Performing Department
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Non Technical Summary
The Immersive Professional Development Experiences for Agriscience Teachers to Explore the Floriculture Industry: STEM it Up Squared (SIU2) program will create, model, and replicate best practices to illuminate the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) concepts embedded within the plant science curricula for school-based agricultural education (SBAE) programs. The goal of SIU2 is to address the need to prepare a broadened STEM workforce which has been well documented over the past decade (Carnevale et al., 2011; Crowell, 2016; NCEE, 2007; NASNAEIOM, 2007; NRC, 2012). Career and Technical Education (CTE), including SBAE, has been instrumental in preparing a STEM-literate workforce (ACTE, 2009). However, to be successful in preparing students to meet future challenges, K-12 agriscience teachers need resources and support from universities and industry partners to help highlight STEM in SBAE programs. Floriculture, the cultivation of ornamental flowering plants, is typically taught by SBAE teachers through floral design, marketing, use and sale of florist crops, but is not necessarily deeply focused on the production aspects of the industry, which connect to STEM concepts and curricular standards (AFNR and NGSS) taught nationwide in SBAE programs. Our project will provide an innovative, immersive, professional development (PD) program for the target audience - secondary (grades 7-12) agriscience teachers. SIU2 will leverage partnerships with education, industry, and teaching/learning experts to enhance agriscience teachers' content knowledge of the floriculture industry. The application and use of inquiry-based instruction will be modeled and practiced in all facets of the PD program.The project addresses two NIFA/AFRI priority areas: (a) plant health and production and plant products and (b) agriculture economics and rural communities. Educators will be immersed in floriculture industry-authentic learning experiences, and then create instructional modules intended to empower students with knowledge, skills, and dispositions applicable within the industry. Agriscience teachers will implement their enhanced literacy of an entire agricultural system (i.e., floriculture/green industry), design new curricula, and create experiences to extend the understanding of their students. In concert, rural students better prepared to work and innovate within agricultural industries will bolster rural communities through, as examples, career readiness and entrepreneurship. SIU2 aligns with the PDAL program area priorities targeting educational professionals in food and agricultural sciences. Specifically, the proposed floriculture SIU2 program combines an immersive experience with virtual and hands-on research, experiential learning opportunities, and training for secondary agriscience teachers.
Animal Health Component
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Research Effort Categories
Basic
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Applied
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Developmental
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Goals / Objectives
The Immersive Professional Development Experiences for Agriscience Teachers to Explore the Floriculture Industry: STEM it Up Squared (SIU2) project addresses the need to prepare a broadened STEM workforce for the floriculture/green industry. NIFA/AFRI priority areas: (a) plant health and production and plant products and (b) agriculture economics and rural communities are addressed. SIU2 aligns with the PDAL program area priorities targeting educational professionals in food and agricultural sciences. The objectives of SIU2 are to: 1) Engage 16 (7-12 grade) agriscience teachers in immersive professional development (PD) experiences through virtual and in-person exploration of the floriculture industry; 2) develop, evaluate, and disseminate eight innovative learning modules to enhance floriculture curricula to strengthen agricultural literacy, STEM skills, and focus on career exploration in plant health and production and plant products; and 3) evaluate the SIU2 program's exponential growth model where the 16 participating agriscience teachers first create instructional modules, then facilitate PD workshops to peer agriscience teachers in their respective states and regions. The project combines virtual and hands-on research with experiential learning opportunities to transfer STEM knowledge and skills from the teacher to the student to develop literacy in subject matter through understanding of industry techniques and scientific core ideas. Impacts of the project will expand awareness and literacy of the floriculture industry, resulting in authentic learning experiences for teachers and students to increase awareness of, and interest in, STEM careers in those related fields of food and agriculture by expanding the pipeline of students ready to enter the green industry.
Project Methods
Plan of Operation and Methodology: Our plan of operation and methodology for the SIU2 outlines three phases aligned with each focus area: 1) PD focused on training to create innovative, interactive curricula and instruction, and virtual exploration of the international floral industry; 2) a firsthand immersive 8-day domestic travel experience following destinations along the floral distribution channel; 3) exponential growth. The 16 SIU2 teachers will be separated into two teams of eight, with project team members assigned to each team to provide coaching and support. The groups will be assembled to support peer to peer mentoring and include members with dissimilar experience and demographics. The nature of the participant activities intends to establish an environment to build a cohort of individuals who will support each other throughout, and beyond the PD experience. Engaging agriscience teachers with local floral/green industry partners is the keystone of this project. Our overarching PD approach will draw on the traditional train-the-trainer (TTT) model. Using the TTT model, SIU2 provides critical knowledge, skills, and resources to change agents in SBAE to ensure the curricula from this program are disseminated to a variety of stakeholders. Advisory board input will be utilized to modify curricular materials.Project Evaluation and Reporting: Project evaluation will be conducted and communicated using pillars for high-quality PD, guided by a logic model and linked to the proposal objectives and project timeline. We will use Guskey and Sparks' (2000) model to evaluate the effectiveness of the SIU2 program. A nationally recognized external evaluator affiliated with the University of Florida will evaluate recommended levels of evaluation information: 1) SIU2 teachers' reactions, i.e., their satisfaction of the PD experience, 2) SIU2 teachers' learning (new skills and knowledge), 3) organization support and change, 4) SIU2 teachers' use of new knowledge and skills, i.e., implementation, and 5) student learning outcomes (Guskey, 2002). Evaluator Diaz will convene annual program reviews with core stakeholders, including research team, and advisory board members, and program participants to report progress of project milestones, participant online learning modules, participant feedback, and workshop outcomes measured through longitudinal satisfaction surveys, productivity outcomes, content knowledge assessments, and perceptions for integrating STEM concepts in SBAE plant science career pathways. SIU2 teachers will provide qualitative and quantitative feedback throughout the entire cycle of the program. In addition, the participants in workshops presented by the SIU2 teachers at the state and regional conferences will also provide feedback collected from surveys that will be used for evaluation.