improved their attitude towards entrepreneurship; and 57% demonstrated that they developed life skills like teamwork, cognitive, goal setting, problem solving, time management and leadership responsibility as a result of the program. To broaden the understanding of survey results, the study analyzed individual interviews from 3 youth, 2 parents, 3 board members and 3 alumni. The results confirmed that FHC urban agriculture program strongly promoted life skills, entrepreneurship and healthy eating intentions. The mixed methods approach provided nuances of life skills, entrepreneurship, and healthy eating intentions among youth. The significance of the urban agriculture youth led program implied the need of well-structured urban agriculture for optimal results.

Communicating the Nature and Extent of the 2015 Gold King Mine Spill Impact on Agricultural System in Navajo Nation
Gaurav Jha, April Ulery
NEW MEXICO STATE UNIVERSITY
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The Navajo Nation uses large areas of the Animas watershed for agricultural and ceremonial purposes. The resulting contamination from Gold King Mine Spill that traveled down the Animas River into New Mexico, became concerning among the local growers that heavy metals from the mining region might be contaminating soils, water and plants in the watershed.. The objective of this outreach and extension of results analyzed by our research team was to help multiple stakeholders assess the safety of their agricultural fields and resume normal cultivation in the region. Fifteen irrigation ditch transects and eight agricultural fields were monitored for nine metals of interest. Metal(oid) concentrations of plants growing in these fields were also measured and compared to international dietary standards. These results were shared with the farmers and consumers in the Navajo Nation at the local chapterhouses. The monthly teach-ins and radio talks have helped the farmers understand the extent of contamination after the mine spill and the safety of their produce. Spatial field maps are among the tools we used to illustrate the concentrations of arsenic and other contaminants in their fields. Factsheets of results and visual representations like use of colorful symbols and different shapes have simplified the understanding of scientific units and concentration values for the non-scientific farming community.

Facilitating Experiential Education through a Multi-State Initiative
Joshua Toft, Dustin Perry, Alyx Shultz, Michael Pate
Montana State
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Experiential education provides the foundation on which the successes of agricultural education are built. Comprehensive agricultural education programs make use of a three-circle model of classroom, FFA, and SAE which all commonly include an experiential learning component. Despite the prevalence of experiential learning within agricultural education, many barriers exist to its successful implementation. Two barriers commonly cited by educators are concern over safety of experiential or “learning by doing” laboratory and field experiences and lack of sufficient skill competency to effectively facilitate experiential learning. To address this concern, researchers initiated a multi-state experiential-based agricultural safety training experience. This experience was designed to help mitigate barriers to experiential laboratory learning and considered two factors when attracting secondary agricultural educators to participate: knowledge acquisition, and curriculum obtainment. One hundred and sixteen agricultural educators across three states participated in this experience. Pre- and post-test questionnaires were used to measure participant demographics and motivation for attendance. Findings indicated knowledge acquisition was a stronger attractor for participation in the experience than curriculum obtainment. In response, researchers recommend further research be conducted to establish the specific knowledge and curriculum desired by educators in these experiential-based training experiences.

Utilizing Program Evaluations to Measure Agricultural Leadership Program Participant Change
Joy Morgan, Daniel Radford, Blake Brown
North Carolina State University
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In the fall of 2019, a pilot study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness and impacts of the North Carolina Agricultural Leadership Development Program with the 2014-2016 cohort. This two-year program, designed for early and mid-career agriculturalists, focuses on personal and civic leadership development through the lens of agriculture and utilizes a variety of assessments (MBTI, EQ-i, Human Patterns), Crucial Conversations training, field trips, domestic and international study tours, policy tours, and leadership education to prepare the next agricultural leaders. This pilot study asked participants to evaluate their change level and impacts in their personal and professional lives due to their participation in the program. Within their personal lives, participants indicated an increase in self-confidence, creative thinking, business skills, value of time, desire to seek out mentors, appreciation of cultural differences, and exposure to new ideas and concepts. In their professional careers, participants indicated the greatest change occurring in their use of resources, involvement in professional organizations, use of time, approach to problem-solving, networking skills, and decision-making skills. Other key findings include participants: met people whose success they could imitate; were exposed to people and ideas that helped facilitate change within their farm or business; became more aware of the agricultural diversity in North Carolina and increased their involvement in local, state, and national organizations. As agriculture continues to change, efforts should be placed on preparing the next generation of leaders. These results indicated program strengths and weaknesses allowing program leaders insight to meet the changing needs of agriculturalists.

Self-efficacy through experiential learning: A glimpse of agricultural education in action
Amy Boren Alpizar, Sofía Brizuela Obando
Texas Tech
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“I hear, I forget, I see, I remember. I do, I learn.” This Chinese proverb provides the answer to issues in enhancing engaged learning in students. Today’s youth will lead tomorrow’s communities, their actions and perspectives will have an effect on the community in which every member has a role. Consequently, it is paramount that youth develop the skills needed to create a better future for their communities – especially youth who are marginalized and underserved. These youth could serve as powerful change agents and leaders in their communities with the development of both leadership and technical skills. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to determine the role that a non-formal agricultural and leadership education program run by a local food bank plays in the development of at-risk youth. The participants in the study include former members of the program, parents/guardians of program members, service providers, and current members of the program. The data were obtained through interviews, observations, document analysis, and a focus group. Using experiential learning theory, social contingency theory, and social support theory a preliminary grounded theory emerged regarding the development of youth self-efficacy in at-risk youth, called “Self-Efficacy Paradigm Framework.” The data indicated that the non-formal agricultural and leadership education program behaves as an environmental enhancer that triggers knowledge acquisition through meaningful experiences; the experiences lived by these youth teach us that agricultural and leadership education programs can serve as an important catalyst in the development of young people from many different walks of life.

Leadership Outcomes of Short-Term Study Abroad
Nathan Conner, Jeanette L. Milius, Gina Matki
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
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The impact of global citizenship is far-reaching and encompasses skills and outcomes beyond simple economic and business success. Enhancing all students’ knowledge and ability to navigate a global community is not just of interest to governmental units, policymakers, and global organizations, but also to universities who wish to adhere to accreditation standards. The objectives of this phenomenological study were to identify characteristics related to an individuals’ motivation to complete a short-term study abroad program and the impact that experience had on their personal and leadership growth. Eighteen self-identified leaders that had participated in a short-term study abroad program participated in qualitative interviews. The data was analyzed using inductive thematic analysis, and then categorized into themes based on following sub-research questions:1) What are the barriers/challenges students need to overcome to participate in a short-term study abroad program? (themes: financial/cost, safety, communication, and missing responsibilities), 2) What benefits did students experience by participating in a short-term study abroad experience? (themes: experiential learning, personal growth, and global perspective), and 3) In what ways did students’ participation in a short-term study abroad experience further inform or influence their ability as leaders? (themes: growth and learning, openness to differences, group dynamics, and leadership). Findings from this study provide supporting evidence that short-term study abroad experiences can provide benefits to participants far beyond the time of study, impacting not only personal growth, but growth and knowledge in leadership roles. Future research should focus on examining the impact short-term study abroad has on leadership and career trajectory.

Promoting Global Education Through Cultural Immersion Experiences in Morocco
James C Anderson, Maddison Holder
University of Georgia
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A globalized society is inevitable; therefore, the need for globally educated students and leaders is crucial to society’s success. While cultural immersion experiences offer an array of benefits to cultural competency levels and global mindsets, there is a lack of knowledge surrounding how educators can best prepare students to have the highest quality experience in another country. Creating an environment where students have the opportunity to explore their own cultural biases and learn about minority cultures and identities could allow students to increase their cultural competence, depending on their prior experiences and how they react to the new knowledge they have gained. This study was designed to examine the benefits of various pre-departure orientations and determine how their cultural competency levels were effected at the end of their international experience. Three students from California, New York, and the UK participated in this study. Brown’s Processing Value Judgments Model was used as the framework was used to design pre- and post-experience interview protocols. According to the model, students take in new information and, depending on their prior experiences and knowledge, actively evaluate the information using reflective filters and integrate into their new mindset or deem the information irrelevant or incompatible. Brown’s eight reflective filters were used a priori to code and analyze the interview transcripts. Results indicate that when students went through specific, long-term training before cultural immersion, they were more likely to actively reflect on new information and experiences. Moving forward, global educators can benefit from purposeful pre-departure training.

Experiential Learning Supports Workforce-Oriented Agricultural Education in Afghanistan
Paul Ebner, Mirwais Rahimi, Kevin McNamara, Mohammad Alam Ghoryar
Purdue University
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Both the central government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and its international partners cite growth and improvements in agriculture as keys to rebuilding the country and maintaining security. Several groups, however, have identified knowledge and training gaps in agriculture-focused higher education as critical challenges to realizing Afghanistan’s agriculture potential. To bridge these gaps, university programs, like the new Department of Food Technology at Herat University (Herat City, Afghanistan), have designed new curricula to produce graduates with skills needed in the local economy. As part of the new curriculum, we introduced experiential learning platforms in effort to transfer food technology skills and principles previously identified by Afghan food processors as the most valuable in new employees. The programs used student-led research as a means for students to master food quality assessment methods. Students conducted research, analyzed data, and presented their research and its implications in various forms, allowing the negotiation of their new learning. Students improved knowledge of course content and laboratory skills and reported being much more motivated to learn by conducting a research project and presenting their results to stakeholders. The programs also produced primary data on issues previously identified as critical by Afghan food processors. Thus, additional benefits included: 1) demonstration of capacities of the new academic department to stakeholders; and 2) data robust enough for peer-reviewed publication by Afghan faculty. These programs could serve as models for other Afghan academic programs aiming to transfer applicable skills to their graduates both in agriculture and beyond.

Group activity versus individual pursuits: Participant daily perspectives of an immersion experience (#AgEd2Malayisa)
Daniel D Foster, Melanie Miller Foster, Joseph Cho, Brad Kinsinger
Pennsylvania State University
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When creating an itinerary for a short-term study abroad experience, instructors choose different types of experiences to achieve the program educational objectives.  Instructional design challenges include utilization of time between in differentiating  instruction to meet program objectives: structured group activities (i.e. tours, class sessions, etc) or time where students have a degree of autonomy in how they utilize time for learning. A barrier to evaluating impact of immersion experiences is that data is often collected at the end of the experience as opposed to on a daily basis, thus the nuance between varied experiences are lost. The purpose of the study is to assist instructors in creating immersion itineraries that meet the program objectives through impactful daily activities.  Data was collected daily on a four-week experience from 12 preservice and inservice school-based agricultural educators. Daily each participant provided data through the TIPS method (Things, Ideas, People, and Self-reflection) as they engaged in experiences that include time for both group activities and individual pursuits to meet the objectives related to agricultural education, production agriculture, policy, religion, and culture of Malaysia. TIPS data was coded and analyzed by the research team utilizing content analysis research methods. Researchers found that the data reflected higher frequencies for group structured activities as opposed to individual pursuits in regards to daily learning impact. Implications are that  productive conversations should occur with instructional designers on group versus individual time in experiences.

#AgEd2Malaysia: Reflective perspectives comparison of U.S. pre-service and in-service agricultural educators
Daniel D Foster, Brad Kinsinger, Melanie Miller Foster, Joseph Cho
Pennsylvania State University
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To address growing global challenges in our world, advancing global competency in educators who have influence on future workforce population is critical.  Educational experiences involving immersion and reflection can contribute to developing global competence. The purpose of this study was to compare daily reflections of U.S. pre-service agricultural educators and U.S. inservice agricultural educators participating in a Fulbright-Hayes four-week immersive international professional development experience to explore agricultural education, production agriculture, policy, religion, and culture of Malaysia.  (#AgEd2Malaysia). The population included 12 participants (six preservice and 6 inservice) from 6 different U.S. states. Daily structured reflection data was collected using the TIPS (Thing, Idea, People, and Self) method. The daily participant journals  were coded and categorized to create themes, which were analyzed by the research team. Participants identified growth in pedagogy, curriculum content, cultural awareness, self-awareness, and more as a result of the experience. Future research is recommended to explore specific designed interventions with the most learning impact.

A Case Study in Study Abroad Engagement in a College of Agriculture: Describing participation from 2015-2018 in comparison to university and national benchmarks
Daniel D Foster, Jana Russell
Pennsylvania State University
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U.S. universities enrollments continue to trend having more diversity which is reflected in enrollment data of colleges of agriculture. A need for efforts to support and assist these populations in a successful post-secondary education is evident. Study abroad enrollment, as well as student diversity within those enrolled, is also increasing, resulting in the need for more studies on how diverse students within colleges of agriculture can benefit from these experiences before, during, and after returning. In order to determine how to best fit these needs, comprehensive examinations of offered study abroad programing, students who are participating, and available resources must be compiled at individual universities. In this case study, global engagement opportunities within a U.S. universities’ college of agriculture were examined. Demographic data over a four-year period including all participants of study abroad opportunities (N=580) was compared to averages from publicly available institutional and national level data benchmarks. When comparing the ethnic breakdown of participants within the college against that of all enrollees from the university, the college showed less diversity in the ethnicity of participants. Additionally, when looking at the national averages on reported ethnicity of participants, the overall university showed similar percentages with the national averages, yet the college itself was still less diverse. Literature show an increase in student diversity in universities and colleges of agriculture, however this is not being reflected in global engagement participations, such as study abroad, showing a need for improved efforts to increase participation of diverse populations.

Relationships between Social Stress and Learning Styles in Study Abroad
Brittany Shipp, Vanessa Gonzalez, Ana Casas, Gary Wingenbach
Texas A&M University
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It is common to be anxious when traveling internationally. First-time study abroad students’ anxieties could affect their learning abroad. Social phobia scrutiny fears (i.e., fear of being observed or watched during routine activities) and social interaction anxieties (i.e., distress from common social interactions) interact to create social stress, which affects how we think, feel, and act. Social stress may affect learning ability in foreign settings. A student’s preferred learning style could affect the experience too. Is there a relationship between social stress and learning style? We explored relationships between learning style and social stress in a short-term international experience. Students’ assessed their learning modes and styles with Kolb’s Learning Style Inventory (LSI) during pre-travel orientation. The Social Phobia Scale (SPS) and Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) were administered at the end of a two-week study program; both scales were combined to measure social stress. Participants’ (N = 33) learning modes were distributed evenly across the LSI. SPS and SIAS scores were minimal (i.e., negligible fear or distress), but a moderate correlation (r =.37) existed between reflective observation and social phobia, and a substantial relationship (r =.51) existed between reflective observation and social interaction anxiety. Reflective observation learners have a tentative approach to learning; they observe experiences from many perspectives. Perhaps these learners are more sensitive to being observed in public, correlating to their elevated social stress levels. Educators should prepare learners for social stresses as related to their preferred learning modes to better prepare them for short-term international experiences.

Developing Student Empathy in a Combined Learning Community Study Abroad Course
Elizabeth Karcher, Jacey Wickenhauser
Purdue University
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The agricultural workforce is increasingly diverse. Therefore, it is essential that college graduates have the skills to excel in an increasingly global setting. Employers seek students with developed intercultural competence (IC) and the ability to work in diverse environments. Study abroad programming is one strategy to develop IC in students, but a majority of students do not participate in international programs. In spite of this, potential exists to embed IC development in on-campus curriculum. The objective of this study is to determine student IC development after completion of a 16-wk STEM-based introductory course with targeted intercultural activities. In Fall 2019, 168 students enrolled in the course and were assigned to treatment (n=104) or control (n=64) groups based on their randomly selected laboratory period. Students in the 3 treatment labs received 5 reflective intercultural learning assignments throughout the semester, while the students in the 2 control labs received 5 unrelated assignments. The Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) was administered to all students during weeks 2 and 15 (response rate = 93%). During week 15, students completed the Scale of Ethno-cultural Empathy, and the Global Mindedness Scale (response rate = 88%). Students in the treatment group showed increased intercultural development, based on the IDI, compared with students in the control group (9.46 ± 1.72 vs. 0.074 ± 1.79) (p<.0004). Implementing targeted intercultural activities into STEM-based courses may be one method to develop students’ intercultural competencies and ability to effectively communicate in a diverse workplace.

Offering Students Elevated Research Opportunities through Immersive International Experiences
Amber L Beseli, Adrienne LaBranche Tucker, J. Jose Cisneros
North Carolina State University
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This presentation will provide insight into a novel research experience available to NC State University undergraduate students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.  Research Pack Abroad, named as a nod to the NC State Wolfpack mascot, provides opportunities for undergraduate students to conduct agriculture and life sciences research at international research institutions. Students spend two months contributing to existing research at an international institution and are fully immersed in the international research setting. The research institutions draw researchers from around the world, as a result the students are exposed to different approaches to research and protocols as well as how to communicate scientific terminology among international researchers. The program is not faculty-led so the students travel independently and are immersed in the culture, as such, they develop new skill sets for maneuvering through complex situations, which ultimately increases their capabilities to problem solve long after the experience ends. Through the combined professional and personal growth experienced in the two-month experience, the students return to North Carolina with a changed frame of mind and new view for their future careers. This presentation will provide detailed information on this international research experience program, share success stories of this program, and share ideas of how others can develop a similar program at their colleges and universities.

Student Perceptions Abroad: The Impacts of Climate Change in Trinidad & Tobago.
Rafael A Quijada Landaverde, Mary Rodriguez
The Ohio State University
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Climate change is a challenge for Small Island Developing States (SIDS). The small geographical area, isolation and high exposure make it difficult to design and implement adaptation and mitigation strategies to climate change. As in other regions of the world, in SIDS there is a lack of trained professionals to reduce vulnerability to climate variation. Preparing professionals with ability to understand and adapt to the SIDS’ local conditions contributes to the Caribbean region development. International experiences are opportunities for students to interact with environments where climate change affects and differs from their communities’ reality. The purpose of this study was to gather students' experiences related to climate change during a short-term study abroad program. This qualitative study used a photo-elicitation interview with undergraduate students (n = 11) who participated in a week-program in Trinidad and Tobago in 2019. During the program, students visited agricultural productions and local organizations and participated in cultural activities. The effects identified can be classified into agricultural and the broader ecosystem of the island. Specifically, the agricultural sector has experienced decreased production coupled with both flooding and droughts. The broader ecosystem has seen a reduction in quantity and quality of the habitats of native species. Furthermore, the degradation and loss of soil have disrupted the delicate balance of the ecosystem. The results show the students’ capacity to identify climate change effects in Trinidad and Tobago. Experiences abroad are an excellent educational methodology to develop students' knowledge of issues that vary from socio-geographic, economic, and cultural elements.

Using the Social Change Model as the Basis for an International High-impact Experience
Jennifer Strong, Robert Strong Jr.
Texas A&M University
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Creating high-impact experiences, especially those occurring in a global agricultural setting, has become a priority for many colleges of agriculture. Grounding these experiences in a theoretical base is imperative to their success. In the summer of 2019, 18 students traveled to Belize for two weeks to apply their knowledge of leading change in an agricultural context. High-impact learning experiences included working with local farmers, visiting and helping women’s entrepreneurial groups, experiencing historical Mayan agricultural practices, as well as learning about and experiencing Belizean culture. The theoretical underpinning of this international high-impact experience was the Social Change Model. This model presents change as the ultimate goal leadership, which is to make the world a better place for society, ourselves, and others. The Seven C’s (1) Consciousness of Self, (2) Congruence, (3) Commitment, (4) Collaboration, (5) Common Purpose, (6) Controversy with Civility, and (7) Citizenship were incorporated into the high-impact learning experiences in country. Students were then asked to complete daily reflections which focused on at least one of the Seven C’s. These reflections were graded for applicability, critical thinking, and depth of thought. Students were also required to respond to another student’s reflection to create a rich dialog. Course leaders found linking the Social Change Model to the in country high-impact experiences gave structure for the students’ critical reflections. Qualitative analysis of the reflections found students engaged in an impactful learning environment where applicability to the model led to deeper assimilation of knowledge.

Limitations and Opportunities of 4-H Clubs in Honduras: A Stakeholders View.
Rafael A Quijada Landaverde, Amy Boren-Alpizar, Stephen Brady, Dustin Homan, Patricia Arce, Marjorie Mayr
The Ohio State University
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Honduras is a Central American country with high levels of poverty, illiteracy, and social inequality. Honduran youth face a lack of opportunities for personal and professional preparation. For many young people in Honduras, gangs and migration are the only viable options for obtaining resources to meet their primary needs. Since 2018, The Ohio State University, Texas Tech University, and Zamorano University have been working to spread 4-H clubs in the central-eastern region of Honduras. Keeping the foundations of 4H, these institutions seek to implement clubs as a technical education option while promoting moral values among local youth. The primary objective of this study is to identify learning opportunities and limitations of the implementation of 4H clubs in Honduras. For this study, 26 stakeholders participated in a 20-hour training program designed by the three academic institutions that included 4-H history and philosophy, 4-H club structure, 4-H club activities, and academic resources. To evaluate the perceptions of the participants, a modified and contextualized version of the Workshop Questionnaire developed by Russell (2011) and a round table discussion were used. The lack of human resources (34%), the appropriate space (30%) and time (26%) are the main limitations identified by the stakeholders. In addition, food production, carpentry, and hairdressing are some technical education opportunities in the community.  The results will be used for the elaboration of the curriculum of the clubs and the formulation of proposals addressed to possible international cooperation entities or donors for the search for the program financing.

Global Opportunity: Opening Doors for First in Family to Study Abroad (FIFSA)
Tammy Bennett, Tammy Shannon, Rob Shannon, Derek James, Ketja Lingenfelter
The Pennsylvania State University
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First in Family to Study Abroad (FIFSA), a new course in the College of Agricultural Sciences at Penn State, will provide first-generation college students the opportunity to travel internationally. “ERM 499: Costa Rica Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resources,” is supported by the Environmental Resource Management program and the college’s offices of International Programs, Multicultural Affairs and Undergraduate Education. This is the first embedded course designed primarily for first-generation students offered at Penn State. The presentation will include background on working class first-generation college students, the need for student engagement opportunities and the step-by-step development plan of the First in Family to Study Abroad (FIFSA) course.

The College of Agricultural Sciences at Penn State (UP) has the highest percentage of first- generation college students at University Park.  First generation college students from working class families comprise on average 32% of the student population at four-year institutions of higher learning in the United States (Schwartz et al., 2018). These students often focus on individual experiences outside of the university to the exclusion of involvement in university organizations, out of class activities, research and study abroad opportunities (Donaldson and Graham, 1999). The First in Family to Study Abroad (FIFSA) program will provide first generation college students at Penn State the opportunity and support to travel internationally with faculty during an embedded course to Costa Rica. First generation college students will learn global competencies, cultural awareness and build a resume that shows leadership, diversity, multicultural understanding, cross-cultural competencies, learning by doing, and valuing and building partnerships at EARTH University and rural communities while abroad.

Comparing agriculture students’ migration intentions in El Salvador and Honduras
Amy Boren Alpizar, Pablo Lamiño Jaramillo, Rafael Quijada Landaverde
Texas Tech University
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According to the United Nations (UN), youth is defined as young people between 15 and 24 years of age. This group is the most mobile in the world and in many countries youth migration is now considered an epidemic. Rural youth migration in El Salvador and Honduras is a recognized problem, but there are few studies concentrated on the causes of rural outmigration and the impact of agricultural education programs for youth on the decision to migrate. This study aims to identify and compare the migration intentions of high school students in agricultural and non-agricultural programs from two rural communities from El Salvador and Honduras. For this quantitative study, a two-group model was employed., Tthe target population (N = 209) was composed of high school students in rural areas with similar economic and social characteristics. Overall, results from the comparison between El Salvador and Honduras showed that there is a significant difference between both countries regarding their migration intentions (p < 0.05). Students from El Salvador were more likely to migrate than Honduran students. Youth who were part of the formal agricultural program have a higher intention of migrating than the group without agricultural training (p < 0.05). The results present an interesting opportunity for agricultural educators in these countries to make their curriculum more relevant to their students’ lived experiences, thus providing educational content that coalesces with the contextual realities and perhaps diminishing students’ intentions to migrate.

0013 - Science and Agriculture Academy
Nathan Conner, Christopher T. Striplin
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
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Students in the natural sciences do not view agriculture, or agriculture-related research, as an attractive career option and they do not recognize the multidimensional and challenging nature of agriculture. What is more, educators have failed to help students make the connection between scientific, business, economic, environmental, and social issues and a degree in agriculture and the opportunity to address this failure represents the instructional challenge of this USDA-NIFA funded project. The objective of this project was to create a Science and Agriculture Academy (SAA), which was a community of high school science and agriculture teachers who receive two years of professional development and instructional support aimed toward increased awareness of the multidisciplinary nature of agriculture and the related degree and career opportunities in the food, agricultural, natural resource, and human sciences. The SAA included the development and facilitation of a weeklong professional development (PD) program. The PD focused on 12 learning modules on how people learn, three next generation science standards with emphasis on soil conservation, ground water, fertilizer chemistry, bio fuels, fungi, and agriculture as a business, and curriculum development. Participants worked with partners to investigate the next generation science standards, and to gather resources to be used in the development of their curricula materials. The PD produced curriculum that will be taught in high schools and aims to create a pipeline into the agricultural workforce.

Putting Pen to Paper: A Theory-based Approach to Teaching Academic Writing to Graduate Students
Jonathan M Orsini, Nicole Stedman, Ed Osborn
University of Florida
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Completing a dissertation is recognized as one of the most difficult academic exercises in modern higher education. A successful dissertation requires high levels of critical thinking and analysis, proficiency in research, and skillful written communication ability. Many beginning doctoral students have not sufficiently developed these qualities, especially formal academic writing ability, and are expected to “learn-as-they-go” or learn through their experiences while attempting to complete the dissertation. This deficiency in a required skill for completing the dissertation process may increase the already significant psychological stress of graduate school. The resulting expectancy-reality discrepancy between student’s preconceived notions of their graduate school experience and their perceptions of early failure in the dissertation process can lead to reduced motivation, which inhibits the learning process and could be one factor which contributes to an estimated 50% attrition rate amongst doctoral students in the United States. Synthesizing elements of social cognitive theory, experiential learning theory, and cognitive load theory, a conceptual model for a class teaching academic writing for agricultural graduate students is proposed. The presentation will introduce the conceptual model, discuss the underlying theory, and share student and faculty experiences from a current graduate course in agricultural education and communication that closely mirrors the model.

Using Quality Matters Guidelines to Improve Online Instruction of Agribusiness Courses
Phil Hamilton, O. John Nwoha, Stefanie Halford
Blackburn College
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Online instruction is becoming common to colleges and universities of all sizes. Often online courses are offered as part of complete online degrees; other times they are given as options to students who may choose an online, hybrid section or a seated (traditional classroom) section. Quality Matters (QM) is an international, U.S.-based, non-profit organization specializing in quality standards and professional development for online learning. The QM process is: centered on national standards of “best practice”, statistically supported research findings, and proven instructional design principles. QM is designed to stimulate student learning, is central to unceasing quality improvement; and is a component of an inter-institutional, faculty-driven, peer review process. The objective of this paper is to illuminate how QM can improve Agribusiness online and hybrid courses that allow instructors to improve learning opportunities while allowing students to be better able to navigate through their Learning Management System (LMS). Major components that will be demonstrated by the QM rubric include the Course Alignment Map (CAP) and integration of Bloom’s Taxonomy verbs into the CAP. A course already developed at Cameron University with this method is Principles of Agricultural Economics. Development of Agribusiness Management as a blended online/classroom course is in process. The next courses to be developed will be Agricultural Marketing, Agricultural Finance, and Agricultural and Food Policy. Early quantitative results indicate that QM online students’ exam scores are 18.6% higher than students in a seated section. Student comments of QM are positive since the course has student available detail each week.

Using a Digital Portfolio for Professional Gain by Student Teachers
Dwayne Pavelock
Sam Houston State University
PRESENTATION UNAVALIABE  

A digital portfolio, or e-portfolio, is an electronic collection of artifacts, files, and other evidence of one’s skills, abilities, and/or accomplishments. Agriculture student teachers at [UNIVERSITY] have begun using a digital portfolio to document their field experience and to also present their skills and abilities during job interviews. The instructor of the course is able to assess learning and competency, while also assisting the student teacher in refining the evidence of their body of work. Portfolio content is categorized into six primary sections: Background Information (résumé, transcripts, certification exams scores, educational philosophy), Teaching Artifacts (semester teaching plan, lesson plans, worksheets, PowerPoints, modifications), Professional Information (professional organizations, teaching evaluations), Supporting Items/Evidence of Understanding (community engagement summary, classroom and FFA pictures, methods of student motivation and recognition), Classroom Management Plan, and Sample Teaching Video. The chosen platform is bulb Digital Portfolios (bulb, Inc.). In addition to being an assessment tool, student teachers are encouraged to use the e-portfolio during job interviews to exhibit evidence of their abilities and experience in developing quality, sequential lesson plans, modifying assignments for special needs students, creating a classroom management plan, and developing teaching and learning tools, just to name a few. Of further significance, the 2019 [STATE] legislative session included multiple bills being introduced that pertained to digital learning, addressing both student assessment and professional development. Although such legislation has not yet passed, researchers hope that [UNIVERSITY] agriculture student teachers will be at the forefront of digital learning and assessment.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH: Incorporating Video Announcements into Ecampus Courses
Kelsey Knight, Becky Haddad, Haley Q. Traini
Oregon State University
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The Agricultural Education and Agricultural Sciences (AEAS) department at Oregon State University (OSU) offers a variety of Ecampus classes, such as Farm Implements, Writing in Agriculture, and a series of Leadership courses.  While there are many benefits to Ecampus (distance learning) courses, and degrees, it can be challenging to build rapport with students. Despite thorough, written instructions for difficult assignments, we noticed students still missed key aspects of assignments. In two leadership Ecampus courses offered by the department, we incorporated weekly video introductions.  The weekly video announcements are less than five minutes and are recorded within two weeks of assignment deadlines. The short videos give student an opportunity to see their instructors and gives instructors the chance to proactively trouble-shoot difficult assignments.  Since we record these videos in “real-time” relative to assignment submissions and feedback, we are better enabled to be agile in addressing concerns in student work. These videos are a chance to share assignment expectations and criteria with students and, just as if it were an in-person class.  After incorporating video announcements in two Leadership courses, we are seeing an overall improvement in quality of work, specifically on the more challenging assignments.  To this end, we seek to share best practice in incorporating video announcements into courses toward greater student success, connectivity, and engagement.

Promoting Increased Cultural Intelligence in Agricultural Leaders through Critical Reflection
James C Anderson, Maddison Holder
University of Georgia
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As society enters a new paradigm of globalization, the need for culturally competent, globally educated agricultural leaders is increasing. However, leaders are not currently equipped to address the 21st Century challenges in this diverse political, economic, and civil backdrop because many do not possess the level of cultural intelligence (CQ) needed to function across cultures. Therefore, increased CQ through the use of critical reflection is pertinent to the development of global leaders. The purpose of this study was to determine if blogging on cultural plurality; the acceptance of minority identities within a majority culture, encouraged students to evaluate their beliefs and implement culturally intelligent perspectives into their worldview. Thirty students from a land grant institution created 4 blogs throughout the semester. Blog topics were: Race, Ethnicity or Culture; Religion or Belief System; Sexual Orientation or Gender Roles; and Ability or Social Status. Brown’s Model of Communication Processing was used as the conceptual framework. According to the model, individuals take in information using their prior experiences and knowledge and then determine if they should evaluate the information or deem it irrelevant. If they choose to evaluate the new information, it is sent through the reflective filters and either incorporated into one’s beliefs or it is sent through the deflective filter and rejected. Of the 110 blog posts and 178 peer responses analyzed, 76 posts and 112 responses contained reflective statements. Results indicate that an increase in CQ is possible when students are guided through a learn-reflect-apply approach when exploring cultural plurality.

Wait, Excel does that?! The Function of Microsoft Excel in Information Technology in Agriculture Class
Kelsey Knight, Becky Haddad, Melissa Millhollin
Oregon State University
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The Oregon State University (OSU) Department of Agricultural Education and Agricultural Sciences (AEAS) offers a 100-level Information Technology in Agriculture course for all Agricultural Sciences undergraduate students.  This three-credit course is offered every term through Ecampus (distance education) and once a year in-person, and covers the basics of Microsoft Office Suite including Microsoft Excel. Many students enter with above average knowledge of other Microsoft platforms, though most have limited exposure to Excel. The Excel component of this course has evolved over the years, and every year students are shocked at the breadth of functions within Excel. During the term, students complete three basic assignments in Excel and further their competency with data analysis, a full enterprise budget, and a mail merge assignment. 

When Excel is first introduced to students, they have the opportunity to practice basic Excel functions, such as alphabetizing a list, creating graphs and charts, and finding an average. They build on these skills to compile and analyze data toward making production management recommendations. Students further demonstrate mastery from the previous assignment and practice more advanced Excel functions by calculating gross revenue, expense summary, and net farm income. Finally, students move beyond mathematic functions to complete a mail-merge.  For all Excel assignments, students have realistic agricultural scenarios to apply Excel functions in their future agricultural careers, and other aspects of their personal and professional life.  Consistently, Excel is one of the biggest growth areas in the class, and we are excited to share more about our work.

Distilling Scientific Messages in the Agricultural Classroom
TaylorAnn Washburn, Kelsi Opat, Erica Irlbeck
Texas Tech University
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Future science and agricultural communicators need to practice applying skills in real-world settings. For science communicators, learning how to distill their message to the lay public is critical in successfully disseminating scientific content. For agricultural communicators, practicing the art of crafting complex subject matter into comprehendible content is necessary to better serve intended audiences. Faculty at [University] brought both groups together to refine their respective skills in a mutually-beneficial setting. Despite the need for these synergistic opportunities, few currently exist in the undergraduate or graduate college classroom. The Center for Agri-Science Communications (CATT) developed an innovative opportunity for members of a cohort primarily of graduate students in the Department of Plant and Soil Science, to practice sharing their research to future agricultural communicators. CATT paired cohort members with small groups of undergraduate students enrolled in a scientific writing course within the Department of Agricultural Education and Communications. Cohort members, having practiced distilling their message for various audiences, were asked to explain their research to a small group of undergraduate students; in turn, the undergraduate students were asked to write a one-page article regarding the cohort member’s research area. CATT program organizers and the instructor of the undergraduate course observed that participants mutually benefitted from the opportunity to practice disseminating and crafting scientific content. Undergraduate students found value in writing about innovative, real-life research being conducted at [University], and cohort members gained feedback on explaining their research to a public they may encounter in their future careers.

Innovation2: Agricultural-Robotics Content and Course Delivery
Don M Johnson
University of Arkansas
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Robots are playing an important and increasing role in agricultural production and processing. In agricultural equipment manufacturing, robots are widely used for routine procedures such as welding, gluing, assembly, and materials handling. In food processing, robots are used for meat processing, fruit and vegetable handling, food packaging, and in product palletizing. The purpose of this presentation is to describe a Special Topics Agricultural-Industrial Robotics course being taught for undergraduate agriculture students. The course is built around activities operating and programming a six-axis, ABB IRB120 robot donated to our Agricultural Systems Management program by Tyson Foods and the Arkansas Department of Workforce Education. Students begin the course studying about the development of industrial robots and learning about robotics safety before moving on to learning the robot’s coordinate system, how to “jog” (manipulate) the robot, and learning how to write RAPID programs to automate robot operation. Once students have learned these basic skills and concepts, they progress through a series of increasingly complex scenarios requiring them to program the robot to complete various simulated industry-based tasks related to manufacturing and materials handling. Throughout the semester, course lessons, readings, quizzes, and lab activities, along with student videos of completed labs, are being added to the course BlackboardTM site to develop a resource that can be used for individualized independent student study in future semesters. This presentation will describe both the course and the development and potential uses of the BlackboardTM site for individualized student use.

Don’t Panic: Using a Student Advice Sheet to Ease Student Course Concerns
Becky J Haddad, Lauren LaGrande
Oregon State University
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With increasing numbers of students participating in distance courses, it is increasingly critical to find ways to meet students with approachable expectations in ways that resonate with them. One particular area we have chosen to connect with students is to solicit advice from peers who have successfully completed the course. We compiled and shared this feedback to students at the start of the following term. This idea was presented during a Writing Intensive Course (WIC) faculty luncheon, and subsequently adapted for the WIC for the Agricultural Sciences major at Oregon State University. Former students offer advice such as, “There’s a lot of writing required in the first week. The rough draft is tough, but it makes the rest of the term easier,” and “At first I was afraid of this class…then I was frustrated with the process…then I realized it is a learning experience that I had to go through to appreciate.” Student feedback on this recently redeveloped course shows our efforts and student connections are paying dividends in student success: "This class was challenging and perhaps a bit intense but I learned so much about the writing process and how I can become a better writer that I would not change a single thing. My instructor was amazing and her feedback was not only valuable it also had a personal touch that was refreshing and kept me motivated the whole term."

Effective Strategies for Connecting and Engaging with Students in Large Classes
Nellie Hil
Texas Tech UniversityVIEW THE PRESENTATION

In a higher education climate that simultaneously seeks to reduce institutional costs while increasing student learning outcomes, it is critical to attend to the challenges presented by classes with high student enrollment. Instructors need scalable tools to effectively engage with students without overburdening class preparation. Inspired by the work of Carbone, Felder and Brent, and McKeachie, common active learning and student engagement strategies in the classroom have been tailored to encourage students to develop relationships with the instructor as well as between each other. Strategies include a brief introduction meeting with between the student and the instructor at the beginning of each semester, purposeful assignment of students into teams for group work, utilization of gallery walks for class presentations, scaffolding group work assignments, and in-class active learning all utilized in a large (N=100) scientific writing in agriculture course. Student feedback was gathered on several of these strategies to assess the student’s experience. One student commented on the introduction meeting: It created a safe space to ask any questions or elaborate on concerns. Another student said of the gallery walk: I liked that it took us out of our comfort zones and made as work with people on an assignment that we normally would've done on our own. One student commented on their group work experience: I liked being able to work with others and getting to know other people. Other instructors can learn from these insights to identify strategies to improve engagement in their large enrollment courses.

Measuring the Impact of USDA Internships
Steven "Boot" Chumbley, Maria Consuelo Donato, Shad. D. Nelson
Texas A&M University Kingsville
PRESENTATION UNAVALIABLE

Our goal was to determine the impact of a summer USDA internship experiences on undergraduates’ knowledge related to USDA research and career opportunities. Thirty-two students completed internships with USDA research scientists during the summer of 2019. A researcher developed instrument measuring knowledge of USDA jobs, research skills and understanding of graduate school requirements on a 5-point Likert-types scale guided this study. The surveys were taken both before and after the internship experience. Instrument validity was established by a panel of experts. The overall mean score pre-internship was 2.79 (SD =.97). The lowest scores were related to “knowledge of USDA job requirements (m = 2.53, SD = .91)” and “knowledge of USDA job opportunities (m = 2.53, SD = 1.14)”. The highest mean scores were found in questions related to “knowledge and appreciation of AGNR sciences” (m = 3.25, SD = .95). The overall mean score post-internship was a 3.99 (SD = .89). The highest mean knowledge scores were found within the prompt, “knowledge and appreciation of AGNR sciences” (m = 4.31, SD = .78). The lowest mean score was “knowledge of USDA job opportunities” (m = 3.66, SD = .94). The greatest increase in knowledge was seen from the prompts “career opportunities in USDA agencies” (m = 2.59 to 4.0) & “knowledge of educational requirements for USDA jobs” (m = 2.53 to 3.84). This information will help project coordinators to tailor the internship experiences, and training beforehand, to address gaps in knowledge and preparation for USDA career success.

Teaching Food Safety with a Washing Machine and a Garbage Disposal
Dan Witten
Morningside College
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Research shows that by engaging students in active learning situations they become aware of a variety of perspectives and approaches to solving real-world issues. This activity was used to create a learning experience in a Food Policy course to help students address food waste and the importance of food safety. Students created a product using equipment not traditionally considered food grade using fruit that would have typically gone to waste. Students interacted with stakeholders and students from an introductory agriculture class to harvest, clean, and sort apples to make apple juice.  This event was completed in two stages. Stage one occurred before formal discussion of food safety or manufacturing procedures. Policy students watched a demonstration of the process using a washing machine and garbage disposal, then reflected upon the process discussing improvements required to make it more likely to pass an inspection. During stage two, students worked with members of a Crop Science class and local producers to harvest fruit that otherwise would have been lost. Policy students discussed food waste and food safety practices with the other students from the other course. Through these activities, students gained knowledge of food handling policies such as HACCP and the amount of food that can be lost at harvest. Post-course student evaluations showed that the activity helped improve understanding of the preventative measures that go into keeping our food supply safe. Recommendations for improvement include; sampling different varieties of apples and incorporating more classes on campus to check for food borne bacteria.

Better Together: A Model for Team Teaching as Academic Advisors
Melissa Millhollin, Dawn Moyer
Oregon State University
PRESENTATION UNAVALIABLE

Oregon State University's Agricultural Sciences major attracts students with a wide array of interests, skills, and goals. An orientation class taught at the department level is designed to help students meet advisors, faculty and graduate students, as well as one another, in the context of learning specifics about their degree and the plethora of opportunities available. We boast a particularly unique and innovative approach, as our departmental academic advisors are the instructors who team-teach this course. “Team teaching-a pedagogical technique that shifts the role of instruction from the individual to a team-provides students with the opportunity to take a more active role in learning.”  One of the benefits noted with team teaching this course was the generational and experiential differences of the instructors, fostering two different perspectives to the course. “Teachers of different backgrounds can culturally enrich one another and the students.” The main benefit students gained from this approach was the opportunity to develop relationships with both advisors early in their degree program. Students noticed how the instructors positively engaged with each other and their peers, which created a sense of openness, approachability, and comfort for the students. “Because both students and teachers learn so well, team teaching boosts student satisfaction. This improves recruitment and retention.” An end-of-term survey showed students were more likely to approach their advisors with questions or concerns after this class than before, increasing their likelihood to stay within the major due to the rapport they have built with their advisors-instructors.

Creating and Communicating a Virtual Reality Forest Conservation Tour: Graduate Students’ Reflections
Jamie Loizzo, Whitney Stone, Jacqueline Aenlle
University of Florida
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Virtual reality (VR) is no longer a futuristic technology and concept. VR technologies are more accessible and cost effective than ever and have the potential to be used with a variety of public learners for communicating science-based information through a virtual, place-based approach. Graduate students (n=8) in a project-based learning science communication course at the University of Florida used consumer-grade 360º photo cameras and mobile devices to develop VR tours of a 2,040 acre university teaching and research forest to introduce forest conservation, prescribed burning, and climate change content. The students then wove together images and content in Google Tour Creator and deployed the tour to public audiences via a Google Expeditions kit at three non-formal locations: a natural history museum, brewery, and campus tabling space. Students completed pre- and post-written reflections about their experiences and learning. Presenters used qualitative methods to examine students’ situated learning experiences. Data included student reflections and transcripts of audio recordings of guided VR tours. Results showed: a) students had varying levels of comfortability approaching public audiences, yet they overcame their reservations to engage adults and youth, b) students grew in confidence communicating about VR and conservation, while indicating a need for an expert’s presence to supplement knowledge gaps, and c) students demonstrated the ability add their independently learned content knowledge to individual tours. In this session, presenters will describe the course structure, VR assignment and technologies used, as well as highlight excerpts from student reflection results.

International Agricultural Students Deliver Multicultural Messages
Cele Stone, John Rayfield, Rudy Ritz
Texas Tech University
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Today, college graduates should be exposed to international perspectives to fully understand social, cultural, political, and economic integration in relation to agriculture. Evidence shows, students develop intercultural competence and global viewpoints through international learning experiences helping students bridge the cultural gap. The [Department] at [University] addresses this need by offering a multicultural course where students are challenged to explore other cultures. Students participate in class discussion, examining the relationships between agriculture and society through the lens of global issues such as climate change, food security, sustainability, and water conservation. In an effort to enhance cultural awareness, the instructor invited international graduate students from the department to present information about their home country’s culture. Students enrolled in the course were required to submit a one-page reflection for each presentation, stating not only what they learned, but how it impacted them personally. Global enlightenment was a common theme among responses. One student reported, “Overall, I saw the country in a totally different light which is why every multicultural speaker has given me a new perspective on the world of agriculture.” Economic and class differences were also popular points, as another student confessed, “When he described the poverty level and their lack of education, I humbly realized how blessed we are as Americans.” Utilizing multicultural speakers to provide an international experience seemed to impact student perceptions. That type of experience has been shown to create more productive citizens, equipping them to engage in community issues with global ideas.

Learning research by doing research
Mark J Anderson, M. M. Beverly, S.F. Kelley, P. M. Urso, K. J. Stutts, J. Suagee-Bedore
Sam Houston State University
PRESENTATION UNAVALIABLE  

Research Methods is a required class for all SHSU Agricultural Science M.S. students, but a significant knowledge gap on the how and why of research exists, particularly for non-thesis students.  Due to this gap, a change was made in the pedagogy of this course beginning with the addition of two projects.  The first was a class project where the class designed a research study from concept to implementation.  Each week, students brought ideas for the next phase of the project, discussed them, and made decisions on the direction of the project.  This promoted student buy-in to the project and provided an opportunity to be engaged.  These phases included the research question, research design, data collection and interpretation, with charts and graphs, abstract development and presentation of a poster.  Additionally, students worked on individual projects where students had to answer any question of interest.   These ranged from “What would you do for a Klondike bar?” to a comparison of driving ability between the sexes. The individual project involved data collection from either student data or any other previously generated data.  Each phase of the individual project was due a week after the class project, enabling students a second opportunity to understand each phase and process.  Finally, the individual project would conclude with a 12-minute professional conference-style presentation.  By utilizing both of these projects in class, alongside traditional methods of lecture and reading of journal articles, we were able to provide a well-rounded, hands-on opportunity to all students regardless of previous experience.

Blog Assignment: Delivery and Student Perceptions
Sergio Abit, James Lasquites, Blake McNelly, Pamela Abit
Oklahoma State University
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Writing assignments such as research essay, literature review, and analytical review of an article are staple components in many courses. These writing assignments accord opportunities for students to gain deeper understanding and awareness about a concept or topic. However, the downside is that these assignments involve and almost entirely benefit only two parties: the teacher and the one student who wrote it. The use of blogs as writing assignment was used as a substitute to a term paper that is usually required in a senior-level soil science course. Students worked in pairs in preparing a blog on assigned scientific topic. Students were provided with a rubric along with specific instructions to write the scientific blog in a conversational manner and an 850-word limit. The final version of all blogs were posted in a class blogsite for everyone in the class to read and study ahead of scheduled quizzes about the blogs. Student survey reveal that all respondents (n=27) agree or strongly agree that writing a blog was a good way to learn a new topic and that reading other students’ blogs offered opportunities to learn new and interesting things. Eighty-five percent of students prefer writing blogs instead of term papers. In addition, 64% of students disagreed or strongly disagreed that writing a full-length term paper would have offered more learning than writing a blog. The biggest challenge with the assignments was keeping it under the 850-word limit. These results indicate that blogs could be viable alternatives to full-length term papers.

Be the Leader You Would Follow: Promoting Minority Leaders in Agriculture
Jason H Bullock, Joy E. Morgan-Fleming, Wendy J. Warner
North Carolina State University
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To promote agricultural careers and develop leadership skills among minority youth in school based agricultural education (SBAE) programs, an interactive educational and leadership-based experience for secondary agricultural education students called “Minority Leaders in Agriculture” (MLA) was planned and implemented at NC State University.  Program leaders secured funding, facilities, speakers, volunteers, and resources to plan, market, and implement the program during June 2019.  Participants from across North Carolina experienced a campus tour, recruitment presentations from College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) leaders and graduate students, historical presentation on minority leaders in agriculture from a professor emeritus, interactive workshops to promote personal leadership development, and dialogue with faculty representatives from various departments in CALS.  Evaluation results indicated participants felt the event was beneficial, exposure to at least one new agricultural career occurred, and SBAE teachers indicated they would bring students to a follow-up or similar event in the future.    Program leaders concluded that a continuation and expansion of similar educational programs will be pivotal in contributing to the increased diversity and inclusion in agricultural education programs at the secondary and post-secondary level and also recruiting more students to meet the diverse needs of the agricultural industry in the 21st century.  With cost being minimal due to departmental and grant funding, program leaders recommend that institutions continue to create opportunities for minority students to develop leadership skills, experience a college campus for a day, and interact with current undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty members to learn more about academic and career opportunities in agriculture.

Planting SEEDS of Diversity, Inclusion, & Culture in Agricultural and Extension Education
Jason H Bullock, Joy E. Morgan-Fleming, Daniel P. Collins
North Carolina State University
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Planting SEEDS (Supporting Education and Extension through Differentiated Strategies) was designed to provide an interactive workshop for agricultural education teachers and Extension professionals to bring awareness and understanding of differentiating instruction for diverse learner populations. Objectives for the program were to 1) provide training on working with exceptional audiences, 2) provide a working with diverse learners resource kit, and 3) instruct participants on how to differentiate instruction based on diverse learner needs.  Planting SEEDS workshops were held in three separate locations throughout North Carolina with participants completing interactive activities based around the following topics: the diverse needs within participants’ specific program, school, and community; how to modify programs to meet varying abilities; participants’ own abilities and the lens for viewing their abilities; promoting leadership through diversity and inclusion; differentiating instruction within agriculture; and thinking beyond curriculum and assessments.  During the “Leading through Diversity” section, participants were asked to name the first word that came to mind when hearing the terms: Culture, Diversity, and Inclusion, separately.   The top 3 words for each prompt were: 1) DIVERSITY– difference, unique, and variety; 2) For CULTURE – background, tradition, and family; and 3) INCLUSION – acceptance, included, and together.  With the agriculture industry becoming more global and the increasing ethnic diversity in the student population, there is a need for individuals and leaders who value and have knowledge related to diversity, inclusion, and culture.  As agricultural and Extension educators, we need to continuously incorporate differentiated instruction surrounding these topics into our classes.

Developing Student Intercultural Competence in an Introductory STEM-based Course
Elizabeth Karcher, Jacey Wickenhauser
Purdue University
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The agricultural workforce is increasingly diverse. Therefore, it is essential that college graduates have the skills to excel in an increasingly global setting. Employers seek students with developed intercultural competence (IC) and the ability to work in diverse environments. Study abroad programming is one strategy to develop IC in students, but a majority of students do not participate in international programs. In spite of this, potential exists to embed IC development in on-campus curriculum. The objective of this study is to determine student IC development after completion of a 16-wk STEM-based introductory course with targeted intercultural activities. In Fall 2019, 168 students enrolled in the course and were assigned to treatment (n=104) or control (n=64) groups based on their randomly selected laboratory period. Students in the 3 treatment labs received 5 reflective intercultural learning assignments throughout the semester, while the students in the 2 control labs received 5 unrelated assignments. The Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) was administered to all students during weeks 2 and 15 (response rate = 93%). During week 15, students completed the Scale of Ethno-cultural Empathy, and the Global Mindedness Scale (response rate = 88%). Students in the treatment group showed increased intercultural development, based on the IDI, compared with students in the control group (9.46 ± 1.72 vs. 0.074 ± 1.79) (p<.0004). Implementing targeted intercultural activities into STEM-based courses may be one method to develop students’ intercultural competencies and ability to effectively communicate in a diverse workplace.

A new undergraduate research model for complex projects
Art A Wolfskill, S. Nair, D. Chen, R. Irani-kerman
Sam Houston State University
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Experiential learning is an important tool for students to understand statistical techniques. Simplified hypothetical datasets are often used to provide hands-on learning opportunities, but real data can increase student engagement, as the results are more meaningful and anecdotally, students have more “buy-in” to the project. Use of real datasets allows students an opportunity to understand and manage actual data to solve practical problems and understand real business situations. However, real datasets are generally complex, and developing research projects that can be realistically completed by undergraduate students in one semester is challenging. Moreover, it is a time-consuming task for the instructor to find new datasets every semester. The Quantitative Methods in Agribusiness course taught at <university> is a Project-Based Learning class where student teams work on research projects with real data. We developed a new model to overcome this dataset issue. In this model we take one large dataset and develop an overarching research project. Then the Agribusiness faculty team reviews the data to divide them into sub-projects that are complex enough to challenge the student teams, but not so complex as to deter them from conducting and completing the research and answering the research question. A teaching improvement grant allowed us to develop 10 such overarching projects with subprojects so that the instructor has enough datasets for five years of coursework. The course culminates in a faculty-graded poster presentation session as the final exam. Each student reviews every poster to gain a full picture of the overall research project. Cool!

Return to Romania: Building on a Service Learning Course to Enhance Skills in Engagement
Leah R Thompson, Paul Ebner, Alexandru Indrea, Alina Constantinescu, Florian Borlea
Purdue University
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We recently developed a course using a service-learning platform to introduce undergraduate students to international engagement, agricultural extension methodologies, and dairy quality analysis. In this course, US and Romanian undergraduate students from different backgrounds formed binational teams to work directly with smallholder dairy farmers in an effort to improve the quality of their milk. In the first iteration of the course, which took place the year prior to the course described here, students conducted a quality assessment of milk produced throughout a Romanian village to better identify barriers to the farmers’ developing a milk collection program. In the second iteration of the course, students, working in the same Romanian village, introduced practices that could mitigate the quality challenges (high total bacteria and coliform concentrations) identified in the previous class. This authentic/experiential learning platform, including a homestay experience, proved to be a highly motivating learning environment as reported by student participants. Students also reported improved dairy analysis knowledge and the confidence to apply their learning to new scenarios upon completion of the course. airy producers involved in the project reported an increased understanding of cleaning and sanitation and a high likelihood of adopting the cleaning and sanitation protocols introduced by the students. In addition to increased knowledge in both students and dairy producers, the authentic/experiential learning platform allowed students to practice behavioral competencies important to successful engagement programming.

Budget Development for Farms Transitioning to Organic: A Research-Based Teaching Tool
Shyam S Nair, Douglas Constance Nithya Rajan, Ronnie Schnell, Muthu Bagawathiannan
Sam Houston State University
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Development and analysis of enterprise budgets are important topics in Farm and Ranch Management courses across the US. However, for expediency most instructors use the enterprise budgets built by the state extension services to teach enterprise budgets and breakeven analysis. Enterprise budgets for fields transitioning to organic production are different from budgets for already-certified organic crops because although they follow all organic practices for crop production, the product cannot be labeled or sold as organic during the three-year mandatory transition period. Field experiments were conducted at <university> over two years to understand various aspects of transitioning to organic practices for grain crops as part of a research and educational grant funded by United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Directed study courses were offered to three students who had already taken the Farm and Ranch Management class to build budgets for farms transitioning to organic for three grain crops: corn, grain sorghum, and soybean. Each student worked on developing an enterprise budget for one crop using the cost and yield data from field experiments conducted during the organic transition period. They also built organic enterprise budgets for after the three-year transition period and used historic price data from the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service to assess price sensitivity. This project provided hands-on learning opportunities for the students and improved their understanding of building and analyzing enterprise budgets. The students will present the results of their projects in the <university> Undergraduate Research Symposium.

Team-Based Research Projects With field Experiments: A Cool Tool to Improve Student Learning.
Shyam S Nair, Robert Lane, Song Cui, Nithya Rajan
Sam Houston State University
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Even students from agricultural background lacks a clear understanding of the concept of sustainability, its importance in agriculture, and practices to enhance it. We are in the second year of a research and educational project funded by USDA NIFA that seeks to enhance sustainable agriculture education. This is a multi-institutional integrated project with one land grant university and two non-land grant universities are partners. Field experiments were conducted at non-land grant universities on cover cropping and forage systems and results from the cover crop experiments were used to select treatments for a cropping system trial at the land-grant university. We have 8 undergraduate students directly working on the research with each student working on individual small research projects (directed study courses) that are parts of the large research project. The direct management of the undergraduate students is done by graduate student working on the project. Knowledge sharing between the students and data sharing between institutions allows the students to understand the big picture. The undergraduate students are involved in all aspects of the project from planting of a designed experiment to data collection, data management, and presenting results at conferences. Graduate students from the land-grant university is providing hands-on training for the undergraduate students at non-land grant university on advances instrumentation. This project is not only enhancing student knowledge in sustainable agriculture, but also is generating passion for undergraduates to engage in research. The field experiments are also helping to provide hands on learning opportunity for students in several courses through field visits.

Soils Gone Wild: A Flipped Approach to Teaching a Soils Lab
Michael Mashtare, Erica Lott, Charlotte Lee, Chantal Levesque-Bristol
Purdue University
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In Spring 2019, we launched a flipped (hybrid) lab format in our Soil Science and Forest soils courses.  At launch, students were randomly assigned to the treatment (hybrid) or control (traditional) groups. Students in the hybrid group completed all video instruction and reading remotely (e.g., at home) prior to completing their in-lab bench activities, experiments, and weekly lab hand-in. Students in the traditional group were required to complete all lab-related activities in the lab. In the following semesters, students were provided the option to choose their format. All laboratory videos were recorded by different external faculty with subject matter expertise. This provided the faculty with the opportunity to review the course curriculum, while also introducing the students to the faculty that would be teaching related upper-level courses. To assess student comprehension, quizzes were administered between each video. To assess the new format, anonymous surveys (Likert scale and open-ended questions) were administered. Students were asked to describe their assigned or self-prescribed format, and to answer questions related to autonomy, enjoyment, effectiveness, and value. Academic performance between the formats was also compared. Results showed that student sentiment differed between the formats with students preferring the hybrid format. Students saw value in having external faculty in the lab videos, believed that in-lab quizzing helped them grasp the material, and saw the lab instructional team as available and supportive of their learning. This approach provides a model for laboratory-rich courses, especially as we struggle with enrollment/lab/space limitations and adapting to diverse student learning styles.

Using Enneagram Typologies to Predict Self-Directed Learning
Jennifer Strong, Erica Russell
Texas A&M University
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When discussing personality tests, Myers-Briggs is the most well-known and researched, but there is a new test gaining popularity; Enneagrams. There are nine different Enneagram types used to categorize peoples’ personalities. Type One, The Reformer, is principled, purposeful, self-controlled, and a perfectionistic. Type Two, The Helper, is generous, demonstrative, people-pleasing, and possessive. Type Three, The Achiever, is adaptable, excelling, driven, and image-conscious. Type Four, The Individualist, is expressive, dramatic, self-absorbed, and temperamental. Type Five, The Investigator, is perceptive, innovative, secretive, and isolated. Type Six, The Loyalist, is engaging, responsible, anxious, and suspicious. Type Seven, The Enthusiast, is spontaneous, versatile, acquisitive, and scattered. Type Eight, The Challenger, is self-confident, decisive, willful, and confrontational. Type Nine, The Peacemaker, is receptive, reassuring, complacent, and resigned. When discussing Enneagrams in class, we found 95% of the students not only knew their typology but could discuss their strengths and weaknesses based on their type. Based on this knowledge, we conducted a correlational study comparing students’ Enneagram type with their Self-directed Learning (SDL) stage. Stage One of the SDL model, Dependent, correlated with The Individualist, The Enthusiast, and The Challenger. SDL Stage Two, Interested, correlated with The Investigator and The Peacemaker. Stage Three of the SDL, Involved, correlated to The Helper, and The Loyalist. Self-directed learners correlated to The Reformer and The Achiever. Based on these results, it is recommended instructors engage with their students using Enneagram typologies as a predictor of where students are in the process of becoming self-directed learners.

Music as an Intelligence Typology: Results of Using Music as An Example of Theory in an Agricultural Leadership Course
Jennifer Strong, Erica Russell
Texas A&M University
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Music has been recorded as an integral part of the human existence for thousands of years, and the importance music plays in the world continues today. Scholars such as Aristotle and Darwin spent years researching the importance of music across numerous facets of life: from psychological effects and the importance of musical cognition, to its effects on the natural environment, as well as the social effects that specific genres of music may have on society as a whole. Even sociological and psychological impacts music can play is evident in the expression and potential empowerment of individuals of differing ages, ethnicities, and socioeconomic statuses. Music has been identified as one of the recognized alternative multiple intelligences. This study sought to study students’ ability to find leadership theory in the music they consume. This was projective instrumentation as it allowed participants to interpret their personal interest into the song choice and the corresponding leadership theory it related to. Students were asked to submit the title and internet link to the song (or mp4) as well as a one-page reflection paper discussing why they chose the song and how it represented the selected leadership theory. One-hundred-forty-seven students identified specific leadership theories in songs which spanned multiple genres. Seven songs were identified by multiple students as containing specific lyrics which demonstrated leadership concepts. The results also contained personal reflections which validate this activity as successful and impactful for students as an innovative classroom activity.

Photo Elicitation: Using Images to Apply Trait Theory in the Classroom
Jennifer Strong, Maranda Egge
Texas A&M University
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Leadership concepts are best remembered by students if there is a connection from theory to application. Photo elicitation is one way to help students connect leadership competencies to tangible examples. Photo elicitation is a critical, participatory/action research and teaching tool used to access the perspectives of the participants. Photo elicitation helps students to critically think and view photographs in a way they can conceptualize individual meaning and connect sometimes abstract concepts to tangible images. When teaching trait theory, pictorial representations engage students to find a deeper meaning to the leadership traits. Students were in self-selected groups of four to five students working together on their visual leader representation. Students first made a list of their preferred leader traits. Then, working together, each group used photo elicitation to choose images to represent selected traits. Upon completion, each group explained their visual leader traits and what each cut and pasted picture meant. This activity showed not only how trait theory can be actualized into practice but also the abilities of the students to use alternative learning methods to express their ideas on ideal leadership traits. Through teamwork and individualized perceptions, the students used photos of humans, animals, inanimate objects, and other scenes to represent what leadership meant to them. Theses pictorial representations correlated to the students’ ability to critically analyze and describe why each photo was chosen. When challenging students to critically think and digest content, photo elicitation serves as a cornerstone to enhancing educational growth.

Introducing Employee Accountability in a Floriculture Laboratory
Bryan D. Rank, Mathew S. Wilson
Iowa State University
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Non-cognitive skill development is essential to the employability of undergraduate agriculture students as they enter the workforce. Employers report that they need entry-level employees who are responsible and punctual. In order to introduce a real-world context of punctuality and responsibility into a floriculture course, we implemented an employee accountability program in the associated laboratory section. The employee accountability program measured student involvement/responsibility based on the need for the instructor or greenhouse assistant to water plants that were not watered by absent students. Attendance and involvement were encouraged by the implementation of workplace concepts such as sick leave and bonuses. Penalties for the exhaustion of sick leave beyond the appropriated amount resulted in a point reduction. Likewise, bonus points were awarded for remaining sick leave as a buyout at the end of the semester. Students were required to keep detailed records of crop progress such as average crop heights, temperature and relative humidity logs, watering/fertilization logs, weekly laboratory activity descriptions and summaries, anecdotal and visual observations, as well as pesticide application labels and safety data sheets. Among students enrolled in two autumn semesters of the course [total n=30 (2018: n=20 & 2019: n=10)), 4 (13.3%) incurred penalties, 10 (33.3%) did not incur penalties or bonus, and 16 (53.3%) received bonus points. Student recordkeeping showcased a variety of involvement levels often corresponding strongly to the resulting penalty/bonus point allocation. The implementation of the accountability penalty/bonus points as incentives for student involvement may help students develop non-cognitive skills in preparation for their careers.

Experiential Projects in Agribusiness Marketing Education
Danhong Chen, Shyam S. Nair, L. A. Wolfskill, Roozbeh Irani-kermani
Sam Houston State University
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Project-Based Learning (PBL) is a well-established teaching approach in which students learn through actively engaging in the exploration of real-world problems. Through the PBL process, students gain a better knowledge of the subject matter, understand the importance of teamwork in the business setting, and are better prepared for their first job. This study describes the class organization and evaluates the effectiveness of using PBL in an agribusiness marketing class. With the enrollment capped at 30 to foster effective learning, the class is divided into six teams of five members each to complete a marketing plan throughout the semester. Each student is assigned to one of the five managerial roles including marketing manager (team leader), product manager, pricing manager, distribution manager, and promotion manager. The role assignment ensures that each student team leader/member is held accountable for specific responsibilities. To assist students in gaining skills and competencies by professionals in agribusiness marketing, we employ marketing plan guidelines from the National Agri-Marketing Association, the largest network for agribusiness marketing professionals in the U.S. The key learning outcomes in this class are an evidence-based marketing plan for an innovative agricultural product/service and an oral presentation of the plan. Through the experiential projects, students learn to communicate qualitative and quantitative information effectively both in writing and verbally. Student evaluation results from the previous six semesters indicated that PBL is an effective tool in helping achieve the course objectives and students were highly satisfied with the course and the instructor.

Broadening participation in STEM with microbiome-based CUREs in an online class at scale
Jennifer Drew, Angelica Ahrens, Eric Triplett
University of Florida
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Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CURES) are recommended to increase persistence and interest in STEM and may even have greater effects for improving outcomes for underrepresented minority (URM) STEM students. The Microbiology and Cell Science program at the [University] is building a resource for online CUREs based on an oral microbiome -diet- human genomics study with students as subjects. In an IRB approved protocol, students contribute saliva samples and complete a validated Diet Survey . Total DNA from saliva samples is used for microbiome and human SNP analysis.  Based on high throughput 16S sequencing data, microbiomes were analyzed for diet associations.  Univariate analysis showed significant bacterial phylum and genus associations with the high, medium, and low scoring diets.  Specific dietary components also were correlated with specific taxa. Human DNA was genotyped with a SNP array and to date, one SNP was found to be significantly associated with diet and microbiome. 

The CURE project has been piloted in multiple courses and preliminary data suggests that students are participating in authentic research while acquiring quantitative skills and posting learning gains. The next stage is to bring this CURE to scale and to develop a robust assessment strategy and instrument. We are adapting existing assessment resources for in-person CUREs to the online and large enrollment environment.

This CURE pilot uses high throughput and advanced technologies, computation approaches and implements many ‘big data’ tools – all skills that are necessary for the next generation of the STEM workforce. Furthermore, microbiome research and education strategies are highlighted and part of a recent, national cross-agency effort

I Thought This Was a Shop Class...Why Are We Reading a Book? Using a Book Club to Increase Mechanics Teaching Efficacy
Rachel Hendrix, Travis Veach, Jason McKibben
West Virginia University
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Agricultural mechanics has become the fastest growing segment of agricultural education but has remained one of the lowest areas of confidence for agriculture teachers. This study sought to improve preservice teacher mechanics efficacy by facilitating the development of new paradigms regarding the role of mechanics in agricultural education. Students enrolled in an agricultural mechanics course were asked to read, discuss, and reflect upon Justin Crawford’s book Shop Class as Soul Craft.  The use of a philosophical book covering the value of work offered an opportunity for students to explore the modern role of mechanics in agricultural education and combat stereotypes often associated with the subject matter. Reflections showed that students began to view agricultural mechanics not as an outdated relic or a simple set of physical skills, but rather as an arena for solving problems, managing uncertainty, building resilience, and developing independent thought.  Students also made connections between the learning processes required for mastering mechanics and those required for other subjects. These connections helped students build efficacy by realizing that mechanics was not an alien concept or an arcane knowledge, but something that could be learned through diligent study and practice. Future plans for this study include collecting further data on participants as they complete their pre-service training and become agricultural educators, and exploring the effects of specific themes on agricultural educator mechanics efficacy.

Enhancing Student Interest in Plants and Plant Sciences
Kulbhushan K Grover, Srijana Dura, Mohammed Omer, Paramveer Singh, Seyed Nourbakhsh
New Mexico State University
PRESENTATION UNAVALIABLE

With so many competing and more lucrative career options, recruiting and retaining undergraduate students into Plant Sciences is a challenge. Innovative and entertaining ideas must be applied to motivate and attract students towards Plant sciences. The objective of this inquiry-based learning project was to enhance curiosity and keen interest in the wonderful world of plants. The project also aimed at promoting independent problem-solving, team-work and presentation skills among students. A multi-faceted group project, ‘Know Your Plant Project’ was introduced in a freshmen level general education course Introductory Plant Sciences that had students from various majors in and outside the college of agricultural sciences. For this project student teams were assigned a “mystery” plant or plant product. To ensure students consider a global perspective beyond domestic plants and issues, assigned “mystery” plants and plant products included international examples. Each team must then identify the plant or plant product they are assigned, research various aspects and uses of the plant or plant product, and create a presentation, including PowerPoint, for the class. Students were evaluated for their individual contributions towards the group activity by the instructor and through confidential peer-evaluations. A reflective element was also included in the project. A vast majority of students indicated the project was a positive experience. The results of the project demonstrated that inquiry based hands-on experiences are instrumental in 1) helping students connect abstract ideas to the real world, 2) building personal connections between students, and 3) generating and maintaining interest in agriculture and plant sciences.
 

PERSONALITY TYPE AND STUDENT PERFORMANCE IN AGRICULTURAL BUSINESS COURSES
Roozbeh Iranikermani, L. A. Wolfskill, Shyam S. Nair, Danhong Chen
Sam Houston State University
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Many academic disciplines have investigated the correlations between Jungian personality types and the academic performance of college students. Different types react differently toward different education methodologies, different instructors and different class times, therefore student performance varies in different courses. We found no previous studies on the impacts of personality type on student performance in agricultural academic programs. To learn about the impact of student personality type on their performance in different courses with different learning styles, we administered three common, but distinct personal assessment examinations. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is used to learn about student personality type. Further, the Strong Interest Inventory provides insight into students’ strengths, and the William Moulton Marston DiSC profile test informs us about students' behavioral responses. We use the Seemingly Unrelated Regression procedure in STATA to evaluate the effects of different personality types, strengths, and DiSC profiles on the final course grades in various agricultural undergraduate courses. Cumulative GPA was not used as one of the independent factors as we believe the variable should be considered more of a result than a cause and will create endogeneity in such a model.  We analyzed a sample of 86 students (39 female, 47 male). The results show there is a significant correlation between student characteristics and their academic performance in different courses. This study provides advisors of the higher education sector with useful evidence for guiding students and can also benefit the university administration in attempts to reform the admission policy based on student capabilities.

Initiating Faculty Field Experiences to Create Contextualized Case Study Curricula
Robert Strong, T. Grady Roberts, Christopher Stripling, James R. Lindner
Texas A&M University
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This project was funded by the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture to develop the Preparing Organizational Leaders in Agriculture (POLA) Academy. The Academy was composed of thirty-six (N = 36) multidisciplinary and multi-institutional group of faculty with potential for impacting large numbers of students for the potential to lead to greater innovation as a result of the bridging social capital created. The multidisciplinary nature of this proposal is found in the academic diversity of faculty participants and the breadth of the agricultural issues observed during the field experiences. By including a field experience for POLA Fellows, a robust understanding of the individual and organizational impacts of weather-related disasters on agriculture was realized. POLA Fellows created case studies using contextually-rich multimedia collected during their field experience so that students can see and hear real people explain their own situations. POLA Fellows were divided in three teams to make site visits to Florida, North Carolina, and Texas to learn more about specific impacts from weather-related disasters on agriculture and collect data for individual case studies. These field experiences were four to five days in length and included in-depth visits with a variety of purposively selected stakeholders impacted by weather-related disasters. Three project team members travelled with each group of participants to help facilitate the experience, consult on leadership concepts, case study development, and collect evaluation data. The presentation will include data in the forms of text, interviews, videos, and photographs.

The Nexus of Natural Disasters and Undergraduate’s Agricultural Leadership Capacity
Robert Strong, Christopher Stripling, Matthew Sowchik, T. Grady Robert
Texas A&M University
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The interconnection of natural disasters and impacted individual’s leadership capacity in agriculture provides numerous areas of inquiry. Hurricanes, drought, fires, floods, freezes, and tornados negatively impact food resources through contamination and the loss of products. Hurricane Harvey had a $200 million negative impact in Texas. Faculty at Texas A&M University obtained USDA funding to create a program that provided faculty with professional development opportunities and context-specific experiences that allowed them to examine leadership frames of Texas ranchers post-Hurricane Harvey. Context-specific experiences—like talking with an agricultural producer impacted by hurricanes—are useful for illustrating the abstract concepts of leadership. Providing faculty with these professional development opportunities better prepares them to integrate leadership, change management, and teamwork skill areas into their courses. Their students will be better prepared to lead their organizations in adapting and recovering from disasters. Ten university faculty across the southern U.S. were selected to participate in an online leadership academy to gain content knowledge in leadership, change management, and team building. These faculty have developed case study topics including water, infrastructure, non-profits, cropping systems, decision-making, environmental impacts, etc. based on Harvey’s impacts. Field experiences centered on Harvey’s geographic landfall examined the experience of Texas ranchers during hurricane recovery and addressed the context in leadership. Using knowledge from the online training and field experiences, participants created case studies to use in undergraduate courses where the content intersects leadership. These case studies are housed on an open-access repository for anyone interested in utilizing the curriculum.

From Field to Screen: Using Farmer Videos to Connect with Students
Lauren E LaGrande, Josh Stewart
Oregon State University
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With less than 2% of the public directly involved in agriculture, both agriculture students and non-agriculture students are having trouble connecting with those who may be “in their field” of study, but are physically out in the field, such as farmers. Multiple agricultural communications studies have revealed there is a trust deficit in the agriculture industry. Previous literature has supported that the general public feels a disconnect to those who produce their food. In order to help merge a crossroads between consumers and producers, an agricultural communications instructor at Oregon State University presented students with a video of a farmer out in his rice field explaining the economic, environmental, and nutritional contributions of rice. This video was made with two objectives in mind. The first objective was to show students what a modern-day farmer looks like and to showcase their multidimensional knowledge and diverse skillsets. The second objective was to use the video in an assignment which required students to write a short story about the farmer. Prior to watching the video, students had trouble writing about agriculture in a storytelling fashion. Students were so accustomed to writing about agriculture in a research format, that they struggled to “humanize” the industry through storytelling. The instructor collected feedback regarding the video and was surprised to see how much students enjoyed it. Comments ranged from “I can’t believe farmers can be that young!” to “The farmer was actually really educated; he knew more than just how to plant a seed.”

Utilizing Leadership Assessments to Strengthen Teams in a Capstone Course
K. Jill Rucker, Shaylee Wallace, Tabitha Hudspeth, Isabel Whitehead, Casandra Cox
University of Arkansas
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Leadership education has been effective in improving student-centered learning. Leadership assessments are tools used to assist students in developing and understanding individual leadership styles and skills. The use of self-assessments in leadership education allows students to view their strengths and weaknesses regarding leadership in an unbiased manner. Students at [University] participate in multiple self-assessments as they move through their coursework. Communication Campaigns in Agriculture is a capstone course where students create a top to bottom marketing and communications campaign for a real world clients. Students are divided into teams of 4-5 students. Previously, students were allowed to select teams. Yet, this approach proved to be problematic as teams were not diverse, friends turned to adversaries, and students were unable to resolve conflict. Therefore, instructors implemented a new approach using leadership assessments (True Colors, task v. relationship orientation, introvert v. extrovert), a self- assessment of skills, and GPAs. Assessments were compiled into and innovative, color coded visual summary sheet, which also included student preferences on work environment as well as a place for students to voice concerns about team dynamics. Visual summaries for each student were hung on a wall so instructors could visually assign student teams. Teams were built based on compatible leadership styles, skill levels and individual strengths and weaknesses. This method of assigning teams yielded positive results. Throughout the semester instructors noted improvements in overall team performance including conflict resolution, quality of work, team management, team engagement, creative thinking, and team satisfaction.

Grad Students Going Alt-Ac: How to Help Them
Rose Judd-Murra
Utah State University
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The purpose of this workshop is two-fold: 1) identify the new buzzword “alt-ac” and 2) give participants practical tips for assisting graduate students in defining, determining, and excelling in alt-ac careers. One of the great pleasures of working within higher education is mentoring and guiding graduate students through the process of career exploration and advancement. However, the days of guiding them directly into the path of a tenured position at a university institution are gone. Many graduate students are disenchanted with academia and/or the academic job search and are discouraged about the possibilities for career placement and success. If these realities and scenarios have left you feeling inadequate as a mentor, you need tips and suggestions for encouraging your graduate students to seek for Alt-Ac (Alternative Academic) options. Alt-ac jobs may be in or outside of academia and include options for all career stages. Furthermore, alt-ac pathways aren’t just buzzwords for Twitter and Ph.D. forums, they are realistic pathways that prepare your students to adequately enter today’s job market. Learning how to focus on the wide-range of potential alternative careers, understanding alt-ac challenges, and hearing from those within alt-ac will give you the confidence and ability to be an effective mentor for current and future generations of graduate students.

Promoting and Measuring Collaboration Networks in a Capstone Cours
OP McCubbins, Thomas H. Paulsen, Ryan Anderson
Texas A&M University
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The ability to work with others is an essential skill in education and in the workforce. Employers want graduates that can efficiently and effectively work with diverse others to solve problems.

To promote the development of those skills, the [Course] at [University] was redesigned to further emphasize teamwork and collaboration in an authentic capstone setting. The course utilizes small groups, known as committees, throughout the semester and requires students to make management decisions in order to operate an actual farm that serves as the applied learning laboratory. To determine if this course redesign was helping to promote collaboration amongst the students, we utilized Social Network Analysis (SNA). A sociometric instrument was used to gather interaction data between students. Interaction data were collected at the beginning, middle, and end of a 16-week semester in the fall of 2015 and spring of 2016. The graphical and statistical software, UCINET, was used to analyze the interaction data and to visualize the resulting collaboration networks. The fall 2015 whole-class network had a 70% increase in the density of the network, and the spring 2016 whole-class network density increased by over 80%. In the smaller, committee networks, some saw a slight decrease in network density from beginning to midpoint measures, before rebounding and increasing for the end of semester measure. Overall, the collaboration networks flourished within the structure of the [Course]. The total number of collaborative interactions between students increased dramatically as the semester progressed and more management decisions were made.

Evaluation of an Assisted Reproductive Technology Infused Lab Exercise to Enhance Livestock Reproductive Management Instruction
Brittany Johnson, Olga Bolden-Tiller, Gemechu Wirtu
Tuskegee University
PRESENTATION UNAVALIABLE

Tuskegee University, an 1890 land grant institution, for many years has trained students in animal agriculture as part of its mission. However, assisted reproductive technology (ART) training has been limited in the curriculum. The purpose of this study was to develop, implement, and determine student perceptions of an ART infused cattle lab exercise as a part of a TU animal reproduction course. The lab included two components:  lecture and hands-on training. Student perceptions of the lab exercise were evaluated by survey using the Science Laboratory Environment Index (SLEI). The SLEI evaluated the lab exercise based on five scales: Student Cohesiveness, Open-Endedness, Integration, Rule Clarity and Material Environment. Factors outside of the SLEI were also evaluated, including effectiveness, likability, and structure. Twelve students   enrolled in the course were surveyed following the lab exercise (81% responded)  and survey results analyzed on a Likert Scale where 5=strongly agree, 4=agree, 3=neutral, 2=disagree, 1=strongly disagree.  Student cohesiveness (4.2±0.18/5), effectiveness (4.2±0.08/5) and likability (4.2±0.25/5) scored the highest score and material environment (2.5±0.29/5) the lowest score. Student scores were relatively neutral in the areas of open-endedness (3.3±0.25/5), rule clarity (3.6±0.45/5), integration (3.6±0.61/5) and structure (3.6±0.28/5). In conclusion, the students found the enhanced lab effective in teaching the principles of ART to better understand reproductive management, suggesting an increased preparedness for educational and career opportunities associated with the ART workforce, which could ultimately result in improved livestock programs.  However, the course could be more effective, particularly with an improved material environment.

The Elementary E.G.G. Program: Impacting Agricultural Literacy Through STEM-Curriculum
Elizabeth Karcher, Danielle Marks
Purdue University
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The shortage of graduates pursuing careers in the poultry industry is linked to low awareness and interest. Increasing agricultural literacy in students could promote engagment in future poultry science opportunities. The objective of this study was to create and evaluate an integrated STEM-curriculum with a poultry science context. The Elementary E.G.G. Program consists of five online modules, an interactive notebook, a simulation game, and a team project. In Fall 2019, 480 Indiana 4th and 5th grade students (13 teachers, 19 classes) enrolled in the pilot program. Quantitative data was collected to assess student poultry knowledge prior to and post program implementation via online questionnaires. Student notebook responses provided qualitative data of agricultural literacy development. Student quantitative responses (n=172; 35.8% response rate) were analyzed using paired sample t-test on SPSS Version 26. Student content knowledge scores increased from 56% (SD=1.93) at the start of the program to 68% (SD=2.74) at the completion of the program (p <.0001). Teacher feedback, both qualitative and quantitative, was evaluated via a post program questionnaire (n=9; 69.2% response rate). Inductive qualitative data coding indicated that teachers agreed that each of the components supported the program objectives and encouraged student interest and engagement. The majority of responding teachers agreed that the curriculum aligned with STEM standards and would recommend others to enroll. The results of this pilot program demonstrate an opportunity to integrate STEM and poultry science into the elementary curriculum as a means to increase student agricultural literacy.

Promoting Agricultural Content in Science Classes through Science Teacher Workshops
Maud M Walsh, Jennifer K. Irving
Louisiana State University
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With the goal of encouraging middle- and high-school science teachers to incorporate concepts of sustainable agriculture into their classes we conducted a five-day professional development workshop, “SuSTEMable Agriculture,” in the summers of 2018 and 2019.* Faculty in the LSU School of Soil, Plant, and Environmental Sciences and scientists from the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation Service gave presentations and tours related to topics such as plant breeding and soil conservation. Each day we led related classroom activities in follow-up sessions and facilitated discussions about lesson planning and ways to integrate agriculture topics in their biology, environmental science, chemistry, or other STEM classes.  After the workshops ended, teachers were able to order supplies to use in their classrooms.  We used pre- and post-workshop assessments to measure changes in teachers’ perceptions of their own understanding of representative concepts and their comfort level in teaching about them. We measured teacher pre- and post-content knowledge using short essay questions.  Results indicate a significant positive change in teacher knowledge and in teachers’ confidence in their abilities to teach about select topics in sustainable agriculture. We are in the process of surveying teachers about their implementation of agricultural-related activities in their science classrooms.

Outbreaks Squad: Students as Superheroes Fighting the Spread of Foodborne Illness
Pamela N Martinez, Barbara Chamberlin, Jennifer Richards, James Swart, Amy Smith Muise
New Mexico State University
PRESENTATION UNAVALIABLE

Outbreak Squad, a learning game for grades 5+, was designed as part of Hands On – Real World Classroom, a curriculum integrating food safety into mathematics, science, social studies and language arts instruction in grades K-8. The design team realized early on that the game also supported civics engagement. Through the lens of food safety, it helps students think about systems, strategy, and global impacts: providing an opportunity to learn how the government supports and directs communities when foodborne outbreaks occur.

Working with content specialists, we devised scenarios based on actual events to make the outbreaks as plausible as possible. Players direct a team to research, educate, heal, and protect the community: these characters were user-tested with middle school youth to be sure they came across as relatable, diverse, and heroic. Enforcers make sure that food service establishments follow laws about safe food preparation, proper storage, and preventing cross contamination. Researchers look for new and more effective ways to prevent outbreak. Medics stop the spread of an outbreak and treat those infected. Educators spread knowledge and understanding about preventing illness. Health care professionals heal people already affected by an outbreak. The game is well balanced – players experience just how detrimental outbreaks can be when those sickened come to their demise, and learn that people who are pregnant or immunocompromised are the most vulnerable, while also using prevention and education to keep outbreaks from occurring or reduce their impact.

                Outbreak Squad is available free of charge at http://outbreaksquad.org.

Cultivating the Next Generation of Agri-STEM Professionals through Careers, Community, and Culture
Neil Knobloch, Ryan Kornegay, Levon Esters, Zachary Brown, Stephen McBride, Victoria Parker, Arionne Patterson
Purdue University
PRESENTATION UNAVALIABLE

Instruction in STEM related fields has become a top priority in the U.S. because of the high demand for skilled STEM professionals and the lack of students prepared to meet this need. The U.S. and the world face serious societal challenges that will require innovative agricultural STEM-based solutions. This has contributed to the need to foster K-12 student interest and engagement within STEM and agricultural life sciences (AgLS). Unfortunately, AgLS are interdisciplinary areas that have largely been underexplored for underrepresented minority (URM) K-12 students. This project focuses on engaging URM middle school students in learning about STEM in an AgLS context by focusing on four major societal challenges; food security, renewable energy, environment, and nutrition. This is accomplished by making cultural, community, and career (3 Cs) connections to students’ classroom experiences. Agri-STEM professionals and community partners were brought into the classroom as a component of an existing curriculum project to bridge further real-world connections to the 3 Cs and the societal challenges. These individuals served as informal mentors by sharing their background and personal experiences, engaging students in hands-on activities, and by providing feedback and advice to students on assigned projects throughout the lessons. Five relevant themes emerged from this research: (1) student engagement and learning, (2) STEM awareness/career exploration, (3) community engagement, (4) student collaboration, and (5) student impressions/reflections. Current data has shown us the importance and effectiveness of bridging connections to culture, community, and careers to enhance the classroom experience.

The Relationship Between Metacognitive Awareness and Self-Regulated Learning
Ryan Anderson, Marshall Swafford
Texas State University
PRESENTATION UNAVALIABLE

Participants were selected from enrollees in an online agricultural science course during the spring semester. Specifically, the students were enrolled in an online dual enrollment metal fabrication course and through direct administration, 60 students completed the instrumentation used to measure motivation and online self-regulated learning. Student metacognition was measured using the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI). The MAI is a 52-item instrument using a true/false format to measure eight constructs of metacognition. Self-regulated learning in online courses was measured using the Online Self-Regulated Learning Questionnaire (OSLQ).  The OSLQ is a 24-item instrument using a five-point Likert-type scale to measure six constructs of self-regulated learning in online environments. Students enrolled in the dual enrollment agricultural science course tended to have the highest level of self-regulated online learning within the construct of environment structuring (M=3.73, SD=.89).  Students tended to have the lowest levels in time management (M=3.30, SD=.96).  In regard to metacognition, the mean score was 60.9 (SD=9.2) with a range of between 52 and 87 points for the lowest and highest scores respectively.  This indicates a moderate metacognitive awareness.   Students in this course were more likely to create an adequate learning environment for themselves to focus on completing their work than they were to manage their time.  Although the students were able to manage their learning environment, they were only moderately aware of their cognition.  Although the negative correlation between metacognition and self-regulated learning was not surprising, it still stands in contrast to conventional wisdom.

Food Literacy: Using Online Modules to Train the Next Generation of Food Experts to Become Opinion Leaders
K. Jill Rucker, Shaylee Wallace, Betsy Garrison, Leslie D. Edgar
University of Arkansas
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Food literacy is the ability to make informed choices about food, food production, and food consumption. Because of social media, many consumers are persuaded by popular opinion leaders (i.e., bloggers, Instagrammers, and Facebookers) who lack education and training in nutrition, health and wellness, and agriculture. Researchers at [University] created a series of online modules to enhance the quality of instruction for agriculture and human environmental science students studying nutrition, dietetics, family consumer sciences, and agricultural communications/leadership. A series of three modules sought to increase students’ knowledge about food literacy (Human Health and Nutrition: Exploring Fact versus Fiction), cultural competency (Communicating Food and Nutrition Facts to the Public while being Culturally Sensitive), and leadership (Becoming a Food Leader: The Application of Theories and Models). Each module included interactive components (case studies, hands-on activities, videos, active listening guides, individual/team assignments, and social media exercises) to be included in the classroom or online. Each module was created by a content expert in an online learning platform based on the Quality Matters™ platform to ensure equal educational access. Modules were pilot tested in four undergraduate classes. Modifications to modules were made based on student and instructor feedback. Modules were implemented to encourage students to be involved in a social media forum to combat negative food messages, create deeper meaning for students regarding current health and nutrition issues, and teach students to create fact-based messaging on social media to influence food literacy. This project was funded by a USDA Higher Education Challenge Grant.

Using Keyhole Gardens to Enhance Agricultural Literacy: Perceptions of University Students and K-3 Teachers
Peter Skelton, Thomas Dormody
New Mexico State University
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The  project objective was to compare K-3 teachers (n=13) at Los Niños Elementary School in Las Vegas, New Mexico and New Mexico State University students (n=7) enrolled in “Methods of Teaching Biological, Earth, and Physical Sciences in Agriculture” on perceptions of keyhole gardens as a tool for enhancing national agricultural literacy outcomes.  These above-ground gardens with a composting center look like an old-fashioned keyhole from above.  The university students built two gardens from concrete blocks at the school and taught Grade 2 lessons on composting and planting the rainbow using the gardens.  Some teachers observed garden construction and university student instruction.  Other teachers received a one-hour training on the gardens from the NMSU Youth Agricultural Science Center director.  For Agriculture and the Environment outcomes, teachers averaged 4.62 on a 5-point scale (exceptionally strong enhancement) while students averaged 3.47 (moderate enhancement).  On Plants and Animals for Food, Fiber and Energy outcomes, teachers averaged 4.28 and students averaged 3.60 (both strong enhancement).  For Food, Health and Lifestyle outcomes, teachers averaged 4.46 while students averaged 4.05 (both strong enhancement).  On STEM outcomes, teachers averaged 3.92 (strong enhancement) and students averaged 3.22 (moderate enhancement).  On Culture, Society, Economy and Geography outcomes, teachers averaged 4.48 and students averaged 3.88 (both strong enhancement).  On all 21 outcomes, teachers averaged 4.39 and students averaged 3.68 (both strong enhancement).  Although teachers had higher averages than university students in all five dimensions and overall agricultural literacy, both perceived keyhole gardens as a strong tool for enhancing K-3 agricultural literacy.

Effectiveness of Student-Facilitated Discussions in a Small Graduate-Level Course
Maria Boerngen
Illinois State University
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The objective of this study was to measure the effectiveness of student-facilitated classroom discussions, and to measure the impact of these activities on students’ self-confidence.  Students enrolled in a small graduate-level agribusiness course at Illinois State University read and discussed published research articles related to course content throughout the semester.  Each discussion lasted from 60 to 75 minutes at the start of the weekly 170-minute class period.  Based on a professor-provided discussion guide detailing how to prepare for and fulfill the role of facilitator, class notetaker, and participant, each student facilitated one discussion, served as notetaker in one discussion, and was a participant in the other discussions.  Questionnaires were administered to the class in Fall 2019 at the beginning and end of the semester addressing students’ prior class discussion experience, their pre-existing level of comfort and confidence with these activities, and their perception of the impact these student-facilitated discussions had on their mastery of course material and their self-confidence.  Responses indicated 83% of students (n=5) strongly agreed that the discussions deepened their understanding of course concepts, and that they understood professor expectations; 100% (n=6) reported an increased confidence in their ability to contribute to class discussions and to lead a group.  On a scale ranging from 1 (“Very negative”) to 4 (“Very positive”), students’ overall opinion about class discussions increased numerically (3.00 vs. 3.83).  This pilot study suggests that student-facilitated discussions can provide positive learning experiences.  Data collection will continue in subsequent semesters.

University Capstone Course Students' Perspectives on Using Team-Based Learning
Trent Wells, Skyler P. Rinker
Southern Arkansas University
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Student-centered instructional designs have increased in popularity within university courses in recent years. Students have indicated course instructors should use relevant instructional designs that encourage collaboration, promote higher-order thinking, and ensure relevance beyond course settings. As a flipped classroom design, Team-Based Learning (TBL) was recently implemented into a university capstone farm management and operation course. From a quantitative perspective, students from previous academic years have responded positively to using TBL in this course. However, a deeper qualitatively-focused exploration into the topic was warranted. Framed within social constructivism, our qualitative study explored students’ perspectives on using TBL in this course. Our guiding research question was: What are the factors of TBL instruction that motivate students enrolled in this course to perform in the classroom? One-on-one interviews were conducted with four undergraduate agricultural students enrolled in the course during the Fall 2018 semester. Using qualitative data analysis procedures, three distinct factors emerged: (1) prior leadership and background experiences before engaging in the course, (2) teamwork and accountability components of the course structure, and (3) final course grades. These findings provided insight to TBL models designed with both teamwork and individual components at their core. Our findings align with previous research noting the use of TBL in a university capstone farm management and operation course promotes engaging experiences, thus allowing students to assume responsibility for their own learning. We recommend additional studies be conducted with students enrolled in courses using TBL to gain further insight regarding performance motivations within agricultural coursework.

Where does the glass labyrinth begin? Gender Bias in Student Evaluations of TAs
Laura Greenhaw, Emily Khazan, Jesse Borden, Steve Johnson
University of Florida
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Bias in teaching evaluations has been documented across academia. Research indicates that women and minorities receive lower ratings from students when compared to white males. These ratings play an important role in the overall assessment of instructors’ quality of teaching and thus impact promotion and tenure decisions. Likewise, student ratings of teaching assistants (TA) may impact future career opportunities. Our study sought to investigate gender bias in student evaluations of TAs. Students in a large, asynchronous, online course were deceptively assigned to either a putative male or a putative female TA. In reality, one female TA performed all TA duties, grading assignments and communicating with students under the guise of the student’s assigned TA. At the end of the semester, a 14-question survey determined students’ perceptions of their assigned TA, including teaching ability, approachability, professionalism, and knowledge of course content. Students were divided into four groups based on their gender and their perceived TA gender for statistical analyses. Overall, evaluations were extremely positive across student and perceived TA gender. The putative male and female TAs were rated differently across student gender. Female students drove these trends; 100% of females assigned to the “male” TA rated the TA positively, whereas only 88% of female students assigned to the “female” gave positive ratings. This study corroborates the broad literature demonstrating bias against women. The lack of strong statistical trend could indicate a shift in student perspective, or that gender bias is muted given how removed students are from their TA online.

Style Points: How Grouping by Experiential Learning Style Impacts Undergraduate Team Performance
Jonathan M Orsini, Laura Greenhaw, Bradley Coleman, J. C. Bunch
University of Florida
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Employers increasingly seek candidates who can demonstrate ability to successfully work in and lead groups. Although group assignments are common in undergraduate courses, students frequently report negative experiences working in groups and teams. This is not surprising considering a team must develop certain characteristics including psychological safety, team potency, and cohesiveness in order to progress to the highest stages of development, most notably, performance. Research suggests it can take up to eight months for a small group to develop these characteristics, which presents a significant challenge in courses lasting fewer than 16 weeks. Research indicates that diversity on teams is important, however, it is unclear what grouping strategy is optimal for student team learning and performance. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of grouping by experiential learning style on team performance. Students in an undergraduate course were assigned to homogenous and heterogenous semester-long project teams based on learning style. Focus groups were conducted at the end of the semester to determine the impact of homogeneous and heterogenous grouping on team learning behavior, student satisfaction, and team performance. Results suggest that learning style is not a critical variable in group formation as it relates to how small teams in undergraduate classes progress through the stages of development and engage in higher levels of team learning behavior. Future research should investigate alternative grouping strategies to determine what variables and level of homogeneity result in student teams achieving desirable outcomes.

Priorities Lost or Experiences Gained? An Examination of Outside-the-Classroom Activities During Student Teaching
Dwayne Pavelock, Doug Ullrich, Shyam Nair
Sam Houston State University
PRESENTATION UNAVALIABLE

The student teaching semester in agriculture is rewarding, yet challenging. Student teachers must prepare lessons, conduct class, provide coaching and supervision for co-curricular activities, and complete assignments for college coursework. But is excessive time spent, and emphasis placed, on outside-the-class activities? Researchers sought to determine the extent of these co-curricular activities for student teachers. The 28-member, Spring 2019 student teaching block at [UNIVERSITY] maintained a journal of co-curricular (FFA) activities, hours consumed, and days away from school for livestock shows, career development events, conventions, etc., during their 70-day student teacher placement. Weekends and school holidays were excluded. Simple demographic statistics were examined.  The number of school days missed for co-curricular activities ranged from 5 to 21, with a mean of 12.86. A mean of 239.29 total hours was found, with a range of 110 to 424 hours. SAE activities consumed the most hours, with a mean of 108.40 hours and a range of 23 to 212 hours. Very close behind were CDE hours, as a range of 0-265 hours resulted in a mean of 107.64 hours. Finally, FFA chapter activities was found to have a mean of 23.15 hours, with a range of 0-62 hours. Student teachers in 2-teacher departments spent the most hours on SAE activities, while those in departments with 5+ teachers spent the highest amount of time on CDE activities. Researchers have great concern that student teachers are spending too much time outside the classroom, causing harm to the development of their classroom instructional abilities.

The Effect of Practice Testing, Distributed Practice, and Attendance on Exam Scores
Nathan P Kemper
University of Arkansas
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Students (N = 142) in two principles of microeconomics courses were participants in survey research to determine the influence of practice testing, distributed practice, and attendance on exam scores. In preparation for two exams, students tracked time devoted to studying a practice test and the number of different days that they studied. Student attendance was also measured. Results from linear regression analysis (R2=0.49) indicated that the amount of time devoted to practice testing had a significant negative effect on exam 1 scores (µ=-3.19, p-value: <0.01) as did the number of days absent (µ=-2.02, p-value: <0.01). Distributed practice had a positive significant effect on exam 1 scores (µ=1.42, p-value: <0.01). Similar results were found on exam 2 (R2=0.43) where results indicated that practice testing had a significant negative effect on scores (µ=-2.40, p-value: <0.01) as did the number of days absent (µ=-2.77, p-value: <0.01). Distributed practice had a positive significant effect (µ=2.57, p-value: <0.01). The results support the conclusion that regular class attendance and distributed practice led to better outcomes on exams for students. Interpreting the negative effect of practice exams required deeper analysis. On exam 1, the top third performers averaged 90.2, were absent 1.4 days, and spent 1.4 hours studying the practice exam. The bottom third averaged 52.9, were absent 5.0 days, and 3.3 hours studying the practice exam. Exam 2 comparisons were similar. Apparently, students who were absent from class more frequently attempted to get caught up by spending large amounts of time studying the practice exam.

Enactive Mastery Experiences and Student Self Efficacy Towards Learning
Christina H Esquivel, Theresa Murphrey, Julie Harlin, Barry Boyd
Texas A&M University
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Research has shown that self-efficacy is a necessary condition for many positive behaviors related to student engagement and persistence. Of the different methods to build self-efficacy, enactive mastery experiences were shown to be the most effective. Enactive mastery experiences are those experiences in which a learner completes an activity and has an opportunity to experience success. Research also has shown that the higher education classroom can use enactive experiences to develop students’ self-efficacy for learning. Using a quasi-experimental, pre-test post-test design, 100 undergraduate students in two introductory agricultural science courses at a community college in [state] were asked to report self-efficacy towards learning beliefs for their course at week two and week fifteen of the Fall 2019 semester. Participants in the control groups were exposed to only the standard course curriculum. Those study participants in treatment groups were exposed to three types of supplemental, in-class, enactive experiences along with the standard curriculum. Results showed no statistically significant difference in post self-efficacy for learning scores between the treatment and control groups for either course. The means of post-test self-efficacy scores for all groups were lower than self-efficacy pre-test mean scores. These results indicate that additional research is needed to identify factors that erode student self-efficacy during a semester. Further, descriptive data revealed important concepts to consider as we prepare teaching strategies.

Instructor Influence and Agricultural Student Self Efficacy Towards Learning
Christina H Esquivel, Theresa Murphrey, Julie Harlin, Barry Boyd
Texas A&M University
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Increasing student success and persistence in higher education has been a national priority for more than two decades. Many past institutional initiatives have focused on advising and student support services. While these strategies have been somewhat successful, problems with engagement and success still exist. New initiatives focus on helping students develop a growth-oriented mindset. Research shows those with growth-oriented mindsets express higher levels of engagement and persistence in education. The foundation for a growth-oriented mindset is self-efficacy. The literature showed that self-efficacy can be built through different types of experiences and experiences in a college course can build student self-efficacy. Students at a community college in [state] enrolled in two lecture sections of Introduction to Animal Science and two lecture sections of Horticulture with different instructors participated in a quasi-experimental study to analyze the impact of enactive mastery experiences on self-efficacy for learning. The 100 study participants recorded self-efficacy for learning beliefs at week two and again at week fifteen of the Fall 2019 semester. The study results showed while the use of enactive mastery experiences provided no statistically significant difference in post self-efficacy scores for either course, there was a statistically significant difference in post self-efficacy scores by instructor. The influence of the instructor on student beliefs and performance in lower grades is well documented, while in higher education it has not received as much attention. These results indicate that additional research is needed to document the impact of the adult student/instructor relationship on student learning beliefs.

The Correlation Between Students Accessing Guided Notes and Total Course Scores
Nellie Hill
Texas Tech University
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As critical as the skill of note taking is to lecture information recall, postsecondary students find this task difficult. Guided notes, intentionally incomplete lecture outlines, indicate to students when and where to record important information, in theory reducing cognitive load, leaving more space to process the lecture. To determine if there is a relationship between students accessing guided lecture notes and their total score in a course, a bivariate correlation was conducted. Twenty-four guided notes were provided to students during the semester of a scientific writing in agriculture course. Though students were not required to access the notes,  Blackboard statistical tracking tallied student access to each guided notes file the day before or the day of the associated class session. The two continuous variables of the study were the percentage of instances the student accessed the guided notes and the student’s total score percentage. On average, students accessed 30.67% of guided notes and the average total course score percentage was 85.49%. Bivariate correlation analysis using Pearson’s r revealed a significant, positive relationship between students’ (N = 94) percentage of guided notes accessed and total course score percentage, r = .221, p = 0.032. As guided notes access increased, so did the student’s total course score. Providing guided notes to students can help students achieve higher academic performance, should the student decide to utilize the resources provided. Instructors should explore what guided notes format works best for them and their courses.

Cultivating undergraduate research skills in agricultural communications
Cara Lawson, Maggie Elliot, Courtney Meyers
Texas Tech University
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Many scholars have identified benefits stemming from undergraduate research experiences. Along with the ability to interpret data and communicate results, students who participate in undergraduate research can better understand contemporary concepts within a field or discipline. Both universities and industry employers value these skills. The potential to equip agricultural communications students with research skills appears evident. However, agricultural communication has traditionally lacked assessments of undergraduate research. During two semesters, students in a senior-level capstone course in agricultural communications were placed into groups and assigned an agricultural organization to research using a social media monitoring platform. Student groups had to formulate research objectives and select an appropriate study timeframe. To conclude their research projects, students created detailed reports to answer the research objectives and present their findings. Via a questionnaire administered at the conclusion of the project, students indicated they enjoyed conducting research and despite some challenges, they appreciated the opportunity to synthesize data. Students also reported personal growth in multiple research skills, such as producing a meaningful report, designing some element of the project, sorting and selecting appropriate data, and others. While the research project afforded students the opportunity to take ownership of a learning task, many participants expressed frustration with the ambiguous nature of the project. However, the reported gains in research skills aligns with the constructivist approach that learning occurred, as evidenced in the student reflections. Agricultural communications instructors are encouraged to integrate opportunities for undergraduate research into class curriculum and actively engage in research with the students.

An analysis of changes in student writing self-perceptions during a writing-intensive course
Cara Lawson, Whitney Whitaker, Courtney Meyers
Texas Tech University
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Regardless of academic discipline or future career responsibilities, college students are challenged to meet future employers’ demand for strong communication skills. However, writing is a domain of consistent struggle for many students. Based upon concepts of writing self-efficacy and writing apprehension, the Media Writing Self-Perception (MWSP) scale was administered to undergraduate students in a writing-intensive agricultural communications course. Researchers used a pretest/posttest design to evaluate differences in writing self-perceptions as the semester progressed and to determine any relationships between overall MWSP scores and scores on major assignments. A statistically significant difference was found in writing apprehension, self-efficacy, and elaborative/surface construct scores from the beginning to the end of the semester. Results indicated a significant, large positive correlation between MWSP pretest and posttest scores compared to grades on major writing assignments, which supports the assertion that stronger self-perceptions of writing self-efficacy lead to improved writing overall. Students also reflected upon their MWSP scores, which provided further insight about their perceptions of writing. Several themes emerged from the analysis of their open-ended responses to reflection questions. These themes illustrated how students varied in their preferred styles of writing and highlighted how the variety of writing assignments contributed to influencing their writing self-perceptions. This study supports the growing body of literature that indicates rigorous, diverse assignments are beneficial to improving writing skills and allowing time for reflection helps students understand how they can improve as writers.

Student Responses to Data on Learning in Previous Classes
Brian Schutte, Israel Joukhadar, Joseph Wood, Kulbhushan Grover
New Mexico State University
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Quantitative evidence on student performance is widely recognized as information that instructors should use to revise course content and course delivery methods.  In this study, we considered quantitative evidence from previous classes as means to promote confidence among students beginning an upper level biology course characterized by diversity in student majors.  To accomplish this objective, we administered pre-then-post tests to identify factors most associated with learning during 2017 and 2018 (herein, this analysis is referred to as “Learning Factor Analysis” and abbreviated “LFA”).  We then presented the LFA to students on the first day of class during 2019 and 2020.  Immediately following LFA presentations, students completed surveys that gauged self-perceptions of competence (herein, these surveys are referred to as “First-Day Surveys”).  Results for the LFA indicated that the acquisition of new knowledge was more associated with class attendance and homework performance than student major and year in school.  First-Day Survey results indicated that students generally believed that they would do well in the class.  LFA effects on self-perceptions of competence were conditioned by student major; however, this conclusion is tenuous because of low sample sizes for specific majors.  Additional results from First-Day Surveys indicated that students with lower GPA (2.5 to 2.99) tended to benefit from the LFA presentation more than students with higher GPA (3.5 to 4.0).  This is an encouraging result because it suggests quantitative evidence from previous classes can be part of strategies for promoting success among students who previously performed poorly in collegiate courses.

Knowledge Retention in Agricultural Finance
Cheryl Wachenheim, Erik Hanso
North Dakota State University
PRESENTATION UNAVALIABLE

A course sequence is designed so students can succeed in subsequent classes as they work through the sequence, reducing the risk of student failure, and allowing instructors to assume students hold a particular level of knowledge. We assess knowledge retention through four sequential courses in the agricultural finance sequence at North Dakota State University.  A survey and 25-question standardized exam were administered at the beginning and the end of each of the four courses in the finance sequence during their respective semesters for two years.  Information about students was available through the Office of Institutional Research including demographics, pre-college performance, high-school environment, and college-major, credits and courses. Retention was defined as knowledge retained measured at the end of one class to the beginning of the subsequent class in the sequence. This paper highlights the valuable role of assessing versus assuming students with completed prerequisites are prepared for a course. Some students generally improved in their time between classes, specifically those that participated in pre-term instructional sessions that occur for students taking one specific course, supporting devoting initial course time to revisiting existing knowledge. ACT math and reading sub-scores were both positively associated with knowledge retention over time. Students with greater farm management decision making experience also had better retention than others.

Brief written reflections improve interest of introductory animal sciences students: a randomized controlled intervention study
MaryGrace Erickson, Danielle Marks, Michel Wattiaux, Elizabeth Karcher
Purdue University
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The past century of education research has made it clear:  people learn more deeply when interested. In addition to signifying affectual curiosity, interest also connotes deeper cognitive and psychosocial processes such as personal valuing and identification. Although abundant literature describes techniques for stimulating the affectual aspects of interest, few studies have empirically explored classroom techniques for activating interest’s value and identification dimensions. Our randomized controlled intervention study assessed the effectiveness of 10-minute written task value reflections designed to enhance the interest of introductory animal sciences students. During the spring 2019 semester, we randomly assigned participating students (response rate=82.6%) into two covariate-balanced blocks—intervention (TVI, n=45) and control (CTRL, n=41)—prior to the course. On 6 weeks during the 16-week semester, students completed either written reflections on the value of course laboratory material (TVI) or a control summarization task (CTRL). We fit several linear fixed effects models to investigate the intervention’s immediate and long-term effects after controlling for pre-course interest. Results showed that the reflections significantly enhanced situational interest (SI) following an initial test of the intervention at week 6 (estimated marginal means (EMM) of SI(scaled 1-7):  TVI=6.21±0.12, CTRL=5.88±0.14, R2=0.13, F(2,77)=5.63, p<0.01) and at the end of the semester (EMM of SI(scaled 1-7):  TVI=6.27 ±0.14, CTRL=5.72±0.16, R2=0.14, F(2,68)=5.593, p<0.01), but not at tests on weeks 7 and 12. Results show promise that written task value reflections can serve as simple, low-input strategies to boost interest in similar contexts.

Great Teachers Can Create Great Classrooms
Brian D Whitaker, Bill Lamberson, Mike Smith, Bonnie Walter, Curtis Youngs
The University of Findlay
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Top educators continuously are profiled and studied, which often leads to their emulation by peers. Great teachers not only have control over their classroom, but often have the unique ability to inspire and motivate students, even those resistant to learning. However, there is a lack of information and examples of how the best teachers create classrooms and stimulate student learning. The objective of this project was to identify and describe what the characteristics are of the classroom environments and students and that were being taught by the best animal science teachers. The inclusion criterion for selecting faculty was being bestowed an excellence in teaching award through a professional organization.  Lecture was captured using a digital all-inclusive camera and later analyzed for student behaviors, trends and attitudes during the class time and instructor-student interactions. Despite a variety of topics being taught, multiple trends emerged during observation of these classrooms.  Most students in every class were not distracted and asked questions. The teachers engaged nearly every student by distributing something physical to the students, posing questions during class and calling on students by name. Each teacher taught differently, but they all understood their audience; they grasped the subject matter and most importantly, they valued students learning. Collectively, these findings can be adopted by other teachers and be applied and utilized in their own environment in an attempt to foster improved classrooms and student learning through excellent teaching.

Peer Group Formation and Evaluation: Does Intentional Team Formation Matter
Misti D Sharp
University of Florida
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In agricultural sciences, development of teamwork skills is often emphasized as real-world agricultural problems are often solved by interdisciplinary groups. In order to better prepare students for this, faculty might decide to integrate teamwork into the course structure. This study asks to what extent does team composition matter in the educational outcomes and satisfaction in the team learning activity? A random assortment of students is often chosen, but for this study Clifton Strengths ® is used to create groups in a junior level data analysis course, based on the criteria of having at least one person from each dominant strength [relationship building, executing, influencing and strategic] in each group. Due to a non-uniform distribution of strengths among the students in the course, some teams did not have every strength represented. This provided an opportunity to compare team performance and team satisfaction. After completing the same assignments, a team satisfaction instrument was administered. Preliminary results suggest that team performance on assessments was higher for well-formed teams, but the team satisfaction was not different between the two different treatments. One hypothesis for this outcome is that intentional team formation based on personal strengths speeds the process of storming and norming so that students can more quickly begin performing. Some limitations of the study are that sample size is small (n~40 per treatment), and while some individual characteristics were controlled for (like individual class performance), other personality characteristics could have influenced team dynamics and thus team satisfaction.

Current Methods used by Agricultural Educators to Integrate STEM Content into the Classroom
Rachel Hendrix, Kindra Carr, Kirk Swortzel
West Virginia University
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The term “STEM” has worked its way into the education systems across the nation. Teachers incorporate science, technology, engineering, and math content into their curriculum every day to provide a meaningful learning experience for students. Agricultural education serves as an ideal venue to incorporate the components of STEM to accomplish curriculum goals. The objective of this study was to determine ways agriculture educators integrate the components of STEM into their classrooms. Agricultural educators from Mississippi and Tennessee were surveyed to assess their methods of incorporating STEM. Results indicated that most teachers incorporated STEM components as part of hands-on laboratory activities meant to reinforce classroom material. Labs were most frequently used to cover animal science, plant science, soil science, horticulture, and mechanics topics. Results also showed that while educators commonly incorporated science, technology, and mathematics into their courses, they were least likely to incorporate engineering. If we are to continue preparing educators for the needs of the 21st century, it is vital that we continue identifying new ways of effectively integrating all four STEM content areas into agricultural education.

Exploring Transformational Learning through a Semester-long Environmental Education Program
John Ewing, Alexandra Dutt, Mark Brenna
The Pennsylvania State University
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Environmental and outdoor education programs are inherently experiential in nature and rely on the outdoors as their setting and focus. The Student Engagement and Experiential Discovery (SEED) program at Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center is a semester-long program that provides undergraduate students interested in environmental education the chance to get outside to learn. The semester includes seven courses and an 11-day Discovery Trip to New England.  Students visit individuals and organizations doing exemplary work in the fields of environmental education, outdoor recreation, and interpretation. This study and presentation will explore how transformative learning relates to experience-based environmental education through the specific context of the SEED semester. Early-and end-of semester interviews from each participant were compared in order to distinguish changes in student learning. Interview data were analyzed for emergent themes and were then tested against the hypothesis that the SEED semester provided a platform for transformational learning to occur. Students indicated that seeing the application of knowledge learned in the classroom being applied to real-world situations allowed them to increase their learning. Experiential projects that allowed students to utilize the skills they gained were highly rated by the students and seemed to be very influential in strengthening environmental, intrapersonal, and interpersonal relationships. The outdoor experiential learning methods that proved to be most effective in fostering a transformative experience within the SEED semester included interactive natural history lessons, the 10-day discovery trip to New England, and varying group projects involving active learning techniques.

Weaving the Social and Natural Sciences: Perspectives and Science Literacy Attainment of Undergraduates in an Interdisciplinary Course
Rosalind G Gawryla, Kevin Curry Jr
The Pennsylvania State University
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The foundation of science literacy in young adults is a crucial precursor for making informed decisions and participating civically in policies pertaining to agriculture, food, and natural resources. Simply conveying knowledge regarding scientific issues about agriculture is not enough, however, to mold the opinions of the public. Changing public perceptions and behavior requires an understanding of the social sciences. The purpose of the study was to measure the degree to which students increased their science literacy and engaged in interdisciplinary thinking in an undergraduate course. Students enrolled in a three-credit science literacy general education course (n = 19), completed a science literacy skills assessment in a pre/post design, and participated in one of three focus groups (n = 16) at the end of the fall 2019 semester. On the test of science literacy skills, a paired samples t-test revealed a significant gain of 27.7% between the start and end of the course (t = 6.69, p = <.001, d = .83). Qualitative analysis provided insight into the ways in which students rationalized the natural science and social science subject matter and how the two learning domains are woven together to give them skills to engage the public in communicating complex agricultural issues such as climate change, genetically engineered foods, antibiotics, and hormones. Results suggest the course was successful in building the science literacy skills of undergraduates and highlighted the specific capacities of science communication that were developed as a function on an interdisciplinary understanding of the natural and social sciences.

Encouraging Student Success: The Effect of Peer Mentor Interaction on Non-Cognitive Factors in First Year Students
Rebecca L Hapes, Theresa Pesl Murphrey, Kasee Smith
Texas A&M University
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Student success is a goal across academia; however, success is related to factors beyond academic abilities and can be connected to multiple non-cognitive factors.  These factors include grit, optimism, self-efficacy, and locus of control. Several student success models attribute these non-cognitive factors with impacting success and thus consideration of these factors is critical as we strive to positively influence individual student’s success. The experiences students encounter during their first year at an academic institution can be particularly impactful on these factors. The creation of mentoring programs and the integration of peer mentors into the learning environments could encourage a positive impact. The use of peer mentors within higher education across colleges of agriculture has not been studied extensively, especially in relationship to non-cognitive development of students. We used a quasi-experimental study design to examine the effects of peer mentors on collaborating with first year students enrolled in a first-year experience course to determine if peer mentor involvement in student groups affects individual and/or group non-cognitive growth and development. Findings revealed that no statistical differences were documented between the treatment and control group for grit, indicating that the use of peer mentors in the learning environment does not influence, either positively or negatively, the grit of first year students. Given institutional emphasis on retention, persistence and student success, documenting methods to both understand and positively influence these factors is critical.

Real-time Response Online Quizzes: A Cool Tool for Student Understanding and Engagement
Shyam S Nair, Art Wolfskill, Danhong Chen, Roozbeh Irani-kermani
Sam Houston State University
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Online classroom management systems are gaining popularity as they help in improving student engagement. These systems allow instructors to administer real-time online quizzes to which the students can respond using their smartphones. Such quizzes allow the instructor to gauge student understanding, enabling detailed discussion of the concepts behind questions missed by students. However, the usefulness of the quizzes may vary with the course and the method of administration. The instructor used real-time online quizzes administered through Kahoot! in a Principles of Agricultural Economics Class at <University>. Quizzes were administered in several ways; one after every major concept, two to three quizzes spread throughout the lecture, and a quiz at the end of every class. At the end of the semester, an online survey was conducted to understand student perceptions and preferences about the quizzes. The survey had 74 responses (90.24%). We used descriptive statistics to summarize and visualize the data, and multiple linear regression to assess the impact of gender, current GPA, and expected course grade on student satisfaction with Kahoot! quizzes. Results showed that 75.68% of the students considered the Kahoot! quizzes as very useful and 21.62% found then to be somewhat useful. 77.03% of respondents indicated that the quizzes helped them understand concepts better, 67.57% of students thought they improved their learning, and 68.92% responded that it was a fun activity. Regression analysis results showed that the students’ perception of usefulness of the Kahoot! quizzes was not significantly influenced by gender, GPA, or expected grade in the course.

Community in Diversity: An Exploratory Case Study of Underrepresented Students Enrolled in a Post-Secondary Agricultural Education Program
Jason H Bullock, Joy E. Morgan-Fleming, Wendy J. Warner
North Carolina State University
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This study utilized an exploratory case study approach to explore the motivations for enrolling and perceptions of barriers for underrepresented students enrolled in a post-secondary agricultural education program.  Population for this study consisted of four (4) undergraduate students who self-identified as a member of an underrepresented group (URG) categorized as:  1) ethnic minority, 2) LGBTQ+, 3) low income, and/or 4) first generation college student.  Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data with thematic content analysis used for data analysis to determine the themes present for motivation for enrolling and perceptions of barriers among participants.  Motivations themes included involved students in high school agricultural education programs, positive influence of adults, agriculture is ‘fun’ and ‘interesting’, community feeling, and exposure to teaching.  Perceptions of barriers for participants were thematically identified as financial burden, mistaken identity and possible discrimination, loneliness, and inability to talk to others about culturally sensitive topics.  This study focused on underrepresented groups, therefore generalizability across all students enrolled in agricultural education is not possible.  However, this study does provide valuable insight into the perspectives of underrepresented students and provides a voice for these students to hopefully invoke change in policies, structures, and programs in agricultural education locally and nationally.

The Professional Development of TAs Using the Culture-centered Approach Pedagogical Model
Abigail Borron, Catherine Jones, Maria Martinez, Jessica Holt
University of Georgia
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With the ongoing need to train and prepare career-ready professionals upon graduation, it is essential that program curricula incorporate key elements that methodically transition students from the field of classroom learning to career execution. In agricultural communication, such a transition incorporates the notion that students should not only be able to translate complex science-based issues into strategic communication messages, but they should also be civically minded in a democratic society. As such, the use of the Culture-Centered Approach Pedagogical Model (CCAPM) facilitates students’ critical investigation of personal identity and self, their positionality amid structural complexities, and how this relates to their professional role. One key tool of this critical investigation is through weekly critical reflexive analysis—a form of student journal writing—which is commonly used as a source of data that is analyzed by the instructor to help facilitate follow-up group discussions with students. While this model was originally designed to target undergraduate students, this presentation demonstrates the applicability to graduate students as well – specifically as it relates to serving as teaching assistants (TAs) in a culture-centered agricultural communication course. Key areas of results to be discussed include (1) how CRAs critically guide TA personal development as well as involvement in the class; (2) how CCAPM helped TAs facilitate class discussions around complex and/or contentious issues of food insecurity, and (3) how CCAPM uniquely prepared TAs to better navigate through and facilitate complex issues beyond the classroom and into their own research and career endeavors.

What Do Secondary Agriculture Teachers Want From Their Administrators?
Wheeler G Foshee, Christian Stanley, Meredith Hall, Christopher Clemons
Auburn University
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Understanding secondary agriscience teacher success and classroom longevity is a complex and multifaceted evaluation of experiences and perceptions of the profession. Agriscience education teachers often have a unique relationship with personal and professional stakeholders. Through these real or perceived relationships we identify what Ambady and Rosenthal (2010) described as “thin slices of behavior”. In collaboration with previous research efforts this study sought to focus on the types of relationships which exist within agriculture education programs and how these fractional experiences contribute to classroom success and longevity. This purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the perceptions, attitudes, and expectations secondary agriscience teachers have regarding positive administration support. This study was grounded using Deci and Ryan’s (2008) theory of Social Determination and framed in the phenomenological approach. To better understand supportive administration three research questions guided this study: (1) how would you as an agriculture teacher describe supportive administration? (2) what are your perceptions of how interpersonal relationships affect administrative support? (3) what positive characteristics have you observed from administrators that are supportive of agriculture education and FFA programs? The participant frame for this study consisted of ten secondary agriscience teachers in [STATE] in rural and suburban school systems. Onsite interviews for up to two hours were conducted with each participant. Participants were interviewed using five semi-structured interview questions. Independent analysis of participant comments were evaluated and organized using each of the five semi-structured questions.

Broadening Agriculture Science Education for Hispanic Students through Florida – Texas – New Mexico Consortium
Krish Jayachandran, Mahadev Bhat, Kateel Shetty, Alexis Racelis, Pushpa Soti, Kulbhushan Grover
Florida International University
PRESENTATION UNAVALIABLE

Broadening Agriculture Science Education for Hispanic Students through Florida–Texas-New Mexico Consortium conducted a five year study to recruit, cultivate, and develop the next generation of scientists, and to produce a highly-skilled workforce for food, agriculture, natural resources, and environmental systems from Hispanic communities with multiple objectives: (a) to provide scientific and professional training to 50 undergraduate and 12 graduate students in food and agriculture disciplines, that deal with the integrative aspects of natural resources, ecosystem sustainability and sustainable food production; (b) to prepare students for pursuing careers in the scientifically challenging and globally competitive US food and agriculture industry; (c) to increase the percentage of underrepresented undergraduate and graduate degrees awarded in food and agricultural sciences relative to the number of degrees in other fields; (d) to enhance the quality of STEM education through inter-state partnership between Florida International University, University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley, New Mexico State University via student and faculty exchange visits, joint student research and professional developments, and conference presentations. Through research, internships, cross-campus student exchange and joint workshops, and special experiential learning activities, students gained scientific skills analyzing crop production, farm natural resources (including soils, water, and biodiversity), food security, and financial and social aspects of farming.  We mentored these skills through a curriculum that transcend multiple disciplines - Sustainable Agriculture, Soil Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Entomology, Conservation and Renewable Resources, Natural Resource Economics. The greatest impact of the program is to foster a scientifically rigorous, STEM-rich agriculture education to students. With state-of-the-art technical training, students entered technically challenging workforce and higher agriculture science education.

Homework Assignments that Promote Content Integration and Application
Heloisa Rutigliano
Utah State University
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Several studies have supported the notion that active learning activities such as problem-solving cases and simulations increase comprehension and retention of information. Instructors who teach basic science courses find it hard to integrate their course material with clinical, real-life scenarios. The objectives of this study were to assess student perception of active learning techniques and their usefulness to promote understanding and integration of class material. Three different types of group assignments were given to students: 1) clinical case discussions followed by questions relating the case with course content; 2) creation of concept maps to integrate course information and to explain the basic immunological mechanisms associated with given clinical findings of simple immune-related disorders; 3) development of a new product (immunodiagnostic assay, vaccine or drug) to prevent, diagnose or cure a disease of significance in veterinary medicine. Students received an anonymous survey to assess their impressions on the usefulness of these assignments. Students considered concept maps (4.6 out of 5) the most helpful active learning technique followed by clinical case discussions (4.4 out of 5) and product development (3.3 out of 5). Students’ scores in questions directly related to concept map assignment material were greater in the year where concept maps were used compared to the year when they weren’t used. By using concept maps, veterinary students were able to apply and integrate their knowledge of basic immunology to clinical scenarios and demonstrate the complex and interconnected nature of veterinary immunology.

Cultivating Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Agricultural Sciences Education and Communication Faculty
Sarah E LaRose, Hui-Hui Wang
Purdue University
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Postsecondary institutions have increasingly placed greater emphasis on excellence in teaching. While faculty in colleges of agriculture traditionally have conducted research on their own specific fields of expertise, over the past twenty years they have been encouraged to conduct research on their own teaching through development of their own scholarship of teaching and learning. Although various resources exist to support faculty in their scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL), some faculty still express uncertainty about how to go about conducting this type of research. As a means of cultivating teaching excellence in the Department of Agricultural Sciences Education and Communication, a series of workshops were developed and run by junior faculty in the department utilizing funding from the Purdue Teaching Academy. Through these workshops we endeavored to enhance the already existing culture of teaching excellence, revive a spirit of scholarship within communication and education, and create intentional collaboration opportunities. The workshops were organized around three guiding questions: 1) What is SoTL?; 2) How can I design research opportunities within the courses I teach?; and 3) What other resources or strategies do I need to be successful? The workshop series was very well received by faculty and resulted in plans for at least five new studies. Faculty previously unfamiliar with SoTL reported increased knowledge and confidence in conducting research on their teaching, while other faculty requested similar future collaborative learning opportunities.

Cool Learning: Cultivating critical thinking in a university plant and soil science course
Carley C Morrison, Natalie R. Money, Jesse I. Morrison, Brian B. Baldwin, Leah E. Gann
Mississippi State University
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Employers identify a decrease in post-graduates’ ability to adequately communicate and function in the workplace. Moreover, development of critical thinking skills in higher education, specifically in agriculture and science-related fields, has become inadequate. Frequently, students are focused on earning good grades and choose to study topics and use learning techniques that are familiar, rather than seeking challenging opportunities to solve problems and extend their learning. Consequently, instructors must employ teaching and evaluation methods that are conducive to critical thinking development. This study describes students’ (N = 9) perceptions of critical thinking activities and assessments in a split-level plant and soil science post-secondary course. Over the course of one semester, three written tests containing critical thinking questions were followed by focus groups. The first exam was conducted before students were introduced to the critical thinking process in class. During the first focus group, students indicated a lack of familiarity with critical thinking, and preferred multiple-choice exam questions rather than case studies. Following this, the students were exposed to case study/critical thinking activities prior to taking the remaining two exams. Focus groups conducted following the remaining exams revealed increased confidence, and realization of how critical thinking can transfer after graduation. However, students requested more practice with critical thinking in class before each exam. Additionally, traditional teaching methods did not prepare them for thinking critically. It is recommended that instructors seek training on teaching the critical thinking process, as well as emphasize the importance of critical thinking skills as students enter into careers.

Herd That? Investigating Students’ Communication Scores in a Beef Production Course
Shannon Norris, John Ryan Rodriguez, Holli Leggette, Theresa Murphrey, Andy Herring
Texas A&M University
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Because scientific professionals require advanced training, Texas A&M University administrators created communication- and writing-intensive courses. We developed two communication modules—communicating accurately and concisely (CAC) and communicating orally (CO)—to implement in the Fall 2019 beef production course (N = 60). We investigated if completing CAC and CO influenced students’ ranch management presentation scores and if time spent completing the modules could predict scores. Twenty-three students (38%) completed at least one optional module, and students averaged 32:52 minutes (SD = 21.58) to complete each module. We used a one-way ANOVA to compare the effect of completing CAC and CO on presentation scores (p < 0.05), and we met the assumption of homogeneity using Levene’s test (CAC, p = 0.51; CO, p = 0.51). There was not a significant effect between students who did complete CAC and those who did not [F(1, 59) = 2.55, p = 0.116]. We found a significant effect between students who did complete CO and those who did not [F(1, 59) = 4.16, p = 0.046]. Using a simple linear regression, we found time spent completing modules was not a significant predictor of scores (β = -0.01, p < .841). We recommend instructors score the modules within their courses rather than as extra credit. We piloted each module to last 1–2 hours. Considering students completed the modules in nearly half of the expected time, they might not have retained content. Scoring metrics specific to CAC and CO may also assist in evaluating communication skills.

Threaded Messaging: Video Tools to Increase Student Connectivity
Becky J Haddad, Kelsey J. Knight, Lauren LaGrande, Heather Garcia
Oregon State University
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A common complaint from distance students highlights a mismatch in delivery methods relative to alignment with desired connectedness, particularly to peers. One means of allowing greater asynchronous connectivity in our Writing Intensive Course at Oregon State University focuses on the implementation of VoiceThread, a tool shared by our Extended Campus (distance education) instructional design team. This tool allows students to respond to prompts posed by the instructor through video, text, and audio formats and subsequently respond to each other using the same. This approach to distance delivery discussions shifts away from traditionally text-based discussions to “live” discussions as students respond to each other, share files and pictures, and engage in a more “class-like” setting. While this tool can be confusing at first, students quickly understand the interface and engage beyond what is traditionally accessible in text-based formats. One student commented, “I really enjoy using this new discussion tool! As an Ecampus student, I feel very disconnected from my peers, but being able to hear them respond to my posts is super cool and has a personal touch to it.” Further opportunities for clarification and simulated interaction promote a focus on civil engagement with ownership, a necessary skill in preparing students for 21st-century careers. In sharing this approach, we hope to highlight initial setup challenges, sharing and transferability across courses, and best-practice for engaging students in non-text applications.

The Lab Look Back: Utilizing Spotlight Video Coaching in Developing Pedagogical Skills
Tiffany Morey, Daniel Foste
Pennsylvania State University
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The Lab Look Back is a tool to promote video spotlight coaching for the development of pedagogical skills in a teaching methods course. The Lab Look Back has three steps. Step one,  the instructor shows 5-minute (or less) of video while students record their individual thoughts. Step two, the students participate in a 5-minute reflection phase through the lens of unique context in small groups. In step two, students are tasked with identifying changes that would be appropriate with the context/scenario provided. Students are also asked to be able to articulate rationale for pedagogical decision making. Finally, in step three, the students engage in a 5-minute group sharing session where they create transferable knowledge. This experience is enhanced through the use of appropriate educational technology. Projection screens provide students with an up close, high definition viewing experience of the videos being shown. The use of writable surfaces in the room allows students to record their thoughts and feedback.  Personal devices enable students to capture and upload their writing to a designated space in the course management system which serves as a digital archive for the feedback shared during each week in class. This engages students in giving and receiving feedback in innovative ways. Participating in the feedback and reflection process is a critical skill for students to develop, and the use of different forms of educational technology allows for them to experience it in a variety of ways to help them become proficient digital citizens.

Women’s Perceived Barriers to Pursuing STEM Careers
Ryan Anderson, Marshall Swafford, Shyanna Ussery
Texas State University
PRESENTATION UNAVALIABLE

The gender gap in STEM careers continues to be an important and complex issue facing the United States workforce. Therefore, the objective of this study was to identify barriers women perceive as obstacles to successful employment in STEM careers. This study used the Delphi method to identify perceived barriers women face in the pursuit of STEM careers. The study used a series of three web-based questionnaires. The first round of the study used a questionnaire with an open-ended question to facilitate the generation of a wide array of response categories. In round two, respondents were asked to rate the 24 perceived barriers in round one on a Likert-type scale and to make changes as necessary. In round three, respondents were asked to provide a dichotomous indication of whether they agreed or disagreed with each of the items. Consensus on 20 perceived barriers was reached after three rounds. The major barriers identified by the respondents were: male domination of STEM careers, lack of awareness of educational and career opportunities, STEM education and toys directed at boys, a lack of female mentors/role models, minimization of barriers, personal expectations, the time required to become proficient in a STEM field, lack of encouragement from men, and the perceived glass ceiling of women in STEM careers. The agricultural profession is well-prepared to make a significant impact on the gender gap in STEM, as our profession is grounded in promoting career success among secondary and post-secondary students. We recommend that educators promote STEM career opportunities.

Virtual Reality in Veterinary Medicine Education
OP McCubbins, Jennifer Schleining
Texas A&M University
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Fewer students with rural backgrounds are enrolling in Veterinary Medicine programs, while a need exists for veterinarians in rural areas. According to the USDA, there are currently 500 counties across 44 states, mostly in rural areas, underserved by a veterinarian. Regarding final-year students in veterinary schools, only about 10% are interested in pursuing a position in food animal medicine, which are mainly located in rural areas. Students from non-rural backgrounds who do have an interest in rural medicine typically lack experience with livestock and conditions specific to rural communities. As such, veterinary medicine educators must spend time preparing students for the challenges and rewards of rural veterinary practice. To address the challenges above, 360-degree virtual reality (VR) experiences were developed and implemented across four modules - Rural Practice Culture, Animal Behavior, Judicious Use of Antimicrobials, and Field Necropsy techniques - in a rural practice elective course for third-year veterinary students. Fifty-six students participated in this study that sought to measure their perceptions on the usefulness of VR, their learning preference, and overall experience with VR.

Most of the students had a good or very good experience with VR (57%), thought that VR helped them learn rural practice concepts (65%), and thought that VR would be important in the future of veterinary education (62%). Students preferred traditional 2D necropsy techniques videos over the 360 VR version hosted on YouTube. Further research is needed to improve the user experience and to report learning outcomes following VR use.

Showcase by Learning Games Lab: Educational Ag Media to Enhance your Instruction
Pamela N Martinez, Barbara Chamberlin, Jeanne Gleason, Amy Smith Muise
New Mexico State University
PRESENTATION UNAVALIABLE

Many classrooms today take advantage of digital resources. Incorporating educational media such as games, animations, interactives and videos enhances blended learning. Finding meaningful and relevant resources can be difficult. Creating products for agricultural science students demands a careful design process to accommodate pedagogical, content, and quality-of-experience goals. The Learning Games Lab design process draws on the expertise of content experts, instructional designers, and professional animators, artists, game designers, writers, and programmers. Using a formative testing process throughout the development cycle, experts are able to create material that reinforces content and classroom instruction. For over 30 years the department has been creating internationally recognized products for food safety, animal science, plant science, soil science and environmental science. This showcase will provide participants with a review of our college level learning tools, including the Science of Agriculture collection, addressing key concepts in soil, environmental, and animal sciences; resources on water treatment and sustainable water reuse; virtual microbiology labs; and database tools such Selected Plants of Navajo Rangelands, a searchable guide for rangeland management that gives plant names in Navajo, English and Latin. These tools see significant use online and on mobile devices. Science of Agriculture interactive modules were used 22,000 times in 2019, while animated videos from the site were viewed on YouTube 76,000 times. The Virtual Labs suite had 1.2 million web uses in 2019 and 6,366 downloads on the Apple store. Overall, our digital media tools related to agriculture had 43 million uses in 2019.