DRONES, ROBOTICS AND TRACTORS - AGRICULTURAL MECHATRONICS IN HIGH SCHOOL AGRICULTURAL CLASSROOMS

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: ACTIVE
• Funding Source: OTHER GRANTS
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1026495
• Grant No.: 2021-38414-34962
• Cumulative Award Amt.: $150,000.00
• Proposal No.: 2021-03781
• Project Start Date: Sep 1, 2021
• Project End Date: Aug 31, 2025
• Grant Year: 2021
• Program Code: [SPECA]- Secondary Challenge Program

Recipient Organization
PURDUE UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
WEST LAFAYETTE,IN 47907

Performing Department
(N/A)

Non Technical Summary
Project OverviewThis project will address the shortage of future employees with agricultural engineering and technology expertise by exciting students in high school agricultural science programs through content appropriate challenging and competitive hands-on engineering design experiences. To accomplish this goal the project will utilize the power of the land-grant system to engage high school students in learning initiatives that will motivate them to pursue a career in a STEM-related field. Using the collaborative expertise of the land-grant university system and the state educational system, an educational program to engage high school agricultural science students in engaging and challenging hand-on engineering design programs focused on agricultural issues will be implemented.Need for StudyThe United States is falling dangerously behind other nations in developing its future workforce of scientists, engineers, and technology experts (Antholt, 2013). The shortage of professional engineers and technicians in the U.S. is being acutely felt in technical industries, and this shortage is expected to increase in future years. It is estimated that in the next five years, major American companies will need to add nearly 1.6 million STEM-skilled employees (Business Roundtable, 2014). This problem could be remedied if more women, minorities and rural youth entered the technology and engineering disciplines. Women represent 52% of the U.S. population, but fewer than 10% of practicing engineers are women. Similar trends exist with African-American, Hispanic, Native American and other minority populations.Some of the failure of the science, math, engineering and technology disciplines to attract and retain these populations of students is an exposure problem. Children form career interests based on what they know and can fathom. Parents' awareness of and understanding about STEM education is low, with the lowest levels existing in rural areas (Carnegie Science Center, 2014). Rural located students make up about 20 to 25% of all public-school enrolled students (Ossola, 2014, Showalter, Hartman, Johnson & Klein, 2019). Persistent challenges for rural school systems include a shortage of qualified teachers, budget cuts, and a lack of extracurricular resources. Most importantly, there may also simply be a lack of enthusiasm among rural students for STEM (STEMPremier, 2016, Harris & Hodges, 2018). These rural school students often are being taught in a setting where the teachers are unable to specialize and where limited teaching resources for laboratories and lab supplies are available.To ensure global competitiveness, we must act now to prepare the next generation of science, engineering, and technology leaders. The popular press and scientific journals have been reporting on the significant challenges of the U.S. educational system as it relates to STEM education. Some studies have indicated that our teachers are not adequately being prepared to teach effectively in the STEM areas (Walsh, 2013). Other reports cite that our students generally lack the motivation and have low self-confidence in learning STEM subjects (Kaptan & Timurlenk, 2012). This problem is further amplified when STEM learning is conducted in small, rural schools. Small rural schools frequently are restricted on the range and depth of STEM courses due to a less specialized teaching staff.InnovationThis project will use challenge-based learning theory to develop a curriculum in combination with team-based, hands-on problem solving to engage high school agricultural science students in the learning process. The classroom portion, using a series of simple challenges to learn basic and key concepts, will provide the foundation for the laboratory portion where students will be presented with a problem. To solve the problem, students working in collaborative groups will use the three phases of challenge-based learning.Engage - Through a process of essential questioning, the learners move from an abstract big idea to a concrete and actionable challenge.Investigate - All learners plan and participate in a journey that builds the foundation for solutions and addresses academic requirements.Act - Evidence-based solutions are developed, implemented with an authentic audience, and then evaluated based on the results."When faced with a challenge, successful groups and individuals leverage experience, harness internal and external resources, develop a plan and push forward to find the best solution. Along the way, there is experimentation, failure, success and ultimately consequences for actions. By adding challenges to learning environments the result is urgency, passion, and ownership - ingredients often missing in schools" ("Challenge-based Learning," 2021). This was confirmed in a 2009 study conducted by the New Media Consortium of 321 students in six schools where challenge-based learning was utilized. The study found the approach produced dramatically effective results, especially for 9th grade students considered to be at risk of dropping out (Johnson, Smith, Smythe & Varon, 2009).

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
903	5310	2020	80%
806	5310	2020	20%

Knowledge Area
806 - Youth Development; 903 - Communication, Education, and Information Delivery;

Subject Of Investigation
5310 - Machinery and equipment;

Field Of Science
2020 - Engineering;

Keywords

agriculture

challenge-based learning

drones

education

high school

robotics

stem

uavs

Goals / Objectives
The ultimate goal of this project is to excite and motivate students in high school agricultural science programs about engineering and technology careers through the development and implementation of challenging and competitive hands-on design experiences that will lead them to pursue a STEM-related career.Additionally, the project will increase the student's agricultural engineering and technology knowledge level. To meet these measurable goals, the program will focus on the educational need area of curriculum development, instructional delivery systems and expanding student career opportunities.To meet the project's state goals, the following objective have been established.Develop, implement and evaluate three agricultural engineering curricula in agricultural robotics, agricultural unmanned aircraft vehicles (UAVs) (popularly known as drones) and micro-tractor design (machine systems engineering).Create and implement a challenge-based hands-on learning experience for each of the three curricula.Implement a teacher-training program and support system to ensure teachers are provided with the resources to successfully teach the curricula.Conduct a state level team-based competitive challenge in each of the three focus areas to serve as a mechanism to motivate studentsExplore with the American Society for Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) the potential for the creation of national level competitive events as part of the Society's annual international conference. The society already holds competitive challenges for college students.Begin discussions with State Department of Education and Purdue University officials to award university credit for an agricultural engineering course through a test out program. NOTE: Similar programs are presently in place for high school agricultural science courses in animal, food, and plant sciences.

Project Methods
To accomplished the project's stated goals and objectives, the following specific aims and action steps have been established:Form and utilize a steering committeeHold three 2-day meetings of this group with the specific focus of providing: 1) input into the creation of a strategic plan for designing and implementing agricultural technology and engineering curriculum and challenges in agricultural tractor design, robotic use in agricultural production, and use of drones to enhance agricultural productivity end effectiveness(beginning of year 1), 2) providing feedback on year 1 activities and offering input for moving forward in year 2(beginning of year 2),and 3) future direction of the project(end of year 2).Create curricula for each focus areaWorking groups will be formed to address curricula needs for each of the three engineering/technology design programs. Each working group will design a hands-on, 2 to 3-week curriculum to complement the 3 to 4-week laboratory-based competitive challenge component. The curricula pieces will focus on specific learning objectives such as determining gear ratios, analyzing structure integrity, understanding sensors, etc.Pilot test the curriculaUsing the evaluation tools designed in action step *8, students enrolled in engineering and agriculture classes at the Greater Lafayette Career Academy, the curriculum and design challenges will be evaluated for educational effectiveness.Create and implement challenge-based competitive eventsThe working groups in specific aim #2 will design, implement and evaluate hands-on engineering design challenges for each of the three programs. Specific deliverables include:A set of guidelines for conducting an engaging engineering challenge.Specific procedures and rules for conducting a team-based challenge-focused event in each of the three subject matter focus areas.Teacher trainingImplement a face-to-face teaching training workshop supplemented with a series of distance-based teacher training programs for each of the engineering design curricula.Student Competitive ChallengeHold a two-day competition at Purdue University for students in each of the three focus areas of machine systems engineering/micro-tractor design, agricultural robotics design and agricultural UAVs (drone) design. The event will encompass a hands-on design challenge combined with engaging professor-led classroom and laboratory learning experiences.Evaluation - Teacher TrainingDesign and implement, using an online questionnaire, a system to measure the effectiveness of the face-to-face and distance-delivered teacher training programs. The pre-post training questionnaires will be designed to assess the teacher's comfort level with teaching the curriculum and their content knowledge.Evaluation - StudentsCreate an evaluation system to measure the students' motivation to pursue additional education and eventually a job in a STEM-related field, and their STEM knowledge prior to and following engagement with the curriculum.Disseminate and share resultsProject personnel in consultation with key stakeholders will identify appropriate venues for sharing the findings of the project. Professional meetings where project results may be shared include the American Association for Agricultural Education (AAAE), the National Association of Agricultural Educators (NAAE), the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineering (ASABE), and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). Articles will be prepared for submission to peer-reviewed journals.

Progress 09/01/23 to 08/31/24

Outputs
Target Audience:The project's target audience did not change. Our target audience is rural high school students enrolled in an agricultural science program. Our PK-12 partner is a rural/suburban high school with an active agricultural science program. The program employees two full-time teachers. One teacher, our project partnerfocuses on the mechanics and engineering aspects of agriculture and the other covers the plant and animal aspects. Changes/Problems:The biggest challenge which was reported previously was the inability of our intial PK-12 partner to hire an agricultura science teacher. That problem was solved in the fall of 2023 when the project's PK-12 partner was switched to another high school in the same school district. The new high school has two full-time agricultural science teachers who have been very involved with the project. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Numerous professional development workshops promoting the curriculum were offered. These include: March - April 2024 - Engaged future agricultural science teachers in an 8-week class on how to incorporate agricultural engineering topics (agricultural robotics, agricultural drones, precision agricultural) in their high school science classrooms. Components of this project's curriculum were utilized. June 2024 - Presented a presentation to teachers and other professionals at the American Association for Engineering Education's national conference July 2024 - Presented a workshop to educators and engineers during the 2024 American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers national conference July 2024 - Conducted a workshop for agricultural science teacher at the Texas Agricultural Science Teacher Association's summer in-service. Over 100 teachers participated in the workshop How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The primary target audience for this project is middle and high school agricultural science teachers. A secondary audience and a community of interest are professionals interested in helping create future agricultural engineers. While not directly involved in the education of secondary school students, they are interested in developing a future cadre of agricultural engineers. To make this group aware of the project, conference papers were presented at the following: June 2024 - Presented a presentation to teachers and other professionals at the American Association for Engineering Education's national conference July 2024 - Presented a workshop to educators and engineers during the 2024 American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers national conference What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Plans for the 2024-25 project year include: Goal #1: All three curriculums will be tested with high school students. The agricultural robotics curriculum will be pilot tested for the second time during the fall of 2024. The agricultural drone and machine systems engineering curricula will be pilot tested during the spring of 2025. Using feedback from the pilot testingthe curriculums will be enhanced before being posted to a website where teachers and others may access it for free. Goal #2: Finalize parameters for a competitive challenge-based event for each curriculum area and pilot test. Goal # 3: Offer two in-service training coursesfor current highs school agricultural science teachers. One offering will be as part of the Indiana high school agricultural science teacher summer in-service, and the other will be separate multi-day workshop which will provide a more immersive learning experience. Goal #4: Host an invitational team-based competitive challenge-based event during the summer of 2025. Goal #5: Continue the discussion that began in 2024 with ASABE and fellow agricultural engineers for a national level FFA agricultural technology CDE. Goal #6: Enhance the Purdue course on teaching agricultural mechanics/engineering at the secondary school level.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Accomplishments for Goal #1: The Year 3 focus was to evaluate the agricultural robotics curriculum and make changes and adjustments to the curriculum based on feedback from the testing phase. The evaluation phase was delayed to the latter part of year 3 due to the challenges in moving our PK-12 partnerships from the Greater Lafayette Career Academy to McCutcheon High School. Evaluation with high school students of the agricultural robotics curriculum was completed during the spring of 2024. Various components of the curriculum were tested as follows: On October 13, 2023, the robotics curriculum was pilot tested with agricultural science students from Tri-County High School Students from Purdue's Polytechnical High School in Indianapolis pilot tested the robotics curriculum in September 2023, November 2023, and May 2024. Components of the agricultural drone curriculum has been utilized with various high school agricultural science student groups during their visits to Purdue University. Accomplishments for Goal #2: Parameters were established by the leadership team for a potential challenge for the machine systems engineering (micro-tractor design) curriculum. The challenge incorporates key principles such as tractor ballasting, weight transfer, torque to weight ratio in the design of a 1/16 scale micro pulling tractor. Accomplishments for Goal #3: Professional development opportunities provided include: March - April 2024 - Engaged future agricultural science teachers in an 8-week class on how to incorporate agricultural engineering topics (agricultural robotics, agricultural drones, precision agricultural) in their high school science classrooms. Components of this project's curriculum were utilized. June 2024 - Presented a presentation to teachers and other professionals at the American Association for Engineering Education's national conference July 2024 - Presented a workshop to educators and engineers during the 2024 American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers national conference July 2024 - Conducted a workshop for agricultural science teacher at the Texas Agricultural Science Teacher Association's summer in-service. Over 100 teachers participated in the workshop Plans have been formulated for a statewide teacher training workshop to introduce the three curriculum pieces during the summer of 2025. The plans are to offer an introductory workshop during the statewide agricultural teachers' summer Inservice along with a more intensive multi-day workshop. Accomplishments for Goal #4: Planned for summer 2025. Initial discussions occurred with agricultural engineering experts from other universities to establish a national career development event as part of the National FFA program. Accomplishments for Goal #5: The discussions per the establishment of a national level agricultural engineering career development event mentioned previous under goal #4, involved representatives from the American Society for Agricultural Engineers. They are very interested in creation of agricultural engineering learning experiences at the middle and high school level. Accomplishments for Goal #6: A new college-level course was created in the Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department at Purdue University geared for middle and high school pre-serive agricultural science teachers. The two-credit course, indorsed by Purdue's Agricultural Education program, is designed to provided preservice agricultural science teachers with the skillset to teach topics such as agricultural robotics, agricultural drones, and machine systems engineering. How to use incorporate and implement the three curricula in this project are covered,

Publications

Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/23

Outputs
Target Audience:The project's target audience did not change. Our target audience rural high school students enrolled in an agricultural science program. We were not able, in year 2, to engage with the group as planned due to challenges faced by our PK-12 partner in hiring an agricultural science teacher due to a shortage to secondary agricultural science teachers nationwide. When it became apparent in July and August, 2023 thathiring an agricultural science was not going to happen, discussions began on working with another school in the same school corporation. Changes/Problems:The primary issue encountered was the inability of our secondary school partner, Greater Lafayette Career Academy (GLCA), to hire an agricultural science teacher. This difficulty has led to delays in the project's timeline. GLCA's unsuccessful attempts in 2022 and the evident challenges as the 2023-24 school year neared made it clear that securing a teacher for that year would not be feasible. Consequently, the project's leadership, in consultation with GLCA's administration, concluded that a new secondary school partner was essential for the project's completion. This decision resulted in the transfer of the test/evaluation phase to McCutcheon High School, which is part of the same school district. This move preserved the administrative support and allowed the existing subcontract to continue. McCutcheon High School boasts a reputable agricultural science education program. Project Director Roger Tormoehlen engaged with the school's agricultural science teachers to align the project's objectives with the school's program direction. The teachers were enthusiastic about integrating the curriculum modules into their classes. The collaboration with McCutcheon High School is set to drive the project towards achieving its objectives by the summer of 2025. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Conducted a hands-on learning experience around the curriculum with Purdue's pre-service teachers in the Agricultural Education major (November 2022) Conducted a hands-on program for agricultural science teachers from the three Purdue Polytechnical High Schools (two in Indianapolis and one in South Bend) in Indiana (May 2023) Conducted a workshop on the curriculum with Indiana high school agricultural science teachers as part of their summer workshop. Shared the curriculum with high school agricultural science teachers and county extension educators as part Purdue Agriculture's Digital Ag Showcase - July 2023 How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? A paper and presentation on the project and its goals was presented at the 2023 national conference of the American Society of Engineering Educators Conducted the following outreach events: Conducted a hands-on learning experience around the curriculum with Purdue's pre-service teachers in the Agricultural Education major (November 2022) Conducted a hands-on program for agricultural science teachers from the three Purdue Polytechnical High Schools (two in Indianapolis and one in South Bend) in Indiana (May 2023) Conducted a workshop on the curriculum with Indiana high school agricultural science teachers as part of their summer workshop. Shared the curriculum with high school agricultural science teachers and county extension educators as part Purdue Agriculture's Digital Ag Showcase - July 2023 What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Goal #1: Develop, implement, and evaluate three agricultural engineering curricula in agricultural robotics, agricultural unmanned aircraft vehicles (UAVs) (popularly known as drones) and micro-tractor design (machine systems engineering). Action Steps for Goal #1: Pilot test the three curriculum pieces using secondary school teachers. Another rural school in the same school corporation with an activity agricultural science program and two agricultural science teachers will be utilized to test and evaluate the curriculum. Make changes to the curriculum based on feedback from the evaluation phase. Goal #2: Create and implement a challenge-based hands-on learning experience for each of the three curricula. Action Steps for Goal #2: A draft version of the contest rules was developed in year #2. Based on feedback from the pilot evaluating the rules will be finalized Goal #3: Implement a teacher-training program and support system to ensure teachers are provided with the resources to successfully teach the curricula. Action Steps for Goal #3: Conduct a training workshop for teachers on use and implementation of curricula as part of theAgricultural Science Teacherssummer professional development workshops. Goal #4: Conduct a state level team-based competitive challenge in each of the three focus areas to serve as a mechanism to motivate students. Action Steps for Goal #4 Pilot test the hands-on learning experience with secondary school-aged youth. Goal #5:Explore with the American Society for Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) the potential for the creation of national level competitive events as part of the Society's annual international conference. The society already holds competitive challenges for college students. Action Steps for Goal #5 Initiate discussion with key ASABE leaders per the potential for ASABE to support the three challenge events being developed and implemented as part of this project. Goal #6:Begin discussions with State Department of Education and Purdue University officials to award university credit for an agricultural engineering course through a test out program. NOTE: Similar programs are presently in place for high school agricultural science courses in animal, food, and plant sciences. Action Steps for Goal #6 Continue to offer the Purdue University course design for pre-service agricultural education students. The course will be refined to create a greater focus on this project's curriculum and associated initiatives.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Accomplishments for Goal #1: The Year 2 focus was to create and evaluate the curriculum for the three five-week modules focused on agricultural robotics, agricultural drones, and machine systems engineering. The evaluation phase was limited due to our PK-12 partner's inability to hire an agricultural science teacher. Several hands-on pilot tests with youth in various workshops were conducted. Agricultural Robotics Curriculum development: Eight global educational outcomes guided development of the six-lesson agricultural robotics curriculum using the Edison robot and VEX EXP platforms. The global educational outcomes established are: Define the characteristics that make a machine a robot. Identify where robots are used to complete agricultural tasks. Identify the main difference between an autonomous robot and remote-controlled machine. Identify three core components of a robot. List and explain the gear factors that impact speed. Calculate the theoretical runtime for a battery powered robot. Identify the most appropriate sensor for performing a specified task. Utilize block and/or scratch programming to make a robot perform a specific task. The six modules developed were: Robotics in Agriculture Creating Motion Sensors Buildinga Simple Robot Making the BOT Move! Using Feedback to Control the BOT Each module contains a high-quality PowerPoint, set of competencies, student-focused worksheets, and 10-question review quiz. Initial testing: Conducted a three-day workshop for middle and high school-aged students. Various components from the robotics curriculum were utilized. Both the Edison and VEX robotics platforms were utilized. Additionally, a hands-on challenge-based event was designed and evaluated as a potential challenge-based learning event. On-campus workshops - Several workshops were conducted with high school-aged students as part of field trips to Purdue. These workshops provided the opportunity to evaluate different components of the curriculum. Agricultural Drones: Curriculum Development: Eight key global learning objectives were identified to drive development of the agricultural drone curriculum. The learning objectives identified are: Define a drone and types of drones. Identify the major components of a drone and its function. List the advantages of using drones in plants and animal agriculture. List various sensors that can be used with a drone. Define drone remote sensing. Learn visual coding to control various drone operations. Learn to integrate sensors with drones. Learn to collect data using drones. The educational agricultural drone lessons designed to meet the eight global learning objectives are: Introduction to drones in agriculture Legal/licensing requirements for drone operation Drone operation. Virtual Hands-on Programming a flight path Using a variety of input devices Recording, downloading, and applying data. Initial testing: Drone workshops were conducted with high school-aged youth attending field days at Purdue University Undergraduate students in Purdue's Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department evaluated an agricultural-focused hands-on challenge event using drones with cameras to detect various objects. Machine System Engineering (Agricultural tractor design) Curriculum Development: The seven key global learning objectives identified for the machine system engineering module are: Understand the concept of the torque, levers, and summing moments. Understand the concept of force vectors and the summing of forces. Be able to calculate a center of mass. Be able to calculate the normal reaction forces on a stationary, static vehicle. Be able to calculate the forces on a vehicle under load in a pseudo-dynamic state with a fixed hitch position. Be able to calculate the forces on a vehicle under load in a pseudo-dynamic state with a varying hitch length and height. Be able to calculate the forces on a vehicle under load in a pseudo-dynamic state with various ballast amount and positions. The machine system engineering lessons include: What is torque? How do levers work? What is a vector? Summing forces Weight transfer Effect of hitch length Building your tractor Initial testing: Students in agricultural systems management and agricultural engineering provided feedback. Accomplishments for Goal #2: Agricultural Robotics: The parameters for a challenge-based competitive event were established. The goal of the challenge-based event was for the student to design and build a robot using the VEX robotic platform that would autonomously feed a large round bale of hay to the cows. The design challenges included: Construct a robot to accomplish the task using the VEX platform. Program the robot to move from its storage shed to the bale storage shed, pickup the large round bale, transport it to the cow lot, and drop the bale in the round bale feeder. The robot must complete the task autonomously. Human interaction with the robot will not be allowed once the robot's start button is activated. The challenge will be scored on completion of various tasks along the way (i.e., left the robot storage shed, entered the bale storage shed, picked up the large round bale, deposited the bale in the large round bale feeder). Time exceeding 3-minutes will incur penalty points. NOTE: A remote-controlled challenge may be offered as an additional challenge. The large bale robotic challenge was pilot tested with students at the 3-day workshop. Students in the workshop developed autonomously operated robots. Additionally, the remote-controlled option has been tested at the ASABE (American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers) national conference, with various youth groups attending field day events at Purdue, and with fairgoers at the Indiana State Fair. Accomplishments for Goal #3: Goal 3 is focused on conducting teacher training programs. With our inability to pilot test the curriculum, due to the challenges faced by our PK-12 partner in securing an agricultural science teacher, hands-on trainings were limited. However, we did conduct the following teacher focused activities. Conducted a hands-on learning experience with Purdue's pre-service teachers in the Agricultural Education major (November 2022) Conducted a hands-on program for agricultural science teachers from the three Purdue Polytechnical High Schools (two in Indianapolis and one in South Bend) in Indiana (May 2023 Conducted a workshop with Indiana high school agricultural science teachers as part of their summer workshop. Shared the curriculum with high school agricultural science teachers and county extension educators as part Purdue Agriculture's Digital Ag Showcase - July 2023 Accomplishments for Goal #4: Goal # 4 is designed to be accomplished once the curriculum has been pilot tested. With the limitation imposed on implementation of the curriculum due to lack of an agricultural science instructor this goal will be completed in the summer of 2025. The project team has conducted pilot testing of the design challenge as noted in Goal #2. Accomplishments for Goal #5: The main portion of this goal to create a competitive event as part of ASABE's annual conference will be explored as the design challenge noted in goals #2 and #4 are implemented. ASABE already offers a robotics design challenge for college students similar to what is being proposed in this project. Dr. Tormoehlen is a key member of the ASABE's robotic design challenge team and a member of their student activities committee. Accomplishments for Goal #6: A new Purdue University course designed to prepare college students pursuing an agricultural education degree has been established. The course is focused on ensuring that students preparing to teach high school agricultural science are competent in agricultural engineering technology. This curriculum has been incorporated as a component of the course.

Publications

• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Stwalley, R. M. (2023, June), Creating Agricultural Technology Lessons for High School Students to Stimulate Interest in Long-Term Career Possibilities and Collegiate ABE and ASM Matriculation Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore, Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--42796

Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22

Outputs
Target Audience:During year 1 of the project, the focus has been on identifying potential collaborative curricula to use as a foundation for the creation of the project's three curricula pieces on agricultural robotics, agricultural drones, and agricultural machine systems design. As such, the project did not directly engage with the project's target audience during this phase of the project. However, as the project team focus on the identification of collaborative curricula the focus has been on curricula that would be aid in the develop of educational curricula and programming for the target's audience of rural-based secondary school agricultural science students.? Changes/Problems:The Unites States has for years struggled with providing enough secondary school agricultural science teachers to meet the demand. The university-based teacher preparation programs have the capacity to graduate more certified secondary school agriculture teachers. The problem is that these programs are unable to attract enough students into their program to graduate enough teachers to meet the need. The project's secondary partner, the Greater Lafayette Career Academy (GLCA), is a new collaborative effort between three local school corporations. GLCA opened it doors in 2019 and has been expanding ever since. GLCA's plan was to introduce an agricultural career path beginning with the 2022-23 school year. Unfortunately, their efforts to secure an agricultural science teacher havebeen unsuccessful. GLCA is actively pursuing hiring a teacher. If those efforts are not successful, the project's leadership team will need to consider other options for successful completion of this project. The leadershipteam has begun laying the foundation for an alternative path should GLCA's efforts to secure a qualified agricultural science teacher prove unsuccessful. If the project's plan has to be modified, the project director will communicate with theUSDA project officer beforean alternative plan is implemented. At present the project team is moving forward with the original plan. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Goal #3 of the project is focused on providing training and support to secondary teachers to implement the curricula in their program. The major portion of this goal is planned for year 2 of the project.In year 1 the project did conduct to outreach efforts to introduce the upcoming curriculum to Indiana secondary school agricultural science teachers. One of the outreach efforts was focused on current practicing secondary school agricultural science teachers as part of their summer professional development workshop. The second outreach effort was with pre-service (current undergraduate agricultural education students) teachers. 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?Goal #1: Develop, implement, and evaluate three agricultural engineering curricula in agricultural robotics, agricultural unmanned aircraft vehicles (UAVs) (popularly known as drones) and micro-tractor design (machine systems engineering). Action Steps for Goal #1: Final the draft version for all three curriculum pieces (fall of 2002 and early spring 2023) Gather input on the three curriculum pieces from the project advisory committee Pilot test the three curriculum pieces using secondary school teachers Goal #2: Create and implement a challenge-based hands-on learning experience for each of the three curricula. Action Steps for Goal #2: Develop a finalized set of contest rules and associated documentation for implementation of a challenge-based hands-on learning experience for each of three curriculum components. Goal #3: Implement a teacher-training program and support system to ensure teachers are provided with the resources to successfully teach the curricula. Action Steps for Goal #3: Conduct a training workshop for teachers on use and implementation of the curricula as part of the Indiana Agricultural Science Teachers 2023 summer professional development workshop which will be held in June of 2023. Plan a webinar for implementation once the challenge-based rules have been released to provide more clarification and answer questions. Goal #4: Conduct a state level team-based competitive challenge in each of the three focus areas to serve as a mechanism to motivate students. Action Steps for Goal #4 Pilot test the hands-on learning experience with secondary school-aged youth Goal #5: Explore with the American Society for Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) the potential for the creation of national level competitive events as part of the Society's annual international conference. The society already holds competitive challenges for college students. Action Steps for Goal #5 Initiate discussion with key ASABE leaders per the potential for ASABE to support the three challenge events being developed and implemented as part of this project. Goal #6: Begin discussions with State Department of Education and Purdue University officials to award university credit for an agricultural engineering course through a test out program.NOTE:Similar programs are presently in place for high school agricultural science courses in animal, food, and plant sciences. Action Steps for Goal #6 Prepare a proposal for submission to Purdue University officials for potential college credit.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Accomplishments for Goal #1: The Year 1 focus of the project was to assess the current educational resources at the secondary school level focused on robotics, drones, and machine system engineering. Agricultural Robotics: Several entities, such as VEX robotics, FIRST robotics, and Carnegie Mellon University have developed PK-12 robotics educational programs. However, none of these programs approach robotics from an agricultural perspective. The team's robotics experts, after analyzing the different curricula and educational resources, decided to utilize the VEX robotics platform as the foundation for this project's agricultural robotics curriculum. To further validate this decision, the team conducted an informal three-day educational workshop with youth in a summer day camp using the VEX robotics platform and a draft version of the curriculum designed by the project team. Agricultural Drones: The use of drones in agriculture is projected to account for 80% of all drone usage in the future, yet the project team's assessment of available educational resources failed to identify a curriculum specifically designed for use at the secondary level. The team did identify, through a national youth STEM education conference in May 2022, a curriculum created by the University of Illinois Cooperative Extension System for students in community colleges. Additionally, the team's done leader initiated a discussion with a commercial curriculum provider per adaptation of their curriculum for use in a secondary school. These and other resources are being used in the development of the 5-week segment on agricultural drones. Machine System Engineering: The team's informal analysis of secondary school curriculum revealed numerous courses focused on different technologies utilized in agriculture. However, the team was unable to identify a specific secondary school agricultural curriculum specifically focused on agricultural vehicle (tractor) design and balance. The team did identify a 4-H project conducted in a couple of Indiana counties focused on the modification of a 1/16 scale model tractor to create a battery-powered pulling tractor. While the project includes numerous engineering concepts, the focus is on the creating a pulling tractor and not on the engineering principles utilized as the tractor pulls a weighted sled down a pulling strip. Additionally, in June at the international conference of the American Society for Agricultural and Biological Engineering, the team connected with a professor at the University of Kentucky who has developed a more advanced version of a 1/16 scale pulling tractor, a tractor that is built totally from scratch. A collaboration has been established with the University of Kentucky faculty member to utilize his design as the basis for this project's curriculum focused on machine systems engineering. This collaboration has resulted in the following curriculum learning objectives: Understand the concept of the torque, levers, and summing moments. Be able to calculate a center of mass. Understand the concept of force vectors and the summing of forces. Be able to calculate the normal reaction forces on a stationary, static vehicle. Be able to calculate the forces on a vehicle under load in a pseudo-dynamic state with a fixed hitch position. Be able to calculate the forces on a vehicle under load in a pseudo-dynamic state with a varying hitch length and height. Be able to calculate the forces on a vehicle under load in a pseudo-dynamic state with various ballast amount and positions. Understand the concept of gear ratios and a transmission. Be able to calculate distance, force, work, energy consumed, and power delivered. Understand the trade-offs associated with design. Accomplishments for Goal #2: In year 1 the following has been accomplished for each of the project's three curricula components: Agricultural Robotics: The team's robotics experts have developed a draft version of rules for an agricultural robotics challenge using the VEX EXP system as the platform. The rules provide the foundation upon which a specific agricultural challenge can be designed. To assess the flexibility of the foundational set of rules, the experts created a challenge around the stimulated harvest of apples and a challenge focused on sorting plants in a greenhouse operation. The challenges are being designed so that they can be accomplished using an autonomous or a remote-controlled robotic system. Agricultural Drones: Discussion have focused on the key concepts of various agricultural tasks that could be simulated in a controlled atmosphere. Ideas that are being considered for development into a youth-focused challenge include: 1) creating an obstacle course that would simulate an actual farm setting; 2) placing items in a container (i.e., 5-gallon buckets) and youth would fly their drone over the container to identify the container's contents; and, 3) using a camera-equipped drone to map an area. As the program develops, it is expected that additional simulations emphasizing drone usage in agricultural settings will be identified and developed. Machine Systems Engineering: The challenge for students in the machine system engineering component of the curriculum will be designing a 1/16 scale tractor capable of pulling the greatest amount of weight the greatest distance. Additionally, students will be expected to present to short presentation on the design of their tractor, why they designed the tractor the way they did, challenges they faced, trade-offs they had to make, etc. The specifics for the pulling track and weight transfer sled have been finalized. Accomplishments for Goal #3: The teacher-training and support system will be implemented during year 2 of the project. The project team conducted two programs promoting the curriculum with Indiana Agricultural Teachers. In June, the team present a short program on the curriculum to Indiana high school agriculture teachers during their professional development workshop. The second opportunity was with pre-service teachers (agricultural education students) at Purdue University. Approximately 50 teachers were present for the two events. Accomplishments for Goal #4: Goal #4 will be implemented during year 2. The project's robotics team did implement as part of a 3-day student robotics workshop, a team-based competitive challenge. In the challenge, teams of 3 to 4 students were challenged with designing a robot that would autonomously move to a shed holding big round bales, pick up the big round bale and transport it to the big round bale feeder. Accomplishments for Goal #5: The main portion of this goal is set for year 2 of the project. However, the project's director, Dr. Roger Tormoehlen, is a core member of a team working to create a PK-12 outreach initiative as part of the ASABE's International Meeting in July 2023 to be held in Omaha, Nebraska. Two components of this project, agricultural robotics and machine systems engineering will highlighted as part of the PK-12 outreach effort. A hands-on robotics design event is being planned where the students will be able to perform a simple robotics design. The 1/16 pulling tractor and track will provide the students to make a minor adjustment to the tractor before testing the tractor on the pulling tract. It should be noted that a college-level agricultural robotics challenge is already a prominent student-focused challenge at the ASABE international meeting. Two members of this project's team are key members of that challenge's design team. ?Accomplishments for Goal #6: This goal will be initiated towards the end of the project, following implementation and evaluation of this project's curriculum and associated learning initiatives.

Publications