Department of Agricultural, Leadership, and Community Education
Permanent URI for this community
Browse
Browsing Department of Agricultural, Leadership, and Community Education by Content Type "Poster"
Now showing 1 - 19 of 19
Results Per Page
Sort Options
- Agriculture Workforce Stakeholders Highlight Importance of Durable Skills and NetworksCoartney, Jama S.; Kaufman, Eric K.; Nelson, Dalton; Westfall-Rudd, Donna M.; Seibel, Megan M.; Friedel, Curtis R.; White, Amy; Carmichael, Celeste J. (North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture, 2022-06-20)As America’s workforce changes, so does the nature of the work and skills necessary for success. Employers are increasingly in need of a workforce that effectively engages in collaborative leadership. Educational opportunities, such as community college and two-year degree programs, need to include collaborative leadership learning experiences to help build workforce readiness. Debuting findings at NACTA 2019, APLU researchers identified 11 employability skills that were most important to stakeholders and had the largest gaps in terms of readiness. Indeed, the Christensen Institute recently identified “investing in durable skills and durable networks,” as one of the “5 Education Innovation Trends Worth Watching in 2022.”Also, America Succeeds (2021) reports on “The High Demand for Durable Skills.” Findings from three years of action research reveal insights on employability and durable skills for collaborative leadership. Expanding beyond four-year degree programs, project stakeholders include agriculture faculty from nine community colleges and one two-year degree program. These agricultural educators are bridging the gap by refreshing existing workforce development curricula to meet 21st century agricultural industry needs; they are designing, developing, and evaluating leadership curricula for technical and community colleges to prepare the agriculture workforce for effective leadership in an increasingly diverse environment. The study used a semi-structured protocol with two focus groups. Participants, affiliated with agricultural workforce preparation programs, surfaced six key themes: (1) Agreeing with APLU employability skills report, (2) Finding positive benefits in completing internships, (3) Strategizing to build problem-solving skills, (4) Addressing ‘soft skills” assessment challenges, (5) Prioritizing verbal communication skill enhancements, and (6) Learning how to accept faults and mistakes. The relevance of this topic in today’s climate cannot be understated. This action research approach, with stakeholders from multiple institutions, can serve as a model for expanding educational networks to exchange knowledge and share leadership curricula.
- Building Durable Skills and Networks: Leadership Educators' Contributions to Workforce ReadinessCoartney, Jama S.; Kaufman, Eric K.; Westfall-Rudd, Donna M.; Seibel, Megan M.; Friedel, Curtis R.; White, Amy; Carmichael, Celeste (Association of Leadership Educators, 2022-06-26)As America’s workforce changes, so does the nature of the work and skills necessary for success. Employers are increasingly in need of a workforce that effectively engages in collaborative leadership. Educational opportunities should include collaborative leadership learning experiences to help build workforce readiness. Findings from action research reveal insights on durable skills and networks for collaborative leadership. Agricultural educators are bridging the gap by refreshing existing workforce development curricula to meet 21st century agricultural industry needs. Taking an activity-oriented approach, Leadership-as-Practice may assist in providing additional understanding of leadership practices or phenomena (Raelin, 2011, 2020). The purpose of this project was to reveal ideal approaches to integrating collaborative leadership education into existing curricula. The study used a semi-structured protocol with two focus groups. Participants, affiliated with agricultural workforce preparation programs, surfaced six key themes: (1) Agreeing with APLU employability skills report, (2) Finding positive benefits in completing internships, (3) Strategizing to build problem-solving skills, (4) Addressing “soft skills” assessment challenges, (5) Prioritizing verbal communication skill enhancements, and (6) Learning how to accept faults and mistakes. This action research approach, with stakeholders from multiple institutions, can serve as a model for expanding educational networks to exchange knowledge and share leadership curricula.
- CyberBioSecurity through Leadership-as-Practice DevelopmentKaufman, Eric K.; Adeoye, Samson; Batarseh, Feras; Brown, Anne M.; Drape, Tiffany A.; Duncan, Susan; Rutherford, Tracy; Strawn, Laura K.; Xia, Kang (2022-03-28)CyberBioSecurity is an emerging field at the interface of life sciences and digital worlds (Murch, 2018). The solution to the global cyberbiosecurity challenge is not merely technical; society needs cyberbiosecurity professionals who engage in leadership with a boundary-crossing approach that involves collective effort. Such an approach emerges from leadership-as-practice development (LaPD), characterized by its efforts to “change patterns and thinking that could transform a culture of mediocrity to one of excellence and resilience'' (Raelin, 2020, p. 2). While LaPD has been used in some professional learning contexts and it aligns with some signature pedagogies of the professions, the opportunity remains for embedding LaPD in graduate education to meet the needs of emerging fields. The objective of this proposed project is to catalyze transformative cyberbiosecurity graduate education in a way that increases cognitive integrative capability among cyberbiosecurity scientists and professionals. As noted by Pratch (2014), “leaders who possess integrative capacity are better able to assess problems and find workable solutions than those who do not” (p. 1). In this project, we intend to embedding LaPD in online graduate and train-the-trainer modules, testing various pedagogies associated with boundary-crossing graduate education. The approach will include use of collaborative leadership learning groups (CLLGs), which are “anchored in practice, bringing together learners who can identify and work together on the challenges they face collectively” (Denyer & Turnbull James, 2016, p. 269). Our specific research questions include: What signature pedagogies best support the emerging discipline of CyberBioSecurity education? To what extent do collaborative leadership learning groups (CLLGs) increase students’ cognitive integrative capability?
- Enhancing Workforce Readiness Through a Convergence of Networks and Collaborative LeadershipCoartney, Jama S.; Kaufman, Eric K.; Westfall-Rudd, Donna M.; Seibel, Megan M.; Friedel, Curtis R.; White, Amy; Carmichael, Celeste (2022-09-22)The future of work is changing, and educational opportunities, approaches, and resources need to change too. Employers need a workforce that effectively engages in collaborative leadership, has durable skills, and builds networks. This project integrates educational expertise—workforce alignment, leadership development, and curricular design—of agricultural educators to address future demands.
- Evaluating Shifting Trends in Youth Development Volunteerism: University of California 4-H Youth Development ProgramWorker, Steven M.; Nayak, Roshan K.; Miner, Gemma; Wilkins, Tamika; Rodriguez, Matthew; Nathaniel, Keith; Cho, Zeva (2024-10-23)
- Farmers Market Leadership: A Qualitative Exploration of the Influence of Leadership on the Success and Failure of Farmers Markets in VirginiaCoartney, Jama S.; Kaufman, Eric K. (Association of Leadership Educators, 2022-06-26)Farmers markets play an important role within local food systems and short food supply chains (SFSCs); they create community connections. While the number of farmers markets has increased dramatically since 1994, many markets fail, and it is unclear why. Little is known about the influence of leadership practices on their success and decline. This qualitative case study explored how leadership influences factors contributing to success and failure. The first objective explored patterns contributing to the success and failure. The second objective analyzed markets through different lenses of leadership. The study applied a leadership hexad (Jackson et al., 2018); adaptive leadership (Heifetz et al., 2009); and good-to-great leadership principles (Collins, 2011). Findings revealed surging operational changes, strong support in the SFSC, and the need for stabilizing forces. The six lenses of Jackson et al.’s leadership hexad generated nuanced findings about the influences of vendors, champions, and partnerships; the role of managers in supporting the community and entrepreneurship; confusing nature of ownership; planning for succession; surviving the startup phase; professionalizing farmers market management; co-constructing leadership with the community and vendors; evolving the purpose; and leveraging the purpose of farmers markets. Recommendations for future practice include professional development leadership pipelines.
- Flipping Discussions: Using Flipgrid Discussions in Online LearningMilliken, D. Brett; Claflin, Kellie (2020-09-23)
- A Framework to Examine Networking Behavior and Social Capital Formation in Agricultural Leadership Development ProgramsBurbaugh, Bradley J.; Seibel, Megan M.; Kaufman, Eric K. (American Association for Agricultural Education, 2014-02-04)A review of 55 agricultural leadership development programs by Russon and Reinelt (2004) found that “some of the most powerful and enduring outcomes of leadership programs are the relationships that are formed between participants in the program” (p. 8). These relationships facilitate the development of social networks (Uhl-Bien, 2006). Thus, many leadership development programs claim to enhance participants’ personal and professional networks through networking (Abington-Cooper, 2005; Black, 2006; Dhanakumar, Rossing, & Campbell, 1996; Diem & Nikola, 2005; Kelsey & Wall, 2003). Despite the hypothesized relationship between leadership development and enhanced networks and networking there is little empirical evidence to support these outcomes (Van De Valk & Constas, 2011). This research synthesis followed Creswell’s (2009) steps in conducting a literature review. First, the following list of keywords was generated: leadership, program, evaluation, networking, social capital, and network analysis. The researchers used these keywords to conduct searches in the following digital databases: CAB Direct, Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), Education Research Complete, and the Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts (ASSIA). During each stage of the process the results from database searches were cross-checked using Google Scholar to ensure accuracy. The initial review of the literature yielded 243 results. The researchers examined these documents for relevancy and selected 102 documents for further investigation. The next iteration in the review process included an in-depth evaluation of relevance and rigor, which resulted in 54 peer-reviewed articles and dissertations that would be utilized in the research synthesis. To ensure a robust review, reference lists of these selected documents were scanned for sources not included in the initial review. Networking behavior involves building and using contacts with people in order to be successful in an individual’s career (Wolff & Kim, 2012). Networking is not considered a personality trait, but a set of interrelated behaviors that can be frequently and consistently exhibited by individuals (Wolff, Schneider-Rahm, & Forret, 2011). Additionally, networking behavior is influenced by individual differences such as personality traits (Forret & Dougherty, 2001) and by situational variables, such as position or job function (Michael & Yukl, 1993). As such, networking can be classified as an individual-level construct that focuses on individual differences in behavior (Wolff, Schneider-Rahm, & Forret, 2011). Networking behavior has been implicated as an antecedent to social capital formation (Kostova & Roth, 2003; Lin, 2008). Social capital and networking are distinct, but related, constructs that pertain to different levels of analysis (Wolff, Schneider-Rahm, & Forret, 2011). Both constructs consider benefits derived from social contacts; however, networking focuses on individual behavior to build and maintain social networks, while social capital focuses on the characteristics of these social networks. Thus, social capital focuses on a structural level, where individual differences are not taken into account. These structural characteristics influence the availability of resources that provide support for leaders (Cadima, Ojeda, & Monguet, 2012; Ibarra & Hunter, 2007) and have been found to assist in problem solving (Senge, 2004), professional skill development (Wenger, 2000), increased civic engagement (Dhanakumar, et. al., 1996), and enhanced social capital (Burt, 2000). Social networks clearly offer benefits, but the current body of research associated with leadership and the formation of networks as an outcome is insufficient (Day, 2001). This framework is a preliminary attempt aimed at improving the understanding of networking behavior and social capital formation. Understanding the processes associated with network formation, examining the relationship between networks and leadership development programs, and determining the value of these networks will provide significant contributions to the field of leadership (Kaufman, Rateau, Ellis, Kasperbauer, & Stacklin, 2010).
- The impact of communication skills development on college students’ communication apprehensionRateau, Richard J.; Kaufman, Eric K. (American Association for Agricultural Education, 2009-02-02)The purpose of this study was to determine if college student participation in skills based public speaking class will decrease their communication apprehension (CA) and thereby increase their opportunities for employability and career success.
- Leadership purpose: Transforming farmers markets and the community food systemCoartney, Jama S.; Kaufman, Eric K. (2022-09-22)Farmers markets play an important role in agriculture and the local food supply chain; they support rural livelihoods by connecting vendors, people, and community. This qualitative case study explores influences of leadership on farmers markets’ purpose through multiple leadership lenses. Future practice recommendations include a professional development leadership pipeline.
- Moments of Opportunity "MOO'S"Drape, Tiffany A. (2021-08-11)Creating moments of opportunity to integrate culturally relevant prompts into the curricula to provide exposure and access.
- Projecting Food Insecurity in Southwest VirginiaHamilton, Nicholas; Jones, Mia; Gard, Emily; Zimmerman, Piper; Chen, Susan; Cary, Michael; Kaufman, Eric K. (2024-07-25)Food insecurity is a socioeconomic condition in which a household does not have access to enough nutritious food to sustain a healthy lifestyle for all its members. In Virginia, food insecurity rates are highest in the southwest region of the state. This project aims to support food banks, including Feeding Southwest Virginia, by simulating food insecurity rates through 2027 in Southwest Virginia. Drawing from the literature on food insecurity, we selected relevant variables related to food insecurity from the American Community Survey and Bureau of Labor Statistics data. These variables were then forecasted at the county level using a time series forecasting model. The historical data was used to train a machine learning model which utilizes these factors to predict food insecurity rates. The forecasted data was then fed into the machine learning model to create projected food insecurity rates across Southwest Virginia. In addition to projecting food insecurity rates, we simulated future scenarios by altering the values for key factors individually. We displayed these findings on an online interactive map that allows the user to compare the food insecurity rates for each county or city by year and see the changes between years. The user can also see the locations of farmers markets, grocery and dollar stores, and food distribution centers in the area to consider their potential impact. This map will serve as a tool for Feeding Southwest Virginia in determining their resource allocation and to demonstrate the need for more aid in particular areas.
- Promotion and Adoption of Soil Health in Virginia: The Power of a Simple Demonstration and StoryBendfeldt, Eric S.; Thomason, Wade E.; Niewolny, Kimberly L.; Parrish, Michael J.; Lawrence, Chris; Holm, Kathy (2019-07-17)Soil is a foundational resource for farming, natural resource conservation, and health in the 21st century. Virginia farmers have made significant progress in protecting and conserving natural resources. Controlling soil loss and nutrient runoff — non-point source pollution — from all possible sources continues to be critical for water quality protection and clean-up efforts throughout Virginia and the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. The current emphasis on soil health encourages an integrated holistic, systemic approach to soil management. Soil health principles bring to light the importance of soil organic matter (SOM), carbon, fungi, bacteria, and soil insects as key drivers to the system and integral for building and enhancing soil’s physical and chemical properties. Virginia Tech, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, along with community partners, have worked to find common ground around a similar educational message for agricultural professionals, technical service providers, and the farming community. The message emphasizes soil as a living ecosystem and the need to care for the soil's biological properties as well as the physical and chemical properties. Simple in-class and on-farm demonstrations (i.e., slake test, rainfall simulator) and stories of farmers’ experiences (i.e., through panels, short videos and technical clips) are powerful in promoting and encouraging the adoption of core soil health principles in Virginia. The power of a simple demonstration and story complements on-going research and demonstration efforts while enabling outreach to a broader educational audience. For example, a rainfall simulator demonstration at the Shenandoah Valley Produce Auction’s Annual Membership meeting enabled Virginia Cooperative Extension and Virginia USDA-NRCS to reach not only 120 farmers within a Mennonite community with a soil health message but also women, youth, and children in the community who are stewards of land and market and family gardens.
- Resources to Engage the Cyberbiosecurity Workforce Pipeline: Empowering Agricultural Educators and Middle School Girls in STEMSmilnak, David; Scherer, Hannah H.; Walz, Anita R.; Bonnett, Erika; Grey, Kindred (2023-03-16)Initiating the Rural Cyberbiosecurity Workforce Pipeline Through Empowering Agricultural Educators & Supporting Middle School Girls: Project Resources About the Resources The resources and activities of this project were piloted in middle school agriculture classes and 4-H learning environments and revised based on educator and learner feedback. Factsheets were evaluated by scientific and cybersecurity education experts and in part by the Center for Advanced Innovation in Agriculture Graduate Student Affiliates. The resources have been introduced to school-based agricultural educators and extension agents at state-level professional development conferences and to members of a national cybersecurity education network. Implementation by a new cohort of educators is underway to collect further input from the field. Their Purpose To date, youth have found the activities engaging, educators are excited about the possibility of innovating their agricultural education programs, and the factsheets provide spark novel ideas for further activities that can be modified and/or developed. Produced as Open Educational Resources (OER), the materials are freely available online for educators to download and can be remixed for use in a variety of educational settings. Educators are encouraged to use our resources, revise them for their own setting, and contribute their new versions and ideas to the growing OER collection. All factsheets, facilitator guides, and handouts are available for free electronic download.
- Towards Pesticide Smart Agriculture using System Thinking and Precision FarmingOlowoyo, Olamide; Kaufman, Eric K.; Council, Austin (2023-03-16)Pesticides play a major role in agricultural production, they are extensively used in modern agriculture (Sharma et al., 2019). Farmers have continuously relied on pesticides to control pests and diseases and have tremendously increased the production of food (Olowoyo, 2017; Tudi et al., 2021). The use of pesticides remains an effective and economical way to improve the quality and quantity of food production (Sharma et al., 2019). Globally, about 3 million tonnes of pesticide are utilized annually, where China contributes the most, followed by the USA and Argentina (Pariona, 2017; Sharma et al., 2019; Statista, 2023). Despite the contribution of pesticides to agricultural production, indiscriminate usage poses serious consequences to human health and the environment (Olowoyo & Deji, 2017; Sharma et al., 2019). Evidence in the last few decades has shown that they could also be detrimental to human health from food contamination due to pesticide residues, posing threats to the health of the farmers who apply the pesticides as well as the environment (Olowoyo & Deji 2017; Sosan & Akingbohungbe, 2009). In addressing the challenges associated with indiscriminate pesticide usage, the ICEBERG, a tool for guiding systemic thinking, becomes crucial for identifying the root causes of these problems. Similarly, precision farming technologies offer a solution by empowering farmers to make informed decisions in the judicious utilization of agricultural inputs. This dual approach aims to balance the need for increased agricultural productivity with the imperative of minimizing adverse impacts on human health and the environment.
- Undefined: In Search for a Definition of Blended Learning in SBAEMilliken, D. Brett; Traini, Haley Q.; Stewart, Josh (2023-05-16)
- Unpacking the Complexities of International Learning: Reflections from East AfricaCouncil, Austin; Thompson, Joshua; Emmett, Robert; Hammett, A. L. (Tom) (2024-02-08)International education is complex and fraught with nuances, especially in the context of Africa, a continent that has been historically exploited and continues to be absent from many western curricula. Therefore, it is important to critically attend to the dynamics facing communities we interact with abroad. In June 2023, a group of Virginia Tech instructors, professors, graduate students, administrative/professional faculty and Virginia public school educators embarked on a cross-cultural, professional learning experience to Tanzania and Kenya as part of the Virginia Tech East Africa Summer Institute for Educators.
- Using Team-Based Learning to engage studentsKasperbauer, Holly; Kaufman, Eric K. (American Association for Agricultural Education, 2009-02-02)Student engagement and learning is continuing to be a topic of discussion for higher education. As learners become more diverse, instructors need to find new ways of engaging them in the classroom. This is especially difficult when class sizes limit the amount of personal interaction the instructor can have with each student. Several teaching methods can be used to increase student participation and learning, including small group activities. In support of these efforts, recent research suggests that the ability to work effectively in a team is a critical skill that employers are seeking in new employees (Robinson, Garton, & Vaughn, 2007). Team-based learning (TBL) is a special type of small group facilitation, which differs from cooperative learning or group activities. The strategy integrates a case study and applied learning approach throughout the entire semester, with student teams remaining intact for all of the small group discussions and assignments. The instructional strategy originated in the 1970’s to keep students engaged as class sizes increased. TBL has a history of successful integration in business courses and throughout nursing and medical school programs (Clark, Nguyen, Bray, & Levine, 2008; Nieder, Parmelee, Stolfi, & Hudes, 2004). However, many fields of study, including agricultural education, have been slow to adopt this approach.
- Youth Leadership Programs and Socio-Economic Development: The Case of NigeriaOyedare, Israel; Kaufman, Eric K.; Abisoye, Oyinkansola; Ogunniyi, Tolulope; Dauda, Zakariya'u; Omogiate, Daborah; Adedayo, Mary; Adeniyi, Israel (2024-07-14)For a long time, the notion that youth are the bedrock of the society and leaders of tomorrow has been a widely adopted belief by many, particularly in developing countries like Nigeria; however, only limited development has been experienced regarding improvements in the socioeconomic status of Nigerian youth. This research exposes some of the socio-economic issues affecting youth and highlights potential approaches to mitigating them. Moreover, the research acknowledges the impact of government initiatives and non-governmental youth leadership development programs have on the socio-economic condition of Nigeria. Findings from the literature review conducted revealed that present youth leadership development programs are narrow-focused, specialized majorly on food security and agriculture with lesser emphasis on non-agricultural sectors, and with short-term impacts. The authors recommend that youth leadership development should be deliberately and comprehensively planned and structured in a way that long-term impacts for both the individual youth and the nation are achieved. This poster presentation is a final research project completed by participants of a leadership research training program organized by the Teens and Youth in Leadership (TYIL), a leadership education focused non-governmental organization based in Nigeria.