Source: UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE submitted to NRP
DEVELOPING TENNESSEE SECONDARY TEACHERS’ AGRIBUSINESS CONTENT AND PEDAGOGICAL CONTENT KNOWLEDGE
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
AFRI COMPETITIVE GRANT
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1021631
Grant No.
2020-67037-31042
Cumulative Award Amt.
$300,000.00
Proposal No.
2019-04995
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
May 1, 2020
Project End Date
Apr 30, 2024
Grant Year
2020
Program Code
[A7501]- Professional Development for Agricultural Literacy
Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE
2621 MORGAN CIR
KNOXVILLE,TN 37996-4540
Performing Department
Agricultural Economics - RES
Non Technical Summary
Growth in the agricultural job market is currently outpacing new graduates with agricultural-related degrees, and almost half of these jobs are in agribusiness, creating a large shortfall of graduates with agribusiness training. Recognizing K-12 education as a pipeline to agricultural careers, such as agribusiness, is critical to address this shortage. Only 15% of Tennessee secondary agricultural education programs offer agribusiness. This is not surprising given agriculture teachers lack mathematical proficiency. Therefore, we propose creating instructional resources and developing a self-sustaining professional development program, the UT Agribusiness Academy, for current agriculture teachers. The professional development resources will include online content modules and corresponding secondary learning activities based on Tennessee secondary agribusiness standards. In addition to online content, summer face-to-face professional development will be conducted to allow teachers to practice using the instructional activities with a content expert and build confidence in their ability to implement the curricular materials. This innovative approach allows teachers to engage in knowledge-based content online before higher-order, face-to-face learning experiences. After the project ends, the UT Agribusiness Academy will be publicly available to every secondary teacher in Tennessee and beyond. Improving teachers' agribusiness content and pedagogical knowledge should encourage more teachers to offer the agribusiness program of study. Research suggests that increasing the number of secondary teachers offering the agribusiness program will likely increase the number of students entering postsecondary agribusiness programs. The long-term goal is to increase the number of secondary teachers offering agribusiness courses, thus, increasing agribusiness undergraduates to meet the demand for agricultural jobs.
Animal Health Component
100%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
90361993020100%
Knowledge Area
903 - Communication, Education, and Information Delivery;

Subject Of Investigation
6199 - Economy, general/other;

Field Of Science
3020 - Education;
Goals / Objectives
The long-term goal of this project is to increase the number of Tennessee secondary students exposed to agribusiness content and career opportunities, resulting in increased enrollment in postsecondary agribusiness programs and an increased number of students equipped to enter the growing agribusiness workforce. This will be accomplished by developing e-learning modules and instructional resources aligned with the Tennessee agribusiness standards and recruiting current Tennessee secondary agriculture teachers to participate in a self-sustaining professional development program called the University of Tennessee (UT) Agribusiness Academy. The supporting objectives include:Recruiting 60 current Tennessee secondary agriculture teachers to participate in the UT Agribusiness Academy;Developing e-learning content modules, quizzes, and corresponding secondary learning activities for the UT Agribusiness Academy, which are based on the course standards of the secondary Tennessee agribusiness program of study;Administering the UT Agribusiness Academy curricula for secondary agriculture teachers;Hosting annual face-to-face meetings with secondary agriculture teachers at the Tennessee Association of Agricultural Educators (TAAE) annual summer conference and the Tennessee Career and Technical Education (CTE) Institute conference for academy feedback and high-impact professional development; andPublically launching the UT Agribusiness Academy online for secondary teachers state-wide and beyond.
Project Methods
The UT Agribusiness Academy will include all three courses in the Tennessee agribusiness program of study. In year one, Drs. Boyer and DeLong will develop the e-learning content for the Principles of Agribusiness course. Topics within the standards for this course include: (1) Introduction to Agribusiness; (2) Business Concepts and Structures; (3) Accounting Practices; (4) Markets and Futures; and (5) Sales and Marketing. In year two, Drs. Stephens and Stripling will complete the content for the Organizational Leadership and Communication course. Topics within the standards for this course include: (1) Career Awareness; (2) Organizational Structure and Performance; (3) Communication; (4) Interpersonal Leadership; and (5) Innovation and Influence. Finally, Drs. Boyer and Trejo-Pech will develop the content for the Agricultural Business and Finance course in year three. The topics within the content standards included in this course are: (1) History and Evolution of Agribusiness; (2) Saving, Investing, and Financing; (3) Recordkeeping and Accounting; (4) Consumer Finance; (5) Economics of Agribusiness; and (6) Business Planning and Management. These standards are discussed in detail on TDOE's website (Link). The attached management plan shows the standards and project team member responsible for content development as well as a detailed project timeline (which is also discussed below). The content for each course will be launched in the following year after being developed. This provides math content experts an opportunity to review the content and us to make revision. TDOE has committed to recommend three individuals to serve on the math review panel. We have budgeted to pay these individuals $500 per year to review the content.For each of the topics within the standards, we will prepare e-learning content modules that will last between 15-30 minutes using Adobe Captivate to create storyboards to discuss and provide examples of subject matter content within the agribusiness standards. Dr. Stripling routinely uses Adobe Captivate to develop asynchronous e-learning content for other funded projects. Using this software will ensure that high quality audio and visual content are developed that has capabilities. Along with the e-learning content, secondary learning activities and quizzes will be developed for the topics within the standards. The learning activities will range from written assignments to mathematical problem sets for teachers to use in assessing students' subject matter knowledge. The e-learning content will be delivered using K@TE (Knowledge and Training Excellence), which is the UT's comprehensive learning management system for training and professional development (Link). Participants will complete the material for one course during the summer months (May to August). The maximum time commitment per year would be 12 hours over a 12-week time period. This should provide teachers enough time to prepare for their high-impact summer face-to-face professional development sessions.The face-to-face professional development portion of the academy will be conducted annually during the TAAE summer conference and the Tennessee CTE Institute conference each July. Participants in the UT Agribusiness Academy will be able to address any questions they might have regarding the agribusiness materials with authors of the content at this time. Additionally, we will address any questions about effectively utilizing the online academy. This could include simple questions about navigating the program or how to implement the courses in the secondary classroom. We will ask for feedback on the material to make revisions and remove program weaknesses. Lastly, the face-to-face sessions will be used to allow teachers to experience the learning activities they can use with their students.Teachers will have until the end of August of each year to complete course material in a given year, but an extension to complete the course material can be given to teachers at the discretion of the project team on a case-by-case basis. Completion will be defined as participants completing the e-learning content modules and passing the associated quizzes with 80% proficiency and attending an annual face-to-face professional development session. K@TE will allow us to track the teachers' participation, responses to quizzes, facilitate online discussion, answer questions that arise, and measure participant's competency. After completion of yearly requirements, the participants will receive professional development credit toward their professional learning requirements to renew their teaching certificate. Lastly, if teachers need extra assistance in using the learning activities or addressing content misconceptions, we have budgeted for personal visits to school districts.

Progress 05/01/23 to 04/30/24

Outputs
Target Audience:In the summer of 2021 and 2022, we implemented the first two modules in the UT Agribusiness Academy. In year one, a total of 60 Tennessee secondary agricultural teachers signed up to participate and three others participated without being paid. Of the 63 teachers, 60 completed this Principle of Agribusiness modules and the three who signed up as unpaid participants did receive a stipend. Teachers completed the Principles of Agribusiness course which included covering standards defined as: (1) Introduction to Agribusiness; (2) Business Concepts and Structures; (3) Accounting Practices; (4) Markets and Futures; and (5) Sales and Marketing. The second course Organizational Leadership and Communication course had a total of 53 Tennessee secondary agricultural teachers complete this course. This is lower than the 60 teachers we planned on attracting. Similarly to the first course, teachers completed the course modules which included covering standards defined as: 1) Career Awareness; (2) Organizational Structure and Performance; (3) Communication; (4) Interpersonal Leadership; and (5) Innovation and Influence. This past summer (2023) we launched the Agricultural Business and Finance which include six modules: 1) History and Evolution of Agribusiness; 2) Saving, Investing and Financing; 3) Recordkeeping and Accounting; 4) Consumer finance; 5) Economics of Agribusiness; 6) Business Planning and management. We had 40 Tennessee secondary agricultural teachers complete this course. We experienced significant turnover in the participating Tennessee secondary agricultural teachers from year one. We were able to enroll another 10 job-embedded secondary agricultural teachers and graduating seniors with Agricultural Education degrees. Teachers were given from June 1st to September 1st to complete the modules. Completion was determined when all modules were completed, which required passing quizzes to complete. Changes/Problems:The only minor change is we went with a software called Storyline 360 to make the e-learning modules. We stated in the proposal we would useAdobe Captivate. After discussions with information technology professionals, we choose Storyline 360 due the functionality and quality of product it produced. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?UT Agribusiness Academy is completely focused on professional developement forTennessee secondary agriculture teachers. Over the project, we have taught 50 plus Tennessee secondary agriculture teachers annually on agribusiness content.We presented case studies from the module at the Tennessee Career and Technical Education (CTE) Institute and Tennessee Association of Agricultural Educators (TAAE) in the summer of 2021, 2022, and 2023. We were ability to meet face-to-face or via zoom with each participating teacher. We answered questions and went over a module learning activity.We have publicly launched the UT Agribusiness Academy content for secondary teachers state-wide and beyond. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The content from all three courses in the UT Agribusiness Academy are now free and publiclyavailable to secondary teachers state-wide and beyond. In addition, University of Tennessee Knoxville agricultural education majors can assess these courses for their development. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We are finishing this project but will submit the final assessment manuscript this summer.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We have successfully developed, launched, and finalized the three online modules that constitute the UT Agribusiness Academy. We have recruited and taught 50 plus Tennessee secondary agriculture teachers on all three courses over the three years.We presented case studies from the module at the Tennessee Career and Technical Education (CTE) Institute and Tennessee Association of Agricultural Educators (TAAE) in the summer of 2021, 2022, and 2023. We were ability to meet face-to-face or via zoom with each participating teacher. We answered questions and went over a module learning activity.We have publicly launched the UT Agribusiness Academy content for secondary teachers state-wide and beyond. We have completed our teacher assessment of the modules and are summarizing these data into a journal publication. The key findings from the assessment include: 93.7 % of teachers reported an increase in their knowledge of agribusiness principles and concepts; 96.9 % of teachers reported an increase in their knowledge of agribusiness instructional strategies; 87.1 % of teachers reported an increase in their knowledge of the connection between business concepts and agriculture-related career opportunities; 81.2 % of teachers reported an increase in their knowledge of business concepts that have real-life applications in agriculture; 100 % of teachers reported an increase in their knowledge of how to teach with agribusiness curricula materials; 84.4 % of teachers reported a positive change in their attitude about offering the agribusiness program of study; and 90.6 % of teachers reported an increase in their ability to teach agribusiness principles and concepts. The assesment survey asked teachers to reportthat on average the UT Agribusiness Academy curricula is taught in two courses on average. We assume that each teacher has 25 students per class, thus, one teacher is teaching UT Agribusiness Academy curricula to about 50 students per year. Assuming this for all 50 plus teachers in the UT Agribusiness Academy program, over 2,500 students are exposed to agribusiness curricula because of the UT Agribusiness Academy. This exceeds our expectations of 1,500 students we had in our proposal. Also, the undergraduate student hired for this project entered graduate school in the UT Agricultural Leadership, Communication, and Education department. This student will be completing the master's degree this spring and will go to work for Farm Credit Mid-America.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Boyer, C.N., C. Stripling, K. Martin. 2023. Incentivizing E-Learning Agribusiness Professional Development Content for Tennessee Secondary Teachers. Advancements in Agricultural Development 4(4):1-9.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Boyer, C.N. UT Agribusiness Academy: Agricultural Business and Finance. TN Institute Conference 2023 Institute for CTE Educators, Chattanooga, Tennessee July 12, 2023
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Boyer, C.N. UT Agribusiness Academy: Agricultural Business and Finance. Tennessee Association of Agricultural Educators, Murfreesboro, Tennessee July 11, 2023.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Other Year Published: 2024 Citation: Boyer, C.N., C. Stripling, K. DeLong, C. Trejo-Pech. Assessing E-Learning Outcomes from an Agribusiness Professional Development Course for Secondary Teachers.


Progress 05/01/20 to 04/16/24

Outputs
Target Audience:In the summer of 2021 and 2022, we implemented the first two modules in the UT Agribusiness Academy. In year one, a total of 60 Tennessee secondary agricultural teachers signed up to participate and three others participated without being paid. Of the 63 teachers, 60 completed this Principle of Agribusiness modules and the three who signed up as unpaid participants did receive a stipend. Teachers completed the Principles of Agribusiness course which included covering standards defined as: (1) Introduction to Agribusiness; (2) Business Concepts and Structures; (3) Accounting Practices; (4) Markets and Futures; and (5) Sales and Marketing. The second course Organizational Leadership and Communication course had a total of 53 Tennessee secondary agricultural teachers complete this course. This is lower than the 60 teachers we planned on attracting. Similarly to the first course, teachers completed the course modules which included covering standards defined as: 1) Career Awareness; (2) Organizational Structure and Performance; (3) Communication; (4) Interpersonal Leadership; and (5) Innovation and Influence. This past summer (2023) we launched the Agricultural Business and Finance which include six modules: 1) History and Evolution of Agribusiness; 2) Saving, Investing and Financing; 3) Recordkeeping and Accounting; 4) Consumer finance; 5) Economics of Agribusiness; 6) Business Planning and management. We had 40 Tennessee secondary agricultural teachers complete this course. We experienced significant turnover in the participating Tennessee secondary agricultural teachers from year one. We were able to enroll another 10 job-embedded secondary agricultural teachers and graduating seniors with Agricultural Education degrees. Our direct target audience wasTennessee secondary agricultural teachers but indirectly the student they teacher. Participantsreported that on average the UT Agribusiness Academy curricula is taught in two courses on average. We assume that each teacher has 25 students per class, thus, one teacher is teaching UT Agribusiness Academy curricula to about 50 students per year. Expanding these total across all teachers in the program, which was 50 plus, we estimate over 2,500 students are exposed to agribusiness curricula because of the UT Agribusiness Academy. This exceeds our expectations of 1,500 students we had in our proposal. Changes/Problems:The only minor change is we went with a software called Storyline 360 to make the e-learning modules. We stated in the proposal we would use Adobe Captivate. After discussions with information technology professionals, we choose Storyline 360 due the functionality and quality of product it produced. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?UT Agribusiness Academy is completely focused on professional developement for Tennessee secondary agriculture teachers. Over the project, we have taught 50 plus Tennessee secondary agriculture teachers annually on agribusiness content. We presented case studies from the module at the Tennessee Career and Technical Education (CTE) Institute and Tennessee Association of Agricultural Educators (TAAE) in the summer of 2021, 2022, and 2023. We were ability to meet face-to-face or via zoom with each participating teacher. We answered questions and went over a module learning activity. We have publicly launched the UT Agribusiness Academy content for secondary teachers state-wide and beyond. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The content from all three courses in the UT Agribusiness Academy are now free and publicly available to secondary teachers state-wide and beyond. In addition, University of Tennessee Knoxville agricultural education majors can assess these courses for their development. 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 have successfully developed, launched, and finalized the three online modules that constitute the UT Agribusiness Academy. We have recruited and taught 50 plus Tennessee secondary agriculture teachers on all three courses over the three years. We presented case studies from the module at the Tennessee Career and Technical Education (CTE) Institute and Tennessee Association of Agricultural Educators (TAAE) in the summer of 2021, 2022, and 2023. We were ability to meet face-to-face or via zoom with each participating teacher. We answered questions and went over a module learning activity. We have publicly launched the UT Agribusiness Academy content for secondary teachers state-wide and beyond. We have completed our teacher assessment of the modules and are summarizing these data into a journal publication. The key findings from the assessment include: 93.7 % of teachers reported an increase in their knowledge of agribusiness principles and concepts; 96.9 % of teachers reported an increase in their knowledge of agribusiness instructional strategies; 87.1 % of teachers reported an increase in their knowledge of the connection between business concepts and agriculture-related career opportunities; 81.2 % of teachers reported an increase in their knowledge of business concepts that have real-life applications in agriculture; 100 % of teachers reported an increase in their knowledge of how to teach with agribusiness curricula materials; 84.4 % of teachers reported a positive change in their attitude about offering the agribusiness program of study; and 90.6 % of teachers reported an increase in their ability to teach agribusiness principles and concepts. The assesment survey asked teachers to report that on average the UT Agribusiness Academy curricula is taught in two courses on average. We assume that each teacher has 25 students per class, thus, one teacher is teaching UT Agribusiness Academy curricula to about 50 students per year. Assuming this for all 50 plus teachers in the UT Agribusiness Academy program, over 2,500 students are exposed to agribusiness curricula because of the UT Agribusiness Academy. This exceeds our expectations of 1,500 students we had in our proposal. Also, the undergraduate student hired for this project entered graduate school in the UT Agricultural Leadership, Communication, and Education department. This student will be completing the master's degree this spring and will go to work for Farm Credit Mid-America.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Boyer, C.N., C. Stripling, K. Martin. 2023. Incentivizing E-Learning Agribusiness Professional Development Content for Tennessee Secondary Teachers. Advancements in Agricultural Development 4(4):1-9.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Boyer, C.N. UT Agribusiness Academy: Agricultural Business and Finance. TN Institute Conference 2023 Institute for CTE Educators, Chattanooga, Tennessee July 12, 2023
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Boyer, C.N. UT Agribusiness Academy: Agricultural Business and Finance. Tennessee Association of Agricultural Educators, Murfreesboro, Tennessee July 11, 2023
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Other Year Published: 2024 Citation: Boyer, C.N., C. Stripling, K. DeLong, C. Trejo-Pech. Assessing E-Learning Outcomes from an Agribusiness Professional Development Course for Secondary Teachers. Preparing for Submission
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Boyer, C.N., C.T. Stripling, K.L. DeLong, and K. Martin. University of Tennessee Agribusiness Academy: Developing Tennessee Secondary Teachers Agribusiness Content Knowledge Selected poster. Southern Agricultural Economics Association annual meeting, New Orleans, February 13-15, 2022.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Boyer, C.N., and C. Stripling. Tennessee Secondary Teachers Agribusiness Academy. Tennessee Association of Agricultural Educators, Murfreesboro, TN, July 12-14, 2021.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Stripling, C. and C. Stephens. Tennessee Secondary Teachers Agribusiness Academy. TN CTE Institute Conference, Chattanooga, TN. July 19-21, 2022.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Boyer, C.N., and C. Stripling. Tennessee Secondary Teachers Agribusiness Academy. TN CTE Institute Conference, Virtual. July 15, 2021.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Boyer, C.N, and C. Stripling. Developing Tennessee Secondary Teachers Agribusiness Academy. TN CTE Institute Conference, Virtual, July 20-24, 2020.


Progress 05/01/22 to 04/30/23

Outputs
Target Audience:In the summer of 2021 and 2022, we implemented the first two modules in the UT Agribusiness Academy. In year one, a total of 60 Tennessee secondary agricultural teachers signed up to participate and three others participated without being paid. Of the 63 teachers, 57 completed this Principle of Agribusiness modules and the three who signed up as unpaid participants did receive a stipend. Teachers completed the Principles of Agribusiness course which included covering standards defined as: (1) Introduction to Agribusiness; (2) Business Concepts and Structures; (3) Accounting Practices; (4) Markets and Futures; and (5) Sales and Marketing. Teachers were given from June 1, 2021, to August 27, 2021, to complete the modules. Completion was determined when all modules were completed, which required passing quizzes to complete. Data were collected on content, effectiveness, length, and stipend levels. The second course Organizational Leadership and Communication course had a total of 57 Tennessee secondary agricultural teachers complete this course. This is lower than the 60 teachers we planned on attracting. Similarly to the first course, teachers completed the course modules which included covering standards defined as: 1) Career Awareness; (2) Organizational Structure and Performance; (3) Communication; (4) Interpersonal Leadership; and (5) Innovation and Influence. Teachers were given from June 1, 2022, to August 31, 2022, to complete the modules. This summer we will launch the Agricultural Business and Finance, which will include six standards broken into 8 modules, which will include: 1) History and Evolution of Agribusiness; 2) Saving, Investing and Financing; 3) Recordkeeping and Accounting; 4) Consumer finance; 5) Economics of Agribusiness; 6) Business Planning and management. These modules have been reviewed by experts and will be ready to launch in June of 2023. Changes/Problems:The only minor change is we went with a software called Storyline 360 to make the e-learning modules. We stated in the proposal we would useAdobe Captivate. After discussions with information technology professionals, we choose Storyline 360 due the functionality and quality of product it produced. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We presented an example of a classroom learning activity from the module at the Tennessee Career and Technical Education (CTE) Institute and Tennessee Association of Agricultural Educators (TAAE) in the summer of 2021 and 2022. We were ability to meet face-to-face or via zoom with each participating teacher. We answered questions and went over a module learning activity. The same activity will be done in the CTE and TAAE conference in the summer of 2023 for the Agricultural Business and Finance course. 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?We will have completed the three courses in the UT Agribusiness Academy. This will include having 60 plus teachers complete the e-learning course and having one-on-one professional development with each participating teacher. After this summer, we will be collecting data from teachers on self-assessment of content knowledge gained from the program. These data were presented at the processional conferences and produced into publications. At reporting next year, we hope to have a manuscript in preparation to be submitted for publication.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We have recruited the 63 Tennessee secondary agriculture teachers to participate in the UT Agribusiness Academy Principle of Agribusiness course and 57 Tennessee secondary agriculture teachers to participate in the UT Agribusiness Academy Organizational Leadership and Communication course. The undergraduate student hired for this project entered into graduate school in the UT Agricultural Leadership, Communication, and Education department. This student will be completing the Master degree this spring and will go to work for Farm Credit Mid-America.

Publications


    Progress 05/01/21 to 04/30/22

    Outputs
    Target Audience:In the summer of 2021, we implemented the first module in the UT Agribusiness Academy. A total of 63Tennessee secondary agricultural teachers signed up to participate (three agreed to complete the course without being paid). Of the 63 teachers, 57 completed this Principle of Agribusiness modules. Teachers completed the Principles of Agribusiness course which included covering standards defined as: (1) Introduction to Agribusiness; (2) Business Concepts and Structures; (3) Accounting Practices; (4) Markets and Futures; and (5) Sales and Marketing. Teachers were given from June 1, 2021, to August 27, 2021, to complete the modules. Completion was determined when all modules were completed, which required passing quizzes to complete. Data were collected on content, effectiveness, length, and stipend levels. Modules for the Organizational Leadership and Communication course have been developed and are currently being edited. The same 63 Tennessee secondary agricultural teachers will participate in this program. An email invitation will go out in the next few week ask these teachers to enroll for this second course. These modules are for the Organizational Leadership and Communication course. Topics within the standards for this course include: (1) Career Awareness; (2) Organizational Structure and Performance; (3) Communication; (4) Interpersonal Leadership; and (5) Innovation and Influence. These modules have been reviewed by experts and will be ready to launch in June of 2022. Changes/Problems:The only minor change is we went with a software called Storyline 360 to make the e-learning modules. We stated in the proposal we would useAdobe Captivate. After discussions with information technology professionals, we choose Storyline 360 due the functionality and quality of product it produced. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?In the summer of 2021, we implemented the first module in the UT Agribusiness Academy. A total of 63 teachers signed up and57 completed this Principle of Agribusiness modules.We presented an example of a classroom learning activity from the module at the Tennessee Career and Technical Education (CTE) Institute and Tennessee Association of Agricultural Educators (TAAE) in the summer of 2021. We were ability to meet face-to-face or via zoom with each participating teacher. We answered questions and went over a module learning activity. The same activity will be done in the CTE and TAAE conference in the summer of 2022 for the Organizational Leadership and Communication course. 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?We will have completed the first Organizational Leadership and Communication course. This will include having 60 teachers complete the e-learning course and having one-on-one professional development with each participating teacher. We will also be nearing end of developing the third course, Agricultural Business and Finance. This course will include six individual topics and likely more than six e-learning modules. Topics within the standards for this course include: (1) History and Evolution of Agribusiness; (2) Saving, Investing, and Financing; (3) Recordkeeping and Accounting; (4) Consumer Finance; (5) Economics of Agribusiness; and (6) Business Planning and Management. The third course will be launched in June of 2023 to the same 63 teachers. Finally, the manuscript in preparation to be submitted will hopefully be published.

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? The UT Agribusiness Academy is a three-year professional development program. We completed year one for the Principles of Agribusinesscourse. Of the major goals of this project, we did successfully accomplish goals one through four regarding thePrinciples of Agribusinesscourse. These same goals will be accomplished for the other two courses Organizational Leadership and Communication course (summer 2022) andAgricultural Business and Finance (summer of 2023). After the summer of 2023, goal five will be accomplished when all the modules are launched as the completedUT Agribusiness Academy.

    Publications

    • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Boyer, C.N., C.T. Stripling, K.L. DeLong, and K. Martin. University of Tennessee Agribusiness Academy: Developing Tennessee Secondary Teachers Agribusiness Content Knowledge Selected poster. Southern Agricultural Economics Association annual meeting, New Orleans, February 13-15, 2022.
    • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Boyer, C.N., and C. Stripling. Tennessee Secondary Teachers Agribusiness Academy. Tennessee Association of Agricultural Educators, Murfreesboro, TN, July 12-14, 2021.
    • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Boyer, C.N., and C. Stripling. Tennessee Secondary Teachers Agribusiness Academy. TN CTE Institute Conference, Virtual. July 15, 2021.
    • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Under Review Year Published: 2022 Citation: Stripling, C. and C. Stephens. Tennessee Secondary Teachers Agribusiness Academy. TN CTE Institute Conference, Chattanooga, TN. July 19-21, 2022.
    • Type: Journal Articles Status: Other Year Published: 2022 Citation: Boyer, C.N., K. Martin, C. Stripling, and K. DeLong. "Incentivizing E-Learning Agribusiness Professional Development Content for Tennessee Secondary Teachers." In preparation for Advancements in Agricultural Development


    Progress 05/01/20 to 04/30/21

    Outputs
    Target Audience:So far, no science-based knowledge has been delivered to our target audience, which is Tennessee secondary agriculture teachers. However, we are happy to report we have51 of the 60Tennessee secondary agriculture teachers signed up to participate in the UT Agribusiness Academy, starting in June 2021. We have reached them through a mass email as well as a press released from the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture Marketing and Communication press release. The link to the press release is here:https://ag.tennessee.edu/arec/Pages/news_AgribusinessAcademy_091520.aspx We plan on launching the first module in this summer to these teachers. This will be the first delivery of material to our audience.We did have external reviewers provide feedback on the content in the first module. Currently, Dr. Boyer and an undergraduate student are developing these modules into interactive e-learning modules. Changes/Problems:The only minor change is we went with a software called Storyline 360 to make the e-learning modules. We stated in the proposal we would useAdobe Captivate. After discussions with information technology professionals, we choose Storyline 360 due the functionality and quality of product it produced.The only other change or issue was no travel funds were needed to visit the Tennessee Career and Technical Education (CTE) Institute conference, since it was virtual. Tennessee Association of Agricultural Educators (TAAE) annual summer conference was canceled due to COVID-19 so we were unable to attend. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?No just yet but will start in June 2021. 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?We will have completed the first Principles of Agribusiness course. We will have data from teachers and made final revisions to the content. We will be nearing end of developing the second course, Organizational Leadership and Communication. This course will include five topic areas or five individual e-learning modules. Topics within the standards for this course include: (1) Career Awareness; (2) Organizational Structure and Performance; (3) Communication; (4) Interpersonal Leadership; and (5) Innovation and Influence. The second course will be launched in June of 2022.

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? We have recruited the 51Tennessee secondary agriculture teachers to participate in the UT Agribusiness Academy. We are getting them signed up to use the platform, K@TE, which will host the UT Agribusiness Academy. Drs. Boyer and DeLong will develop the e-learning content for the Principles of Agribusiness course. Topics within the standards for this course include: (1) Introduction to Agribusiness; (2) Business Concepts and Structures; (3) Accounting Practices; (4) Markets and Futures; and (5) Sales and Marketing. For each of the standards a module has been developed with a PowerPoint presentation and student learning activities. An undergraduate student is helping recorded and packaged the modules to be delivered starting in June 2021. We have also transformed the PowerPoint presentations into interactive presentations using Storyline 360. The undergraduate student has assisted in developing these interactive modules. Also, we have received approval from the University of Tennessee Institutional Review Board to start data collection from focus groups. The data collection will occur this summer. This will be used for evaluation of the teacher knowledge and revisions to the content. We are already scheduled to host annual the teachers at the Tennessee Career and Technical Education (CTE) Institute and hope to join the secondary agriculture teachers at the Tennessee Association of Agricultural Educators (TAAE) once the agenda is finalized.

    Publications

    • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2020 Citation: Boyer, C.N, and C. Stripling. Developing Tennessee Secondary Teachers Agribusiness Academy. TN CTE Institute Conference, Virtual, July 20-24, 2020.
    • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Under Review Year Published: 2021 Citation: Boyer, C.N, and C. Stripling. Tennessee Secondary Teachers Agribusiness Academy. TN CTE Institute Conference, Virtual, July 12-16, 2021.