Interaction Strategies Optimized for an Online General Education Course in Horticulture (3:00-3:15pm)
Bala Rathinasabapathi
University of Florida

General education courses are excellent avenues to teach new subject matters to a wide audience.  We modified a popular general education course 'VEC2100 World Herbs and Vegetables" taught annually using face-to-face mode into a 100% online course offered twice a year. Both in-person and online formats use a variety of experiential learning opportunities to achieve the course objectives. The methods used for student engagements during the in-person teaching included hands-on activities on the use of spices and vegetables, growing herbs and vegetables in container gardens, horticultural demonstrations, in-person student presentations, and a guided group project. When teaching using the online format, we mailed a kit containing seeds, spices and container garden supplies for students to do the activities at home. The online course was taught through Canvas via recorded presentations, asynchronous discussion, question and answer sessions, hands-on activities, a guided group project, and student presentations using the VoiceThread tool. The course content was designed to facilitate three types of interactions: (1) student-content interaction via hands-on activities and writing assignments, (2) student-student interaction via on-line discussions requiring students to consider both sides of a controversial topic, a group project, and student presentations and (3) student-instructor interaction via periodical question and answer sessions where the instructor answered questions posed by the students, and feedback on student's work. A comparative analysis of student evaluations of the course and instructor did not differ for the in-person mode (2018 and 2019) and 100% online mode (2020 and 2021) offerings. However, the online mode of instruction was better for improving access to a larger number of students and facilitated all three types of interactions. Text mining of student comments revealed specific methods that were most valuable for student learning based on students' self-assessment.

Global EdChat: Interdisciplinary food security discourse on Twitter (3:15-3:30pm)
Daniel Foster
The Pennsylvania State University

Advancing technology enables teaching and learning in new ways including new models for educator professional learning. With the understanding that Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly, technology like social media platforms can bring together diverse groups of individuals which is critical when looking at overcoming global challenges. Educators around the globe have capitalized on the use of Twitter to advance their professional development. Twitter education chats (edchats) have created space for educators to build communities of practice and expand their knowledge and understanding, but the discourse has not been closely analyzed especially as it relates to issues of agricultural education. A facilitated edition of a well-established edchat, #GlobalEdChat, from October 2021 was reviewed to describe the discourse of educators on UN Sustainable Development Goal #2: Zero Hunger in response to a series of prompts focused on food security. The objectives guiding the study included: (1) describing the dialogue in relation to social construction of knowledge, (2) analyzing depth of comprehension of the four pillars of food security as identified by the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO); and (3) evaluating alignment of the dialogue in relation to Bloom's Taxonomy (2001). Of the 255 original tweets coded, we assessed social construction of knowledge by applying Gunawardena et al.,'s (1997) framework and found that the majority of tweets focused only on sharing or comparing information or opinions with no deeper level of engagement. In assessing application of food security pillars, the majority of tweets mentioned food access and production agriculture. Initial analyses using Bloom's taxonomy show that most tweets focused on understanding or application. Recommendations for best practices of future engagement and for future analysis will be provided.

Comparing online soybean processing module including a laboratory component to on-campus module (3:30-3:45pm)
Kelly Getty
Kansas State University

Hands-on activities in online courses with at-home laboratories engage students and increase understanding of content. The objective was to compare the effectiveness of an online soybean processing module to an on-campus module. Module components included audio lecture and an at-home laboratory exercise. Students prepared muffins with soy flour at three levels (0, 50, 100%) and evaluated physical and sensory properties. Students' learning was assessed with post-laboratory questions, scientific abstract assignment, a discussion board, and exam questions. After module completion, online students (n=45) then responded to a reflective survey using a Likert scale evaluating the module in increasing understanding of the effects of soy in muffins, improving research and writing skills, and knowledge of food processing principles. Online student responses were compared to on-campus responses (n=49). No differences (p<0.05) were found in student perceptions between the online and on-campus module delivery. Online respondents (91%) agreed or strongly agreed the module encouraged application of food science knowledge. Eighty-nine percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that their scientific communication improved and 91% agreed or strongly agreed that the laboratory improved understanding of the effects of soy on muffin physical and sensory properties. On the abstract assignment, 77% or more of online students met or exceeded expectations given by a grading rubric. Regarding knowledge gained, students reported an increased awareness of products that contain soy and methods for processing soybeans into ingredients. A common response was that students would be more likely to try soy products in the future because they were less concerned with off flavors and interested in the nutritional benefits of soy products. Overall, the module serves as an effective model approach for development of online modules in food science or agriculture-related courses.