Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
In response to the challenges of meeting local, national and global needs for effective, efficient, innovative, and long-range agricultural science education, a curriculum for agricultural science education was called for by the National Council for Agricultural Education (The Council) and the Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education (CASE) was developed in 2007. The objectives for the proposed project are as follows: a) Improve first-year teachers' competency to teach agricultural mechanics. b) Improve first-year teachers' self-efficacy to teach agricultural mechanics. c) Prepare secondary agricultural educations students to fill the skills gap in the agricultural mechanics workforce. d) Improve secondary agricultural education instructors' retention rate. To address these objectives, beginning teachers will enroll in the CASE Agricultural Power & Technology Institute held at Texas State University. The institute allows for up to 20 teachers to enroll and consists of 80 hours of instruction over two weeks led by CASE certified instructors. In all CASE institutes, teachers participate as students in hands-on, immersive lessons that they take back to their schools and implement with relative ease since they have already done what they will teach their students. Research and experimental design are highlighted in the APT institute as participants develop and conduct industry appropriate investigations.
Animal Health Component
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Research Effort Categories
Basic
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Applied
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Developmental
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Goals / Objectives
1. Create and implement an Agricultural Power & Technology Institute to be delivered to secondary agricultural education instructors.2. Secondary agricultural education instructors participating in the APT Institute will demonstrate knowledge of basic agricultural power and technology skills and will have an increase in self-efficacy when teaching agricultural mechanics competencies to secondary school students.3. Train and prepare secondary agricultural education students who are ready to enter employment or post-secondary education in agricultural mechanics to fill the gaps in the workforce.4. Improve secondary agricultural education instructor retention.
Project Methods
All participants in the CASE Agricultural Power & Technology Institute will be required to complete the CASE Foundations modules prior to attending the APT Institute. The CASE Foundations modules cover the CASE design process, assessment, instructional practices, inquiry-based practices, and curriculum navigation. The CASE Foundation modules are online and are self-paced. The CASE Foundation modules are free of charge to those who are registered to attend a CASE institute. All participants at the APT Institute are required to maintain a portfolio of exercises, activities, and projects as assigned by the APT Institute Lead Teachers. The APT Institute lead teachers will periodically review and sign-off on complete portions of the portfolio over the duration of the Institute. The course portfolio is documentation of the selected coursework that was assigned during the Institute and evidence that the participant successfully completed the material.