Progress 05/01/20 to 04/30/23
Outputs
Target Audience:Targeted participants for this project were Utah teachers of students in Grades 4-12. Selected teachers--based on their teaching assignments in appropriate areas of STEM (science, technology, education, and math) were identified by school district Career & Technical Education (CTE) directors, elementary education directors, and superintendents. The focus was to select teachers in both urban and rural communities with underserved populations of students in the aforementioned grade levels. Changes/Problems:The only major change in our approach to this project was the goal to develop curriculum for grades 4-12 students. During the delay of the project due to COVID restrictions, the DroneBlocks company produced an excellent drones curriculum which met the needs of our targeted teachers and a goal of this curriculum project. Consequently, grant funds were used to purchase software licenses for the participating teachers. The workshop instructors guided teachers through the use of this software, and teachers were able to practice/model these lessons during the workshop. Additonally, lessons from the National Agricultural Literacy Curriculum Matrix that are related to drone technology were curated and added to the workshop web page. Thelessons and resources were tied to Utah core standards in science, social studies, and career and technical education and written in the5E model(engage, explore, explain, elaborate, evaluate; see sample lesson at *Drones in High-tech Farming). Included is the content's relation to practical applications in agriculture. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Workshops were conducted by a team of Utah educators including: Dr. Joseph Furse, assistant professor in Utah State University's (USU's) Department of Applied Sciences, Technology, and Education; Austin Knudsen, technology teacher at Roy Jr. High; Dr. Cory Ortiz, professional practice assistant professor in USU's Department of Technology, Design, and Technical Education; and Denise Stewardson, USU Extension Associate Professor and director of Utah Agriculture in the Classroom. Targeted participants for this project were Utah teachers of students in Grades 4-12. Selected teachers--based on their teaching assignments in appropriate areas of STEM (science, technology, education, and math) were identified by school district Career & Technical Education (CTE) directors, elementary education directors, and superintendents. The focus was to select teachers in both urban and rural communities with underserved populations of students in the aforementioned grade levels. Fifty-six teachers, one CTE supervisor, one CTE coordinator, two tech services staff, and one instructional coach participated in the workshops. Each participant received seven hours of face-to-face instruction in the programming and flying of drones, setting up practice and competition fields and safety nets, and accessing online curriculum resources (see aforementioned agenda hyperlink). How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?This program provided professional development training to teachers in grades 4-12 to develop their knowledge of and ability to use UAV technology in the classroom, and also provided them with an agricultural context within which to utilize this technology to teach agricultural literacy. Based on the evaluation results, participants' knowledge levels of UAV technology and knowledge of the Utah Agriculture in the Classroom Curriculum Matrix were significantly increased by participating in the professional development workshop. In addition, participants' self-efficacy in using drones for classroom instructional activities was also significantly increased. Following one of the trainings, a school district official contacted the workshop team to inform us that several teachers from his rural school district had already ordered classroom sets of quadcopter drones for their classrooms within a week of completing the training. Based on these findings, we conclude that the training workshops were effective in developing participants' ability to use UAV technology in the classroom and to provide an agricultural context for the use of UAVs to promote agricultural literacy. These teachers will be more able to effectively engage students in highly motivating instructional activities which teach both technical skills and agricultural literacy. Future activities are in the planning stages to provide develop a self-replicating training model help agricultural education teachers and technology education teachers utilize flexible laboratory spaces and emerging technologies to implement cross-disciplinary instruction to promote agricultural and technological literacy for their students. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Funded by a USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture grant, three professional development workshops were held for Utah teachers in grades 4-12--one in each of the following school districts: Davis, Iron/Beaver (combined), and Weber. Workshops were held on January 31, 2023; February 10, 2023; and March 20, 2023, respectively. In addressing the need for teaching 21st Century Skills, the objectives of these workshops included: explaining the importance of drones in agriculture, explaining drone FAA regulations and safety practices, programming a drone using DroneBlocks and/or Python, setting up a ROAV (Remotely-operated Aerial Vehicle) tent and competition field, flying a drone autonomously and remotely, and accessing resources on the Utah Agricultural Literacy Curriculum Matrix. The agenda and resource links for workshops is available here. Workshops were conducted by a team of Utah educators including: Dr. Joseph Furse, assistant professor in Utah State University's (USU's) Department of Applied Sciences, Technology, and Education; Austin Knudsen, technology teacher at Roy Jr. High; Dr. Cory Ortiz, professional practice assistant professor in USU's Department of Technology, Design, and Technical Education; and Denise Stewardson, USU Extension Associate Professor and director of Utah Agriculture in the Classroom. Our evaluation followed a one-group pre-post-test design, and quantitative data were gathered from teachers using a self-assessment instrument (n = 59). We assessed participants' immediate reactions to the workshop as a proxy indicator of program quality. Results showed most teachers rated all quality indicators as very good. The majority of participants rated the following as very good (%): the amount of information provided (69%), organization of the workshop (49%), usefulness of topics covered (67%), length of the workshop (51%), instructor's knowledge (77%), and instructors' communication (74%). Overall, nearly all participants (93%) rated the workshop as very good and/or excellent. Outcome 1--Knowledge Gain: Baseline pretest data indicated teachers entered the workshop with low knowledge of using drones for agricultural education (M = 1.98 out of 5). Results of a one-sample t-test indicated participants experienced a statistically significant increase in their knowledge of using drones for instructional activities after the workshop (t = 23.61, p < 0.01, Mean diff. = 1.91). With respect to effect size, the workshop had a large effect on participants' knowledge based on Cohen's d (d = 3.10). Descriptive frequencies showed participants left the workshop with high and/or very high knowledge of using drones in agriculture (76%), the FAA rules for flying drones outdoors (62%), rules for flying drones in schools (59%), the terms "pitch," "yaw," and "roll" (93%), using DroneBlocks or Python to fly a drone in a square pattern (60%), the limitations of flying a drone indoors (62%), and the Utah Agricultural Literacy curriculum matrix (64%). Outcome 2--Self-efficacy: Consistent with their pre-knowledge levels, baseline data showed participants entered the workshop with very low to low self-efficacy in using drones for instructional activities (M = 1.54 out of 5). However, the results of a one-sample t-test indicated participants experienced a statistically significant increase in their self-efficacy in using drones for instructional activities after the workshop (t = 15.53, p < 0.01, Mean diff. = 1.77). Based on Cohen's d, the workshop had a large effect on participants' self-efficacy (d = 2.03). Upon completion of the workshops, most participants rated their ability level as "intermediate" on flying a drone autonomously to complete a mission (41%), flying a drone in a square pattern using pitch and roll controls (43%), setting up a drone field or tent with challenge elements (35%), and flying a drone to conduct an inspection using the drone internal camera (35%). Most participants rated their ability as "advanced" in supervising students who are flying drones to ensure safety procedures are followed (40%). One participant commented, "This was a wonderful workshop. I have learned so much, and I can't wait to integrate drones into my teaching. Thank you for everything you have provided to help me get started."
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Stewardson, D., Ortiz, C., Narine, L. K., & Furse, J. (2023). Engaging Utah Educators to Teach 21st-Century Skills Using Drones. Outcomes and Impact Quarterly, 3(2). Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/oiq/vol3/iss2/3
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