Progress 10/01/07 to 09/30/08
Outputs
The project activities implemented includes: 1) faculty development for selecting instructional materials in agricultural and environmental sciences for the globalization of the academic programs of the Department of Agriculture and Human Ecology, 2) student training in writing reflections on the case studies in the areas of environment and sustainability, Mad Cow disease, agricultural business, 3) developing students communication skills through interactions with their peers at Global Seminar Institutions (Cape Institute of Agricultural Training-CIAT, South Africa and University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez-UPRM) and 4) globalization of academic programs in agricultural, earth, environmental, and food sciences at Virginia State University (VSU), Florida A and M University (FAMU), and Elizabeth City State University (ECSU). The academic programs in agronomy, agricultural economics, soil and environmental sciences, horticulture were reviewed by the faculty members (S. Sriharan and P. Thomas-Buchanan - VSU, S. Van Bloem - UPRM, V. Thomas, M. Musingo, and N. James - FAMU, V. Florentein - CIAT and F. San Juan - ECSU). The draft case studies in the above-mentioned disciplines were reviewed for testing and publication. The students at VSU, FAMU, ECSU, DSU, CIAT and UPRM presented their reflections on agricultural topics, by posting a Power Point slides on the Blackboard Discussion Board. These case studies were posted on Famu.Blackboard.com. Few examples of Case Studies from global perspectives are: Salinity and Environmental Issues in Kenang Region of Australia and Environment and Sustainability. The students gained skills in communications with their peers at the partner institutions. The project activities resulted in integrating Decision Case Studies in the agricultural, environmental, and food sciences courses, developing an innovative course, Global Seminar, preparation of instructors to deliver the integrated and new courses, student development which included activities such as learning by doing, developing analytical and decision-making skills, and real life application of global issues. As a result, the students generated a lively discussion and gain enriched conversations from international perspectives. The questionnaires for the evaluation of the student perception of the course, Global Seminar, were reviewed to improve the instructional activities on globalization of agricultural programs at VSU, and participating Eighteen Ninety Institutions and overseas institutions. PRODUCTS: The products of these project activities are listed below: (a) Faculty Training in Globalization of Academic Programs: Global Seminar The faculty members were trained in the case study approach in teaching of academic programs which would globalize the course content and offerings. Therefore, Global Seminar, was adopted as a course at VSU, FAMU, UPRM, CIAT, and ECSU. This course includes instruction of topics in the areas of agriculture, earth, environmental, food, and natural sciences. The faculty members were provided information on: (i) the ways to deliver case studies in the existing courses and newly-formed courses at VSU, FAMU, ECSU, UPRM, and CIAT, (ii) how the case study can be applied to meet the applied problem, with photographic and text descriptions of the problem, (iii) how application allows the teachers to present cases in one of two nodes, (iv) structure, features, and operation of a typical case: which has 15-25 decision nodes and takes 25-45 minutes to complete, depending on the presentation mode and audience. (v) How the faculty members will train the students in conveying the educational message with stories, open-ended structure that requires students to, enter the case. This, in turn, make the learners assume the role of decision maker (consider facts, synthesize information, assess tradeoffs, and make a decision). (b) Student Development with KSAs for Communications on Global Issues: (i) The students gained knowledge on writing their reflections on the model case studies by team work, which included sharing of resources or information, preparation of outline and presentation through the Power Point slides and posting on the Discussion Board (http:FAMU.Blackboard.com); (ii) The students developed skills to prepare decision cases. Decision case research and writing is a combination of science and art. There is scientific responsibility in the preparation of a decision case to represent reality and to eliminate or minimize bias; (iii) The students developed abilities to demonstrate relevance and exchange their knowledge on the global issues via videoconferencing; (iv) The students experienced enriched discussion and learned from international perspectives due to their interactions with peers at the institutions in the US and overseas. (c) Establishment of Resources and Facilities for Globalization of the Academic Programs: (i) The resources to globalize the academic programs were obtained at VSU, ECSU, FAMU, and UPRM as a result of the project implementation; (ii) The facilities to conduct the activities related to globalization of the academic programs were procured formally at each institution. The videoconference facilities are available for the faculty members and students in Doug Wilder Building and Harris Hall at VSU. Similar facilities were procured by FAMU, ECSU, and UPRM. (d)Strengthening Partnerships and Linkages between partner institutions (VSU, FAMU, DSU, UPRM, Virginia Tech, ECSU, Bethune-Cookman University, and overseas agricultural institution, CIAT, Elsenburg, South Africa). OUTCOMES: The outcomes of this project are: (a) introduction of the course or program, Global Seminar at Virginia State University, Florida A and M University, Elizabeth City State University, University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez, and Cape Institute for Agricultural Training, Elsenburg, South Africa, (b) globalization of the courses on agricultural, environmental, earth, and food sciences by integrating the concept and practice of Global Seminar, (c) designing of course contents/instructional materials for the delivery of courses integrated with Global Seminar, (d) training faculty members at VSU, FAMU, ECSU, UPRM, and CIAT to teach the concepts on globalization of academic programs and provide hands-on experiences, (e) establishing of facilities such as access to Discussion Board of Blackboard and Videoconference Rooms, for training students to communicate with their peers on global issues, (f) preparing students with critical thinking skills, broad understanding of current global issues in agricultural, environmental, and food sciences, and abilities to exchange their viewpoints via Internet and videoconferencing, and (g) formal partnerships among the VSU, FAMU, DSU, ECSU, UPRM and Virginia Tech, and overseas Institution (CAIT). DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: The project activities were disseminated by distribution of Fact Sheets on Global Seminar, Model Case Studies, and Course Offerings. The project activities were explained to the academia and students at each campus (VSU, ECSU, FAMU, and UPRM) at campus workshops and meetings, and Internet. The project directors provided an overview of the project outcomes at the workshops and conferences for teaching (National Science Teachers Association, Society of Biological Sciences, USDA CSREES ARD Conference, and National Institute of Science/Beta Kappa Chi Annual Conference. FUTURE INITIATIVES: The future initiatives of this project will focus on achieving the goals and objectives on finalizing the Decision Case Studies which will strengthen students interaction with their peers, testing the case studies and videoconferencing approach for interpretation of real-life situations, and publishing the case studies and project-related activities in Case Study Journals. The faculty members at VSU, FAMU, and ECSU will write the instructor manual so that the teaching is conducted in a uniform manner. The manual and instructional outcomes will be written in the form of manuscripts for publication in the Case Research Journal (Published by the North American Case Research Association) the Journal of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Education. These professional organizations have published several decision cases and papers about case methods. The case development situations do not necessarily fit neatly into this particular sequence. Some flexibility is needed. Therefore, the faculty members will modify the case studies after testing in the classes. It is proposed to adopt the illustration, Gustavson Farm known among entomologists in the university extension service, to be reviewed for obtaining complete information and facilitate interactions among the teaching faculty members at CIAT and US partner institutions. The students will be provided the model Art of Writing of Readable Cases developed by Clyde Freeman Herreid at the Center for Case Studies Writing at the University of Buffalo, New York web site. The case study discussion requires at least 3-4 teams. We will include teams among the collaborators (VSU, ECSU, FAM, and CIAT/UPRM). Each team will have a leader for the preparation of view points, development of Power Point slides, and interpretation of views. The team leaders will be asked to post the final reflections on Discussion Board of the Common Website (http:Famu.Blackboard.com). The students, who will be participating in the project activities during 2009-2010 academic years, will be provided opportunities to present their reflections on global issues at the professional conferences. These will be either in the form of Poster or Oral formats. The project outcomes will be to publicize the academic programs via Internet, to involve students in the publicity of project results, and to increase a student enrollment in the course. Efforts will be made to recruit more upper-level students who will be interested in learning to work with the global community. The Videoconferencing Facility at CIAT (Elsenburg, South Africa) will be examined by the Technology Personnel for operating on IP System. The IP System does not involve expenses for communications via videoconferencing to the institutions in the US. The faculty members will be encouraged to include resources from the National Global Seminar Curriculum at the University of Buffalo (with active NSF Grant on Writing Case Studies). In addition, the project director and project associates will strengthen the networking among the faculty members of VSU, UPR and overseas (CIAT, South Africa).
Impacts
The major impacts of this project are seen in: (a) preparation of draft case studies for globalization of the academic programs in the areas of agricultural, environmental, earth, food, and natural sciences, (b) training of faculty members at VSU, FAMU, ECSU, UPRM, and CIAT in developing the case studies and delivery of the instruction to the students at all the above-mentioned institutions, (c) teaching students (science and non-science majors) the art of communication via Critical Thinking, Internet, and Videoconference, (d) generating enthusiasm among the students to participate in activities that are international and multicultural perspectives, (d) procuring resources and facilities for students involvement in Global Seminar, an International Organization of Educators and Students. The facilities for Videoconferencing are established formally at VSU, FAMU, ECSU, and UPRM. The videoconference is conducted with IP system. However, the IP system at CIAT is still not established formally. It is proposed to work out the issues concerning this operation. A significant impact of the project is noticed in the working relationships between VSU, FAMU, ECSU, UPRM, CIAT, and VCOM-Virginia Tech. As a result of this project, the project directors of this Grant developed new proposals and funding. The institutions are active members of the Global Seminar, and interact with the leading institutions in the World for globalizing the academic programs.
Publications
- James, T. 2008. The assessment of obesity and diabetes among the US population by integrating GIS Geochronology, at National Institute of Science/Beta Kappa Chi, Dallas, March 18-23, 2008.
- Sriharan, S., Sutphin, D., Thomas, V, Bloem, S.V. and Khan, A. 2008. Cooperative Learning through the Case Study and Group Discussion in Understanding of Biological and Environmental Factors for Obesity among Youth
- Applications of Geographic Information System for Issues on Agrisecurity, at the National Annual Conference for Teachers of Agriculture, Logan, Utah (June 10-13, 2008).
- Johns, D. and Sriharan, S. 2008. Global Warming and Climate Change at NSF-Sponsored Symposium at VSU, April, 2007.
- Chatmon, L., Sriharan, S. 2007. Golden Rice: A Case Study for Addressing Malnutrition in India, NSF HBCU Conference at Virginia State University, April, 2007.
- Sriharan, S. San Juan, F., and Rousch, J. 2008. Status of Ratification of Kyoto Treaty: Global Warming. International Forum on Global Warming and Climate Change at Virginia State University, fall, 2008.
- San Juan, F., Rousch, J.F., Banerjee, H., and David, 2008. Efficient Food Production or Corporate Greed and Unnecessary Health and Environmental Risk A Case Study for Global Seminar Course. USDA Capacity Building Workshop at Florida A & M University, Tallahassee, Florida, October, 2008.
- James, N., Musingo, M, and Thomas, V. 2009. When will the Public be informed The Case of a Salmonella Outbreak in Florida, USDA Capacity Building Workshop, June, 2009
- Bloem, S. V., Thomas, V, and Sriharan, S. 2008. Salinity in Kenang Region of Australia, Annual 2008 Conference of Global Seminar
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Progress 09/15/06 to 09/14/07
Outputs
During the project period, the project director, Dr. Michael Joshua retired from Virginia State University. The project leadership was transferred to Dr. Shobha Sriharan, Co-Director of this project. The letter from USDA CSREES regarding the replacement of Dr. Joshua by Dr. Sriharan has been issued by the USDA agency. Dr. Sriharan coordinated project management and implementation at Virginia State University (VSU). The activities involved faculty development in writing curriculum for case studies and student training in writing case studies. The students of Virginia State University (VSU) prepared their case studies by using various resources (Library, Internet, and Newspapers) and summarized in their viewpoints in Power Point Presentations. The students were asked to use the Discussion Board. The class used the Global Seminar approach to globalize the academic programs of VSU. The Global Seminar is an international organization of universities on six continents, aimed
towards globalization of curriculum via exchange of ideas through discussion board and videoconference. The students of VSU exchanged their view points with their peers at the other Minority Institutions (Delaware State University-DSU, Elizabeth City State University -ECSU, Florida A & M University-(FAMU, and Cape Institute for Agricultural Training-(CIAT in Elsenberg, South Africa). The project availed the Inter Portal (IP) System at the 1862 Institution, Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM), Virginia Tech. In fall, 2006, the students (8) enrolled in the course, AGRI 401-02, were trained in writing case studies on global topics, Organic Farming, Global Warming, Use of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), and Fortification of Cereal Crops. The students prepared their Power Point slides and exchanged their views through debate. The debates were coordinated for each Case Study at the end of each month. The students' assignments were graded and the students completed their
assignments and passed with grades ranging from A to B. In spring 2007, sixteen students enrolled in the course, AGRI 401-02. Due to limited number of seats and resources for videoconferencing, only nine (9) students were accepted in this course. During this semester, Dr. Sriharan was successful in procuring excellent facilities in the Library of VSU for videoconference. The students revised the model case studies on Organic Farming and Global Warming. The students were provided updated resources and opportunities to attend the Annual Conference of Virginia Organic Farming Association. The case study on Kyoto Treaty and its connection to Global Warming was also revised by the students. The debate was focused on the actions taken by developing and developed countries to Kyoto Treaty Agreement. The faculty members, Dr. Paula Inserra, Dr. Dianne Williams, and Dr. Ahmed Ghiasuddin (VSU) were provided funds from the project to participate in the 2006 Fall Workshop on Case Study Writing at
the University of Buffalo, New York. The students participated in professional meetings for Minority Students and made their presentations.
PRODUCTS: The Globalization of the academic programs in agricultural and environmental sciences includes innovative development of teaching modules within the science curriculum and testing these modules among the academic communities at Virginia State University (VSU) and its partner institutions. The support from partner institutions is critical for testing the modules and reporting the results. The project director (Dr. Shobha Sriharan) established linkages between VSU and its collaborators, FAMU, ECSU, UPR, and CIAT (South Africa). Further, Dr. Sriharan had interactions with the program chairs of the programs implementing the Global Seminar at these institutions. These interactions took place at the conferences and the partner institutions. The topics of global concern in the areas of Agricultural, Environmental, and Food Sciences were discussed in detail at the faculty development workshops at VSU, ECSU, and DSU. The faculty members from the above mentioned institutions had the
opportunities to network with each other for expansion of academic programs. The project activities resulted in developing case studies listed below: (1) Kyoto Treaty: Debate among the Developing and Developed Countries on Enforcing the Reductions in Greenhouse Gases (2) Organic Farming: Advantages and Limitations (3) Fortification of Cereal Food Crops: Cultural Issues Limiting the Use of Golden Rice in India The project director worked with the faculty members and administration to procure resources and facilities for discussion board and videoconferencing among VSU and its partners, DSU, BCC, FAMU, These efforts resulted in procuring the Conference Room/Hall in the Library of VSU for videoconferencing during the academic year. This was a major accomplishment for this project and other projects with similar approach. The two courses, Global seminar (taught through the upper-level undergraduate course, AGRI 401) and Contemporary Global Studies (AGRI 295) are offered each semester at
VSU, through the support from the USDA project. The student enrollment in these two courses is increasing due to the publicity of the course, support from the General Education Committee, and interest among the students for global communications. The collaborating institutions (ECSU and FAMU) have also introduced the course on Global Seminar in their curriculums, and participated in the Videoconferences during the academic year, 2006-2007. The students who enrolled in the courses on Global Seminar and Contemporary Global Studies received opportunities to present their case studies at professional meetings (listed in Publications). Similarly, the faculty members engaged in writing case studies presented their case studies in the areas of Diet and Nutrition, Food Microbiology, and Global Warming. The manuscript written on Kyoto Treaty by the project director (S. Sriharan) will be published in the Proceedings of the International Conference on Environmental Science (September 2007).
OUTCOMES: The outcomes of this project are: (i) increased interest among the undergraduates to enroll in the course on Global Seminar (Independent Study-AGRI 401) at VSU and its partner institutions (ECSU, FAMU, and UPR), (ii) approval and offering of new course: Contemporary Global Studies (AGRI 295) in spring, 2007. Students developed case studies modules: (i) Global Warming: Agreement and Disagreement on the Kyoto Treaty (ii) Organic Farming: Advantages and Limitations, and (iii) Use of Genetically Modified Organisms in India, (iv) draft case studies by the faculty members in the areas of diet and nutrition and food safety, (v) submission of a manuscript on Kyoto Treaty and Reductions in Greenhouse Gases. There was an increase in the enrollment on Global Seminar course at VSU and its partner institutions, FAMU, ECSU, and UPR (US) and CIAT (South Africa). Student case studies were submitted as posters and oral presentations at the conferences listed in the Publications Section. The
project provided travel funds to students and faculty members to participate in the professional meetings. The project activities were disseminated widely, and led to increased interest among the academic communities at VSU and its partner institutions. The successful implementation of the project led to establishing partnership between VSU and its US partners (FAMU, ECSU, and UPR) and overseas partner, CIAT (South Africa). The project outcomes led to increased productivity in developing proposals for student training. A new grant was received by VSU to collaborate with its partners (FAMU, UPR, and ECSU) and the University of Alaska's School of Community Education, in summer 2007. This grant will enhance the ongoing project activities and extend the activities on writing case studies for issues on environmental health and training farmers on food safety/food handling in remote areas (e.g. Alaska).
DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: The project activities were disseminated by the project director (Dr. Shobha Sriharan) and co-directors (Dr. Verian Thomas, FAMU, Dr. Ali Khan, ECSU, and Dr. Skip Bloem, UPR) at the professional meetings. The students presented their case studies at conferences and workshops in spring 2007. The workshops in North Carolina (Beta Kappa Chi/NIS), Maryland (HBCU Day at UMES), and Virginia (NSF-UP) provided a forum for the students and faculty members to exchange ideas on the importance of the Global Seminar Program, innovative approach towards students' skills on global communication. The students posters were published in the Proceedings of the conferences listed in Publications. The dissemination of the students' participation in the USDA project led to the award of travel support to four (4) students of Virginia State University. The project director distributed brochures at the professional meetings and made announcements of the project activities through
the Fact Sheets, via Internet. The collaborating institutions, FAMU and UPR publicized the participation of students in Global Seminar course, via e-mail. The project director submitted a manuscript, Kyoto Treaty for Reducing Greenhouse Gases, to the International Conference on Environmental Science, North Carolina A & T University, and Greensboro, N.C. This will be published in the Conference Proceedings. Three posters in the areas of diet and nutrition, consumer science, and global warming will be presented by the faculty members involved in the project, at the 2007 Fall Workshop on Case Study Writing, University of Buffalo, New York.
FUTURE INITIATIVES: 1. To increase the enrollment of undergraduates in courses on AGRI 401 (Global Studies/Independent Study) and AGRI 295 (Contemporary Global Studies) at VSU, ECSU, and FAMU. 2. To involve more faculty members at VSU, ECSU, and FAMU in writing case studies in the areas of Environmental Sustainability, Consumer and Family Services, Food Sciences and Nutrition, and Social Sciences. 3. To procure resources on global events/issues from the Global Seminar Curriculum, University of Buffalo (with active NSF Grant on Writing Case Studies), University of Ontario, Canada, and major institutions in the world. 4. To provide the model case studies and feedback from the USDA Grant staff members and faculty members, to the students enrolled in the courses, Global Seminar and Contemporary Global Studies. 5. To increase the enrollment of undergraduates in courses on Global Seminar (Independent Study-AGRI 401) and Contemporary Global Studies (AGRI 295) at VSU, and Global Seminar at
ECSU, FAMU, and UPR. 6. To prepare case studies on issues of concern to the USDA agency and public. These topics will be Food Safety, Food Microbiology, Dietetics and Nutrition, and Environmental Health. 7. To strengthen the networking among the faculty members of VSU and its partner institution in the US (FAMU, ECSU and UPR) and overseas (CIAT, South Africa) for discussions on global case studies. 8. To improve the facilities in Videoconferencing Room at VSU for students enrolled in large class (AGRI 295-Contemporray Global Studies. 9. To disseminate the project outcomes among the faculty members at VSU and institutions (FAMU, ECSU and UPR) for strengthening the project's products. 10. To provide opportunities for the students and faculty members to make presentations at the professional meetings, thereby increase the publicity of the project's success. 11. To globalize the academic programs of VSU at partner institutions (FAMU, ECSU, and UPR) and CIAT (South Africa) for the
advancement of students and faculty members. 12. To continue training students in fostering critical thinking skills and enhancing intercultural communication in creatively addressing global issues. 13. To provide students international and multicultural perspectives, engaging in learning and discovery essential to being a citizen of the world thus becoming globally competent students able to participate in international markets.
Impacts
This project has improved the communication skills of the students, developed linkages with the other Minority institutions and established the videoconference resources. The videoconferences were successful with the support from the Director of the Global Seminar (Dr. Dean Sutphin) and IT staff at Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Virginia Tech, the IT and academic heads of each institutions. The overall impact of the project was in the following areas: (a) Offering the courses (Global Seminar -AGRI 401; Contemporary Global studies-AGRI 295), (b) implementing the courses with good enrollment, (c) writing case studies on global issues, (d) attracting students from various disciplines to a common forum for understanding the importance of case studies on global issues, (e) training students in the nuts and bolts of case writing, (f) mentoring students, (g) preparing students for debate and oral communications, (h) creating enthusiasm among students for
interactions with peers and their faculty advisors; (i) facilitating interactions between concerned faculty advisors and students at all collaborating institutions (VSU, FAMU, ECSU, and UPR in US, and CIAT in South Africa), (j) exposing students to role model institutions with active case study writing, (k) providing students opportunities to develop skills in communications, and (l) providing funding to the students for making presentations of their case studies at the conferences and workshops.
Publications
- Kori Mickle, Lorraine Chatmon, Kelly Leonard, Alexander Olvido (2007). A Case Study and Videoconferencing on Global Warming , Annual Conference of Beta Kappa Chi-National Institute of Science Annual Conference, Greensboro, North Carolina, March 14-18, 2007.
- Kelly Leonard, Lorraine Chatmon, Alexander Olvido, and Shobha Sriharan (2007). Videoconferencing as a Learning Tool for Understanding Global Climate Change. HBCU Universities Students Workshop at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Maryland, April 4, 2007.
- Rosalind Booker, Alecia Lowe, Sriharan, Shobha (2007). Fortification of Cereal Crops: A Case Study on Use of Golden Rice in India. NSF HBCU UP Undergraduate Research Workshop at Virginia State University, April 6, 2007
- Alexander Olvido and Lorraine Chatmon (2007). Global Warming: Change in Weather Pattern, A Case Study of Views Shared by the Students of Virginia State University and its partner Institutions, Beta Kappa Chi/National Institute of Science, Greensboro, NC, March, 2007.
- Shobha Sriharan (2007). Kyoto Treaty: Debate over Signing of Agreement by the United States and Developing Countries, International Conference on Environmental Science at the North Carolina University, Greensboro, NC, September 12-14, 2007.
- Otto Sanchez, Brenda Malinauskas, and Shobha Sriharan(2007). On line Delivery and Discussion of Case Studies for Pathophysiology and Medical Nutrition Undergraduate Courses, Fall Workshop on Writing Case Studies, University of Buffalo, New York, 2007.
- Dianna Mabel Edlow and Shobha Sriharan (2007). A Case Study on Food Safety, Fall Workshop on Writing Case Studies, University of Buffalo, New York, 2007.
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Progress 10/01/05 to 09/30/06
Outputs
The project activities focused on collaborative learning under the leadership of Virginia State University (VSU). This project was conducted by VSU and its partner institutions, Florida A & M University (FAMU), Delaware State University (DSU), Elizabeth City State University (ECSU), Bethune Cookman College (BCC), and overseas institutions (Institute for Agricultural Training -IAT in Elsenburg, South Africa and University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez). The project directors communicated with the partner institutions via telephone and e-mail to plan the activities for academic year 2005-2006. The PD's and four VSU faculty members participated in Case Studies Workshop at the University of Buffalo in October 2005. As a result of this workshop, the project directors prepared a model curriculum which could be adopted by the students for writing case studies. The faculty members also interacted with curriculum writer experts at Cornell University and Virginia Tech. The
students enrolled in seminar classes (400 levels) at all institutions took the initiative in writing case studies. The students selected topics in the areas of Sustainability, Mad Cow Disease and Biotechnology. To motivate the students enrolled in independent study to write case studies, the students were provided a stipend of $ 200. The project activities were strengthened by involving the students in exchanging views via videoconferencing. The students of participating institutions selected topics such as Biofortification of Cereal Crops, Water and Water Pollution of Rivers of Australia and Global Warming. The students searched various websites and journal articles to procure the current status of each global issue. At each institution, students (4-6) developed and submitted independent project/assignment in the form of a case study. The case studies were later discussed to summarize the highlights of the topics of each group. The students were divided into two groups: Pro and Con
for each case study. These two discussion case studies were debated via videoconference three times during spring 2006. The students shared their views from their perspectives (geographical, social, and economic). The faculty members teaching Environmental Science, Agricultural Economics, and Human Nutrition had discussions on the curriculum for case studies, pre and post discussion on case studies, and overall evaluation of the program, in Spring 2006. Faculty members from VSU, ECSU, and BCC participated in the summer workshop on Case Studies at the University of Buffalo. This 5-day workshop allowed faculty members (Gloria Young-VSU, Francisco San Juan-ECSU, and Valentina David-BCC) to gain in-depth experience in writing case studies and developing the curriculum by selecting topics on global issues. In early spring, a collaborative proposal was developed on the expansion of writing case studies by including current topics, Obesity and Nutrition, Environmental Health and Food Safety,
by the project director and co-project director. This proposal was submitted to the USDA CSREES capacity Building Teaching Program. The project was funded for $ 285,000 for two years (2006-2008).
PRODUCTS: The project activities led to the development of a uniform curriculum for writing case studies by all stakeholders: Virginia State University (VSU), Florida A & M University (FAMU), Delaware State University (DSU), Elizabeth City State University (ECSU), Bethune Cookman College (BCC), and overseas institutions (Institute for Agricultural Training -IAT in Elsenburg, South Africa and University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez. This curriculum was offered as a course, Independent Study at VSU, Global Seminar at FAMU, DSU, and ECSU, and Seminar at Institute for Agricultural Training -IAT in Elsenburg, South Africa and University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez. A course, AGRI 295 was developed at VSU by Dr. Michael Joshua for training students in writing case studies and debating via videoconference. The course was approved by the Department Curriculum Committee in May 2006. The course is pending approval by the University Curriculum Committee. It is anticipated that the course AGRI 295
will be offered as a General Education Course in spring 2007. The activities conducted through this project have led to productive collaborations between the 1890 Institutions (VSU, FAMU, and DSU), HBCUs (ECSU and BCC), and oversea universities (Institute for agricultural Training, Elsenburg , South Africa and University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez).
OUTCOMES: None reported.
DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: The project activities and results were disseminated via posters at professional meetings and faculty development workshops, e-mail, and telephone. The students were informed about their enrollment in the classes/courses on case studies through their faculty advisors and campus e-mail. The faculty members communicated with each other via e-mail and discussions at faculty workshops and professional meetings
FUTURE INITIATIVES: The future initiatives will focus on involving students in a debate over topics by chit chat and the use of technology. The students will be provided with topics and asked to conduct a detailed survey of global topics and prepare Power Point presentations. The students and faculty will meet more often in the classroom by developing formal course, "Global seminar" at each partner institution. This will result in a uniform syllabus for the course, which in turn, will enable the students to gain an in-depth knowledge of the course contents. This task will facilitate a forum for debate over topic of concern globally. The students will develop critical thinking skills at all the participating institutions.
Impacts
The impact of this project was evidenced by three successful videoconferences at VSU and the partner institutions. The students at each institution gained valuable skills in collecting data on current issues of concern globally: Global Warming, Water and Water Pollution in Rivers of Australia, and Biofortification of Cereal Crops. The students developed skills in writing case studies on these topics and debating via videoconferencing at VSU and its partner institutions (DSU, FAMU, BCC, ECSU) and overseas (Institute for agricultural Training, Elsenburg, South Africa and University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez). The faculty members at all the partner institutions had opportunities for sharing their knowledge on global topics of concern with science majors, exchange their experiences in student training for writing case studies and enhancing their teaching activities. All the collaborating stakeholders (VSU and partner institutions) enhanced the student training activities
through a cooperative education program involving the use of technology and a multi-media instructional approach. The capacity building of VSU and its partner institutions was strengthened by integrating technology for the understanding of global issues by its academic community (students and educators).
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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