Progress 06/01/24 to 05/31/25

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience is UAPB undergraduate students majoring in Ag, Human Sciences or Family and Consumer Sciences, who have an interest in becoming a secondary ag teacher in the Delta Region of Arkansas. Changes/Problems:After one year of attempting to recruit students to the program, we reflected on why our efforts to recruit undergraduate students to take part in our Study-Away effort were not successful. After careful review,we found obstacles to include 1) undergraduates are already committed to their current degree program and weren't willing to add a second, 2) spending a summer at A-State wasn't possible because of work, athletic, and family commitments during the summer months, and 3) anticipated stress of completing 12-15 credits on the heals of the spring semester and no break before the fall semester. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Dr. Nina Lyon Bennett attended the North Central Region of the American Association for Agricultural Education Conference in collaboration with the National Conference on Learner-Centered Teaching to share about the project, collaborate with colleagues and learn about successful recruiting strategies that may assist with recruiting students for this project. Dr. Nina Crutchfield attended her first national MANNRS conference and briefly shared with students about the program. She also attended the CASE trainings to enhance her professional skills in order to properly train students entering the student teacher program. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Upon analysis of why our efforts to recruit undergraduate students to take part in our Study-Away effort, we found obstacles to include 1) undergraduates are already committed to their current degree program and weren't willing to add a second, 2) spending a summer at A-State wasn't possible because of work, athletic, and family commitments during the summer months, and 3) anticipated stress of completing 12-15 credits on the heals of the spring semester and no break before the fall semester. As a result, our focus shifted to the potential to engage graduate students who are already committed to teaching through the UAPB Master in Teaching program. The MAT program ensures the students are getting the necessary pedagogical training to enter the secondary classroom. With teaching methods covered in the MAT program, the grant administrators shift our focus to providing the participants with the agriculture teaching content during the summer of 2026. The new focus will deliver trainings in the Curriculum for Agri Sciences, resulting in MAT graduates obtaining certifications and having access to instructional materials for delivering instruction in Animal Science, Plant Science, and Agricultural Mechanics. These trainings will provide the future teachers with ready-made inquiry-based instructional materials, targeted experiences to deliver laboratory experiments, and laboratory management skills. Upon graduation, students with a Masters in Teaching with 4 CASE curriculum certifications will be day-one ready to enter the secondary agriculture classroom to influence the next generation of students to become involved in the agriculture industry.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? During this reporting period, we increased the opportunity for collaboration between UAPB and A-State's colleges of agriculture. Dr. Nina Crutchfield, Assistant Professor of Agricultural Education at A-State visit UAPB to talk with students in the ag department about secondary teaching careers in agriculture. She also attended via Zoom a human sciences first year class to share with students about teaching careers. A one-page information sheet was created that outlined the program and the benefits of becoming an ag teacher. We create a short online application and application portal for easy access for students to submit their applications and supporting documents.

Publications