Progress 05/01/17 to 10/31/20
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience was students and faculty at Texas A&M University (TAMU) and Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) for project development and implementation and students and faculty beyond TAMU and PVAMU for project dissemination. Students were engaged in developing and testing the reusable learning modules (RLMs) as groups of students, individually and in courses, to serve as critics during the development process to ensure the RLMs were designed in a way to meet the needs of the end-user. Additionally, students were involved in using the RLMs as part of animal and plant science courses to test the content, context, and usability of the RLMs. Faculty in the animal and plant sciences have also tested the RLMs by using them as an effective way to deliver communication curriculum and meet the requirements of a writing-/communication-intensive course. The faculty who served on the advisory board were engaged, as needed, to review the curriculum from the perspective of a content expert. Furthermore, during the project, we disseminated completed modules to faculty through university and professional association list serves. The products are available for university faculty beyond the life of the grant through the Texas A&M Libraries OAKTrust Repository. Changes/Problems:We filed a one-year no-cost extension and were on schedule to complete the project in the extra year. However, our activities at the end of that year were slowed due to COVID-19. So, we chose to file a six-month extension with a project end date of October 31, 2020. The six-month extension allowed us additional time to complete the final touches on our modules and coordinate posting with the University Library to ensure wide dissemination. Furthermore, it allowed our external evaluator to more time to access to our materials and provide the report. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?More than 1,000 undergraduate students tested the modules as part of the testing phases, which provided them access to communications skills curriculum. We had 8 invited presentations or workshops that focused on training and professional development for university faculty and small business owners. Last, within the grant team, we had nine undergraduate students and two graduate students who we trained in communications techniques, curriculum development, and instructional design and the project leaders have established a process for developing and disseminating science communications training curriculum. Furthermore, training materials are available for faculty as part of the modules. Those materials include faculty guide sheets for each module detailing how to use both the online and face-to-face curriculum and videos to help students learn to easily navigate the modules. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We disseminated the results through the Texas A&M University Oak Trust Digital Repository, project webpages, peer-reviewed publications, invited presentations, faculty meetings, and student courses. In summer 2020, to help faculty with providing rigorous online curriculum to their students in wake of COVID-19, we sent the curriculum to faculty in colleges of agriculture at Texas A&M University and Virginia Tech University. In spring 2021, we sent dissemination emails to the advisory board, Texas A&M University professors, academic program deans in colleges of agriculture at land grant universities, academic program deans in Canadian colleges of agriculture, and educators who are members of the American Association for Agricultural Education, North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture, Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education, American Society of Animal Science, Poultry Science Association, Soil Science Society of America, and American Society of Horticultural Science. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
We created seven reusable learning modules based Crawford et al.'s (2011) seven areas of communication: asking effective questions; communicating accurately and concisely; communicating orally; communicating appropriately and professionally using social media; communicating in writing; communicating pleasantly and professionally; and listening effectively. Each module has assessments, handouts, and supplemental materials that assist students' learning. Instructional design principles and a rigorous testing phase to ensure quality and accuracy guided the development of the seven modules. The modules include text, audio, images, animation, and interactive elements to engage students with the communications topic and provided opportunities for students to apply their communications skills and techniques. Additionally, the modules include specific verbiage, examples, scenarios, and case studies related to identified agricultural topics. All modules are available for face-to-face, online, and hybrid delivery and are accessible through the Texas A&M University OAKTrust Digital Repository. The University-provided repository has built-in metrics to allow us to track access and downloads. In the addition to the seven modules, which include assessments, handouts, and supplemental materials, we generated 19 publications, 6 invited presentations, 2 workshops, 3 meetings, 2 how-to videos, 1 how-to handout, 1 module of instructor-only materials, 1 set of project webpages, and 1 guide for disseminating online curriculum. In addition, we are finishing two journal publications that we will submit in 2021. The data for these articles include data from four semesters of an animal science course at Texas A&M University. Last, our evaluation team completed three internal formative evaluation reports and one final summative evaluation reports.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Norris, S., Murphrey, T. P., & Leggette, H. R. (2019). Do they believe they can communicate? Assessing college students preparation for communicating about agricultural sciences. Journal of Agricultural Education, 60(4), 5370. doi: 10.5032/jae.2019.04053
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Norris, S., Leggette, H. R., Murphrey, T. P., Richburg, A., & Bush, M. (2020, September). Science communication: Context-specific reusable learning modules for strengthening students communication skills. NACTA Journal, Teaching Tips. https://www.nactateachers.org/images/TeachingTips/TT_2020-0248.pdf
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Leggette, H., Murphrey, T. P., & Norris, S. (2018). Scientific communication: Using reusable learning modules to enhance communication education in agriculture. [Special supplement: Abstract]. NACTA Journal, 62(1).
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Murphrey, T. P., Leggette, H., & Norris, S. (2018). Guidelines for developing instructional modules to improve students' communication skills. [Special supplement: Abstract]. NACTA Journal, 62(1).
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Murphrey, T. P., Norris, S., & Leggette, H. (2019). Student perspectives of instructional modules to improve college students' communication skills. [Special supplement: Abstract]. NACTA Journal, 63(1).
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Siptak, H., Norris, S., Leggette, H. R., Herring, A., & Murphrey, T. P. (2019). Whats the beef with communication? Investigating communication styles of advanced animal science students. Journal of Animal Science.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Parrella, J., Murphrey, T. P., & Leggette, H. R. (2019). Approaches to teaching communication skills: Improving students skills one activity at a time [Special supplement: Abstract]. NACTA Journal, 63(1), 11.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Norris, S., Leggette, H., & Murphrey, T. (2018, March). Self-perceptions of communication skills: Assessing college students perceptions during their undergraduate experience. Paper presented at the annual Texas A&M University Student Research Week, College Station, TX.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Murphrey, T. P., & Leggette, H. R. (2018, April). Technology and communication: Using RLMs to strengthen students communication skills and meet industry needs. Texas A&M University Transformational Teaching and Learning Conference, College Station, TX.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Murphrey, T. P., Norris, S., & Leggette, H. R. (2018, May). Employer perspectives of agricultural students' communication skills: Curriculum considerations based on real-world input. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Agricultural Education, Charleston, SC.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Murphrey, T. P., Leggette, H., & Norris, S. (2018, June). Guidelines for developing instructional modules to improve students' communication skills. Abstract presented at the annual meeting of the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture, Ames, IA.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Leggette, H., Murphrey, T. P., & Norris, S. (2018, June). Scientific communication: Using reusable learning modules to enhance communication education in agriculture. Abstract to be presented at the annual meeting of the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture, Ames, IA.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Norris, S., Murphrey, T. P., & Leggette, H. R. (2018, September). Can they communicate? Influence of communication courses on college students perceived ability to communicate. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Western Region of the American Association for Agricultural Education, Boise, ID.
Note: Awarded Runner-up Most Impactful Research Poster.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Murphrey, T. P., Norris, S., & Leggette, H. (2019, June). Student perspectives of instructional modules to improve college students' communication skills. Abstract presented at the annual meeting of the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture, Twin Falls, ID.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Parrella, J., Murphrey, T. P., & Leggette, H. R. (2019, June). Approaches to teaching communication skills: Improving students skills one activity at a time. Abstract presented at the annual meeting of the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture, Twin Falls, ID.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Siptak, H., Norris, S., Leggette, H. R., Herring, A., & Murphrey, T. P. (2019, July). Whats the beef with communication? Investigating communication styles of advanced animal science students. Abstract presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Animal Science, San Antonio, TX.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Rodriguez, J. R., Norris, S. L., & Leggette, H. R. (2020, March). Cow whisperer: Evaluating communication styles of advanced animal science students [Poster Presentation]. Abstract was to be presented at the annual meeting of the Texas A&M University, Student Research Week, College Station, TX, but the conference was held virtually because of the COVID-19 response.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Norris, S. L., Leggette, H. R., & Murphrey, T. P. (2020, May). Critical thinking in media writing: Preparing the workforce by training students to ask effective questions [Poster Presentation]. Abstract was to be presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Agricultural Educators, Oklahoma City, OK, but the conference will be held virtually because of the COVID-19 response.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Rodriguez, J. R., Norris, S. L., Leggette, H. R., Murphrey, T. P., & Herring, A. (2020, June). Herd that? Investigating students communication scores in a beef production course. Abstract was to be presented at the 2020 annual meeting of the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture, Las Cruces, NM, but the conference was canceled because of the COVID-19 response.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Murphrey, T. P., Leggette, H. R., Richburg, A., & Norris, S. (2020, December). Communication skills: A key piece for international agricultural development. Presented virtually at the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education Professional Development Session.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Development Session.
Leggette, H. R., Murphrey, T. P., Norris, S., Richburg, A., Graham, D., & Parrella, J. (2021, Accepted). How do I teach communications skills? Free, online curriculum resources. Scheduled for presentation at Southern Region American Association for Agricultural Education
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Murphrey, T. P. (2017, September). Using real-world examples to meet industry employment needs. Panelist for the Texas A&M University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Fall Instructional Technology Symposium, College Station, TX.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Leggette, H. (2017, November). Strengthening communication skills of agricultural students: Using real-world examples to meet industry employment needs. Prairie View A&M University College of Agriculture and Human Sciences Research Seminar Series, Prairie View, TX.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Leggette, H. (2019, March). Navigating the intersection of science and communication. Texas A&M University Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, College Station, TX.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Murphrey, T. P., & Leggette, H. R. (2019, May). Incorporating communication skills into your instruction: Modules you can use. Texas A&M University Transformational Teaching & Learning Conference, College Station, TX.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Murphrey, T. P., Leggette, H. R., & Norris, S. L. (2020, April). Preparing students for employment: Modules to improve soft skills [Poster Presentation]. Texas A&M University Transformational Teaching & Learning Conference, College Station, TX. The publication was accepted for presentation, but conference was canceled because of the COVID-19 response.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Leggette, H. R., & Murphrey, T. P. (2020, December). Panelists for the Agriculture Ownership Success Online Virtual Series. Presented virtually.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Murphrey, T. P., Leggette, H. R., & Norris, S. (2019, March). Strengthening communication skills of agricultural students: Using real-world examples to meet industry employment needs. College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Workshop, College Station, TX.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Murphrey, T. P., & Leggette, H. R. (2020, April). Communicating in a challenging COVID-19 job market: Guidance, resources, and opportunities. Online seminar session, College Station, TX.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
NIFA Communication Skills Grant Advisory Committee. (2017, September). First meeting of the advisory committee. Texas A&M University, College Station, TX.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
NIFA Communication Skills Grant Advisory Committee. (2018, November). Second meeting of the advisory committee. Texas A&M University, College Station, TX.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Texas A&M University Library Staff and Project Staff. (2020, March). Discuss copyright labeling and final upload of modules to library servers. Texas A&M University, College Station, TX.
- Type:
Websites
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Leggette, H. R., Murphrey, T. P., Richburg, A., & Norris, S. (2017, June 1). Strengthening Students Communications Skills. Science Communications. https://scicomm.tamu.edu/home/projects/strengthening-students-communications-skills/
|
Progress 05/01/19 to 04/30/20
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience continued to include students and faculty at Texas A&M University and Prairie View A&M University as we tested and finalized the RLMs. Groups of students, individually and in courses, were instrumental in the testing process to ensure the curriculum met the needs of the end-user. Faculty and students in animal and plant science courses tested the content, context, and usability of the RLMs. Last, we began disseminating the curriculum to faculty beyond Texas A&M University. This will continue as Texas A&M University library staff finalize the process of posting the curriculum on the Library's repository. Changes/Problems:No changes or problems to report. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The curriculum and RLMs are being finalized as they are uploaded into the TAMU Library servers. Each item has been stamped with fair-use guidelines and includes a citation should the content be referred to in the future. We created faculty guide sheets for each module detailing how to use both the online and face-to-face curriculum; these will also be housed with the Library to ensure that faculty have easy access. We also created a user video to help students learn to easily navigate the RLMs. Students at undergraduate and graduate levels have participated in quality assurance testing for each RLM, with focus on formatting, content, and ease of use. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We disseminated the results through the project website, peer-reviewed publications, invited presentations, faculty meetings, and student courses. Additionally, to help faculty with providing rigorous online curriculum to their students in wake of COVID-19, we sent the curriculum to faculty in the colleges of agriculture at Texas A&M University and Virginia Tech University. Faculty members from institutions across the U.S. (including Ohio, California, Utah, North Carolina, Virginia, Nebraska, Mississippi, Michigan, Georgia, Iowa, Oregon, and Oklahoma) have requested access to the learning materials. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period, we will work with the Texas A&M University Library System to finalize the posting of the curriculum to the online, open-access repository; continue to disseminate the curriculum to faculty across the United States in colleges of agriculture; finalize all reporting efforts; and submit three journal manuscripts for publication consideration. Once the curriculum is online in the repository, we will send an email to all departments within colleges of agriculture in the United States to disseminate the curriculum. We believe these targeted emails will support faculty in providing rigorous communications curriculum whether face-to-face or online given the pandemic.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The curriculum we developed is based on five of Crawford et al.'s (2011) seven areas of communication: asking effective questions; communicating accurately and concisely; communicating orally; communicating appropriately and professionally using social media; and communicating in writing. We completed the development and testing of all seven modules, and all modules are available to faculty in both online and face-to-face delivery. Currently, the modules are in a temporary Internet space while we work with the Texas A&M University Library System to place the modules in an online, open-access repository housed on the University's servers. The University-provided repository has built-in metrics to allow us to track access and downloads. Additionally, we are disseminating the modules according to the marketing and communications plan we developed for the project. Furthermore, we are analyzing and reporting collected data for publication and evaluation purposes. We are finishing three journal manuscripts using the data we have collected throughout the three-year project cycle. These data include data from four semesters of an animal science course at Texas A&M University. Further, the internal evaluator began the third-year formative evaluation and the final summative evaluation. Due to COVID-19 some aspects of our activities have slowed. Thus, we chose to file a three-month extension and were granted a six-month extension with a project end date of October 31, 2020. We do not plan to use the entire extension as we would have closed the project April 30, 2020, if not for COVID-19. We currently have plans to finalize all project activities by July 31, 2020.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Under Review
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Norris, S., Leggette, H. R., Murphrey, T. P., & Bush, M. (In review). Science communication: Context-specific reusable learning modules for strengthening students communication skills. Communication Teacher.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Norris, S., Murphrey, T. P., & Leggette, H. R. (2019). Do they believe they can communicate? Assessing college students preparation for communicating about agricultural sciences. Journal of Agricultural Education, 60(4), 5370. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2019.04053
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Parrella, J., Murphrey, T. P., & Leggette, H. R. (2019, June). Approaches to teaching communication skills: Improving students skills one activity at a time [Special supplement: Abstract]. NACTA Journal, 63(1), 11. Abstract presented at the annual meeting of the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture, Twin Falls, ID.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Rodriguez, J. R., Norris, S. L., Leggette, H. R., Murphrey, T. P., & Herring, A. (2020). Herd that? Investigating students communication scores in a beef production course. [Special supplement: Abstract]. NACTA Journal, 64(1). Abstract was to be presented at the 2020 annual meeting of the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture, Las Cruces, NM, but the conference was canceled because of the COVID-19 response.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Murphrey, T. P., Leggette, H. R., Norris, S., & Richburg, A. (2020, April). Communication skills: A key piece for international agricultural development. Professional development session was to be presented at the annual meeting of the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education, St. Petersburg, FL, but the conference was canceled because of the COVID-19 response.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Norris, S. L., Leggette, H. R., & Murphrey, T. P. (2020, May). Critical thinking in media writing: Preparing the workforce by training students to ask effective questions [Poster Presentation]. Abstract was to be presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Agricultural Educators, Oklahoma City, OK, but the conference will be held virtually because of the COVID-19 response.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Rodriguez, J. R., Norris, S. L., & Leggette, H. R. (2020, March). Cow whisperer: Evaluating communication styles of advanced animal science students [Poster Presentation]. Abstract was to be presented at the annual meeting of the Texas A&M University, Student Research Week, College Station, TX, but the conference was held virtually because of the COVID-19 response.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Murphrey, T. P., & Leggette, H. R. (2019, May). Incorporating communication skills into your instruction: Modules you can use. Texas A&M University Transformational Teaching & Learning Conference, College Station, TX.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Murphrey, T. P., Leggette, H. R., & Norris, S. L. (2020, April). Preparing students for employment: Modules to improve soft skills [Poster Presentation]. Texas A&M University Transformational Teaching & Learning Conference, College Station, TX. The publication was accepted for presentation, but conference was canceled because of the COVID-19 response.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Murphrey, T. P. & Leggette, H. R. (2020, April). Communicating in a challenging COVID-19 job market: Guidance, resources, and opportunities. Online seminar session, College Station, TX.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
2020, March 2. Meeting with TAMU Libraries to discuss copyright labeling and final upload of modules to Library servers. Attendees: David Lowe, Bruce Hebert, Wendi Kaspar, Jeanette Ho, Theresa Murphrey, Audra Richburg.
|
Progress 05/01/18 to 04/30/19
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience this past reporting period included students and faculty at Texas A&M University and Prairie View A&M University. Students were engaged in developing and testing the RLMs. Groups of students, individually and in courses, served as critics during the development process to ensure the RLMs were designed in a way to meet the needs of the end-user. Also, they were involved in using the RLMs as part of animal and plant science courses to test the content, context, and usability of the RLMs. The faculty were also engaged in developing and testing the RLMs. The faculty who serve on the advisory board have been engaged, as needed, to review the curriculum from the perspective of a content expert. We held an advisory meeting on November 6, 2018. Faculty in the animal and plant sciences have also tested the RLMs by using them as an effective way to deliver communication curriculum and meet the requirements of a writing-/communication-intensive course. Last, faculty from across the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences participated in the project workshop held March 21, 2019. Changes/Problems:No changes or problems to report. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We are finalizing the development of the curriculum and the RLMs. We provided a faculty workshop on March 21, 2019 for faculty in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. In addition, students outside of the testing population have participated in the quality assurance testing phase. An online orientation to the modules for faculty is under development. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have disseminated the results through the project website, peer-reviewed publications, invited presentations, faculty meetings, and student courses. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period, we will finalize all curriculum development, including quality assurance testing and broadly disseminate it on the project website. We will continue to publish peer-reviewed publications.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The curriculum we have developed is based on five of Crawford, Lang, Fink, Dalton, and Fielitz's (2011) seven areas of communication: asking effective questions; communicating accurately and concisely; communicating orally; communicating appropriately and professionally using social media; and communicating in writing. Five modules are developed, with three of these available for faculty use in eCampus and Moodle. In addition, the five completed modules are also undergoing a quality assurance check with students from across the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Two modules are in the final development stage and will be processed through the quality assurance check beginning in late-summer. All modules will be on the project website for broad dissemination for use during the fall semester. All curriculum will be available for delivery using stand-alone, hybrid, and reusable learning modules (RLMs). In addition to the curriculum, we have developed a program website/repository for ease of access and broad dissemination.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Siptak, H., Norris, S., Leggette, H. R., Herring, A., & Murphrey, T. P. (2019, July). Whats the beef with communication? Investigating communication styles of advanced animal science students. Abstract presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Animal Science, San Antonio, TX.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Murphrey, T. P., Norris, S., & Leggette, H. (2019, June). Student perspectives of instructional modules to improve college students' communication skills. Abstract presented at the annual meeting of the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture, Twin Falls, ID.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Norris, S., Murphrey, T. P., & Leggette, H. R. (2018, September). Can they communicate? Influence of communication courses on college students perceived ability to communicate. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Western Region of the American Association for Agricultural Education, Boise, ID.
Note: Awarded Runner-up Most Impactful Research Poster.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Leggette, H. (2019, March). Navigating the intersection of science and communication. Texas A&M University Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, College Station, TX.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Murphrey, T. P., Leggette, H. R., & Norris, S. (2019, March). Strengthening communication skills of agricultural students: Using real-world examples to meet industry employment needs. College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Workshop, College Station, TX.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
NIFA Communication Skills Grant Advisory Committee (2018, November). Second meeting of the advisory committee. Texas A&M University, College Station, TX.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Norris, S., Murphrey, T. P., & Leggette, H. R. (submitted). Do they believe they can communicate? Assessing college students preparation for communicating about agricultural sciences. Journal of Agricultural Education.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Murphrey, T. P., Norris, S., & Leggette, H. (2019). Student perspectives of instructional modules to improve college students' communication skills. [Special supplement: Abstract]. NACTA Journal, 63(1).
- Type:
Other
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Siptak, H., Norris, S., Leggette, H. R., Herring, A., & Murphrey, T. P. (2019). Whats the beef with communication? Investigating communication styles of advanced animal science students. Journal of Animal Science.
|
Progress 05/01/17 to 04/30/18
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience this past reporting period included students and faculty at Texas A&M University and Prairie View A&M University. Students were engaged in developing and testing the RLMs. Groups of students, individually and in courses, served as critics during the development process to ensure the RLMs were designed in a way to meet the needs of the end-user. Also, they were involved in using the RLMs as part of animal and plant science courses to test the content, context, and usability of the RLMs. The faculty were also engaged in developing and testing the RLMs. The faculty who serve on the advisory board have been engaged, as needed, to review the curriculum from the perspective of a content expert. Faculty in the animal and plant sciences have also tested the RLMs by using them as an effective way to deliver communication curriculum and meet the requirements of a writing-/communication-intensive course. ? Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This past year, we have focused on designing, developing, and implementing the communications curriculum and RLMs. In the next reporting period, we will provide the training and professional development for the faculty. ? How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have disseminated the results through peer-reviewed publications, invited presentations, faculty meetings, and student courses. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period, we will complete the communications curriculum; complete the RLMs; continue to implement the RLMs in agricultural, natural resources, and food sciences courses; publish peer-reviewed journal articles; continue to develop the module facilitation guides; develop a marketing and dissemination plan; host on-campus workshops; and openly distribute the RLMs. ?
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The curriculum we have developed is based on four of Crawford, Lang, Fink, Dalton, & Fielitz's (2011) seven areas of communication: asking effective questions; communicating accurately and concisely; communicating orally; and communicating appropriately and professionally using social media. Two modules are developed and available for faculty use in eCampus and Moodle, two modules are in the final development stage and will be available for faculty use during the summer term, and three modules are in the curriculum development stage and will be available for faculty use in the fall term. We have designed and developed each of the reusable learning modules (RLMs) as sharable content object reference model (SCORM) compliant for delivery across multiple course management systems. In addition to the curriculum and RLMs described above, we have created faculty instructions to help faculty easily incorporate the RLMs into existing courses and student assessments with metrics to provide faculty and students with a measurement of success upon completion of the modules.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Leggette, H., Murphrey, T. P., & Norris, S. (2018). Scientific communication: Using reusable learning modules to enhance communication education in agriculture. [Special supplement: Abstract]. NACTA Journal, 62(1).
- Type:
Other
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Murphrey, T. P., Leggette, H., & Norris, S. (2018). Guidelines for developing instructional modules to improve students' communication skills. [Special supplement: Abstract]. NACTA Journal, 62(1).
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Leggette, H., Murphrey, T. P., & Norris, S. (2018, June). Scientific communication: Using reusable learning modules to enhance communication education in agriculture. Abstract presented at the annual meeting of the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture, Ames, IA.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Murphrey, T. P., Leggette, H., & Norris, S. (2018, June). Guidelines for developing instructional modules to improve students' communication skills. Abstract presented at the annual meeting of the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture, Ames, IA.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Murphrey, T. P., Norris, S., & Leggette, H. R. (2018, May). Employer perspectives of agricultural students' communication skills: Curriculum considerations based on real-world input. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Agricultural Education, Charleston, SC.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Murphrey, T. P., & Leggette, H. R. (2018, April). Technology and communication: Using RLMs to strengthen students communication skills and meet industry needs. Texas A&M University Transformational Teaching and Learning Conference, College Station, TX.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Norris, S., Leggette, H., & Murphrey, T. (2018, March). Self-perceptions of communication skills: Assessing college students perceptions during their undergraduate experience. Paper presented at the annual Texas A&M University Student Research Week, College Station, TX.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Murphrey, T. P. (2017, September). Using real-world examples to meet industry employment needs. Panelist for the Texas A&M University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Fall Instructional Technology Symposium, College Station, TX.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Leggette, H. (2017, November). Strengthening communication skills of agricultural students: Using real-world examples to meet industry employment needs. Prairie View A&M University College of Agriculture and Human Sciences Research Seminar Series, Prairie View, TX.
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