AG./STEM INTEGRATED SKILLS INSTITUTE

The upskilling of 4-H Extension Agents and K-5 educators in areas of agricultural education is pertinent to the development of an agriculturally literate population that will be well-informed when making decisions about the future of agriculture. In a synthesis of literature by Kovar et al. (2013), it was found that there is an increased need for agricultural literacy among the general population in addition to that of educators in fields not specific to agriculture (Kovar et al, 2013; Anderson et al, 2014). Koloski and Ritz (2016) conducted a needs assessment that determined areas of future research related to CTE within the context of educator preparation, 9-12 classroom instruction and contributions of CTE. The results of the needs assessment indicated several themes for measured improvement: (1) student success based on a variety of outcomes (career and academic); (2) developing cognitive abilities through CTE learning (3) methods for connecting CTE curricula to a rapidly evolving workplace (4) CTE administrator's/supervisors depth and breadth of knowledge, experience and concept of CTE (5) secondary administrator's preparation for leading CTE programs (Koloski, et al, 2016).Elementary school-aged students are at a prime age for introduction to concepts of agriculture and its relationship to STEM. Early exposure to STEM and scientific processes such as those associated with agriculture increases student motivation to enroll in advanced math and science courses when they are available. Additionally, this exposure promotes an increase of critical thinking skills, confidence building and self-efficacy that can be maintained throughout a 10 students' educational career (Dejarnette, 2016). This early exposure to STEM within the context of agriculture demonstrates the processes of STEM in an applied manner, allowing students to draw connections between course content and 'real-world' applications. It also allows students to become better aware of agricultural career pathways and bolsters the likelihood of agriculture cluster completion in systems that offer high school agriculture programs.In addition to assisting in the acquisition of agricultural content knowledge, projects such as the Ag-STEM Integrated Skills Institute will bridge gaps between various educational entities, community groups and stakeholders within the local community. The proposed project will align Next Generation Science Standards, a national science curriculum standard, national standards for reading and math and curriculum specific to the state of North Carolina with existing 4-H curriculum to support agricultural literacy within the K-5 educational setting. This curriculum integration will show the impacts of agriculture across a broad range of spectrums and disciplines often overlooked as associates of agriculture. This project will also connect local 4-H extension agents with K-5 teachers and university personnel, allowing for the fostering of ongoing relationships of mutual benefit. These relationships allow for the continual transfer or exchange of information between constituent groups with different roles within the agricultural system, fosters experiential learning and places value on the understanding and knowledge of practicing agriculturalists such as local famers (Galbreath, 2015). This will contribute to the overall sustainability of agricultural knowledge exchange and increase community viability and the support the 2014-2018 NIFA goals of catalyzing exemplary and relevant research, education and extension programs serving as a model to be implemented at other institutions. Through these linkages and partnerships, the sharing of knowledge can create a culture that is well equipped to address societal changes by understanding the roles of research, outreach, education, extension and the ways in which these disciplines intersect to influence agriculture (BlundoCanto et al., 2019). Similarly, the interaction between these groups positively influence the learning environment and future innovation in addition to generating new ideas which have positive implications of the future of agriculture as citizens become more aware of their roles and potential careers within the discipline (Pant, 2012).Agricultural literacy amongst the general population and amongst educators is needed throughout as we work to provide a sustainable food and fiber system to support an expanding global population. Unfortunately, many people now have limited interactions or access to agriculture outside of their consumer experiences and many do not recognize the synergies between agriculture and science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) (Kovar et al, 2013; Vallera & Bodzin, 2016). Creating an experiential learning-based training approach to increase agricultural literacy of 4-H agents and K-5 educators will create an opportunity to connect concepts of agriculture to those of STEM through hands-on processes allowing participants to garner, apply and develop transferrable skills in the agricultural sector. By training educators and 4-H agents in this process, they will be better able to translate agricultural concepts to K-5 student participants by incorporating them into their regular lesson plans, discussions or activities. These training sessions will also allow 4-H agents and teachers to build upon the expertise of one another to develop a cross-functional applied knowledge base.