Source: AUBURN UNIVERSITY submitted to NRP
PROJECT FARM: FOSTERING AGRICULTURE RESEARCH AND MENTORING
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
ACTIVE
Funding Source
AFRI COMPETITIVE GRANT
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1032443
Grant No.
2024-67037-42594
Cumulative Award Amt.
$500,000.00
Proposal No.
2023-09825
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Jul 1, 2024
Project End Date
Jun 30, 2027
Grant Year
2024
Program Code
[A7501]- Professional Development for Agricultural Literacy
Recipient Organization
AUBURN UNIVERSITY
108 M. WHITE SMITH HALL
AUBURN,AL 36849
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Thefivemillion jobs in agriculture (and food) are expected to grow at over 6% a year, but nearly one-quarter of the workforce is nearing retirement age. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop student knowledge of, and interest in,agricultural careers.Project FARM (Fostering Agricultural Research and Mentoring) will empower rural middle school science teachers to use an inquiry-driven approach to develop students' agricultural literacy. Seventh and eighth-grade science classes include topics such as water quality but are often taught without an agricultural context. A team of faculty, staff, and Extension professionals will guide fourteen middle school science teachers from two rural Alabama counties on integrating agricultural inquiry activities into curricula and science fairs. This will connectscience teachers with the regional/national Agricultural Literacy ecosystem comprised of Regional Extension Agents, Extension-led citizen science, university resources, educational sites, and online resources. Research shows that when inquiry-based teaching is linked to community impact, student interest, knowledge, and self-efficacy increase. Therefore, we expect that this initiative will increase student interest in agricultural careers.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
90360993020100%
Knowledge Area
903 - Communication, Education, and Information Delivery;

Subject Of Investigation
6099 - People and communities, general/other;

Field Of Science
3020 - Education;
Goals / Objectives
Project FARM's objectives include: 1) Enhanced teacher knowledge of agricultural topics related to food, water, and forests, 2) Teacher engagement in regional/national Agricultural Literacy ecosystem comprised of Regional Extension Agents, Extension-led citizen science, university resources, educational sites, and online resources, 3) Teacher development, implementation, and dissemination of agricultural-driven activities aligned with state and national science standards, and 4) Facilitatingteacher/student mentoring of agricultural science fair projects.
Project Methods
A cohort of fourteenmiddle school teachers will be selected for the training and participate in immersive learning experiences including professional development training and field trips to nearby agricultural sites that areled by Extension agents. The teachers will be supported in developing and implementing lesson plans for their classrooms that integrate agriculture, the Alabama Course of Study for Science, and the Next Generation Science Standards. Auburn University faculty and graduate students will interact with teachers during the academic year. Local Extension agents will visit the teachers' classrooms and help facilitate school field trips to agricultural sites.In addition, the teacherswill mentor their students on conducting science fair research projects that are related to agriculture. The results of these efforts will be evaluated by an external evaluator.

Progress 07/01/24 to 06/30/25

Outputs
Target Audience:For this reporting period, the primary target audiences were 1) teacher participants, 2) school administrators, and 3) the regional extension agents that will be visiting the teachers' classrooms and arranging field trips. These audiences were reached by our recruiting efforts, the zoom kick off meeting, and four days of professional development training. In addition, faculty in Auburn's Agriscience Education department were contacted and provided a valuable perspective. Finally, social media on the 4H Alabama Water Watch training for the teacher participants was highlighted in Soical Media. Changes/Problems:As previously described, award notification in late April 2024 precluded recruiting teachers or starting professional development workshops in 2024. The necessity of waiting until Spring2025 to engage the first teacher cohort, meansthat spending did not start until early 2025. It also means that the project will require an extension to complete all three cycles and planned agricultural themes. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?As described above, the project enabled the teacher participants to get certified as Alabama Water Watch Monitors and receive test kits for use with their students. In addition, a graduate student and an undergraduate student received training on the connections between agricultural science, engineering, and education. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Activities were disseminated via social media. Additional dissemination will occur next year after the first year's lessons have been implemented and the outcomes of the first year have been evaluated. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the coming year, we will work with the teachers to implement their lesson plans, engage with Extension to increase agricultural career awareness, and serve as science and engineering fair mentors. This will include implementation and refinement of lesson plans for their classes. In addition, we will develop content and engage additional personnel for the Year 2 theme of "food." In terms of dissemination, we plan to submit lessons to Ag in the Classroom near the end of Year 1 and plan to present findings from Year 1 at conferences at the beginning of Year 2.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? During the first year, a total of eleven seventh and eighth grade teeachers were recruited. Professional development content for Year 1's focus on water was developed and implemented. The teachers participated in a Zoom kickoff meeting, virtual prework in the Canvas Learning Management System, and four days of professional development training. This incuded becoming certified Alabama Water Watch Monitors and learning about Extension and Agricultural Careers. The teachers developed drafts of lesson plans that will be implemented in their classrooms during the 2025-2026 academic year. In addition, they learned about mentoring students on science and engineering fair projects related to agriculutre and opportunities to engage with Extension.

Publications