Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
G022 MCCARTY HALL
GAINESVILLE,FL 32611
Performing Department
Agriculture Education & Comm
Non Technical Summary
To increase the number of high school biology teachers who allocateinstructional time for exploring biology-based innovations in the agricultural sciences. With aprimary focus on large, diverse, urban schools but open access to the project deliverables byscience teachers in all schools, significantly more biology students will, in turn, become aware ofthe fascinating applications of science in agriculture and choose to focus their college studies andcareers in the FANH sciences. The sustainability of the U.S. food and agricultural system will bedependent upon continued scientific discovery, technology development and transfer, andleadership in sustainable food systems, requiring a highly capable and diverse workforce in allsectors of the industry. The primary objectives of the project are to (1) increase high school biologyteachers' awareness of biology-based innovations and career pathways in the FANH sciences, (2)increase explicit instruction on FANH sciences and careers in high school biology courses, and (3)develop teachers' awareness of the leadership knowledge and skills needed by 21st centuryagricultural scientists and professionals. These objectives will be accomplished through a series of17 online teacher professional development modules with accompanying lesson plans andsupporting teaching materials for use in high school biology courses. The modules and teachingresources will be based on the following AFRI priority areas: plant systems; animal systems; foodsystems and health; bioenergy, natural resources, and the environment; and agriculture systems andtechnology.
Animal Health Component
100%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
0%
Applied
100%
Developmental
0%
Goals / Objectives
The goal of this project is to increase the number of high school biology teachers who allocateinstructional time for exploring biology-based innovations in the agricultural sciences. With aprimary focus on large, diverse, urban schools but open access to the project deliverables byscience teachers in all schools, significantly more biology students will, in turn, become aware ofthe fascinating applications of science in agriculture and choose to focus their college studies andcareers in the FANH sciences. The sustainability of the U.S. food and agricultural system will bedependent upon continued scientific discovery, technology development and transfer, andleadership in sustainable food systems, requiring a highly capable and diverse workforce in allsectors of the industry. The primary objectives of the project are to (1) increase high school biologyteachers' awareness of biology-based innovations and career pathways in the FANH sciences, (2)increase explicit instruction on FANH sciences and careers in high school biology courses, and (3)develop teachers' awareness of the leadership knowledge and skills needed by 21st centuryagricultural scientists and professionals. These objectives will be accomplished through a series of17 online teacher professional development modules with accompanying lesson plans andsupporting teaching materials for use in high school biology courses. The modules and teachingresources will be based on the following AFRI priority areas: plant systems; animal systems; foodsystems and health; bioenergy, natural resources, and the environment; and agriculture systems andtechnology.
Project Methods
This certificate program will consist of 17 modules. One module will focus on exposing biology teachers to agriculturalresources in their home counties, like the UF/IFAS Extension office and the local Florida FarmBureau office. Another module will center on leadership principles and practices needed intoday's workplace. The remaining 15 modules will focus on science concepts and will beorganized around the Farm Bill areas of:? Plant health and production and plant products;? Animal health and production and animal products;? Food safety, nutrition, and health;? Bioenergy, natural resources, and environment; and? Agriculture systems and technology.Each science-based module will focus on advancing teacher expertise in a specific application ofscience concepts and principles in FANH contexts. Modules will include scientific content, avirtual immersive experience in a real-world FANH site, and supportive teaching materials toallow integration. Science-based module content will be developed by University of Florida faculty experts. Virtual immersive experiences will be developed using video footage under theguidance of the faculty expert and with the support of a videographer. Supporting teachingmaterials will be developed by a curriculum development specialist. The agricultural resourcesmodule will be developed by the project team. a. Stakeholder involvementThe project will be guided by an advisory group consisting of multiple stakeholders, includingsecondary science teachers (2), secondary agriculture teachers (2), secondary schooladministrator (1), University of Florida faculty experts (5), a UF/IFAS Extension administrator(1), and a Florida Farm Bureau representative (1). Project team members will be ex officiomembers of the advisory group.The advisory group will serve multiple roles throughout the project. To begin, it will guide thedesign of the certificate program by assisting in:? establishing the guidelines and structure for the module development;? determining the specific learning objectives and content to be included in each module;? identifying appropriate FANH industry sites for the virtual immersive experience; and? establishing expectations for teaching materials.Once the modules and related lesson materials are developed, the advisory group will serve as areview panel to ensure the accuracy and quality of the content. Finally, the advisory group willprovide guidance to the project team on strategies for advertising and disseminating thecertificate program.b. Proposed project activities? Activity 1: Recruit advisory group. As noted above, the project team, under leadership ofthe PI, will recruit an advisory group as described earlier.? Activity 2: Recruit UF Faculty Experts. UF faculty experts (5-15, depending on thenumber of modules developed by each) will be recruited to align with the five Farm Billareas noted earlier. A project Co-PI also serves as the Director of the Teaching ResourceCenter for the UF College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS). Existingrelationships throughout CALS will be leveraged to identify appropriate faculty.? Activity 3: Establish Module Content and Format. Module content and guidelines will bedeveloped with input from the advisory group. To begin, the project team andinstructional designer will prepare a set of proposed guidelines for module format. Basedon the Florida Department of Education Next Generation Sunshine State Standards forScience (biology), the project team will identify potential content foci for the modules.The project team will also prepare a draft outline for the industry resources module. Ameeting of the advisory group will be convened to seek feedback and input on the finalprogram design. Also at this meeting, potential sites for the virtual immersionexperiences will be identified for each module. Activity 4: Develop modules. With assistance from the project team and instructionaldesigner, UF faculty experts will develop the modules focused on the identified contentareas.? Activity 5: Develop virtual immersion experiences. Based on input from the advisorygroup and the UF faculty experts, the project team and a hired videographer will createthe virtual immersion experiences. Each video will include: (a) a virtual tour of anagricultural operation where teachers and students can see the FANH application ofscience concepts and principles, (b) the owner/operator sharing the career pathway he/shetook, and (c) the owner/operator sharing the important leadership skills he/she must usefor continued professional success.? Activity 6: Develop supporting teaching materials. A series of lesson plans and otherteaching materials will be developed to accompany each module. All teaching materialswill be aligned with the state content standards for biology and be ready to use byteachers. The project will hire a PhD student in agricultural education with previoussecondary teaching experience to assist in developing lesson plans and supportingteaching materials for each of the 17 professional development modules. A project Co-PIwill oversee this effort.? Activity 7: Content review. The modules, virtual immersion experiences, and supportingteaching materials will undergo a three-stage review. First, a Co-PI and the instructionaldesigner will ensure that all materials are of high quality and meet the guidelinesestablished by the advisory group. Second, another Co-PI (from the UF College ofEducation) will ensure appropriate correlations to the state content standards for science(biology). Third, the complete package will be sent to the advisory group for final reviewand revision based on their feedback.? Activity 8: eLearning preparation. After all materials have been approved, theinstructional designer will prepare all materials for delivery through the UF eLearningsystem. Modules will be converted to an interactive Flash file using Articulate.Supporting teaching materials will be imbedded in the Flash file in file formats usable byteachers (.docx; .pdf; .pptx; etc.). Video immersion experiences will be posted inYouTube under the Department of Agricultural Education and Communication's channeland linked from the modules.? Activity 9: Certificate establishment. Using established criteria, the eLearningcoordinator in the Department of Agricultural Education and Communication willofficially create the certificate program for biology teachers titled 21st CenturyInnovations in the Food, Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Human Sciences. This willinclude registration and record-keeping functions.? Activity 10: Certificate advertising and promotion. Based on feedback from the advisorygroup, the project team will widely advertise the new certificate. Likely disseminationchannels include science education teachers' associations, school district professionaldevelopment offices, UF/IFAS Extension, the Department of Agricultural Education andCommunication's social media accounts, and other appropriate avenues.? Activity 11: Certificate implementation. Teachers will be able to register for thecertificate and complete the modules at their own pace.? Activity 12: Data management. All data collection will be approved by the UFInstitutional Review Board. Data will be collected via the UF online survey tool(Qualtrics) and stored on secure servers. Activity 13: Evaluation. Project evaluation will be managed by the evaluation specialistas outlined in the evaluation plan outlined later in this narrative.? Activity 14: Results dissemination. The project team will share results of the project atappropriate practitioner and scientific conferences. Results will also lead to journalarticles.