Making Food Policy Relevant: An Innovative Approach

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NACTA Journal – Volume 63, Supplement 1 | Page 18
044 Oral
Factors Influencing Students’ Choice to Major in Agriculture
Olivia Horning*, Michelle Burrows and Tyson Sorensen
Utah State University, Logan, UT
A shortage of skilled workers graduating from American universities means many agricultural jobs are filled
by individuals not trained in agriculture. Utilizing the Model of Career Choice as the theoretical lens, the
research objective was to describe the behaviors and factors influencing students in choosing a major in
agriculture. An online survey was distributed to a random sample of college students within the college of
agriculture. Of the respondents (n = 284), 47% had changed their major at least once prior to their current
major and 42% had changed their major from a different college. Almost half of the respondents decided
on their college major while in college. Participants overwhelmingly felt their major was preparing them for
their future career (97%) and were confident in their ability to secure a job after graduation (94%). The
socializers and past experiences most influential in the students’ decision to major in agriculture were high
school career and technical education courses (56%), high school science courses (56%), and parents
(53%). Prior work experience (71% agree) and internships/job placements (52%) were influential as well.
Most participants chose a major based on their own perceived talents (94%) but also on the number of job
opportunities available (71%), advancement opportunities (63%), and income opportunities (59%). Findings
suggest student recruitment efforts should continue well into the students’ college career. Additionally,
recruitment efforts should consider the important influence of high school coursework in students’ decisions.
These findings can help in efforts to secure well-trained professionals in agriculture.
045 Oral
Cooperating Teacher Needs: A Delphi Study of Agriscience Teachers in Florida
Debra Barry*, John Diaz* and Brian Myers*
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
A substantial amount of research focuses on the importance of cooperating teachers (i.e. seasoned and
proficient teachers who transmits knowledge to a pre-service teacher through demonstration, conversation,
and coaching) and the impact that they have on the careers of pre-service and early career teachers.
Unfortunately, cooperating teachers typically lack the preparation to serve as mentors for student teachers
with limited research to focus on this need. To address this need, we used a three-round Delphi study
approach to identify training and support priorities for cooperating teachers. We created a panel of 22
cooperating teachers that hosted student teachers between 2016 and 2018. The Delphi technique was
used to develop consensus on the priorities for providing beneficial support and/or preparation based on
the panel’s experience with a student teacher(s)/intern(s). We develop an a priori definition of consensus
to be 2/3 of the panelists selecting strongly agree or agree related to need of each type of training and
support to improve their cooperating teacher efficacy. Following the third round, the panel achieved
consensus on 6 items: examples/explanations of forms and reports from the student teaching handbook;
copies of program lesson plan templates; meetings with the intern prior to the start of the internship,
including learning about strengths/abilities; a Cooperating Teacher Workshop; and early communication for
the cooperating teacher and the intern. These items directly informed the training and support of
cooperating teachers in agricultural education programs in Florida and c an be used as a f r amework to g uide
similar efforts across the country.
046 Oral
Making Food Policy Relevant: An Innovative Approach
Dan Witten and Thomas H. Paulsen
Morningside College, Sioux City, IA

NACTA Journal – Volume 63, Supplement 1 | Page 19
The adage “learning by doing” is more prevalent in today’s world of education than ever before. Research
exists showing that students build new ideas and concepts through active participation in real life
experiences or situations better than through traditional classroom settings. Building upon this foundation,
a personalized, student-centered experience was developed and implemented as part of a “Local Foods
and Food Policy” course. This presentation will show how students assumed the role of an elected official
to address food policy related issues and put research into practice. To develop a deeper understanding of
issues, students interacted with current stakeholders, engaged with professors from outside departments,
interviewed current elected officials, participated in educational tours and completed service-learning hours.
Through these activities, students gained firsthand knowledge of how policies affect different aspects of the
food system. The final project required students to draft a legislative bill and present it to an audience,
including a food policy maker, to express personal feelings and provide possible solutions to food related
issues. Based on post-course student interviews, evaluations, and formal reflections, most of the students
felt they were more empowered to take action to help establish, change or enforce food policies affecting
them. Initial instructor concerns with this approach included; uninterested students and students not willing
to discuss personal food issues affecting them. Future changes to this approach include; increasing the
number of individual interactions with policy makers and food policy interviews with consumers throughout
the duration of the course.
047 Oral
Preliminary Analysis of Career Preparation through PFL/SAE-based Agricultural Instruction
Craig Kohn*
Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
While effective career preparation is a key objective of secondary agricultural education, little consensus
exists as to how to most effectively achieve this goal. Classroom-based instruction that emphasizes
“preparation for future learning” and “trajectories towards expertise” combined with career-specific
supervised agricultural experiences (SAE’s) may result in maximal career preparation. As part of a pilot
study intended to assess design-based research for agricultural instruction, an experimental natural
resources curriculum was developed and implemented at a rural Michigan high school during the 2018-
2019 school year. A total of 62 students took part in the curriculum, which emphasized scientific literacy,
model development, quantitative analysis, and the adoption of sustainable knowledge and practice in
agriculture. This classroom component was paired with an out-of-class requirement for SAE’s that
emphasized situated learning and preparation for specific careers. Results were assessed using qualitative
interviews of the instructor and focus students, video-recorded classroom observations, pre- and post-
instruction assessments, and student classwork. While the PFL-based classroom instruction broadened
students’ long-term preparation for careers, the out-of-class SAE component had mixed results due to the
initial difficulty of finding suitable opportunities for all students within a limited timeframe. However, the
explicit connection of situated learning to classroom instruction showed strong potential for increasing
student motivation and enabling greater career preparation. These findings will be used to expand and
guide the ongoing development and testing of this instructional model during the 2019-2020 school year,
the results of which could be used to improve the effectiveness of secondary and post-secondary career
instruction.
048 Oral
The Rookie: Describing A Researcher’s First Semester Teaching in a University Classroom
Emma Winterhalter, Carley C. Morrison* and Jesse I. Morrison
Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS
Research faculty often find themselves teaching classes with little knowledge of effective teaching methods.
The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the teaching experience for a faculty member
with a research appointment and no formal teacher training. During this experiment, the instructor and
students kept weekly journals reflecting on their teaching and learning experiences. After analyzing the
instructor’s journal individually, we met as a team and agreed on four themes. Those themes were